Not to start WW3

Two totally different experiences in my opinion.

Like comparing DQ and Baskin robins. they are both icecream, and both great, but some people like hard and some like soft.
 
How about we try to compare two things that are comparable first?

DisneyLand is a single park; Walt Disney World is a collection of 4 parks and I forget how many resorts, plus two water parks and DownTown Disney.

Perhaps we should be comparing DisneyLand to the Magic Kingdom?
 
How about we try to compare two things that are comparable first?

DisneyLand is a single park; Walt Disney World is a collection of 4 parks and I forget how many resorts, plus two water parks and DownTown Disney.

Perhaps we should be comparing DisneyLand to the Magic Kingdom?

Exactly what I was going to say. Aside from some minor differences, MK is a copy of DL. To me, the biggest difference wasn't the attractions so much as it was the size-takes less time to traverse DL than MK.
 

How about we try to compare two things that are comparable first?

DisneyLand is a single park; Walt Disney World is a collection of 4 parks and I forget how many resorts, plus two water parks and DownTown Disney.

Perhaps we should be comparing DisneyLand to the Magic Kingdom?

This is why I am asking...
 
How about we try to compare two things that are comparable first?

DisneyLand is a single park; Walt Disney World is a collection of 4 parks and I forget how many resorts, plus two water parks and DownTown Disney.

Perhaps we should be comparing DisneyLand to the Magic Kingdom?

I agree. Once you discount the differences in the rides, the biggest difference in the 2 parks is size; it takes less time to traverse DL than it does MK
 
We had the opportunity to visit WDW and DLR within a seven month window this past year.

My 2 DS like many of the rides better at DLR such as Space Mountain, Indiana Jones (compares to Dinosaur), and the Matterhorn. My DS 15 loves the monorail and was shocked by the size of the DLR monorail. Had to remind him it's more of attraction than an actual mode of transportation.

That being said, as many point out, DLR is more of a destination, while WDW is an experience. Sooo much more to see and do, and an opportunity to spend more time and $$$!! :rotfl2:
 
We use to go to each DL and WDW every year. Because our situation has changed we just stick to WDW each year because it is closer to were we live. Both are great! During one of our visits to WDW we made acomment to a CM about DL and he responded that DL would fit in 1 of the MK"s parking lot @ WDW. That put it into size prospective. My 4 kids prefer DL to WDW. There are several cool things about DL. It definitely has a much more local feel. The parks can be packed, yet the lines for the rides are short. I think the locals use it like we use our local playgrounds. Even though the rides are the same at WDW and DL, they are totally different on the inside. The rides in DL are way better! The pirates have 2 drops, the HM cool, Small World great, Peter Pan, on and on. They also have some different rides, Alice in Wonderland, the little train that could, Indiana (way cooler than dinosaur), matahorn, Mr Toad's, etc. It is super fun to visit and would highly recommend it! One is not better than the other. They are just very different experiences. Both are great fun!
 
In June 2008, my wife and I had the chance to spend a week at DLR and 10 days at WDW back to back. I asked a management CM st DL about the simularties between the two resorts and his comment was the only commonality was the name Disney, otherwise they are completly different. Yes they they have rides with the same names, but totally different in presentation. Like the Tiki Room at DL was orginally designed to be a restraunt with the bird show as the entertainment. The Tiki Room at WDW was designed as just a show. The The Tiki Room at DL is so much better than WDW's. PoTC at DL is far superior then at WDW, but HM is better at WDW (I'm sure there will be those that disagree, but that's my opinion). Another difference is in the dining experiences. DL has only a few table service experiences like Blue Bayou, while WDW has many scatered throughout all of the parks and resorts.

You have to remember that WDW was Walt's way of correcting all of the design flaws he made in the design of DL. They're both grreat parks in their own right, but oh so different tied togethr by the same name, Disney.
 
Here is my opinion on this. If you take MK and move it next to DHS, add DTD and a few Disney hotels - Disneyland. Sure, some of the rides are different, different shows, etc. Overall, Disneyland is very compact and everything is right there for you. WDW is very big.....lots of resorts, lots of other things to do....and I think a much different experience. Not better, not worse - just different. If I had to pick the best thing about each park, I'd say DL is very convenient - we stayed at the grand californian and being able to walk right into DCA, or across the plaza to DL, or out the other entrance was DTD....all very convenient. As for WDW, much better service and just more of a disney feel to it.
 
