Dl Vs Wdw

[msdis]

DH wants to visit DL and CA but I am a little concerned he will be disappointed since we are so used to WDW. How do the two compare? How do the hotels vs. resorts compare? This trip will be much more costly vs. FL and I don't want to spend a lot of money and travel time (twice as far) if we will be disappointed. Are there a lot of different attractions than WDW? We probably will be getting a shuttle so seeing much of CA is out. Will we regret that if this is a once ever trip? Also, the only way I found to price out the rooms were in a package only. I see there are people getting discounts with ap's. We do that with WDW, how does that compare? We may use our DVC points for some nights and am not sure the true value vs cash for the rooms. Also, how close are the hotels from one another as we are very fussy eating and if we don't like what is there will seek alternatives. We are mostly cheap and simple, burgers and fries, sandwiches, or a salad. Any info, tips, advise most appreciative. TIA!

 

[Firefly777]

Well of course it's not WDW and you shouldn't expect that, or you will be disappointed. There are three Disney hotels, plus many offsite hotels right across the street.

The only Disney hotel that you could compare with a WDW hotel is the Grand Californian. It is a very beautiful hotel and is very similar to the Wilderness Lodge in design. There is also the Disneyland Hotel which has a general Disney/Disneyland theme and the Paradise Pier Hotel which is currently being refurbished to have a beach theme. The Disney hotels are all within walking distance of one another and there are a lot of offsite dining options right across the street, if you have trouble finding something to eat in the parks.

If you really want the full Disneyland experience, I would wait until the 50th Anniversary next year. It looks like the parks will be in tip top shape by then.

 

[daannzzz]

They are very different kinds of trips. Disneyland is located in the middle of Suburbia, surrounded by homes, businesses, motels and restaurants. http://www.beachcalifornia.com/dlmp.html
When you arrive in the Disneyland resort area you will be surprised at how compact it is. The 2 parks and 3 hotels are all right together in walking distance of each other. @ of the Disney hotels were built by other companies and are essentailly tower hotels that Disney bought in the 90's and refurbished. The Disneyland hotel has large rooms that are very nicely dcoarated and nice grounds. The Paradise Pier hotel is a bit bland though is being remodeled right now but will still be a bit bland. The Grand Californian is on par with the WDW hotels and was designed by the firm who did the WL and the AKL. It is a beutiful hotel and is attatched to the DCA theme park making is closer to the parks than anything at WDW.
Disneyland park is smaller than the MK but packed full. It is shocking to first see how small the castle is but the park is beautiful. DCA park is on par with the Disney Studios and IMHO not a great Disney park.
I do think any Disney fan should visit the Disneyland resort. You will find much fun and it is great to compare the rides and attractions as well as experience those that are not on the East Coast.
Only you can decide if it is worth the extra money. How big of a fan are you?

 

[llmj_midland]

My family and I are going to DL for the first time in April. I have tried my best to prepare us all to not expect WDW (middle of suburbia, not a resort feel, smaller castle, etc.). I believe that if you go into this with the attitude of experiencing a different type of Disney, you will have a great time. We all know that Disney parks are special, regardless of whether they are on the scale of WDW or not.

Don't know if this helps, but I know that we are really looking forward to our trip! Have a great time if you choose to go!

 

[tinkerbell6]

I can't speak much about WDW yet (haven't been there in 25 years, though we're going next month), but I do know DL fairly well. DL has the Indiana Jones ride (a definite fast-pass), Matterhorn Bobsleds (due for a refurb if you ask me, but fun anyway), and several fantasyland rides that WDW doesn't have. California Adventure Park has the Soarin' over California ride that is a definite FP too--FP's run out early. The Aladdin stage show is also very good, and this month they are starting a Snow White show.

That being said, DL is much smaller than WDW. They do get more of the local crowd, especially on weekends since it is in the 'burbs.

I have heard that the DVC points required for the GC are quite high, quite a bit higher than comparable WDW resorts. GC is beautiful though, and very convenient. There are also many off-site hotels with excellent shuttle services (for the most part), and you don't need to spend a lot of time commuting.

I do love DL, but it is definitely do-able in 3-5 days reasonably well. If it's a long trip for you, and you'd want to stay longer, I would maybe consider visiting San Diego as well. Of course, I can easily spend a week in DL. The sense of history there is nice.

