WDW for a DLR native

[WndrlndFan]

Forgive me if this is in the wrong thread- I'm not really sure where to put this one! Move it if you need to!

I personally have been to DLR more times than I can honestly count. But I have NEVER been to WDW. Binge watching the Imagineering Story on Disney+ got me excited about WDW! To entertain myself, I want to plan a future trip to WDW, just for fun (because obviously, nothing can happen soon with COVID-19 on the loose!) But as a former studio cast member, DLR local and passholder, I am getting completely overwhelmed and lost with WDW. WOW! Is it different in every way!

I've seen lots of great posts on these boards helping folks go the other way- WDW natives who are new to DLR. But what about those of us heading East for the first time? What advice, help, direction, can you give a DLR vet, but complete WDW noob, like me? Are there favorite boards (kind of like Hydroguy's advice for WDW vets?) or books or blogs or whatever that I should be finding? Even trying to figure out how many days minimum to plan for has me confused (so many different opinions!)

PLEASE, point me in the right direction for some great beginner help!

 

[only hope]

The fastpass+ sticky in this forum does a pretty good job at explaining that. Now that ya’ll have maxpass the way it works is more familiar, but it’s still a very different beast than your paper fp/digital maxpass.

I’m a local WDW passholder who has been to DLR once, during the diamond celebration. I loved DLR! The biggest difference, of course, is the sheer scale of things. DLR actually has almost as many attractions as all four of our parks combined- but the footprint is less than half. Park hopping is not quick or easy at WDW and I don’t recommend it for first timers. It can easily take over an hour from walking out of one park to walking into the next, depending on which two parks you’re going between, and that is not a good use of time.

At a bare minimum you need six days. One for each park, arrival day, and departure day. But if you want slightly more relaxed experience that doesn’t have you rushing around like crazy, it’s better to plan on at least six park days. It varies by person, but most find that at least two of the parks take two days to experience. If you can afford it, eight is better.

I found the Frommers guidebook for DLR very helpful; I assume the WDW would be helpful too. I borrowed it from the library. Touringplans was helpful too.

The other big difference is planning. WDW requires actually booking things in advance- fastpasses and dining. Hotel too. And tours and any hard ticket events you want to do. You can’t wait til the month before to do all this and expect to get what you want.

Edit: I downloaded the DLR app ahead of time and watched wait times for a few weeks to confirm (or not) the info I'd read about what order to do things in. That helped a bit too; just being familiar with the app helped. I also studied the maps ahead of time. We still used maps a lot in the parks, but I at least knew what land everything was in before we went! That saved time too, because we didn't get lost and rarely had to ask for directions. Something else I did that really increased our enjoyment of the parks was buying the imagineering books for the two parks. We read through most of it while waiting in lines or eating, for whatever land we happened to be in.

Of course, anything you read about strategies, wait times, etc., could be completely wrong as the parks could very well have a new normal when they re-open. That still won't change what the most popular attractions are though.

 

[Fangorn]

As mentioned already, the seriously important differences are 1) the shear size of WDW vs DLR and 2) the need to plan some things months in advance. I'm a SoCal native and grew up at Disneyland back when DCA was just the parking lot.

If you've been watching WDW videos, you probably have some sense that WDW is huge, but here's a fact that might bring this home for you: go to Google Maps and bring up a map of WDW and find Epcot. That big trapezoidal shaped lake in the middle of Epcot is "World Showcase Lagoon". EVERYTHING inside the berm at Disneyland will fit inside that lagoon! And that's only a portion of one Park. Unlike at DLR, it is not possible to walk from one park to another, except from Epcot to Hollywood Studios. Distances between parks are measured in miles (Google says the distance from the International Gateway at Epcot to Hollywood Studios is 1.1 miles). There is transportation provided by Disney - buses, monorails, boats and the Skyliner. Uber/Lyft, taxis and Minnie Vans are also available to get you around. Disney recommends allowing 90 minutes to get from one place to another. And while the travel time between any two points at WDW can be much less than that, it is still a good number to use in planning. This is the reason @only hope suggested not hopping between parks.

The size of WDW also plays into the amount of time you need to see things. Keep in mind that you will NOT see it all on a single trip. So don't even try. Decide what rides and attractions are of the greatest importance to you. Are there any restaurants that you care about? Or are you fine with counter service (lots of great options here - not just hamburgers and pizza)? Personally, I recommend 10 days if at all possible. Particularly if you're coming from the West Coast. WDW will be exhausting. You will be walking 8-12 miles per day, depending on your style. You need to plan some downtime to rest, enjoy the pools or a waterpark, or explore the resorts. There is so much to see outside of the 4 theme parks.