We use to go to each DL and WDW every year. Because our situation has changed we just stick to WDW each year because it is closer to were we live. Both are great! During one of our visits to WDW we made acomment to a CM about DL and he responded that DL would fit in 1 of the MK"s parking lot @ WDW. That put it into size prospective. My 4 kids prefer DL to WDW. There are several cool things about DL. It definitely has a much more local feel. The parks can be packed, yet the lines for the rides are short. I think the locals use it like we use our local playgrounds. Even though the rides are the same at WDW and DL, they are totally different on the inside. The rides in DL are way better! The pirates have 2 drops, the HM cool, Small World great, Peter Pan, on and on. They also have some different rides, Alice in Wonderland, the little train that could, Indiana (way cooler than dinosaur), matahorn, Mr Toad's, etc. It is super fun to visit and would highly recommend it! One is not better than the other. They are just very different experiences. Both are great fun!

Thank you for the kind of answer I was looking for, Not their two totally different places... No kidding thats why I asked. :mad:

Again Thank you for taking the time and answering the question.
 
I feel like I'm being asked which kid I like best - they're both wonderful, just for different reasons. :)

However if you were to give me an all-expenses-paid, one week vacation at a Disney resort of my choice - it would be Disneyland. No questions. Disneyland and MK are only comparable in the roughest sense of the word. Despite having similar layouts and many similar rides the feel of the two parks are so very different. And as for the two PoTC - we will not speak of that abomination that is the MK's version. Anyone who's been on both knows exactly what I mean! It's really like comparing the original Imagination with what we've got now - same name, but NOT the same ride.

However we have some foodie friends who want to do Disney with us and, with them, I'd probably pick WDW. It's not that DL's food is bad, it's just that WDW's food is so very good. And the variety! So there's that. And for anyone who really wants to escape into a whole separate world it's hard to beat WDW. DL does it for me but that's because I'm from the East Coast so the whole SoCal atmosphere and all is sort of it's own buffer against the "real" world for me. I realize I'm not normal in that. :)

As far as co-guests go, it's hard to beat the people in DL. I'm guessing it's because DL is a local park while WDW is a Destination, but the guests in WDW seem so uptight and self-centered and ready to beat down anyone who detracts from a moment of their vacation while the DL crowd seems so much more relaxed. I felt like I was part of a community while visiting DL which is something I've only gotten in small bits at WDW. Maybe it's just me. But that was my experience.

But back to WDW's pros, I do love their deluxe resorts and could spend a week at AKL without ever going to a park. The Grand Californian, while GORGEOUS, just isn't the same. No giraffes. :) And California Adventure still has a ways to grow before it's really a great park. At least it's showing signs of what it can be, which is seriously encouraging. I would miss Epcot and AK if I didn't go back to WDW for a while.

So, yeah, while I'm in the DL camp, I would say it's a lot of what you like and what you want in a vacation. For me, DL totally fits the bill with it's laid back attitude, it's ties with history (I could spend a whole afternoon in their little museum in front of the Lincoln show), it's REAL PotC ride, and so on. However if I were more a resort person, more a food person, then WDW couldn't be beat. Speaking of food, I'm hungry. Dinner time!
 
We love DL more than WDW for several reasons. When we lived in SoCal we would go to DL about 10 times a year and WDW about every other year. Our biggest reasons for liking DL have to do with the surrounding area. You can stay at an area hotel, walk into the park, walk out of the park for lunch, walk between CA to DL, and it all seems alot more managable than WDW. I agree that it has a much more local feel. The crowds never seemed as bad to me, and the weather is almost always better in CA than in FL. You aren't as immersed in Disney in DL as WDW and that bothers some folks (including Walt), but we like all the conviences of being able to pop in/out of the parks. Since they did the rehab of Anaheim around the park, it has been a great destination.
 
Love both places, but DL has better rides, better weather and better annual passholder discounts. WDW has Epcot and Figment.
 












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