Torn Between Land And World For October Visit

[KCmike]

My wife and I are every year frequenters to DisneyWorld. We have our vacation set for late October and are wishy washy about going to California.

Right now we are set for seven days, eight nights in Ananheim. Four days in the land, one day for Seaworld, one day for LA, and one day to drive as far north up the coast.

BUT....

DisneyWorld keeps tugging at our hearts. The Boo to You Parade I hear is awesome. Plus you get all the extras.

So my question is....will California be half as good as Disneyworld?

A friend of my daughter's just went and she said that Indy was overrated, matterhorn was way to jerky and old, and that splash was shorter and not half as good as the other. She did like the Disneyland Hotel, Pirates, and how close everything was.

Help me decide. I really want to try new locations, but I'm afraid it will end up being like a Branson vacation.

Help!!!!!

 

[Master Mason]

If you have never been to DL then you should come, so you can say you at least have seen it once.

Take a look at this thread http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1569452&page=2 Scroll down and you will see a set of observations by a guy I know that is a frequent WDW visitor (dvc member) who was just at DL.

And remember DL is the only park where walt actually played, worth a trip just for that.

 

[drag n' fly]

My wife and I are every year frequenters to DisneyWorld. We have our vacation set for late October and are wishy washy about going to California.

Right now we are set for seven days, eight nights in Ananheim. Four days in the land, one day for Seaworld, one day for LA, and one day to drive as far north up the coast.

BUT....

DisneyWorld keeps tugging at our hearts. The Boo to You Parade I hear is awesome. Plus you get all the extras.

So my question is....will California be half as good as Disneyworld?

A friend of my daughter's just went and she said that Indy was overrated, matterhorn was way to jerky and old, and that splash was shorter and not half as good as the other. She did like the Disneyland Hotel, Pirates, and how close everything was.

Help me decide. I really want to try new locations, but I'm afraid it will end up being like a Branson vacation.

Help!!!!!

We love both DL and WDW. We like WDW for the resort feel. We love DL for the park experience. Both parks offer different experiences and they cannot be compared. I encourage you to try DL. It is the old school Disney. This is where it all began and you certainly can feel Walt's touch all over the park. Not to mention very compact and no bussing from park to park. DCA is very laid back with a California vibe. You can easily extend this vacation like you are exploring the coast. California is a beautiful state and must be seen to be appreciated. The same rules apply to DL as WDW for planning etc however(be there at rope drop etc) and the weekends tend to be busy as the locals use the park. This is the time you can explore the coast and do some shopping! Come explore all that Disney has to offer!

 

[Hound 109]

Southern California isn't very much like Branson.

I recommend you read all of HydroGuy threads (at the top of the first page) in his sticky. I also recommend you read the sticky which describe the differences between WDW & DLR. (i think by Mary Jo, one our mods.)

SoCal is not Orlando. DLR is not WDW. Your neighbor's kid gave you a couple of pieces of accurate info, but only about 1% of the information (imo) needed to make an informed decision. (the other 99% can be found here on the DLR board & in the stickys mentioned above).

I've been to WDW 4 times & DLR twice in the past 6 years. I'll only go back to WDW if i win a free trip since it's not a good fit for my family & WDW is inferior to a DLR/SoCal vacation (imo).

Good luck.

 

[lisah0711]

Give California a try. You might want to check out allears.net to look at the pictures of the Halloween decorations from last year -- this year there are supposed to be even more. Also DL has the Haunted Mansion Holiday which is a real treat if you have never seen it. It sounds like you have a wonderful trip planned and I think that you will be pleasantly surprised. WDW will be there still . . .

 

[scanmom]

back and forth... DL/WDW.... and we love them both! WDW has more to offer on site, but DL is WAY, WAY better than MK!! It is much more detailed. And we really like DCA. Alot of people are down on it, but we always have fun there. Be sure to see Alladin the musical, and the Animation studio. Both are great. And Indie is spectacular. Fantasmic at DL is amazing, much, much better that the WDW version. Go to California, and enjoy. Just remember that it is not supposed to be a carbon copy, and you will have a blast!

 

[HydroGuy]

Most people who expect a WDW-like experience at DLR will be disappointed. Why? Because as Hound said, they are different. The same can be said in reverse. Anyone who expects a DLR-like experience at WDW will be disappointed.

The two resorts are different, although there are some similarities. DLR has many strong points over WDW which your daughter's friend apparently did not grasp. Here are are a few:

1. Proximity - the hotels and parks are so close that you can walk, reducing wasted time on transportation and allowing you more time to enjoy DLR. Also, parkhopping is much easier which also allows for more time in the parks.

2. Rides - WDW's four parks only have 10% more rides than DLR's two parks. DLR is packed with rides.

3. Entertainment - DLR's top shows right now are better than WDW's. The DL fireworks/laser/special effects show is better than anything at WDW, IMO. The Aladdin stage show is outstanding. I have not seen the Nemo show at AK yet, so cannot say Aladdin is better than that, but it is better than any of the other WDW stage shows. And most would agree that Fantasmic is better at DLR.

