Ride Count Comparison Between DLR and WDW

[RadioFanatic]

Thank you!

 

[HydroGuy]

If you were a WDW oldie and really only spending one day at each DL park and its your first time, which DL attractions we you say were "must do's"?

That would be us.

In DL; Indiana Jones, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Small World (yes, Small World, its a bit different), ride the Mark Twain, Great Moments with Mr Lincoln.
In DCA: Radiator Springs Racers, walk through all of CarsLand - then do it again at night, Grizzly River Rapids, ToT (a bit different from DHS), Aladdin Stage show,

All subjective so here goes...

I would not include HM at DL - it is too close to MK's and probably not quite as good - especially with regard to the queue. Unless... you were going September-January and could catch the Nightmare Before Christmas Overlay.

Same thing for Small World except at holidays.

So my list would be at DL:

Indiana Jones
POTC
Abe Lincoln
Mark Twain (maybe)
Space Mtn
Alice in Wonderland
StorybookLand Canal Boats
Casey Jr. RR
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
Matterhorn
Nemo Subs (not that great but decent enough and totally unique)
Buzz LY (better guns)
Castle walk through

At DCA:

RSR
GRR
ToT (maybe)
Aladdin (DO NOT MISS IT!)
California Screamin
Monsters Inc
Soarin Over CA (better experience than at Epcot, and now has new projectors)
Maters Junkyard Jamboree

 

[maltdizzy]

All subjective so here goes...

I would not include HM at DL - it is too close to MK's and probably not quite as good - especially with regard to the queue. Unless... you were going September-January and could catch the Nightmare Before Christmas Overlay.

Same thing for Small World except at holidays.

I disagree with both.

• Haunted Mansion now offers Hatbox Ghost...enough to make up for other differences. I dunno? But hs been a big part of Disney lore for 40+ years
  
• Small World is significantly different and much better at DL. At MK, it's an unbearable bore and just looks horrible; at DL the presentation is better, even before you figure in the added Disney characters, a Disney fan might love it jsut for the characters.
  
• I do agree both are "must do's" in the Holiday overlays.

It's hard to recommend what to squeeze in in one day per park though. I would say all the dark rides at Fantasyland deserve consideration, they extended them during the overall decades go so things like Peter Pan is slightly longer than it's WDW counter-part.

Otherwise, solid lists have been presented.

 

[GatorChris]

Do live shows and live entertainment count? If that's the case, then Epcot has a lot more attractions than those listed. And honestly, it's those live attractions that make it a great place. Or....at least it used to make it a great place before they dumped Off Kilter and World Showcase Players. Stupid TDO.

 

[figment_jii]

If you were a WDW oldie and really only spending one day at each DL park and its your first time, which DL attractions we you say were "must do's"?

DL: Indy Jones, PotC, Splash (if it's warm out), BTMRR, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (you can email your ride photo to yourself for free!), Space Mtn, Matterhorn, Nemo (only if the line is short, otherwise I'd skip it), IaSW, Roger Rabbit Car-toon Spin (if you like spinning rides), most things in FL (Alice, Casey Jr, Storybook Canal, Mr. Toad, Snow White, Pinocchio, Peter Pan), and the Castle Walkthrough (if you can do stairs easily). If you have extra time, I'd add in Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, and monorail.

DCA: I feel like there are fewer "must dos" at DCA because many of the rides are similiar to something in WDW (i.e., same basic ride, but different theme/decor). My list of "must dos" would be Carsland (RSR and Mater's), Screamin', Monsters Inc (if you're a Monsters Inc. fan) and TSMM (although this is the same as at DHS). If you have extra time, I'd add in GRR (similar to Kali River Rapids), TSMM, ToT (again, very similar to DHS version, but with some twists), and Goofy's Sky School (think Barnstormer, but with a flight school theme).

In terms of the shows, I would look into seeing Mickey and Magical Map (I thought it was 'meh', but the rest of my group really liked it), Aladdin (but only if you have a fair amount of time because it's long - 45 minutes or so). In terms of the evening entertainment, I really liked Disneyland Forever (fireworks) and F! (better at DL than DHS to me). WoC is very popular, but you have to be able to see the water surface to see the full show (I don't think it's worth seeing if you can't see the whole show) - I usually go check out Mad T Party instead of WoC. Mad T Party is a lot of fun and it can take as much or as little time as you want.

Same thing for Small World except at holidays.

I generally agree that if you're a fan of MK's HM, then DL's HM is probably similar enough that you can skip it or put it on the second level of priority. I like both versions, but when I ride the DL version, I do miss the Library and the Ghostly Staircase sections. DL's version does have the Hatbox Ghost, so it's worth a look to see that, but overall, I'd still put it on the second level of priority (although, the line is usually short enough that it wouldn't be problematic to ride it while over in the area).

In terms of IaSW, I do think that one is worth a ride at DL. While they do have similar elements, they are actually markedly different attractions on the inside (I'm always surprised of this when I ride the MK version). Personally, I think DL's version is better and worth a ride. If nothing else, the exterior of the attraction at DL is much better than the interior "exterior" of the attraction at MK.

 

[gmi3804]

Is there a reason you include Captain Eo but not the films in China, France, and Canada at Epcot?

 

[RadioFanatic]

Thank you all for such detailed replies-it's exactly what I needed!!!

 

[HydroGuy]

Is there a reason you include Captain Eo but not the films in China, France, and Canada at Epcot?

Not a very good reason I admit, but my list used to include Honey I Shrunk the Audience which was interactive. So I switched HISTA to Eo a few years ago and kept it on my list. I cannot remember if Eo uses the interactive features of the theater. If not then it should drop from my DL and Epcot lists. However, in recent months DL and Epcot have been using the Eo theaters for movie previews - I think the TomorrowLand movie for awhile? In that case they should both just be dropped. Not sure what the future is for either theater.

Again, it is a judgement call whether a movie is a ride or just a show.

 

[mummabear]

4 more that could possibly added to this list are Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain and Tower of Terror

Point out how they're not identical. I can't think of any difference

At WDW TOT moves forward to go onto the different track before starting the lift drop sequence.
At WDW HM has the whole staircase "ghost" footprints room.

Go to you tube and watch the ride videos back to back-its easy to see the differences.

 

[Aladora]

At WDW TOT moves forward to go onto the different track before starting the lift drop sequence.

Also, at WDW ToT has a random drop sequence and I can confirm that the one at DL does not.

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

Thank you for updating the list!

 

[OKW Lover]

Appreciate the update!