DL vs WDW

[nutty4wdw]

never been to DL and was considering a trip in jan 09. i am a dvc member and have gone to WDW for many years. is a trip to DL worth it or is it too much of the same thing. how is driving there if i rent a car to go to hollywood, LA etc. what airport is best to fly into. iheard john wayn is closest to DL. any info at all will be helpful. thanks

 

[Hound 109]

So the first question you're asking the DLR board is...

"Is DL worth it?"


hound -

 

[ballarinamom]

We prefer Dl to WDW. Even though WDW has "more", DL has uality over quantity. Every duplicate ride is better at DL. It's so much easier to get around with DL, DCA and DTD right together. Toontown at DL blows away WDW. Getting a car and touring Hollywood or the beach is really easy

 

[ballarinamom]

Oh and John Wayne (SNA) is super easy to get in and out of

 

[DoomBugger]

Go for it. Just avoid that first week of January when the crowds are still large. Believe it or not DLR almost has as many attractions as the WDW complex.

 

[BABYJOSIE98]

How is October???? We will have a couple days to spend at DL before our Cruise out of San Diego.

Is it the same as WDW as far as being at the parks at opening??????

Any tips or advice to make the most of our trip. We will probably just visit the DL park on this trip since we won't have a lot of time.

Thanks,
Michelle

 

[ballarinamom]

Definately make rope drop! Especially if you want to do Nemo. How many days will you have there. In october you should be pretty good. Does it hit with Columbus day? Try to take a few hours and hit DCA. There are a couple of cool rides over there

 

[stacielee]

Every duplicate ride is better at DL.

The one ride that I think is better at WDW is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Other than that, I completely agree that the duplicate rides are better at DL.

 

[DoomBugger]

The one ride that I think is better at WDW is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Other than that, I completely agree that the duplicate rides are better at DL.

Tough call. Altough WDW's is slightly larger I like DL's version a little better, it seems to have more snap and whip and I love the whistle! That said, one of my best WDW MK memories was when we were able to ride BTMRR 13 times in a row without getting off, it was empty and we rode until we were literally "done", it was great! When we finally said, "OK, enough" the CMs were even disappointed as they had been egging us on!

 

[paul436]

We prefer Dl to WDW. Even though WDW has "more", DL has uality over quantity. Every duplicate ride is better at DL. It's so much easier to get around with DL, DCA and DTD right together. Toontown at DL blows away WDW. Getting a car and touring Hollywood or the beach is really easy

I just got back from DLR this week and have been a frequent visitor to WDW. I don't completely agree with the assessment that all of the duplicate rides are better at DL. I felt that the WDW version of Splash Mountain was much better than the DL version.

I do agree that DL Toontown was better as well as Space Mountain and Pirates. I haven't seen the upgraded Haunted Mansion at WDW since it was still under renovation when I went last August so can't compare the two.

DL being smaller in size (real estate-wise) did make it MUCH easier to get around and I wasn't as tired at the end of the day since there was less "mileage" to be done.

Paul

 

[Spokker]

The biggest difference is that Disney World IS Orlando, where Disneyland is only a small part of Southern California. It's much easier to go to Disneyland for a day and see other parts of the region. At Disney World they want you there for at least a week and every policy and design is hellbent on doing that. In Anaheim they know people are coming for Disneyland, and may or may not go to DCA.

 

[fairycat]

October is a great time to visit with the decorations and HMH overlay. That is something you won't see at WDW The weather is nice too.

I think that both HM's are both great in their own ways, I think its one of the few cases were the differences over all make both strong. The only thing I didn't like about WDW's HM was the loading area other wise I find both equally cool.

POTC though goes 100% to DLR!

 

[HydroGuy]

never been to DL and was considering a trip in jan 09. i am a dvc member and have gone to WDW for many years. is a trip to DL worth it or is it too much of the same thing. how is driving there if i rent a car to go to hollywood, LA etc. what airport is best to fly into. iheard john wayn is closest to DL. any info at all will be helpful. thanks

Not too much of the same thing at all. Whether it is worth it depends on your priorities.