All of which leads to the inevitable need for planning. Planning and getting FastPasses for the major rides is a must. Planning and getting your FastPasses is the. most. important. thing. you. can. do. For your first trip, you really want to stay in one of Disney's resorts. This gives you access to Fastpasses starting 60 days before your check-in date. When not staying at a Disney resort, you can't make FPs until 30 days before check-in. And yes, it makes a difference. For the 5-6 top rides, even making your FPs at exactly 60 days out isn't a guarantee that you'll get one.

Now, as for making advance dining reservations (ADRs). There are a lot of folks here who obsess over making their ADRs as soon as possible - 180 days before check-in - and absolutely insist that doing so is a requirement if you ever want to eat at any Disney table service restaurant. I don't subscribe to that at all. Yes, there are a small handful of restaurants that are difficult to get, and for those few, booking 180 days out is "necessary". But after way to many WDW trips to count, we have learned that we only really need to make ADRs if we're looking for something like the California Grill Brunch (best meal at WDW, imo) that is only offered on Sunday's, or we have a set of plans one day and are wanting to add a dining experience at a specific time. On our last 12 day trip, we booked exactly 2 ADRs before we arrived. Everything else was booked either the night before or the day of (and we had some great options). My advice on dining, is that unless it's really critical to you, put this piece of planning near the bottom of your things to do list.

Hope this helps a bit.

Steve

 

[sharonabe]

I've seen lots of great posts on these boards helping folks go the other way- WDW natives who are new to DLR. But what about those of us heading East for the first time? What advice, help, direction, can you give a DLR vet, but complete WDW noob, like me? Are there favorite boards (kind of like Hydroguy's advice for WDW vets?) or books or blogs or whatever that I should be finding? Even trying to figure out how many days minimum to plan for has me confused (so many different opinions!)

I think Hydroguy's tips are actually a good place to start. It gives you a heads up to the differences to research. If you do a search of his posts, I think he also did one for DLR peeps heading to WDW or a trip report after a trip to WDW....not sure where it might be, but a search or a scroll through his posts should bring it up. I'll tag him too to see if he can help you out.

@HydroGuy

 

[nkereina]

We are WDW vets and did DLR for the first time last year. Loved DLR, but we lacked for things to do by the evening of day 3. We never have that issue at WDW - there's just so much to see and do. As PP mentions, you have to remember this in order to manage expectations. You will be able to see and do a lot, but not necessarily everything, so its best to prioritize accordingly.

Our WDW trips are 7 days minimum, but I think 4 park days would be the bare minimum. One day at each park. We always do a second day at Magic Kingdom, usually a second day at Epcot, sometimes a second day at DHS, and almost never a second day at Animal Kingdom. We like to visit Disney Springs in the evening for shopping and dining, and will plan at least 2 nights there during our trip because its so large and there are so many good dining options.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Disney World property is roughly the size of the city of San Francisco. Its sprawling and there is not one resort that is convenient to everything. The size factor is the biggest difference compared to DLR, where its easy to park hop by walking across the sidewalk or to walk from your on or off-site hotel. At WDW, you need to factor in transportation and commuting to your plans. Park hopping is possible, but its not always the most efficient or even recommended depending on your plans for the day. If you're utilizing WDW transportation, its always recommended to allow an hour for it. WDW on-site resorts are also more beneficial than they are at DLR due to the proximity to the parks, included transportation, airport transportation, fast pass booking advantages, extra magic hours, etc etc. We stayed off-site at DLR, but would never consider it for WDW. But luckily, WDW has a greater variety of price points in their onsite hotels than DLR does.

 

[Kaadk]

We are WDW vets and did DLR for the first time last year. Loved DLR, but we lacked for things to do by the evening of day 3. ...

We didn't have that issue when we did DL in '16. Managed to spend 5 days there with plenty to do. But then again, my kids were (and still are) at the age that they want to re-ride the rides they enjoy, and aren't the one and done type. If they wanted to re-ride something, we'd just whip around back to the almost walk-on queue and re-ride. Or, if not, we could quickly hop over to the next ride.

