DW/DL planning question

[tpettie]

Just wondering on the whole Disneyworld vs. Disneyland topic if you thought Disneyland required less planning than world and in that way appeals more to some travelers.

 

[nana50]

DL requires way less planning than DW. I love planning, but there seems to be so much more and I couldn't afford it anyway. I do day trips or overnighters to DL. A week would be totally out of my reach.

 

[Lissame]

For us, living on the west coast, DW is too far and requires too much time to thoroughly enjoy for it to be feasible both time and price-wise.

DL is a much better choice for us for that reason. If we lived on the east coast I'm sure it would be another story.

 

[HydroGuy]

Just wondering on the whole Disneyworld vs. Disneyland topic if you thought Disneyland required less planning than world and in that way appeals more to some travelers.

DLR does require much less planning than WDW. But I do not think that is what makes DLR appealing. I think DLR is appealing because of its charm, weather, rides and shows.

 

[tpettie]

DLR does require much less planning than WDW. But I do not think that is what makes DLR appealing. I think DLR is appealing because of its charm, weather, rides and shows.

But doesn't DW have the just abou the same rides, shows, and charm I don't know enought about the weather ??

 

[sasywtch]

We spent 10 days a WDW and didn't see everything. We didn't do sit downs so at least I didn't have to stress about when to call for reservations. I did feel stressed to do everything but that was because I knew we weren't going back so it may be different if I went there often.
DL is less stressful as you can find lodging cheaply that isn't far away and you don't have to wait for monorails, ferrys, buses. We had the best of both worlds in WDW. We stayed at SOG, very close and had our own buses.
I'm not a patient person so waiting for the right bus to show up, stressful for me.

 

[egritz]

But doesn't DW have the just abou the same rides, shows, and charm I don't know enought about the weather ??

NOT AT ALL!! Sorry for the caps -- WDW has so many more shows that planning is important if you want to see all the shows. Plus there are 2 more parks plus the 2 water parks, plus Disney Quest in DTD, there are so many interesting resorts that you can go look at.

IMO you don't actually "need" to plan much for either park - depending on what you're wanting to accomplish on your vacation.

WDW can be overwhelming. We took our first trip there (Just DH & I) last May, and I had a BLAST planning out our daily itinerary using Tour Guide Mike -- that just made the planning process so much more fun & made the anticipation of the trip killer (for me!)

We got to see just about everything -- including the low rated attractions (figured it was our one & only trip). We missed Disney Quest, but got to se the Cirque du Soleil show. And we didn't visit either of the water parks. We Went in May and it was horribly hot & humid & rained (torrential downpours) every day -- there was flooding in much of Florida when we were there.

So for me, $$ aside, I hated the weather....that said I would eventually like to re-visit WDW, but hope to do so in the off-season (Jan-March) when it is cooler. DL is Cheaper (for most) because you can do a lot more in a a lot less time, so you theoretically are paying less also because you have fewer nights in the hotel, and fewer days to pay for food.

But DL is more attractive to me b/c of the cost & the weather, not because of the planning involved -- I would much rather be able to be able to plan out DL trips like I did WDW! Plus I can easily get to DL in the off-season fairly easily which means a quicker (thus cheaper) trip.

 

[disneychrista]

MONEY is a big part of the draw for me. I loved our trip to WDW. But I can go to Disneyland for 3 days for what it costs in air faire to go to WDW. Not to mention if I was to go to WDW my trip would be 3 -4 times as long and of course cost just that much more.

 

[HydroGuy]

But doesn't DW have the just abou the same rides, shows, and charm I don't know enought about the weather ??

Good question and it gives me a chance to elaborate as I was trying to be brief in my first post.

Charm

Lots of people give DLR the edge over WDW in the area of charm because Walt Disney oversaw the construction of DL and its operation for the first 11 years and his fingerprints all over DL. DL's smaller size is often called more "intimate". DL's Fantasyland in particular is often described as more charming than MK's.

Does MK have charm? Of course.


Rides

I was really talking more of ride concentration and park proximity (i.e., easier park hopping) as opposed to shear number and/or quality of rides. WDW's four parks have just 10% more rides than DLR's two parks. That offers advantages for DLR visitors they may find preferable. For example, after our first WDW trip in 2006 I did a ride count based on my trip reports. In 10 days at WDW we rode the same number of rides as during a 4 day trip to DLR in 2005 - it was about 70. The reason was that DLR's rides are closer together, the parks are easier to access (hotels 5 minutes from park gates), the park hours are longer, and park hopping is easier.


Shows

IMO the top three shows at DLR are better than the top shows at WDW. The Remember Dreams Come True (RDCT) fireworks/laser/special effects show is the best Disney show of its kind. Fantasmic at DL is better than at DHS even with the lack of stadium seating. And the Aladdin stage show is better than any of the WDW stage shows. With World of Color coming to DCA it might make a fourth top show at DLR.

