It's funny. I've been to both WDW and DL a few times, and I've found that the "magic" happens much, much more at WDW.
One of the main reasons for this, I've noticed, is that the cast members at WDW are just MUCH, MUCH nicer/happier to be there. It seemed at DL that most of the people employed there were local teenagers. Everyone had a name tag that showed they were from southern CA, and they just didn't seem interested.
At WDW, it seems like a much more diverse group of people, all extremely happy to make someone's day magical.
In summation, DL was nice, WDW is heaven.
I've seen this opinion before on the DIS, as well as the opposite, that WDW doesn't have the magic that DLR does, because its "Walt's Park" and was designed by him from the ground up ... I'm going with an open mind, and pretty sure I'm going to love both (though DLR will be my home park for location reasons, as well as I have a feeling the intimate size of it will keep it the favorite for my family, you can't beat being able to walk into the park, ride Grizzly River Rapids, then going back up to your villa and throwing your clothes in your dryer in under half an hour before breakfast).
We've been fortunate enough to have a lot of magical moments created for us by some spectacular CMs, though they have mostly been when we've stayed at the on-site resorts, Grand Californian and the
Disneyland Hotel ... the magical moments we've had inside the parks were of largely of our own creation. Though the consensus on the DIS seems to be that neither park can compare to the service you get on
DCL, which I believe. Within an hour of boarding the ship for the first time I had inquired with a random CM about whether there were Mickey bars at the buffet restaurant I was eating in, and the CM said they didn't serve any in that restaurant, but offered to run down from deck 9 to the restaurants in deck 2 (that were not open for lunch) to get me one .... when I tried to demure he insisted and returned with several Mickey bars about 10 minutes later. And that was the kind of service we got from almost every CM both cruises. Bend-over-backwards-kill-you-with-kindness-and-happy-to-do-so service that truly leaves you spoiled.
I'm looking forward to experiencing for the first time the largeness of the "Disney bubble" of Disney World, and the beauty of all the resorts and the dining experiences. I only have some vague memories of staying at the Contemporary when I was 11, and there were only 2 parks at the time ...
Haha, yea, first time for me. I'm somewhat worried that I've over-planned this trip to be so amazing, that future trips just won't compare, lol.
And I'm sure that as much as I've read on here, it doesn't to justice to the true magic that is WDW.
Our Disney trips over the years have gone from not at all planned, just winging it, to super-over-planned (which rides we're going to do in what order), to now a mixture of sort-of-planned and sort-of winging it. Each trip has been amazing in its own right, even the one where half my party had to leave 3 days into the trip because they had a pet emergency because we won the Wicked lottery and got front row seats to see Idina Menzel ... wish I'd known about trip reports for that one, there were a lot of highs and lows to it. I'm sure all your trips will be amazing and memorable in their own ways.
I'm sure this may not be a popular opinion, but I'm not sure how excited I am about the new FLE. I was looking through the new plans, and I'm not sure how much time we'll spend there. Sure, we'll hit up Ariel's Grotto and walk through the rest of FLE, but not too many of the attractions really caught my interest.
I'm kind of the same. DS6 saw the Enchanted Tales with Belle video on one of the sites, so we have to do that now.
But I don't really want to go on Little Mermaid since we have it over in DCA, and its fun but there's so many rides we want to do that are different or don't exist in our park, so other than Belle we'll probably just mosey on through and admire the scenery.
I'm convinced that some people are just not happy people and there isn't a whole lot i can do about their attitude!
I just like to keep my distance from people like that IRL.....they just make me sad for them. We have Six Flags about 45 minutes from here....and it's served its purpose when the kids were little.....it doesn't compare to Cedar Point when it comes to amusement park rides and it comes no were near the magical experience that disney provides!
I don't even think of Six Flags as being in the same league as Disney. When I was single in California I used to get the season passes for Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo since I lived within about a 20 minute drive, and never went on the rides, often just go hang out and pet the dolphins, and take a book and sit next to the tiger enclave and watch them frolic for awhile. Never interacted with the employees much. I really enjoyed Cedar Point when I went to college in Michigan.
I'm super excited about Belle. Not for the character but for the effects. It's supposed to be pretty cool.
I read a post today about Jack Sparrow too that said that attraction has comparable effects.
Effects? I saw the video of the previews ... maybe I missed the effects?
I'm stressed we won't get our king size bed request. I know in the grand scheme it's a small thing to stress over, but I really don't want to try to sleep in a queen.
That would stress me out not knowing what kind of room/beds I was getting. One of the nice thing about DVC is that you get exactly what you reserve, no upgrades, but nothing less than a king and jacuzzi tub in the 1 and 2 bedrooms. Which DH loves since we sleep in a queen at home and he likes to complain I should have bought the king since DS6 still sneaks into our bed around 5:30 every morning ...
Hopefully you guys will get your king!
Love that my ticker is almost at the end after having it up for 18+ months!
another sweet gesture!
Who is this rebel???? 
I think they have the right balance, especially when its completed and the Mine Train is finished. I don't think its a "WOW" experience, I think its an "Ooooooh" experience. I am looking forward to the visual aspect of it, the architecture looks amazing and it will certainly make Fantasyland not feel so closed in!
It's been a tough year for us as newbies in the SEC...I know basketball season will be better - it HAS TO BE!!
MIZ-ZOU!