4. Weather - overall, the weather at DLR is better than WDW - especially in the summer months.

WDW has its strengths too, no doubt. But IMO the sentiment out there that WDW is much better than DLR comes from people that have not been to DLR or tried to make it fit their WDW expectations and did not embrace DLR's strengths.

For anyone to say that IJA is overrated, well, that is their opinion but it is in the minority. I would add though that I did not like IJA at first and it took me several rides before I realized how incredible it is.

Before you decide on WDW or DLR, read some of the threads recommended by others here including this one:

"A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

Either way, have a great trip.

 

[KCmike]

Which hotel would you stay at outside of the resort? Looking for something between 100-200? How is homewood suites?

 

[HydroGuy]

Which hotel would you stay at outside of the resort? Looking for something between 100-200? How is homewood suites?

That is such a hard question. People have different requirements. For me proximity is very important. Others are willing to stay further away to have a nicer place. If you do decide to stay further away, do it for the right reasons. I think WDW vets are more accustomed to being further away from the parks and do not understand the advantages of staying close by at DLR. Thus they are too quick to give up this advantage. I would say first focus on staying close to the parks, and then reason yourself further away if necessary, rather than the opposite.

See "HydroGuy's Hotel Rule" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199862 and the links it contains.

 

[Mililani Mouser]

Do the Disneyland/SeaWorld thing!! And if you have time, visit Legoland (if you are going with kids)!!!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

My wife and I are every year frequenters to DisneyWorld. We have our vacation set for late October and are wishy washy about going to California.

Right now we are set for seven days, eight nights in Ananheim. Four days in the land, one day for Seaworld, one day for LA, and one day to drive as far north up the coast.

BUT....

DisneyWorld keeps tugging at our hearts. The Boo to You Parade I hear is awesome. Plus you get all the extras.

So my question is....will California be half as good as Disneyworld?

A friend of my daughter's just went and she said that Indy was overrated, matterhorn was way to jerky and old, and that splash was shorter and not half as good as the other. She did like the Disneyland Hotel, Pirates, and how close everything was.

Help me decide. I really want to try new locations, but I'm afraid it will end up being like a Branson vacation.

Help!!!!!

Another vote for DL. Splash is longer in WDW, but not as thrilling, imo. If I recall correctly, when I and several friends accustomed to going to DL rode the WDW Splash, at the end we all said, "That's it? What happened to the HUGE drop at the end?" it wasn't the same ride! There was a lot of 'fluff' filler in the WDW Splash and not enough action! IMO, it was lame compared the DL version.
POTC is better and longer at DL, IASW longer and better at DL, Indy is one of our all time favorite rides, as is Matterhorn. (You can only get 'em at the land!) The Matterhorn ride is different on either side, some prefer right, others left. Ride them both, decide which is better to you, and then ride it again! One side is jerkier than the other. I believe we favor the right, if I recall correctly. (My brain is tired!) Now for Indy, take a day to actually walk through the preshow. Many people miss things you would normally see in the pre show because they FP'd their way in and bypassed a lot of it. These would be the ones who complain that indy is lame. Grand River Rapids blows away the Kali River rapids at WDW. (I know these names are not quite correct, but you know what I mean -- the water rides. Someone correct me!) F! is better at the Land! The seating at MGM is better, but the show itself is better at the Land!

Basically, there are more rides/attractions compacted into this one little land, DL, than all of Magic Kingdom. Walk right across the esplanade and you're in DCA w/ Tower of Terror (That one I gotta give to the world, better pre show.), Cali Screaming, Soaring and many other fun rides/attractions. At WDW, the rides/attractions are a lot more spread out among the various parks which is fine if you enjoy having to take transportation to where ever you need to go.

At DL, there are many, many very good Hotels/Motels right along Harbor in walking distance. (We always stay at Howard Johnson Anaheim Bld 1; Best Western Park Place Inn gets good reviews also and it's right at the cross walk entrance to DL.)

Since you're going to be there for 4 nights, you should plan your trip out make sure to leave enough downtime to find a nice spot and reserve it to observe F! if you haven't made reserved seating arrangements. Make sure you (or some self sacrificial soul in your group) make enough time to stake out a nice spot for fireworks. Spread out a blanket and the spot is yours. Your friends and family can contnue to ride attractions right up until just before a few minutes before showtime. Make sure to tell them to bring you some hot chocolate on their way back to join you.

If your not into the fireworks, F! or parades, those are excellent times to run the other directions and jump on your favorite rides at Tomorrowland or ADventureland/Frontierland/Critter Country.

Take a chance on the land -- you won't regret it! It's the first, the original, the best, and we love it! We love WDW too, but it's different... I say, take a chance, experience it for yourself and then you can make an educated decision about whether or not you'd return there yourself as opposed to taking the advice of a clearly biased teenager who obviously loves the world.

They are having Mickey's Halloween celebration or whatever it's called (Someone will tune in and correct me on the name, I hope!) at DCA during several weekends in Oct. If that's what's tugging at your heartstrings for wdw, check out the DCA version of it. It costs an extra $29 per person, you can dress up (adults too) and probably have a lot less people vying for the various thrill rides at DCA. Go to the LAND...