Intro and question.

[Pastalady]

Hi all! Glad I found this board! I am a very frugal person by nature and love saving money so we can enjoy our Disney obsession at least once a year. So my question.

I have priced out DW compared to DL. We have been to Disneyland now 3 times. We are from Canada. When the free dining offer is out, it seems like the two are comparable. But any friends who have gone to both, even for the same time period, have spent almost double at DW. Are my friends in the minority? Airfare is pretty comparable, the only difference I can see is DW seems to be a longer vacation. Ie, you need more time there to see everything.

Would you say food and souviners are about the same? Thanks!

 

[msmama]

My Disneyland vacation was 4 days and I spent about the same amount as I would a week at Disney World. So for me, Disneyland was more expensive.

I do usually stay at WDW longer. I bought more stuff at DL because it was a special trip (as opposed to our regular WDW trips). But yes, I'd say food and other stuff are about the same.

That said, there are A LOT of other things to consider (are you staying same resort category, renting cars, etc)?

 

[scrapquitler]

I've never been to Disney World, so maybe I'm not a good person to have a perspective on this, but based on everything that I've ever seen in videos and such, comparing DW to DL is kind of an apples to oranges comparison. I definitely get the impression that you don't have the DW "Bubble" at DL, and with two parks rather than 4, just a handful of hotels vs what, 20? its just a totally different thing, like comparing an Alaskan Cruise to a Caribbean Cruise. Same but very different. (That said, maybe I'm totally wrong???)

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

I've been to both BUT I live near DL so my perspective might be biased. DL only has one form of Disney hotels and that is Deluxe (if you're comparing DL to WDW). At WDW you have the ability to book MUCH cheaper Disney hotels. If you don't care where you stay (as in offsite) than I would think they'd be comparable in price.

I think one advantage you'd have at DL in price is local restaurants nearby without having to call for a cab. WDW, if you're only using Disney transportation, you won't have this ability- everything is so far. However, that is an advantage, Disney transportation. You most certainly have to pay for transportation(to and from the airport at least) if you're going to DL whereas you don't at WDW and depending on your party can be very costly.

I think that the price of tickets is pretty comparable. I can't see anyone going to DL (or DLR I should say to include DCA) for more than 4 days. But I know at WDW you can easily do 5-7 days at the parks. So that ups the price a little bit but the more days you go the cheaper per day.

If you haven't been to WDW yet, you must. I am a DL vet being born and raised in So Cal but WDW is just such a different experience. You are immersed in an actual world of Disney. DL is not like that. I love it, but I just don't feel like I'm on vacation when I'm there. I know I'm a local resident but even if I had got a hotel room on property it's just such a different feel. They both have wonderful characteristics that I love.

So, depending on your hotel tastes, they are fairly comparable in price. If you aren't a fan of Deluxe hotels you can save yourself a pretty penny by going to WDW and taking advantage of their Value hotels.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

We live 6 hours North of DL. But whether we lived 6 hours away or just 20 minutes, we consider DL just a short getaway trip usually lasting no more than 3 days. DL is much smaller/condensed. It's just the MK, a five minute walk across from it is California Adventure and Downtown Disney in between. There are only 3 on site hotels (Grand Californian, DL Hotel, and Pier Hotel). WDW is more of a vacation/experience for us. We go for at least 10 days. WDW is just more....bigger and better. Cost of food and souviners are the same but we spend more money at WDW just because there is just so much more to do.