I think it's worth a trip for anyone, but just be prepared for the differences!

Our WDW trip is getting so close...
Lisa

 

[Alison Wonderland]

I visited DL over Christmas. I live much closer to WDW and went to WDW 3 times last year. THe first day, I was kind of disappointed with DL--I felt like it looked older, the walkways were narrow, etc. But then the 2nd and 3rd day it grew on me. Fantasyland just has more magic than WDW Fantasyland. I saw characters at DL that I never saw at WDW in four trips. Fantasyland has rides that you can't get at WDW--such as Alice in Wonderland, & Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. The only thing is, I am looking at this from the point of view of someone who takes children. I don't know about the roller coasters and the more adult themed things. Pirates of the Carribean is a must-see since it is so much longer than WDW. It will be a shame if you can't do some other things in the Southern California area as it is beautiful and there is so much to do. Like the other posters said, don't expect it to be like WDW, especially don't expect a big castle, and just enjoy it as something different and interesting to compare to WDW. I plan to go back in 2004. I did not stay onsite so I cannot comment on the hotels.

 

[din]

As the other posters stated, DL is small and it is not WDW.

Although we moved to California a few years ago, we still plan and love to go to WDW. DL is more like a theme park rather than a vacation destination like WDW - (No flames please). The only hotel that comes close to the service and fell of WDW is Grand Californian.

So with that said, if you are coming to California, plan on visiting the other parts of California. You may want to consider that. There are pleanty of natural beauty in California to see.

 

[Firefly777]

Originally posted by llmj_midland
My family and I are going to DL for the first time in April. I have tried my best to prepare us all to not expect WDW (middle of suburbia, not a resort feel, smaller castle, etc.).

The whole area around the DLR has been redone and has more of a resort feel. It's still nothing compared to WDW in that respect, but it's definitely an improvement over what it used to be like.

 

[pamkass]

Hi msdis,
I am a big WDW fan. Going 13 times in the last 15 years. We went to DL in Nov. and we had a ball. Like tinkerbell6 said there are some rides that WDW don't have and some rides at DL are longer. Pirates and Its A Small world are so much better in DL. Another thing that makes DL better is everything is in walking distance from all the Disney Hotels. We had such a good time that we are going to make our res. for 2005 as soon as the package prices come out.
Pam

 

[YCFAN]

Disneyland is definitely not WDW, but then I got a huge kick out of just being able to say that I had been to Walt's original park.

 

[CalGal]

Originally posted by msdis
DH wants to visit DL and CA but I am a little concerned he will be disappointed since we are so used to WDW. How do the two compare? How do the hotels vs. resorts compare? This trip will be much more costly vs. FL and I don't want to spend a lot of money and travel time (twice as far) if we will be disappointed...

I'm surprised that say DL will be much more costly. Not considering the travel costs, I have found WDW much more expensive unless, perhaps, you have an AP. If you are able to wait until you can pick up an air-war fare, the travel costs may not be that much higher for you either. At WDW, the passes are more expensive, and it costs much more to stay close to a park. Dining can be more costly, and most notable, I feel I need to stay 2-3 times longer to get my fill at WDW. The advantages of staying on-site at WDW are much greater than at DL, so you might consider staying at one of the hotels/motels close by for all or part of your stay if you don't want to invest a lot of money in your room. If you are really attached to the delux or even moderate resorts themselves with the fabulous pools and resort ambience, then you might stick with WDW, or as the others have suggested, come at a time when you can enjoy the anniversary celebrations and/or see more of sunny CA.
That being said, some of the rides at DL that are not currently at WDW are very cool. Soaring, I'm sure you've heard is particularly unique, Indiana Jones is really great and so much more exciting that it's closest counterpart at WDW (the Dinosaur ride at AK). You also have the very special Electrical Parade that has a magic all its own, even if you have seen Spectromagic. And, of course, many of us believe that Walt himself will forever live at DL.

 

[Maridw]

I grew up in CA and we went to DL annually. I have always loved DL and even though we now live in FL and go to WDW often, still love DL. There is really no way to compare the two in so much as DL is basically MK. It has a more intimate feel to it. Yes, it is smaller, but it is so different from MK. Small World is in its own building just outside of Fantasyland. If you go at Christmas, it is decorated for the holiday and is truly beautiful. Make sure you go by there on the Hour as when the clock chimes, the dolls parade out.

