Wanting to go to WDW, but keep going back to DL

[Harmony]

So funny...but this is how we felt right before our 1st trip to DL! lol I remember when everything was booked and paid for...no turning back, we were actually a bit depressed 'cause it wasn't WDW!

After experiencing both parks, which I'm glad we did, we realized that both have different things to offer and both are magical in their own way. Now the hard part is trying to decide which park to visit every year! We live almost in the middle of both WDW and DL so the plane ride is a non-issue! lol

 

[DISJen]

GO to WDW!!! In my humble opinion, they're "worlds apart". I have enormous respect for DL, but I'm hooked on WDW and find DL a "mini-me" to WDW. it's good for a quick fix, but WDW is the motherload.

You don't need to wait for your kids to be 10. We went when my son was 3 and had a fantastic time. Don't forget, it's made for kids. We just rented a stroller so he'd last longer and my 6 y/o shared it with him!

 

[mill4023]

GO to WDW!!! In my humble opinion, they're "worlds apart". I have enormous respect for DL, but I'm hooked on WDW and find DL a "mini-me" to WDW. it's good for a quick fix, but WDW is the motherload.

You don't need to wait for your kids to be 10. We went when my son was 3 and had a fantastic time. Don't forget, it's made for kids. We just rented a stroller so he'd last longer and my 6 y/o shared it with him!

Couldn't agree more.
I grew up in Oregon and we made many driving trips down to DL. Once I had kids of my own, DW and I took them to DL several times and had a blast every time.

But I had always wanted to go to WDW and last year, we went for the first time. We had the most amazing time and ended up going again this past spring. It's true that MK doesn't have quite the charm of DL, and has some rides that just don't compare to the originals(POTC). I'll always love DL, but overall, there is just so much more at WDW and it will be my first choice from now on.

 

[disney-super-mom]

Well, just an update.

We haven't booked our trip yet. I'm still trying to decide what to do.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I've been to both and love both BUT, WDW is such a different experience that DL that its like comparing apples & oranges. Disney land is an amazing place but its appeal draws from the other Southern California destinations near-by. On the other hand, WDW is staggeringly large by comparison and is a destination all by itself. If you went to WDW for 10 days and NEVER set foot off property you still wouldn't see all there is to see there. WDW resorts themselves are destinations worth taking the time to explore. WDW really is like nothing else in the world, there is nothing else I could even begin to compare it too. Both are magical but if I were you I wouldn't miss a trip to WDW especially since its so far from Washington State and you never can tell when you'll get the chance to do it again. My 2 cents is to go to WDW, it seems you will easily make it to California again.

 

[twinmommyks]

We LOVE both DL and WDW. Last summer we went to WDW because it was a bonus my dh received for being top manager in his group. There was so much to do among the 4 parks.

We went to DL this summer and also had a blast. I can't really say that I like one place better than the other. Each has its pros and cons. The weather in California late May is much much nicer than Florida. There is more to do, more resort hotels, and cool restaurants at WDW than DL. But we were able to ride more rides at DL. Like I said, both parks are awesome and you should experience WDW at least once.

Have fun with whatever you decide.

 

[MouseDogMom]

I'm having so much fun reading this one! I'm one of those WDW vets who goes for 7-8 days, stays on site (moderate or deluxe) and never leaves the resort, and still never feels like we've done it all. But DD and I are coming to CA this week for a wedding, so we're doing DL and DCA for the first time (I actually went to DL for a few hours about 20 yrs ago, but I barely count that trip since I hadn't really become a Disney freak then!). We can't wait to compare the parks. We expect that we'll still be huge WDW fans, but from everything we read and hear imagine that there will be things at DL that win out over WDW. Both of us are so excited we can hardly stand it - we just wish we had more time and could do a real Disney trip instead of squeezing it in between family time.

 

[HydroGuy]

I'm having so much fun reading this one! I'm one of those WDW vets who goes for 7-8 days, stays on site (moderate or deluxe) and never leaves the resort, and still never feels like we've done it all. But DD and I are coming to CA this week for a wedding, so we're doing DL and DCA for the first time .

Since you are reading the boards here, you probably saw my recent DLR Guide for WDW Vets post. If not, here is a link:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

Have a great trip.

 

[MouseDogMom]

Since you are reading the boards here, you probably saw my recent DLR Guide for WDW Vets post. If not, here is a link:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

Have a great trip.

Thanks - I hadn't seen it, but will definitely use it! And disney-super-mom, since I'm not trying to hijack your thread, even if you end up doing DL this trip, please plan one across the country as soon as you can. It is such an amazing experience - you can completely escape to another "World" and forget that anyplace else exists!

 

[iceskatejen]

It's been joked on here that I do live at DL. It's my "home," though I haven't been in *gasp* almost 2 weeks (that's a long time for me), though I'll be there tomorrow, Monday (DL's b-day), next Friday (Billy Bald's b-day) and the 29th (a friend's b-day celebration). So I've got lots of trips in the works (thank goodness I live relatively close). I admit, I don't really plan DL trips--it's more grab my AP and get in the car. I think every Disney theme park fan has to visit DLR at least once. Having said that, I also think every Disney theme park fan has to visit WDW at least once. I'm actually planning my second trip (just waiting to find out if a friend will be able to join me or not before booking) for ten days starting the Monday after Thanksgiving. One of the things I love about WDW is that it's total Disney immersion. The outside world doesn't come into play at all. At DL I can still hear sirens along Harbor Blvd if I'm in Tomorrowland. I think as far as most of the rides go, DL's are better (except Splash Mountain and Big Thunder--I'll give those to WDW). I definetely prefer DL to MK in almost every aspect (I think MK may win on food and the aformentioned rides), but it's safe to say you will probably never hear sirens in MK's Tomorrowland unless something really bad was happening. But I LOVED Epcot and Animal Kingdom both so much. I wish we had them here in CA.

