Posted wait times wildly off...WAY LONGER!

[DLgal]

I'm curious. I've heard many say this. Why is Disneyland more a local park and Disneyworld is more a tourist destination? I mean people come from all over the world to go to Disneyworld. This doesn't happen at Disneyland?

Mostly because the local area is very densely populated, much moreso than Orlando. Disneyland has been a locals park since it opened. Back then, many peoples didn't fly at all, and even fewer flew all the way to California regularly. WDW was created as a vacation destination, in a place that was already popular for vacation goers. WDW serves the European and South American market more because of its geographic location. Also, the majority of Americans live east of the Mississippi, making a trip to Florida shorter and more do able by driving.

Disneyland gets tourists, especially from Asia and Australia. There is a constant stream of our of state visitors, but it is much smaller than WDW. I don't have numbers, but my guess would be less than 20% of the guests at DL are from out of state on any given day.

It is just SO easy to go to Disneyland for the day. Several million people live within an hour drive, and the process to get there is less of a hassle than at WDW.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Also, the majority of Americans live east of the Mississippi, making a trip to Florida shorter and more do able by driving.

I'd also add related to marketing. If you're outside of that area (CA, NW area, perhaps even NV, etc) you're going to get commercials and marketing for WDW vast majority of the time.

I've yet to see a DL commercial on the TV...I take that back I have but it was the CA tourist commercial not a Disney commercial.

In terms of your above comment population wise yes I would agree but people who live in the middle of the country, where I live, have easy access to both. It's a 2hr 45min nonstop flight to MCO or a 3 hr 30-40min nonstop flight to LAX. In terms of travel 45mins to an hour longer isn't usually a deal breaker. From my airport SWA serves LAX and MCO both non-stop. You're still going to find many more people going to WDW even with access via a plane being mostly equal.

the process to get there is less of a hassle than at WDW.

I'm pretty sure I'll take a flight and a drive from the airport in Orlando anyday over the traffic situations in LA

 

[DLgal]

I'm pretty sure I'll take a flight and a drive from the airport in Orlando anyday over the traffic situations in LA

Orange County isn't L.A. The traffic isn't that bad here. I can be at Disneyland in 15 minutes.

Next time, fly into SNA. Game changer.

 

[YawningDodo]

I actually think it's the opposite. A lot of the problems at WDW -- to the extent there are many -- are from older and retired workers who had to take a job to make ends meet. For younger kids, the job's a fun prologue to their future. But if you're older, laid off, retirement not making it as far as you need it to and you HAVE to take this kind of gig where you wear a nametag and a uniform (at a stage in your life when you thought you were far past it or when you've done so much more), it's not fun and it's easier to become resentful and not bring the excitement or energy most expect from the parks. Most unpleasant or incompetent CMs I've run into have been the older ones, not the college kids.

I'm sympathetic to their situations, and I'm glad WDW has jobs for people who need them. But the influx of older CMs has done more to change the energy of the park than the college kids.

As a former CP my impression is that it's a bit of a mixed bag in both demographics. They do have many older CM's who have been there for years because they love it and who are dedicated to doing their jobs with excellence and a smile...but when I worked there I also met some older CMs who did the absolute bare minimum and would make errors, cut corners, etc. Similarly, many of the CP's were really excited to be there, and being on a short contract means you don't burn out...but then I also met CP's who'd gone into it somehow thinking it was going to be one big vacation and got grumpy and upset when they realized it was real work. CM's are all just regular people; everyone has things they love and things they hate about their jobs.

CP's being there on short contracts doesn't mean they're under-trained compared to other CMs. They may have less experience, particularly if you encounter them at the start of a semester, but something to keep in mind is that CPs tend to be trained for one or two specific areas and a relatively small set of job duties. In the College Program I had a grand total of two locations where I was trained and authorized to work each semester I worked there, and my impression is that I only got a second location because I worked backstage--the CP's I knew who worked in attractions and other front-end positions were all trained in only one location (though a single location might involve training on multiple attractions near each other, or might be limited to only one attraction--it varies). So while the CP's you encounter on the front lines may not have a ton of experience, they tend to perform the same set of job duties day in and day out, so things become rote very quickly.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

Orange County isn't L.A. The traffic isn't that bad here. I can be at Disneyland in 15 minutes.

Next time, fly into SNA. Game changer.

When we go to Disneyland we fly in to SNA and it’s awesome. We then take the Disneyland resort express shuttle to Grand Californian. Last time we landed late afternoon and we got to GC in less than 30 minutes. Very easy.

 

[cakebaker]

In terms of your above comment population wise yes I would agree but people who live in the middle of the country, where I live, have easy access to both. It's a 2hr 45min nonstop flight to MCO or a 3 hr 30-40min nonstop flight to LAX. In terms of travel 45mins to an hour longer isn't usually a deal breaker. From my airport SWA serves LAX and MCO both non-stop. You're still going to find many more people going to WDW even with access via a plane being mostly equal.

We're almost exactly between the two parks. However, the drive to WDW is much nicer while the flying to California is much easier- if you can stand LAX. Flight options to SNA are not so great here. So it's not ease of access for us although I agree, I never see a commercial for DLR.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Orange County isn't L.A. The traffic isn't that bad here. I can be at Disneyland in 15 minutes.

