More WDW fans on this subforum?

[BamaBoy]

For us, we live in the deep South and have obviously done WDW. We like to vacation somewhere different each year. I detest visiting the same place twice! Life is too short! We have never been to SoCal and with a DD7 we couldn't pass up DL while there. We also plan to visit the beaches, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, etc., visit the Reagan Library, drive the Pacific Coast Highway, and whatever else we see that is unique to the area. This will be our first and likely only visit to SoCal, so we are trying to see as much as possible. I am sure it will be a totally different culture, almost like going to a different country.

I would encourage all DLRs to visit WDW at least once if possible. The size, array of parks, attractions, accomodations, restaurants, etc. add up to create a place like no other on the planet.

We are excited about coming to Cal and DL (probably more excitement about this trip than any we have ever taken!). DD has never flown and has only been to WDW once when she was 4, so this is a once in a lifetime trip for us. 16 days away from takeoff in ATL!

 

[snowy76]

I think all the reasons mentioned above are quite true. We took a lengthy WDW trip last year and I don't really want to spend that kind of time and money until the new FL is complete. But then you add CL at DCA to the mix - I am more excited about CL than I was about WWoHP at Universal (and I am a huge Potter fan).

I think Disney timed this perfectly. They're going to get twice the profit from many WDW regulars who would've delayed a return to WDW *and gone somewhere non-Disney* and are exchanging it for a DLR trip.

 

[karrit2000]

Is it just me, or does it seem that there are more posts/questions from people who clearly have been to WDW and their questions are rooted in checking about the differences? Like how park hoppers work, refillable mugs, transportation, dining reservations...

So what's wrong with WDW vets coming here to ask questions about DL? I consider myself a veteran of both parks even though I spend more time at WDW. I tend to frequent the multiple WDW boards more than the one DL one but I see nothing wrong with people coming here to ask their questions. If it's because people don't read through the sticky threads first when many answers can be found there it sometimes takes forever to weed through some of those threads in hopes of finding the answers to ones questions. Believe me if you spend much time on the WDW boards it's amazing how many times in one day someone will start a new thread on the same subject there are already 5 or more active threads about.

 

[Lucille1963]

So what's wrong with WDW vets coming here to ask questions about DL? I consider myself a veteran of both parks even though I spend more time at WDW. I tend to frequent the multiple WDW boards more than the one DL one but I see nothing wrong with people coming here to ask their questions. If it's because people don't read through the sticky threads first when many answers can be found there it sometimes takes forever to weed through some of those threads in hopes of finding the answers to ones questions. Believe me if you spend much time on the WDW boards it's amazing how many times in one day someone will start a new thread on the same subject there are already 5 or more active threads about.

I didn't think they ever said there was anything wrong with it. It was just different. I'm a pretty casual lurker/poster and I've noticed it too.

I hope the WDW regulars who have never experienced DL will love it as much as I do! I grew up with WDW, but DL won my heart.

 

[TheZue]

I didn't think there was anything wrong with it either. I just thought it was different that we often have 3 or 4 questions from WDW vets on the front page right now, and none of them are saying how inferior/small Disneyland is . It wasn't that common the last few trips I've planned and just found it an interesting change. I assumed it was because of Carsland, but adding Aulani and Fantasyland construction into the scenerio it really makes sense.

 

[karrit2000]

I didn't think they ever said there was anything wrong with it. It was just different. I'm a pretty casual lurker/poster and I've noticed it too.

I hope the WDW regulars who have never experienced DL will love it as much as I do! I grew up with WDW, but DL won my heart.

Maybe I took the first post the wrong way but considering the amount of troll posts on the WDW boards it seemed to me like they had a problem with all the WDW regulars asking questions here on the DL board. Sorry if I offended anyone.

I love DL too. I look forward to my visits there because I love being able to ride all the wonderful rides that aren't at WDW and I believe that most of the classics are better than those at WDW. Plus it's the only place I can get my Mr.Toad fix.

 

[luvflorida]

I hope the WDW regulars who have never experienced DL will love it as much as I do! I grew up with WDW, but DL won my heart.

We are WDW regulars. We lived on the East Coast for over fifty years and took many trips to Florida. Four years ago we relocated to Arizona and took our first trip to Disneyland. We LOVED it! We have gone several times since that first trip, the most recent being last week. And I'm ready to go back!

We are having a great time exploring the West. It's so nice being a 7 or 8 hour drive away from San Diego, Los Angeles, Anaheim and Las Vegas, among other places.

My husband and I just got back from Disneyland with our older daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren. Our three and a half year old grandson had the time of his life in Cars Land! Well, we all did!

