WDW pro's Disneyland review

[HappyHaunt]

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy your trip. Sounds like your mistake was that you went in comparing it to WDW. We grew up going to DLR, and visited WDW last year. Very different creatures. I really enjoy both, for their differences. As far as more parks at WDW. True, but Hollywood Studios was a complete bore for us. We finished in a few hours it seemed. The rides that it had that were good they had at DCA. We did enjoy Animal Kingdom, and Epcot, but honestly we spent a good amount of time in the Magic Kingdom. We seemed to always be there to close out the park at night. But we did enjoy being completely surrounded in Disney our whole trip at WDW. Then again there are things at the DLR that we missed at WDW. Just different vacations. If you go in trying to compare to your home park, you will be disappointed.

As far as the CM's go. That always varies from trip to trip, even at WDW we didn't always see happy Disney magic smiling faces all of the time. They are people and everyone has good/bad days. But really they don't create the magic for us, we do that, and just being there!

 

[kikiq]

No, we don't have the college placement program.

Both Disneyland and WDW have a college program. WDW college program is much larger.

 

[Jynxed]

Let me clarify for quite a few people... I did enjoy my trip. I made quite a few magical memories while there and do not regret going one bit! I simply prefer WDW over DLR.
As far as "Poor touring strategy"... The sun shines at 10am and 3pm as well as 11-2... As someone mentioned CA was outrageously humid and hot the past couple of weeks. So perhaps that played a part in everything. I have a sun allergy, so while tanning is a bonus for some, breaking out in hives is a minus for others.
Again sorry if you feel I dissed "your" park, that wasn't my intention. I was just sharing my opinion.
For those going for the first time, I hope you are encouraged to share your opinion, both good and bad upon your return.

 

[HydroGuy]

Let me clarify for quite a few people... I did enjoy my trip. I made quite a few magical memories while there and do not regret going one bit! I simply prefer WDW over DLR.
As far as "Poor touring strategy"... The sun shines at 10am and 3pm as well as 11-2... As someone mentioned CA was outrageously humid and hot the past couple of weeks. So perhaps that played a part in everything. I have a sun allergy, so while tanning is a bonus for some, breaking out in hives is a minus for others.
Again sorry if you feel I dissed "your" park, that wasn't my intention. I was just sharing my opinion.
For those going for the first time, I hope you are encouraged to share your opinion, both good and bad upon your return.

You know, it is not so much "dissing" DLR. And it is not you in particular. I think feedback is helpful from everyone.

What does happen on this forum is WDW vets come to DLR and use their WDW strategies. And sometimes they do not work well for DLR. And then they make a negative comment about DLR as a result. Our response is not that we do not like negative comments about DLR, it is the negative comments which result from misperceptions and misapplied strategies - which is not fair to DLR.

Let me give an example. A good DLR strategy is to parkhop every day. IMO this is a poor strategy at WDW but some folks of course do it. So a DLR vet goes to WDW and they complain about how hard it is to parkhop and how much time was wasted and how they prefer DLR because they can parkhop easier. Along the way they feel WDW lacks magic and the lines are too long and altogether WDW is just not as good as DLR. In other words they diss WDW.

All of the preceding could have been avoided if the DLR vet knew ahead of time that parkhopping at WDW is harder and they might have a better WDW visit if they do not do it. In fact I tell DLR vets going to WDW for the first time exactly that. With a better strategy it is more likely they will experience the magic of WDW.

Sorry if you felt attacked. Many of us who have experienced magic at multiple Disney resorts have a hard time understanding when someone misses the magic. And they look for secondary reasons why someone might have missed the magic as a more likely explanation than that the magic is just not there.

Finally, some WDW vets are just sold on the whole vacation resort experience of WDW. And I get that. But I also think that has little to do with Disney per se and more to do with how one prefers to vacation. For me I never vacation at Disney. We go to Disney for the magical experience it offers. We vacation in Hawaii or the Caribbean or at the beach. So if a Disney resort has a better or lesser vacation offering means nothing to me. But that is just me.

