WDW or DL?

[luvthemouse71]

I’m the opposite. I have been to WDW countless times but never to DL. It’s on my bucket list but every time I think of booking, I imagine the long plane ride that would be involved and I feel silly going to California just for DL.

 

[natfrac]

For us, WDW and DL are two different vacations. As many have said, WDW is more immersive. We consider it to be a resort vacation and usually stay 10-14 days. Even though it's pricey, we always stay onsite in the Disney bubble. DL is our favorite park, but it's not a complete vacation (if that makes sense). The big negative for WDW in my opinion is all the planning that's involved. Sure you can skip the planning, but you might also miss out on some FPs and dining reservations. DL is more "on the fly" and relaxed, which we like.

 

[LA Poolboy]

For this trip I suggest doing what your girlfriend wants and go back to DL and DCA. BUT, at some point you need to do the World and do it right. I mean stay on property and immerse yourself in the whole experience. It is not cheap and is getting more expensive each trip we make, and we are over 20 trips in at this point (there now!). We have been to DL and DCA twice and love it too, but we drive instead of fly and live in Louisiana which means 3 days driving to LA and 3 days back...quite a commitment. Sometime in the future take what you read here and plan a week or so at WDW...you will not regret it.

 

[Tksolomom]

I don't know if I am allowed to post the same thread in 2 different places, I just wanted some input from people who have been to both parks. So I am posting this here as well as in the DL section.




I (with so much help from you guys) took my GF to DL 3 months ago.
Well we already wanna go back. My GF absolutely LOVED it. She has never been anywhere other than ATL six flags.

Well this time I brought up Orlando as an option. She didn't even bat an eye and said she would rather go to Land. I've been to land about 10 times my whole life, but never World. I know I am VERY much interested in riding rides such as Everest, Rockin Coaster, Test Track and ToT ( I rode GoG but never ToT, because I'm very scared of heights but sucked it up so she could enjoy it) but here is my concern.

AT Animal Kingdom, I am only gonna wanna ride EE, MAYBE dinosaur so I can feel like I got to ride Indy.
Soarin made me sick (fear of heights)

At Hollywood Studios - RnRC, ToT, Star Tours and I guess slinky dog even though it looked underwhelming.

At EPCOT, PRetty Much just Test Track and I guess Mission Space.

MK my concern is Pirates being shorter and Space Mountain being worst from what I hear. Pirates was down for the auction scene refurb last time we were there and I REALLY want my GF to experience the whole ride and not just half of it.

As mentioned 3 months ago, I am a bigger guy. Even walking DL and DCA all day was exhausting but I liked being able to hop from park to park and fast pass either park.

My overall concern is not just the MUCH LONGER walk between attractions in MK but also the LONG walks just to get to the few attractions that REALLY draw me to WDW overall at the outer parks (the rides mentioned above)

Everyone and everywhere online thats not a So Cal local says WDW is the easy choice but is it really?

The FP+ system seems weird and seems like you will actually get less rides out of. In DL we probably fast passed everything 4+ times a day. The concept of choosing ahead of time seems weird to me.

Not to mention the 30-40 ride between parks. Is it worth it to take a 40 min trip all the way to AK just to ride 1 ride maybe 2, once maybe twice???

Incredicoaster, cars, and bobsled are kind of like RnRc, test track and EE. (I dont enjoy the matterhorn it kills my knees, so I imagine EE is much better) except I dont have to hope 3 parks and track a million miles to do it.

I just wanted to give you guys my overall perception of the 2 locations and see if anyone had any insight.
I know you might say "Your post is answering the question for yourself, just go to DL"

I was hoping for someone who has been to both parks with the intention of riding as much as possible and being as efficient as possible could give me a fair shake. Because I REALLY want to find the reason to make myself go to WDW instead, but I'm starting to feel like it might just be better to do DL again.


For what its worth we would do 5 days in DL or 7 days at WDW. Also if we do DL we might get passes, since we plan to go every 3 or 4 months and itll save money.


I know this is ALOT but thanks for any feedback!

I go to DL more often, but have gone to WDW a few times.

MK and DL are very similar. I miss Indiana Jones at WDW, but like Monster Laugh Factor and Philharmagic. A lot of the rides are different, but except for Pirates at DL, I don’t find one a lot better than the other.

AK is awesome. The safari and animals are amazing. You really feel like you are in a different place. I haven’t seen Pandora yet, but am really looking forward to that. The Lion King show is not to be missed. It is my favorite park.

There is nothing really like Epcot in California. Eating and drinking around the world is fun. There are also lots of attractions there. Living with the land, The seas with Nemo and Friends, Frozen, Mexico ride, etc.

HS is more show oriented. I love Indy and Muppets.

I think there is more walking at WDW, things are further apart. I don’t like park hopping there, it takes too much time, and I spend a full day at the park.

I find food expensive at WDW and it isn’t easy to escape and find good, cheaper food without a car like DL. Personally, I don’t get the whole “Disney Bubble” thing. I don’t mind getting off property and I find the cost a bit overwhelming there. That being said, we are DVC members now and stay on site, but we also always go to Universal (in California and Florida) and SeaWorld.

I would not go to WDW for less than a week.

Regardless of what you decide, I am sure you will have a great time.

 

[brockash]

100% Disney World. It's just a whole different world/category. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't turn down a trip to Disneyland and I've been to both many many times, but I always leave Disneyland kinda disappointed, as in, I really wish I had been at Disney World.

I will say it seems like you and I tour very differently and while we park hopped a lot at land, we almost never do at World - it's too time consuming and honestly we can spend a full day in each park. One thing that is very different at World is the atmosphere. It's not just a theme park, and even with only wanting to ride a few things at each park, you can still find a lot to do and just soaking up the theming/atmosphere, which for me just doesn't exist the same at land.

 

[deedubb]

I've been to land about 10 times my whole life, but never World.

This says it all right there. You have to go to WDW at least once.

Your post basically just talks about rides. There is so much more to WDW than just rides.

We have stayed off site at WDW many times. It's not a big deal. The only downside to WDW is the time it takes to get to the parks or to park hop.

For me, if I could only go to one, it would be WDW, every time.