You misunderstood my comment.

Several million people live within an hour drive, and the process to get there is less of a hassle than at WDW.

I'm assuming you meant LA as in the metro area. I wasn't talking about the city or the county but the entire metro as a whole and I assumed you were too given your comment quoted above. Anaheim is part of the LA metro. You may live within 15mins of DLR but my husband temporarily living in Long Beach does not. He does though on a good day live under an hour away (more like 30-40mins) from DLR.

Next time, fly into SNA. Game changer.

For my airport market SNA:

1) Is often much more expensive than LAX
2) There is no non-stop option
3) Only non-stop option is LAX out of all the airports in the area

If you were only going to go to DLR you'd probably stay in a hotel closer to DLR but the airport situation may mean driving in traffic depending on one's airport market. Not everyone has the same options as everyone else.

 

[ScubaCat]

For my airport market SNA:

1) Is often much more expensive than LAX
2) There is no non-stop option
3) Only non-stop option is LAX out of all the airports in the area

If you were only going to go to DLR you'd probably stay in a hotel closer to DLR but the airport situation may mean driving in traffic depending on one's airport market. Not everyone has the same options as everyone else.

Same for us. We fly into LAX and visit family in LA but stay at Anaheim hotels. They're less expensive generally and driving home is MUCH worse after a day in a disney park!

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

I was in Magic Kingdom last week when space mountain AND 7DMT went down at the same time. It was a nightmare. Everyone flocked to Splash Mountain (which we had fastpasses for) and the fastpass line was about 45 minutes long. The Ariel ride also went down a few days before. It was the ONE ride my 5 yo was looking forward to.

Why would the FP line be longer when other rides went down?

 

[Brett Wyman]

Orange County isn't L.A. The traffic isn't that bad here. I can be at Disneyland in 15 minutes.

Next time, fly into SNA. Game changer.

If by game changer you mean making my direct flight a connection : )

 

[Randomsoulshine]

Why would the FP line be longer when other rides went down?

Usually when a ride goes down the people get a Fp they can use elsewhere so they flock to whatever big rides are operating at the time. This creating long FP lines in the other rides or once the broken ride starts back up there are a lot of people rushing to it with their FP’s.

 

[DLgal]

If by game changer you mean making my direct flight a connection : )

Eh, connections are not that bad. I only fly out of SNA because I HATE LAX. I always have connections. I still spend less time traveling with the connections since I don't have to leave home 4 hours before my flight time in order to deal with traffic. Rather leave an hour before my flight and know when I get back, I only have to drive 10 minutes home. Plus, SNA is perhaps the most efficient airport I've ever been to. You get to your gate in under 10 minutes after walking in the front door, every time.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Usually when a ride goes down the people get a Fp they can use elsewhere so they flock to whatever big rides are operating at the time. This creating long FP lines in the other rides or once the broken ride starts back up there are a lot of people rushing to it with their FP’s.

Sure, back in the day, but with today's FP's that you have to book in advance folks can't just randomly select a FP because some other ride is down. Maybe you mean that a ride goes down so people who had a FP for that ride get one for something else?

 

[dk413]

Why would the FP line be longer when other rides went down?

Don’t know. That’s what the CM said when someone asked her why the fast pass line was so long. I assumed, since it was around 12:30 and there weren’t many FP options left, maybe the CMs at space mountain and 7DMT somehow got them FPs for the bigger ticket items??

 

[Searc]

Sure, back in the day, but with today's FP's that you have to book in advance folks can't just randomly select a FP because some other ride is down. Maybe you mean that a ride goes down so people who had a FP for that ride get one for something else?

When a ride goes down, fastpasses for that ride are converted to anytime fastpasses for a list of alternatives. You can choose to wait and use the fastpass for the original ride anytime after it comes back up or use it on a different ride at anytime.

 

[Randomsoulshine]

Sure, back in the day, but with today's FP's that you have to book in advance folks can't just randomly select a FP because some other ride is down. Maybe you mean that a ride goes down so people who had a FP for that ride get one for something else?

Yes I meant they are compensated with a use anywhere kind of FP for their trouble.

 

[SL6827]

Last week when we went we had one ride after another stop or break down for just a few minutes and then we were on our way again. Not a big deal to us, but the thing that stood out was in was almost every single ride in the parks that we were on. A few here and there didn't break down, but ya, most of them did. But like I said, didn't take but a few minutes and we were on our way.

 

[Doug M]

Orange County isn't L.A. The traffic isn't that bad here. I can be at Disneyland in 15 minutes.

Next time, fly into SNA. Game changer.

True, but flights are much more expensive into SNA than MCO, at least from where I live. Then you have 4 parks vs 2, and outside sights to see that don't involve the madness of the 5, 405, 10, etc.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Last week when we went we had one ride after another stop or break down for just a few minutes and then we were on our way again. Not a big deal to us, but the thing that stood out was in was almost every single ride in the parks that we were on. A few here and there didn't break down, but ya, most of them did. But like I said, didn't take but a few minutes and we were on our way.

That could most likely have been the ride stopping to help a guest transfer on/off of the ride.

 

[SL6827]

That could most likely have been the ride stopping to help a guest transfer on/off of the ride.

Maybe so. That might have very well been the reason.