One of the things I like about Disneyland is staying on Harbor Blvd. and walking to and from the Parks. There is just something about that area that reminds me of being a youngster in the 60s and my parents taking my siblings and me on road trips. For me, there is a feeling of nostalgia there. Which is strange because, like I said, I had never been on the West Coast until I was 53 years old!

Being able to experience Disneyland through the eyes of our young grandkids is priceless!

ETA: Just wanted to add that this forum has helped me tremendously when planning our DL trips!

 

[KSDisneyDad]

Count me in as another WDW vet researching a trip to DLR!

As DVC members, we generally do a Disney cruise one year followed by a trip to WDW the next. After cruising on the Fantasy earlier this month and a short post-cruise visit to WDW, we decided to change our plans. We loved the Fantasy so much that we rebooked it again for next summer!

But we found WDW a bit too crowded and hot for our enjoyment. With all that is new at DLR since our short pre-cruise visit in 2008, we want to visit it again to experience all that's changed. Plus, we absolutely loved PoTC and Indiana Jones.

Although I've just been lurking, I have found so many helpful threads and people on this board. Thank you!

 

[quantumottle]

...With the Cars Land addition, Disney started advertising DL in demographics further east than ever before...

I can confirm this, although I'm not really in the east.

In the Dallas area of Texas, we typically only see TV ads for WDW, but not this year. Since about March we've been seeing about 80-90% DLR ads on TV.

Very unusual, but also very helpful in my regular activity for the last 5 years:
Trying to convince everyone I know to skip WDW and head to DLR.

Of the WDW regulars I've talked into trying DL, I have had 100% success convincing them it's the superior park. The biggest complaint is the small castle (and no EPCOT), get past that and they prefer DL hands down.

 

[Cielei]

I grew up on WDW, but we have done both multiple times since we had our boys. I think both have their own special magic. I love the intimacy of DL, and I love the totally immersion that WDW provides (we stay on property in WDW but at the Hilton in DL).

I think the opening of Cars land and DCA has a lot of people who have been to DLR researching a bit more to see what has changed and how to handle those changes best. Hydroguy is completely right about how informative and great these forums are, and I owe him a huge thanks for all of the wonderful information his threads have given me!

We leave in 12 days, and everyone is very excited. I talked my parents and brother into joining our family and it will be their first DL experience. I can't wait to see how they like it. I hope they love it as much as we do, but really, what's not to love!!

 

[disneegrl4eva]

OK all you east coasters!!! go back to your side of the country and leave MY park alone...you are making it EXTREMELY CROWDED....jk jk...heck Im glad people are coming over here and being able to see how amazing DL is...all I ever have heard about is how wdw vets would probably not like DL because its so small and blah blah blah...dont get me wrong..I love wdw...its an amazing everyoneshoulddoitatleastonce kind of thing...but DL has my...its the first park i ever went to and my daughter grew up going every single year when she was a kid...now going as adults, its a total different experience and we have a blast when we go

 

[PoohsFan1]

OK all you east coasters!!! go back to your side of the country and leave MY park alone...you are making it EXTREMELY CROWDED....jk jk...heck Im glad people are coming over here and being able to see how amazing DL is...all I ever have heard about is how wdw vets would probably not like DL because its so small and blah blah blah...dont get me wrong..I love wdw...its an amazing everyoneshoulddoitatleastonce kind of thing...but DL has my...its the first park i ever went to and my daughter grew up going every single year when she was a kid...now going as adults, its a total different experience and we have a blast when we go

Well, this WDW vet cannot wait to go to DLR. Our family has never been before, heck we have never been to the West coast before. Just last night, we had a family meeting on what we should do for our next summers vacation. It came down to going to DLR or doing a Disney Cruise, we have never done a Disney Cruise before either, all we knew was that we wanted to venture away from WDW since we go once a year, if not twice a year. To put it in perspective, my kids are 11 and soon to be 9 and this coming trip will be their 9th trip.

So after looking at all there is to do in DLR, we decided that was going to be the best place for us. I know people on this thread said more WDW vets are coming over to the West coast due to Carsland and because they are waiting for the New Fantasyland expansion to be done, which is all very true because I am super excited to see the new Carsland, but for us we want to go because we want to have a change of scenery and still have it be a Disney vacation.

I have personally always wanted to go to DLR because I wanted to walk where Walt walked, and see the attractions that Walt and all the great Imagineers had a hand in making. I love Disney history, and to me Disneyland screams it .

