Just got back from DL 5 Day review, from a WDW vet

[BraMax]

Glad to hear that you enjoyed your trip to Disneyland.

Sorry about the Indy problems. My youngest has be counting down the days until we go because he is finally tall enough for Indy. Also according to the DL website the hight requirement for Indy is 46 inches which is what my son has been aiming for for the past 2 years and his brother was that tall and able to go on. Hopefully we won't have any issues when we go the end of June as he is 46.5 inches measured here at home. He wants it to be his first ride when we get there.

 

[teampierce]

this is my first review of dl from a wdw vet as i'm new to the boards.. i've heard many a time how far superior wdw is to dl and so i'm very impressed to see the differences from your perspective.

if your only complaints were the food at blue bayou and the cm's then it looks like our little park stacks up pretty well!

 

[disneymurtagh]

I was at Disneyland on Saturday the 9th and Sunday the 10th and there were fireworks both nights.

yeah they do the fireworks Friday, Saturday and Sunday, weather permitting. WDW does them every night in multiple parks so the crowds are nothing close to what DL was like. I spent 4 days walking onto whatever ride I wanted with next to no wait at all, then the fireworks crowd came out of the wood works!! The show was spectacular, I'm not complaining I just wish they ran it 7 nights a week not 3.

As far as BB goes, it was terrible considering what we payed. I usually do not expect gourmet food at a theme park, but the food at CS places was head and shoulders better than BB. I can also state from experience that Le Cellier, Hollywood and Vine, Tuskar House and many other theme park restaurants in WDW are MUCH MUCH MUCH better than BB was. Not to mention that I had to argue with the waiter who sat us that I had reservations. I can't believe I almost forgot this...I walked up at 2pm for a 230pm reservation. I gave the man my first name and he asks me for my last name. I gave it to him but told him the girl who made the resy for me never asked me for my first name. He tells me "impossible, you must not remember we don't make reservations without a last name." He types away for 5 minutes then tells me I have no reservations. I again tell him the resy is under my first name. He is adamant that it is not and tells me he is booked. I told him the day and time I made the resy and he actually asked me "are you sure it was this restaurant?" Finally another waiter comes over and helps him. What do you know, he types in "Jason" and BAM magically a resy for 5 appears!!
I don't know how the dessert it there, my wife refused to try it. She was so let down from the "homemade" crab cakes and moldy fruit that she wanted to leave. But we got cookies from the bakery that almost made me cry they were so good.

Anyway after looking at my pics from the vacation I forgot to complement Small World and Pirates. They were both much better than WDW. I also was excited to ride Mr Toad's, it was my favorite ride when I was my kids age.

Also is it me or is Space Mountain darker, faster and longer than WDW or what?? WOW I was actually scared

And finally a big thumbs up to Cali. Loved the state, San Diego was great, Chino Hills was also awesome.

 

[OrthoDad]

I am so sorry about your bad experience with the CM. We have been long time WDW vets, but moved to AZ 3 years ago, so since then, we've been DL regulars.

I think the CM's are hit and miss at both parks; we had a very, very similar incident at WDW two years ago at Pirates, regarding parking our son's wheelchair, believe it or not, with the CM chasing us, yelling at us.

We've found that many CM's at DL are "short timers"...who are locals who just view it as a job. However, we've also found that many are great CM's, who have been at DL for a long time...those are the CM's who really go out of your way to make your trip magical. It's been our experience that there are more of those "magical CM's" at DL than WDW. But, again, I understand your frustration.

We always thought we would like WDW better, but the points you mentioned about DL, especially for us with our son in a wheelchair, have all made us fall in love with DL as our new favorite!