Which brings me to my point for the OP. People have been talking about the size differences, but it's really important to realize that it's more than just distance between the parks, but distance IN the parks as well. In DL, the next ride might be a 5 minute walk away. In WDW, it might be 20 minutes. Especially if you're the type to chase low wait time listings via the app, then realize that the low 15 minute wait time you see across the park, might just be up to 50 minutes by the time you take the 35-45 minutes to walk there. And the last couple of trips, walk-ons were pretty well non-existent. Even the least popular rides tend to have some level of wait, just because there's so many people there. Still significantly less wait then the headliners, but still a wait none the less.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I was going to respond yesterday but where do you even start? OK - after giving it some thought, here are the really important details;

• My Disney Experience - get the app, get on the website, either way, this is really everything you NEED to know. Dive in, it gets easier.
• Deadlines - dining reservations can be made 180 days out, FP+ reservations are 60 days out if staying on property (or good neighbor), all others are 30 days out. Yes, you do need to buy your tickets before making FP+ reservations
• There are tons and tons of good resources out there for FP+ strategies, dining reviews, what dining reservations are needed vs. which ones can wait, etc. I like this board (obviously), Disney Food Blog on YouTube, and AllEars.net - really good user reviews on All Ears in particular.

Into the rabbit hole you go...

 

[RamblingMad]

I love DLR. I’m not a fan of WDW. It’s a whole different experience that works best for planning types. The closest thing to a DLR experience in Orlando is Universal, which I love.

I’d spend time here getting the low down on how to plan a WDW trip. It’s challenging.

But I have no clue what that experience is going to be like when the parks reopen

 

[WndrlndFan]

Thank you all for the great advice. Lots to think about and this helps me frame it all up.

Obviously, it will be a completely different ballgame everywhere once life opens back up- I don't think any one can say it will "return" to anything we had before. I'm shooting for a year ahead at the minimum. Realistically, it may be more like two years before I have ducks in a row for something like a trip to WDW. But planning a new trip is definitely breaking up the monotony!

So thanks again! Keep the advice coming- if you have more to give, it will be gratefully received!

 

[nkereina]

We didn't have that issue when we did DL in '16. Managed to spend 5 days there with plenty to do. But then again, my kids were (and still are) at the age that they want to re-ride the rides they enjoy, and aren't the one and done type. If they wanted to re-ride something, we'd just whip around back to the almost walk-on queue and re-ride. Or, if not, we could quickly hop over to the next ride.

Its just DH and I, no kids, so we move at a good pace and were able to ride and re-ride everything over the course of our first 3 days. By night 3, we had seen both evening shows and had explored Downtown Disney, so we were scratching our heads trying to decide what to do. We ended up walking around each of the DLR resorts to check them out. Other than spending more time in one of the two parks, there wasn't really anything else we cared to do since we had our park fill by that point. So, of course its subjective, but my point in saying this is that at WDW, there's just naturally more to do because of the size. Between the many options at Disney Springs, mini golf, multiple dinner shows, Boardwalk, the four parks, and the many different resort to explore, we can always find something to do there.

 

[NH-to-FL]

But as a former studio cast member, DLR local and passholder, I am getting completely overwhelmed and lost with WDW. WOW! Is it different in every way!

First, to DISBoards! You will find a lot of wonderful information and people here.

That said, as an alternative to searching through many thousands of posts for specific information, I will suggest a more old school resource, a book: The Unofficial Guide to Walk Disney World 2020

Many years ago before my first visit to WDW I found the Unofficial Guide a wonderful resource. In fact I usually buy one every few years just to have recent information on the shelf for reference. I'll propose once you have absorbed the fundamentals you'll be able to attack DISBoards with specific questions.

Best wishes with your planning!

 

[disneycat321]

We are DLR vets (used to be local APs) who made our first trip to WDW in 2010 for our honeymoon. It was going to be a one time thing. We were back in 2013 and again in July 2019. We love WDW. It is a Disney Bubble vacation experience, far more than Disneyland is. DLR will always be home sweet home and we love it dearly, but we will keep going back to WDW every few years.

You've already gotten tons of great info about MDE, FP+, and ADRs, etc, so I will just give you some thoughts I have (and I'm sorry if I'm repeating other posts)-

You may not need/want to spend as much time in MK as in the other 3 parks, especially if you still visit DL very frequently. There are definitely things in MK that are unique to MK and need to be experienced, but since you cannot do everything at WDW in one trip, some of the duplicate rides are possibilities of things you can skip. (Things like Small World, Little Mermaid, etc.) Sometimes the queue is much nicer (like Little Mermaid) than the DLR version. It's worth researching ahead of time to see what you want to experience. MK is so different from DL and it's kind of weird the first time you go because everything is sort of similar but totally different and at a much larger scale!

Dining is one of our favorite things at WDW. There is far more amazing TS dining. We rarely do TS at DLR, but on our last WDW trip we had TS every day, sometimes twice in one day. We love the dining that is also an experience - Hoop de doo Revue, Ohana, Sci Fi, 50s Prime Time come to mind. There are TONS of character meals if you're into that. There are great restaurants at all the parks (especially Epcot - World Showcase has a lot!) and the resorts, too - so look at some menus and see what strikes your fancy!