In summary, I am in no way saying DLR is better than WDW. I am saying there are things that give DLR appeal over WDW to some people in some areas. All of the above appeal to me personally.

Does WDW have its own appeal? Of course! I could go on and on about WDW's appeal. I think WDW has way better and broader musical appeal (I am hooked on Off-Kilter and Mulch, Sweat and Shears). WDW has much better and broader dining options (we dig Beaches & Cream, Whispering Canyon and Sci-Fi Dine-In, among other things). WDW has much broader entertainment (water parks, DQ, etc.). WDW has better hotels. I could go on.

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm in the midst (or the middle....have been working on this trip for 6 months, and we have 6 months go to!) of planning a WDW trip. There's a lot to think about!

But that doesn't make it less attractive than DLR.

The decision of which park to go to is based on many factors...I can't imagine many people using "it's too much to plan for" as a reason to not go to WDW...or "I don't have to plan" as being a reason to go to DLR.

They are just different places!


We're doing a HUGE trip to Orlando this first time. I don't expect to even come close to seeing everything.

After all, I spent 18 days in the parks at DLR over a one year period of time, and that's along with many other visits since '05, and I *still* haven't seen everything I want to see, let alone *everything*.

 

[HydroGuy]

MONEY is a big part of the draw for me. I loved our trip to WDW. But I can go to Disneyland for 3 days for what it costs in air faire to go to WDW. Not to mention if I was to go to WDW my trip would be 3 -4 times as long and of course cost just that much more.

I get what you are saying and it is of course relative to you living in California, but I believe per day WDW costs less. WDW 10 day tickets are comparable in price to DLR 5 day tickets. And the Disney hotels cost less there. Airfare of course depends on where you live.

 

[pixarmom]

The degree of planning necessary for each depends! We are WDW vets (and just for this year, WDW AP holders) and I can plan a WDW vacation in a snap!

Although I've been to DL several times, it was between the ages of 2 - 9 years old. So as an adult planning for a family, I'm basically unfamiliar with DL. Now I'm planning just 3 days at DL for my family in August before our Newport Beach vacation. For me, that requires much more planning than WDW because I don't remember much about DL. And I know we can't do everything in 3 days, so it will be important to prioritize.

While I love to plan, I'm a little concerned about the unfamiliar - especially when the unfamiliar is expensive!!

 

[tpettie]

Thanks for the insight.

See here is what It is my mom has only been to DL. Loves it.

I have only been to DW and Loved it.

Now she can't understand how I want to go back for the third time in three years. So I'm trying to work out what might be different between the two.

I'm trying to see how for her DL is a once in a while trip and for me I can't go enough to DW there is soooo much I haven't done...

 

[nana50]

Some people are just not Disney fanatics. It has nothing to do with WDW being better than DL it is your mom is not a fanatic like us. I've been to DL 4 times this year and have 2 more visits planned. I have been taking each grandchild one at a time. We do what they want to do. I also went with 14 of my closest relatives. LOL in March. I have one more grandchild to take, then it is MY birthday. My girls are taking me and I get to do whatever I want to do. Nope, never get tired of it. The fact that it is less than 2 hours away helps.

 

[carolinamama]

East Coaster here.

I'm in planing withdraw here trying to map out our DLR trip. I'm so used to the WDW game! But that doesn't make DLR more/less attractive.

For us, this is a HUGE trip. We're not just doing DLR, but LA, Legoland and San Diego, and we're trying to cram it all in. DLR is the highlight. Even though we only are planning 3 full days in the parks, we are staying 5 nights at GCH. Rack rate vs rack rate, the GHC standard room is waaaay cheaper than what we paid last summer for a Bay Lake view room at the Contemporary, and really really waaaaay cheaper than our 2008 Polynesian stay. Yay for that, but I'm missing the dining plan and the game involved with that. At the same time, I'm excited to see what is different and what is the same about DLR. Airfare to LA is running us $1800 for four, while we can get to Orlando for +/-$500 (or drive for 11 hours). Give here, take there.

For me, it's not about which is better; I think that's an exercise in futility because it really depends on sooooo many variables.

So, I don't think it's about planning when it comes to DLR/WDW appeal, at least for us crazy Disney people!

@tepttie - Summer weather in FL is hot and humid. I'm used to humid summers, but it's tropical humid, not just southern humid. Plus big thunderstorms most afternoons. Late summer brings hurricanes.

 

[disneychrista]

I get what you are saying and it is of course relative to you living in California, but I believe per day WDW costs less. WDW 10 day tickets are comparable in price to DLR 5 day tickets. And the Disney hotels cost less there. Airfare of course depends on where you live.

If you take out the cost of GETTING to the destination then yes this is true. But transportation is a major cost.