So to all of you Disneyland vets out there, my name is PoohsFan1 and you will probably be seeing me over on this thread a lot since I am a total Newbie when it comes to Disneyland . And after reading all of these posts, the first thing I am going to do, is go over to the Newbie sticky because it seems like most of my questions will be answered there.

 

[Magalex]

Well, this WDW vet cannot wait to go to DLR. Our family has never been before, heck we have never been to the West coast before. Just last night, we had a family meeting on what we should do for our next summers vacation. It came down to going to DLR or doing a Disney Cruise, we have never done a Disney Cruise before either, all we knew was that we wanted to venture away from WDW since we go once a year, if not twice a year. To put it in perspective, my kids are 11 and soon to be 9 and this coming trip will be their 9th trip.

So after looking at all there is to do in DLR, we decided that was going to be the best place for us. I know people on this thread said more WDW vets are coming over to the West coast due to Carsland and because they are waiting for the New Fantasyland expansion to be done, which is all very true because I am super excited to see the new Carsland, but for us we want to go because we want to have a change of scenery and still have it be a Disney vacation.

I have personally always wanted to go to DLR because I wanted to walk where Walt walked, and see the attractions that Walt and all the great Imagineers had a hand in making. I love Disney history, and to me Disneyland screams it .

So to all of you Disneyland vets out there, my name is PoohsFan1 and you will probably be seeing me over on this thread a lot since I am a total Newbie when it comes to Disneyland . And after reading all of these posts, the first thing I am going to do, is go over to the Newbie sticky because it seems like most of my questions will be answered there.

A support group needs to be started for WDW vets visiting DL for first time! I'm in

 

[korg]

Im a WDW Vet and major fan, it's where my Disney heart is. That said i have been to DL once just before DCA opened and thought it was very magical. I think every WDW fan should visit WALT'S park at least once in their life. I'm back on the DL side of the site because my wife and I are going to DL at the end of September. (only 3 months away) Honestly i wanted to go back to WDW (Home is where the heart is and it's my home park) but she had never been to DL and had never been to California so we made a compromise. I get at least two days at DL & DCA and she gets to pick what we do the other 5 days. For me, the trip is all about those two Disney days!

 

[disneychrista]

For me, the trip is all about those two Disney days!

Even for a non-disney fan, no trip to California would be complete with out a visit to Disneyland.

 

[KCmike]

I was one of them back before our trip in 2007. Now Disneyland is my home park.

 

[KCmike]

Well, this WDW vet cannot wait to go to DLR. Our family has never been before, heck we have never been to the West coast before. Just last night, we had a family meeting on what we should do for our next summers vacation. It came down to going to DLR or doing a Disney Cruise, we have never done a Disney Cruise before either, all we knew was that we wanted to venture away from WDW since we go once a year, if not twice a year. To put it in perspective, my kids are 11 and soon to be 9 and this coming trip will be their 9th trip.

So after looking at all there is to do in DLR, we decided that was going to be the best place for us. I know people on this thread said more WDW vets are coming over to the West coast due to Carsland and because they are waiting for the New Fantasyland expansion to be done, which is all very true because I am super excited to see the new Carsland, but for us we want to go because we want to have a change of scenery and still have it be a Disney vacation.

I have personally always wanted to go to DLR because I wanted to walk where Walt walked, and see the attractions that Walt and all the great Imagineers had a hand in making. I love Disney history, and to me Disneyland screams it .

So to all of you Disneyland vets out there, my name is PoohsFan1 and you will probably be seeing me over on this thread a lot since I am a total Newbie when it comes to Disneyland . And after reading all of these posts, the first thing I am going to do, is go over to the Newbie sticky because it seems like most of my questions will be answered there.

I was in the same boat as you back in 2007. I was seriously tired of going to WDW and wanted to broaden my horizon but still get my disney fix. I love Walt and how he had his ideas and so forth. Disneyland has so much nostalgia it really is unbelievable. You have to make your way over to the Disneyland hotel as well to see all the old photographs.

You need to make sure and do other things in California as well. There is so much to see and do! San Diego, Yosemite National Park, Monterey, etc. We ended up spending the next several vacations out there. While we did go back (at the request of my wife) to WDW we all thought the parks were too big and too empty compared to DL counterparts. Magic Kingdom felt big and heartless. It was sad. We loved going back to the resorts though. We ended up staying on the monorail at the GF last time and had a blast. Other than that we missed CALIFORNIA and DISNEYLAND. Funny how we thought WDW was the end all be all to vacations and now my family has completely switched.