We do not stay on property at DLR because we can be just as close for far less money, but we wouldn't go to WDW without staying on property. The resorts are amazing! We've stayed at Port Orleans Riverside (moderate) and Yacht Club (deluxe, walking distance to Epcot and Hollywood Studios). Look into the resorts and see what interests you - they are all so different and completely amazing.

I know people are telling you not to park hop, but we have always park hopped at WDW. We go in the summer when it's hot, so we will typically do one park in the morning, take a nap break when it's SUPER hot, and then go to another park in the afternoon. If you're staying deluxe near MK (monorail resorts) or Epcot (Epcot resort area), you will 100% want a park hopper since you have such easy access to one (or two, in the Epcot area) of the parks. Yes, park hopping is NOT the same as it is at DLR. Not even close. But we have always solely used Disney transportation at WDW and yes, it takes a long time, but we are not in a hurry since we have more days.

I would recommend 7 nights minimum. We've done 7, 10, and 8 night trips. You can easily fill up that much time and more.

Disney Springs is nothing like Downtown Disney. It's so much bigger I can't even describe. World of Disney is so huge it's shocking. lol.

You cannot be very spontaneous. You know how at DLR you can just kind of show up and use MP and just decide what you want to do throughout the day? Yes, get rid of that notion. With ADRs made far in advance and having to reserve FP times 2 months ahead, there isn't very much spontaneity. That doesn't bother us too much - I am a planner and enjoy the planning process - but it's something to really keep in mind when you are used to the carefree Disneyland way of doing things. They are very different experiences!

You may be surprised by how long the lines are. Because most rides have FP, the standby wait times seem to be much longer than they are at DLR. You will probably not be riding most rides standby. You can pick up FPs later in the day by refreshing, especially at MK.

DAH events are 100% worth every single penny. Especially in the summer. We did them at all 3 parks (they aren't ever available at Epcot) in 2019 and they were amazing. We got to be spontaneous!

Enjoy the planning, because there is opportunity for LOTS of it! I hope you love WDW as much as we do!

 

[jagron11]

Wow I think @disneycat321 and I are kindred spirits. I think she brought up almost everything I wanted to add. As a previous DL AP for 15 years it will always be home, but it’s a much difference experience. I will say walking through MK is always weird because it’s similar but definitely not the same. I always feel lost, like someone went and switched everything up on me as a practical joke. And oddly enough it’s my kids (12, 10, 8, 6) least favorite park, even though it has so many rides. They prefer all the difference from the other parks.

So unfortunately not much more to add. I echo staying on property and I’m a big fan of rope drop and the midday siesta.

 

[disneycat321]

I will say walking through MK is always weird because it’s similar but definitely not the same. I always feel lost, like someone went and switched everything up on me as a practical joke.

Haha, I can really relate to this! I tend to feel at least semi confused when I'm in MK. I still love it, but it just feels weird!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Forgive me if this is in the wrong thread- I'm not really sure where to put this one! Move it if you need to!

I personally have been to DLR more times than I can honestly count. But I have NEVER been to WDW. Binge watching the Imagineering Story on Disney+ got me excited about WDW! To entertain myself, I want to plan a future trip to WDW, just for fun (because obviously, nothing can happen soon with COVID-19 on the loose!) But as a former studio cast member, DLR local and passholder, I am getting completely overwhelmed and lost with WDW. WOW! Is it different in every way!

I've seen lots of great posts on these boards helping folks go the other way- WDW natives who are new to DLR. But what about those of us heading East for the first time? What advice, help, direction, can you give a DLR vet, but complete WDW noob, like me? Are there favorite boards (kind of like Hydroguy's advice for WDW vets?) or books or blogs or whatever that I should be finding? Even trying to figure out how many days minimum to plan for has me confused (so many different opinions!)

PLEASE, point me in the right direction for some great beginner help!

We've had some very good threads on this exact topic on the Disneyland (California) Board and the Disneyland Community Board. Some of the threads included @HydroGuy himself! Do a search on those two boards for information and post any questions that you have. And read through this thread from the sticky threads on the Disneyland (California) Board: "An Introduction To WDW For DLR Vets" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=16541636.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Haha, I can really relate to this! I tend to feel at least semi confused when I'm in MK. I still love it, but it just feels weird!

Concur - the two that always get me are no Matterhorn (like, who took it?) and BTMRR is on the wrong side of the RoA.