Like another poster said, there are rides there that are not a WDW, Alice in Wonderland, Mr Toad's Wild Ride, Indiana Jones Adventure, plus Casey Jr's Train and the Story Book Canal Boats. In Toontown, there is also Gadget's Go-Coaster instead of Goofy's Barnstormer and the Roger Rabbit's Toontown Spin.

Be prepared to see a much SMALLER castle. Sleeping Beauty's castle is not anywhere near the size of Cinderella's castle at WDW.

Also while in Fantasyland, when you are in line at Peter Pan's Flight, look at the window on the second floor across the way. Watch for the Wicked Queen from Snow White to look out of the window.

If you go on the Matterhorn bobsleds, make sure you try them at night.

Remember to look at DL as something totally different from WDW and you won't be disappointed. As I said at the beginning, there really isn't a way to compare the two as they are completely different.

Have fun.

 

[robsmom]

We to DL last May. I have to say in many ways we loved it more than WDW. My son was only 4 and we stayed at the GC. The convenience of the hotel to everything was what we really enjoyed. We were going to stay 4 nights but extended to 6. We did the parks at a relaxing pace, enjoyed a really nice pool and had some great meals in the Downtown Disney area. The downtown disney area is attached to the hotel as are the parks. In 6 days we used the car only once to go on a KMART run (son was running out of clothes and we were too lazy to wash!!). You are never on a bus. The monarail is really more of a ride than a necessary form of transportation because you can walk.

I am back on this site because we are headed somewhere in May and I can't decide whether to go back to DL. Airfare from Phila is @223 to Lax versus $181 to Orlando so the cost isn't a big issue.

 

[UltimateWDWFan]

I visited DL for the first time last April, and I'd like to go back and re-educate all the people who told me that DL is a waste once you've been to WDW. As you can see by my User ID, I'm a real WDW fan, so before I went, I too was worried about the let-down. I had a one-day layover at LAX last year and decided to take advantage of the opportunity to check out DL. --I had an unused day on a multi-day WDW pass and had read that DL would accept that (bless these boards!). It turned out that they even accepted as a park-hopper pass, so I was able to do both parks!

I started in MK and, having done my homework, concentrated first on the attractions that I knew were different in Dl from those in WDW. I also did my favorites, and Jungle Cruise alone was worth the trip. It was so much better than WDW! I also enjoyed the differences at Small World.

Interestingly enough, I enjoyed my time at MK more than the few hours I got to spend at CA before it closed for the evening. (Although I've been the "Who-would-have-been-next-if-we-hadn't-run-out-of-time" person at Millionaire on both coasts now!) I didn't have enough time to see all the areas there, though.

I liked their Downtown Disney area much better; it was far less crowded (and that's when comparing it to low season at WDW).

My only comment to go in the "cons" column is that the evening parade at DL's MK was really lame. Beyond that, I would say that of course you can't spend a whole week there the way you would at the World, but there are plenty of opportunities for off-site attractions, even without a car. I'd say to plan on spending three days, tops, at DL (but, then, I'm a go-go-go type of person; if you're a sleep half the day by the pool kind of person, you might be okay longer).

As for the hotels; I stayed in a cheapie right across from the main entrance. I checked out the on-site Disney hotels, though, and I'd recommend their version of the Wilderness Lodge. It was within easy walking distance of everything. Again, Downtown Disney is right there, so there are plenty of dining options even outside the hotel.

Sorry for the lenghty diatribe, but hopefully that shows my enthusiasm for it.

DEFINITELY DO IT! You won't regret it.

--The Fan

 

[msdis]

Thanks everyone for such great posts! I guess there's no question, we should do it.

Yes, we do WDW 2-3 times a year, AP's, DVC(= cheap rooms), air usually no more than 250/pp, so this will be more overall costwise. Like starting from scratch. But you are all right, it's still Disney, just different. And I REALLY like the idea of EVERYTHING within walking distance from everything else. That and the buses is what we DON'T like about WDW. So this is fantastic.

daannzzz-thanks for the link-that really put things into perspective.

We own DVC at WL at the villas so we would definately enjoy staying at GC. Ok so now I just have to convince myself of the longer flight.

Any other hot tips please feel free to add.

 

[Carlen T]

Just sayin' HI!