DWD veteran but DL newbie

[Pacesetters]

My DH and I have been to WDW lots of times but never DL. Should I consider DL? Or should I return to WDW. I live in PA so DWD is closer and we are so familiar with it. Would we enjoy DL? What airport is close?

 

[HydroGuy]

My DH and I have been to WDW lots of times but never DL. Should I consider DL? Or should I return to WDW.

Yes, you should at least consider DLR.

I live in PA so DWD is closer and we are so familiar with it. Would we enjoy DL?

Depends totally on your attitude. DLR is different from WDW - but still has tons of Disney magic. Different does not mean worse. It means better in some ways. In other ways, WDW is better.

If you go in hoping to get WDW West you will be disappointed. Just go to WDW in that case.

If you go in excited to see something different, and you make yourself open to the differences, then you will most likely enjoy it. Heck, some WDW vets even come to prefer DLR. Probably more are like me and just enjoy both for what they offer.

What airport is close?

See "Airport Proximity to DLR and Ground Transportation Information" by 3TinksAndAnEeyore www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2318297

And while you are at it, check out all the excellent links in the sticky threads at the top which will also include this one: "A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

 

[chickapin parterre]

you use the word "familiar "..what does that mean to you?

 

[Pacesetters]

I mean we have been there several times. I wouldn't say I am an expert but I know quite a bit about the parks, getting around, etc.

 

[Winnowill]

Always consider Disneyland! If you are a Disney fan, just being in only park that Walt walked around in is special. Plus, the park itself is just lovely, special, and fun. I'd always considered WDW the best until I really started to learn about DL and embrace its immense charm. Now it's my happy place.

 

[Gillbob316]

I'm kinda in the same boat, except I'm already going, haha. Been to WDW 100 times, never been to DLR. Decided this year is the year, and my trip is in less than 2 weeks.

I'm a fan of both Disney and Universal, and will be doing all 3 parks while I'm on the west coast. 1 day at Universal, 4(ish) at Disney.

I'm always saying "I wish they'd put in a new park" or "I wish they'd put in a new ride" while I'm in Florida, so I more or less said to myself, "Well... there are new parks out there (to me) they're just beyond Orlando... so... hey, let's see what they have to offer."

But yes, I'm hoping for that Disney Magic. Hoping to ride many "new" rides. Often hear the DLR versions of many of my favorite classic rides are superior versions, so hoping to experience those too. Mainly just hoping to get the same joy I get out of an average Florida trip, but with some new life injected into it, haha.

There's a small part of me... that worries it won't live up to my hopes. But I think that's mostly just coming from a place of unfamiliarity/the unknown.

Like, for instance, I've been to a few random Six Flags parks across the country, and I don't think I've met one yet that I felt lived up to my local one (Six Flags Great America in Gurnee IL, for the record). Some had cool unique rides not present in mine. Some had some neat features mine doesn't. Most had a Batman Rollercoaster, though not all the same coaster, haha. Some felt positively barren by comparison, only 2 or 3 major coasters, wheras mine has like a dozen. Pros and Cons considered though, I wouldn't swap any of them for MY Six Flags, and I'm sure a great deal of that just comes from nostalgia/familiarity. I'm hoping I don't have that same reaction to DLR. I'd love to enjoy it as much, if not more than WDW. (I'm skeptical I could enjoy it more, but entirely open to enjoying it as much, haha)

I also went to Cedar Point after years of hearing how great it was, and yeah, it had some world class coasters, but I was honestly let down by it in all other respects. Didn't have the level of themeing or charm of a Disney/Universal park. Didn't have the same presence. Didn't have any magic, to use a popular phrase. Cool coasters yes, but *shrug*. Surly employees. Little themeing. Honestly the same reason I'm not too into Busch/Seaworld either. So I've never returned yet. Been back to WDW and Universal Orlando loads of times. Occasionally talk myself into going back to Seaworld/Busch, but with nowhere near as much frequency.

SO yeah... all that said... I'm glad I'm going to DLR. I'm hoping to love it. Keeping an open mind that it will be different, but also excited that it will be different. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have concerns that I won't enjoy it as much as WDW, but I'll never know until I see it, so I'm dying to see it, haha! Here's hoping I'm just a worrywart, my concerns are entirely unfounded, and I have an awesome time!

 

[KatieCharlotte]

I've been to WDW about ten times and am trying DL for the first time this summer. It's a combination of a few things -- Still Disney yet fresh, like someone else said. My WDW favorites (Splash, Soarin, Small World) plus new rides and new versions of rides. Many Fantasyland dark rides (which I love no matter how cheesy), Indiana Jones, and Carsland. Plus a couple old rides that I remember very fondly, like Snow White. Seeing Walt's original park. I didn't realize how sentimental I was about Walt Disney himself until I watched old film footage and got teary eyed. My mom also went to DL as a young girl, which makes the history extra special.

Also, it's huge for my family that we can walk back to an affordable hotel for midday breaks, and there is no driving or endless Disney bus ride required. For various reasons, this year we need a very manageable vacation that also takes us far from ordinary life, and this fits the bill. Taking my little surfer girl to Huntington Beach is an added bonus.

There are several airports to choose from. We are flying into LAX just because we can get an affordable direct flight across the country. No Magical Express to the hotel like at WDW, but lots of transportation options from all the area airports to your Anaheim hotel.

 

[HydroGuy]

When it comes to keeping an open mind, I like to talk about two park differences that drive this point home.

First (always first, it seems) is the DL castle. Sleeping Beauty's castle at DL. It is about 1/3 the height of the MK castle and that seems to be a big and immediate downer for WDW vets. But why? Because WDW vets think there should be a big castle a the end of the Main Street. Why do they think that? Because that is what MK has.

I remember going to DL in 1966 when I was 3 years old. And what I remember from every single DL trip I made as a child was driving up to DL and looking for...what? The castle? Heck no! We looked for the Matterhorn! The first Disney mountain anywhere anytime! My family and many others like us made it a sort of contest to see who could see the Matterhorn first as we approached the park. None of us ever gave a moment's thought to the castle. The Matterhorn is a real mountain in the Alps of course, and at DL it is supposed to be taller than the castle. Who ever heard of a castle taller than a mountain?

It is equally valid for a DLR vet to go to WDW and enter MK and be immediately disappointed with the lack of a mountain next to the castle and, in the process, fail to appreciate the grandeur of Cinderella's castle there.

Second, you will find out that DL has rides in the "wrong place". To a WDW vet, Splash Mtn is about in the right place at DL. But BTMRR and HM are both kind of swapped and in the wrong place. But wait! Splash Mtn, BTMRR and HM were all build first at DL. Then later at MK. Well then, it stands to reason that MK is the park with the rides in the "wrong" place.

When you can step back and laugh about it, realize that many things you are accustomed to at WDW may be copies of DL. So do not judge DL as feeling "off". You need an open mind, yes. But moreover, you need to embrace the differences. When you do that, you will be in a better mindset to really see the magic at DLR. If you are constantly having to fight a feeling of "DLR is off somehow" you are more likely to miss something about DLR that really outshines WDW. And, yes, there are a number of areas where DLR just hands down is better than WDW. And vice versa!