Here are some links to use for reference:

"A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

Also a trip in January can have good and bad. Unless you go the first week then make sure you understand this link:

"What You Should Know About Off-Season at DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18462889

"Comparison of Weather For WDW and DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1711098

 

[BABYJOSIE98]

Definately make rope drop! Especially if you want to do Nemo. How many days will you have there. In october you should be pretty good. Does it hit with Columbus day? Try to take a few hours and hit DCA. There are a couple of cool rides over there

You know I did not even think about Columbus day??? We will be there that weekend because our ship will leave that Monday. Our MO schools are not out on Columbus day??? I picked this week because DD is off the last 2 days and will only miss 3 days of school. She is also off the Thursday and Friday before too... We have a lot planned for this trip...That is why I am starting early...

We want to fly into Sacremento and visit some friends and see Napa Valley and make our way to San Francisco and Muir woods...Then down the pacific coast too LA and spend 2 nights before the cruise so that would put us at DisneyLand on Sunday Oct 11,2009.

Oh well we are good at theme parks..So we will just get their early and use Fastpass...I have plenty of time too do my research...Maybe we will luck out and get some longer hours that day???

Thanks,
Michelle

 

[Mrs. Bee]

DL has uality over quantity. Every duplicate ride is better at DL.

I actually liked the Haunted Mansion at WDW a LOT. They had a few extra scenes that were just wonderful.

The biggest difference is that Disney World IS Orlando, where Disneyland is only a small part of Southern California. It's much easier to go to Disneyland for a day and see other parts of the region. At Disney World they want you there for at least a week and every policy and design is hellbent on doing that. In Anaheim they know people are coming for Disneyland, and may or may not go to DCA.

Isn't WDW in Lake Buena Vista, not Orlando?

 

[Spokker]

Isn't WDW in Lake Buena Vista, not Orlando?

True, but what do people think of when they think of Orlando? Disney World.

It's like saying Disneyland is in Los Angeles. It's just something people do and think.

 

[Mrs. Bee]

True, but what do people think of when they think of Orlando? Disney World.

It's like saying Disneyland is in Los Angeles. It's just something people do and think.

oh. luckily i am not one of those people. i think both parks are at least 20-30 miles away from those cities. (and the 25 miles from L.A. to anaheim is a looong drive.)

 

[DLR29]

Major advantages that DLR has over WDW:

-Onsite and tons of offsite hotels are within walking distance of the parks
-Park hopping takes a grand total of 1 minute on foot
-Downtown Disney is also right next door
-All three of those combined means no faulty or unreliable transportation except your feet
-As many have already said, a lot of the rides are "better" at DLR (Pirates, Space, and Buzz come to mind especially)
-More compact, making seeing more in one day possible

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

Major advantages that DLR has over WDW:

-Onsite and tons of offsite hotels are within walking distance of the parks
-Park hopping takes a grand total of 1 minute on foot
-Downtown Disney is also right next door
-All three of those combined means no faulty or unreliable transportation except your feet
-As many have already said, a lot of the rides are "better" at DLR (Pirates, Space, and Buzz come to mind especially)
-More compact, making seeing more in one day possible

Perfectly said!!

The time it takes to get from hotel to park in WDW drives me absolutely batty. I am biting at the bit to GO and hate to have to wait, bus is full, etc etc. I guess because now I am so used to parkhopping in a different way, I am too impatient. Monorail is of course great for MK but not helpful for all parks.

Love the waterparks in WDW, and the superior DTD as an evening destination, though. We adore WDW and have wonderful vacation memories, and are going back soon! But DLR is my "home" and I get sad when I am away for too long.

 

[biolabetty]

I came back from my first trip to WDW about a month ago. I've been going to DL for over 40 years, so I do love my DL, but I enjoyed my trip to WDW very much. It was different with Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and the Studios, I enjoyed doing those parks very much. I must admit that I was disappointed with the Magic Kingdom since I'd heard how much better it was from WDW lovers. The first time I saw WDW's Tomorrowland I felt like I was seeing Disneyland's Tomorrowland from the 70s. So many things that used to be at DL were at WDW, and it was fun to see them again, but it felt strange too.

We only went to the MK once in our 13 days there, and as soon as I got back home to Los Angeles, I took a trip to DL. It felt so good to be there again. DL just feels differently to me than the MK does. The buildings on Main Street feel closer together which gives it more of that small town feel than I got at WDW. I did find it a bit funny though to walk through the castle at DL today (third time to go since I got back from WDW last month), and the castle felt so small after I had spent some time inside of Cinderella's castle eating at CRT.