W

 

[raftislander]

I was raised in California and went to DL many times growing up. So I always thought that my preference for this park over WDW was probably due to familiarity and bias. So it is interesting to me to read reports such as yours where you would think the bias would run the other way. I am charmed by DL in a way that I do not experience in WDW. WDW is definitely bigger and it certainly offers a resort experience that can't be found in SoCal. But having just got back from a trip to WDW, I have concluded that no matter how big it is, in can never usurp DL in my opinion. Plus, the walkability of DL/DCA/DTD makes planning for a trip so much easier. I am so sorry about your bad experiences with the CMs. It appeared to me that many of the CMs in WDW were older and had retired or relocated to the area b/c of their love for the parks and a desire to live near them. Due to the cost of living in the SoCal area, no one who can relocate there after retirement will need to work. I guess my point is that many more CMs in WDW seem invested in making guests' visits magical as opposed to earning a paycheck.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

To the OP: It isn't just you in regards to Space Mountain. Disneyland got a brand new Space Mountain in 2005 that is wilder than WDW's. I do not believe that MK's current refurb will do what Disneyland's did because it will be down for half the time that Disneyland's was.

I'll say again what I've said before. WDW is not better than Disneyland, nor is Disneyland better than WDW. The two resorts offer different experiences. On a park to park comparison, I believe Disneyland to be far superior to the MK. However, the whole immersion factor of WDW and the other parks make WDW a wonderful experience so that I can't really pick a favorite between the two. I can honestly say there are things I think both complexes could learn from the other.

However, I do get very defensive about Disneyland around those who act like WDW is something that had never been done before or that Disneyland is less special because it's only park. Every Disney park in the world owes it's existence to Disneyland and it bothers me when people fail to give credit to the original. And I think that the posters on this thread have been respectful towards both.

 

[Corpsebride]

Okay. So, I have read so many posts of BB being a BIG disappointment , so I have contacted Disneyland through the website and left them a description of my bad time at BB and a description of OP bad time at BB and will continue to leave descriptions of anyone's bad time at BB until something changes. I just remember when it used to be AMAZING. I want to be able to go to that restaurant again and know that I will be treated nicely, and given an amazing meal and not regret spending one penny there. because it used to be worth every penny.

 

[disneymurtagh]

Okay. So, I have read so many posts of BB being a BIG disappointment , so I have contacted Disneyland through the website and left them a description of my bad time at BB and a description of OP bad time at BB and will continue to leave descriptions of anyone's bad time at BB until something changes. I just remember when it used to be AMAZING. I want to be able to go to that restaurant again and know that I will be treated nicely, and given an amazing meal and not regret spending one penny there. because it used to be worth every penny.

I tried to say something to our waiter, but he just smiled put the check on the table and walked away.

 

[Corpsebride]

I tried to say something to our waiter, but he just smiled put the check on the table and walked away.

That is such a drag!!! Nope on this one, you have to go strait to Disneyland.com and comment.
They appreciate it. And things will change if enough people complain.
kwim?

 

[estherhead]

Thanks for the review! We'll be WDW vets at DL in 2010. I REALLY just want to go back to WDW but dh says he is not setting one foot on WDW property until I have let him visit DL. He likes new adventures.

Anyhow, it was nice to hear the differences. I've heard such bad things about the food that we'll probably just eat in our room for breakfast, eat CS for lunch, and eat off property for dinner.

As for CM's, we've visited southern CA before & it is a VERY different attitude for us. Not that the screaming Indiana Jones guy is typical, I'm just saying that I'm already prepping for that east coast/west coast difference. It's a Steve Martin/Woody Allen kinda difference, ya know? And not that I don't love them both, but I'm already prepping for having to adjust.

Right now we're planning on doing DL at the end of our trip so hopefully we'll love the southern cali CM's when we're there. Maybe we'll even get them.

I do have a question. You said you didn't have to wait in lines, how easy was it to come up with a plan, or did you have one? I have WDW down to a fine science as far as avoiding all lines and I'm worried about not having a strategy. My family has come to expect magically walking on to all rides with little to no wait. Is this possible with a good plan even during a potentially busy time?

 

[disney4metoo]

So glad you enjoy our State - yes, please come back and spend some $$$ here!

I agree!

 

[nzdisneymom]

OP - thanks for your review and your cautionary tale about hand-stamps. We're going next month and plan to park-hop for five days (so we don't feel like we have to commando) -- we will def. ensure that we each get hand-stamped upon exit. We're season-passholders for WDW and haven't had to get a handstamp in years... probably not since our last trip to DL in 1999