Good luck with your planning. These side of the boards are very friendly!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

More posts than usual on this forum, or most than on other Disney forums? If the latter, that would be because this forum is:

• part of the DIS - the best WDW forum on the web
• by default (IMO) the best forum for WDW vets interested in DLR
• the best for non-locals - outside SoCal
• the most friendly DLR forum on the web

We have a wonderful group here that likes to help others have the best vacation they can at DLR.

to the WDW vets who are visiting. I hope you stay.

 

[PoohsFan1]

I was in the same boat as you back in 2007. I was seriously tired of going to WDW and wanted to broaden my horizon but still get my disney fix. I love Walt and how he had his ideas and so forth. Disneyland has so much nostalgia it really is unbelievable. You have to make your way over to the Disneyland hotel as well to see all the old photographs.

You need to make sure and do other things in California as well. There is so much to see and do! San Diego, Yosemite National Park, Monterey, etc. We ended up spending the next several vacations out there. While we did go back (at the request of my wife) to WDW we all thought the parks were too big and too empty compared to DL counterparts. Magic Kingdom felt big and heartless. It was sad. We loved going back to the resorts though. We ended up staying on the monorail at the GF last time and had a blast. Other than that we missed CALIFORNIA and DISNEYLAND. Funny how we thought WDW was the end all be all to vacations and now my family has completely switched.

Good luck with your planning. These side of the boards are very friendly!

You know what is funny, I have a feeling in the back of my head that we may be like you after our trip next year . My DD9 asked me "what happens after we go to Disneyland and we all love it there, will we go back?" All I could do was . I understand what you mean (even before we head to DLR) about how you felt about WDW after your first DLR visit, we may very well feel the same way (about the size difference between the two resorts that is).

I do want to go to other SoCal areas while we are there. Our plan, for right now, is to stay in a DLR resort, probably GCV since we are DVC members or DLH, for the full stay but have a rental car so we can venture out and see the sights. We are thinking of staying 7 or 8 nights but only doing Disney parks for 4 days (2 days Disneyland park and 2 days at DCA). I want to go to San Diego and to see the city there and go also go to a beach...I want to go and see the Hotel del Coronado too (I have to see where the Imagineers got GF's inspiration from ), take a tour in Hollywood, maybe just stroll along Rodeo Drive (just to say I was there), go see the "Real" Chinese Theater, etc. My mom was telling me (she was the only person in my family that has ever been to the West coast) that we need to just take a nice drive up the coast and enjoy the ocean . Also, this may be a crazy question, but is there any working studios around there that you can tour, I would love to do that too. Man, after thinking of all of the "other" things to do, I just may have to rethink how many days we will have to spend in SoCal .

 

[KCmike]

You know what is funny, I have a feeling in the back of my head that we may be like you after our trip next year . My DD9 asked me "what happens after we go to Disneyland and we all love it there, will we go back?" All I could do was . I understand what you mean (even before we head to DLR) about how you felt about WDW after your first DLR visit, we may very well feel the same way (about the size difference between the two resorts that is).

I do want to go to other SoCal areas while we are there. Our plan, for right now, is to stay in a DLR resort, probably GCV since we are DVC members or DLH, for the full stay but have a rental car so we can venture out and see the sights. We are thinking of staying 7 or 8 nights but only doing Disney parks for 4 days (2 days Disneyland park and 2 days at DCA). I want to go to San Diego and to see the city there and go also go to a beach...I want to go and see the Hotel del Coronado too (I have to see where the Imagineers got GF's inspiration from ), take a tour in Hollywood, maybe just stroll along Rodeo Drive (just to say I was there), go see the "Real" Chinese Theater, etc. My mom was telling me (she was the only person in my family that has ever been to the West coast) that we need to just take a nice drive up the coast and enjoy the ocean . Also, this may be a crazy question, but is there any working studios around there that you can tour, I would love to do that too. Man, after thinking of all of the "other" things to do, I just may have to rethink how many days we will have to spend in SoCal .

Hollywood and LA proper is dirty but once you get out to the beaches and the suburbs its nice. San Diego, the drive up the PCH (Hwy 1) from LA to San Fran is amazing. It's very long but the views are to die for. I would definitely consider coupling your visit if you can stay longer with San Diego as a beginner's guide to SoCal. If you guys enjoy it they go back and do Disneyland and drive up the coast and enjoy Monterey, San Francisco, and Yosemite National Park. We did that the second time around and had so much fun. YNP was amazing but you have to go when the waterfalls are full on. I think Warner Bros. still has a working studio lot with a tour and one other. I would plan on half day for Hollywood/Rodeo Drive. Becareful when you choose to go or you could get stuck in LA traffic trying to get back to Anaheim.