 

[Tink33]

We're looking for a change.

We're now reminded that it's only about a 4 hour trip (including layovers) for us to fly down to Orange County California (compared to 7-10 hours to fly to or from Orlando), and of course 4 hours sounds a lot better if you're traveling with young children like us.

Change is good. I love to travel and explore new places.

Have you thought about a red eye flight? My last 2 trips to Orlando have been on an overnight flight. We also flew to Costa Rica last year on the red eye. We all board the plane, fall asleep and wake up just as we are getting ready to descend. My two plane trips this year will once again be red eyes.

 

[Iggipolka]

Arugh...after flying on a red eye with Delta Song from San Francisco to Orlando in March, I'll never do it again. I was in the middle seat in a row of three on a completely full plane. The guy in the aisle seat watched soft porn on E! channel all night long. He kept his tray table down and had a blanket over his lap, I hate to imagine what was going on under that blanket. I certainly didn't want to ask him to put his tray table up and therefor didn't get up for the entire long flight. It was absolutely repulsive to sit crammed in next to him.
Neither the wife or I slept. There was no way to get comfortable sitting upright and smashed into a tiny airplane seat.

We were so exausted by the time we got to Orlando, that our whole plan of having a full day to enjoy the parks, was completely ruined. We just hung around the resort and napped most of the day and we were more tired than we had expected for the rest of the week too.

I'd consider taking another red eye if we were on a different carrier and flying first class and could actually sleep a bit, but most likely, there's no way I'll try a red eye again.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Oh yes we are the same way! Actually DH really wants to go to WDW next, but I'm the one that keeps going back and forth about it. It's a cross country flight for us too, and honestly I'm not big on flying! LOL It's a 7 1/2 hour drive for us to DL, so that's a part of it. Pirates is my favorite ride, and I've heard the WDW version isn't as great. I really want to go someday, but every year we make our way back to DL. It's hopeless!

 

[disney-super-mom]

Update:

Well, it looks like we will be going to DL.

My DH just doesn't want to fly all the way to Florida yet because he thinks our youngest (DS just turned 3) is too young to be able to experience all the great things WDW has to offer. He wants to wait until our three year old is old enough (and tall enough) to be able to ride and enjoy (and remember) most attractions at WDW and IOA. Then, we'll be on the next plane to Florida for a nice long vacation (or so my DH told me).

I do see his point though. It's so easy for us to make a quick trip to California and to DL from where we live. But, it's a whole day of travel to get to Florida and WDW, so he wants to wait until our kids are old enough so that long trip is worth it for them (our two little boys). That's okay though. There'll be plenty of Disney magic for them at DL, and there'll be plenty of Disney magic left for them by the time we make it to WDW - so NO WORRIES!

 

[LuvOrlando]

DS just turned 3, I must have missed that point.

Although I've had a hard time waiting to plan for our trip to California I think we made the right choice. I saved planning our trip to DL until our kids were old enough for the LONG flight from Newark, DD will be 8 & DS will be 9 when we get there next year...and I'm STILL not sure they'll be able to stand so many hours on a plane.

I'm sure you'll have a great time at DL (how could you not?), WDW will still be fabulous whenever you get there.

 

[disney-super-mom]

Well we finally did it - we booked our trip for DL

It's all signed, sealed, and delivered! 5 October nights at the Paradise Pier and 6 October days of Disneyland magic. Could life get any better?!

I want to thank all of you who responded and gave me all your wonderful words of wisdom. You're all AWESOME!

 

[deekaypee]

Have a great time/trip and be sure to write a TR! (I live for those things!)

 

[Tiinkerbelle]

That sounds just like me, we finally did our first WDW trip last year though, it's..definentally A LOT different. Way to hot for us to go back, with the humidity which us west coasters are not used to, 90 degrees feels like 110. We will try and pick a time in winter when it's cooler, but the prices are quite up there compaired to DL.

 

[Harmony]

the prices are quite up there compaired to DL.

I have found that it's *much* less expensive for a family to go to WDW than to DL. We've done both and enjoyed both parks ALOT! However, IMO, DL does cater more to the daily visitor than to the "vacation-er" so the lack of a real meal plan and lack of resorts can really make a difference...budget wise.

 

[Tiinkerbelle]

Everytime we go our meals are usually at Storytellers Cafe, Rainforest Cafe, or the quick food stops. With the price of our hotel, air, tickets, and meals just about amounts to the price of just a hotel room at WDW to us. We needed a room with 2 queens and a pull out bed, but the only hotels that offer that in Disneyworld were the Deluxe hotels.
We HAD planned a WDW vacation for the same dates as we are going to DL, but the weather is so unpredictable in summer that we canceled and booked back to DL. The total cost of that WDW trip with air was around $7,000. The price of our DL trip now is around $2,600, I'd say that's a nice big chunk of change we're getting back .