I go to WDW and DL each year, but WDW more often because I live on the east coast. I enjoy both experiences. But they are very different. At WDW, perhaps you would have been happier staying at one of the deluxes, so you could walk to one of the parks. (with available discounts, they should not cost more than one of the DL onsite hotels). But of course, at DL, you walk to both parks, not one of the 2 parks with hotels in walking distance, the other 2 parks don't even have hotels in easy walking distance (I am leaving out the path to the Studios,from the BW area). I love walking to the 2 DL parks, no busses. At WDW, I drive to the parks, because I dislike the busses and I also can't get my son's heavy WC on and off the bus myself. (we do park in the handicapped section, so that does make that easy, and at WDW parking is free at the resort and the parks for hotel guests, unlike DL).
Part of the WDW experience, is enjoying your resort. Because the hotels themselves are interesting. I have stayed at many of them at WDW, and even the Value resorts are interesting to see, especially after dark. Art of Animation is one that I enjoy, walking around in the evening. You see many families having fun, sitting outside, even playing cards and board games by the pool. Maybe watching movies in the evening outside each night, etc.
The other thing about WDW is that the WEATHER is something that is a key factor in planning most of the year. I was at WDW Oct 20-27 this year. From 1-5 pm, it was pretty uncomfortable. Going to the parks from opening to closing should be avoided, very hot and very crowded, ironically. We did park opening until about 2 pm. Sometimes we returned at night, sometimes we rested, took a swim, and relaxed at the resort.
And at the parks, it is less about how many major E ticket rides there are, and more about balancing rides with shows, interesting restaurants, and other experiences. My family was a ride family when the kids were on our trips. But now I take time to see the movie previews, shows, and we ride things that we used to skip. We take side trips to visit other onsite resort hotels, and eat meals there as well. (Like Whispering Canyon at WL, Beaches & Cream at Beach club). We walk the Boardwalk area at night. At WDW, it is more than just the parks.
That said, I adore DL. We return there in February. We went to DL last year Dec 31-Jan 5, so we caught the DL holiday offerings. I love the seasonal overlays there, Small World Holiday alone is worth the trip. Carsland is amazing and I love just hanging out at the Cozy Cone with a snack in the evening. I appreciate the more laid back guests at DL resort vs. the frantic pace of WDW. Of course, many rides are better at DL, but others are better at WDW. I am glad not all the rides are "better" at one, because it makes it easier for me to justify going to both coasts each year, haha.
And once we also did not get to MK until day 3 or 4, and it was a mistake. It was like, I was anxious until I saw that castle! So I try to get there on the day after we arrive, at park opening.
so we like to spend far more time in the MK. But we're more attraction focused, and that's just not what Epcot is about. When are you going? I do know Soarin is going to be down for a while early next year. But you might not care since DL has the superior version right now, and it doesn't have the long waits.