 

[starshine514]

Let me clarify for quite a few people... I did enjoy my trip. I made quite a few magical memories while there and do not regret going one bit! I simply prefer WDW over DLR.
As far as "Poor touring strategy"... The sun shines at 10am and 3pm as well as 11-2... As someone mentioned CA was outrageously humid and hot the past couple of weeks. So perhaps that played a part in everything. I have a sun allergy, so while tanning is a bonus for some, breaking out in hives is a minus for others.
Again sorry if you feel I dissed "your" park, that wasn't my intention. I was just sharing my opinion.
For those going for the first time, I hope you are encouraged to share your opinion, both good and bad upon your return.

If you have a sun allergy, why go to a theme park in the summer?

 

[TinkBride]

I will be going to DL in a few weeks for the first time after nearly 20 times at WDW over my lifetime (27 years). I fully intend on sharing my persepective when I return.............but I must say, the idea of park hopping by walking as opposed to "should we take a bus?", "crap! we just missed the boat?", and "Man....that monorail looks full" already is really exciting for me........

DH and I have got ourselves stuck in a WDW "rut" where we don't appreciate the parks like we used to because we have "been there, done that" too many times and have fallen into a Disney routine. So, we decided to shake it up and try a different locale to see it with a new perspective.

I am going to try and pretend that it is my first time at a Disney park in hopes to see everything with fresh eyes. I am sure there will be things to "miss" about WDW. But I hope to find replacements for those things at DL.

I am hoping to be a bi-coastal Disney nut before it is over.

I do appreciate your review though, I like hearing everyone's perspective of the different parks.

 

[Porturican]

I have to say being a DLR regular that i was so excited to go to WDW in 2008 for the 1st time. When i got there there i thought it was cool. I like all the parks but felt kinda Mehhhh about if i would go ever go back it just didnt feel like Disneyland to me. I think i felt like this too because i went into it comapring this and that to my home park. But within a few months of being back home i got the itch to go back to WDW again someday. I started to think of the things that i really enjoyed and what i missed out on seeing. Including the different resorts and I really missed the food at WDW. Maybe you too will feel this and decide you do want to go to DLR again like i did with WDW. You never know....

I got to go back for a quick trip this year and hope to get to WDW again maybe next year but in between time i hope i can go to DLR as much as possible, construction and all I love my happy place!

 

[cmwade77]

Let me clarify for quite a few people... I did enjoy my trip. I made quite a few magical memories while there and do not regret going one bit! I simply prefer WDW over DLR.
As far as "Poor touring strategy"... The sun shines at 10am and 3pm as well as 11-2... As someone mentioned CA was outrageously humid and hot the past couple of weeks. So perhaps that played a part in everything. I have a sun allergy, so while tanning is a bonus for some, breaking out in hives is a minus for others.
Again sorry if you feel I dissed "your" park, that wasn't my intention. I was just sharing my opinion.
For those going for the first time, I hope you are encouraged to share your opinion, both good and bad upon your return.

I do not think you were dissing our park, just expressing your opinion. I do think both WDW and DLR have their pluses and minuses.

Yes, when you went we were having our week of extremely hot and humid weather for the summer. (For those reading this and deciding on when to go, there is usually a week or two in August and October)

I will admit that if you have a sun allergy, WDW would probably be your best options as they do indeed provide more shaded queues and other options. If you don't, then DL isn't too bad when it comes to the queues, but again, definitely up to the individual.

For those that live near WDW, I suggest trying a trip where you do both WDW and DL in the same day, it is a lot of fun.

 

[HappyHaunt]

Let me clarify for quite a few people... I did enjoy my trip. I made quite a few magical memories while there and do not regret going one bit! I simply prefer WDW over DLR.
As far as "Poor touring strategy"... The sun shines at 10am and 3pm as well as 11-2... As someone mentioned CA was outrageously humid and hot the past couple of weeks. So perhaps that played a part in everything. I have a sun allergy, so while tanning is a bonus for some, breaking out in hives is a minus for others.
Again sorry if you feel I dissed "your" park, that wasn't my intention. I was just sharing my opinion.
For those going for the first time, I hope you are encouraged to share your opinion, both good and bad upon your return.

I'm glad you did enjoy your trip then. I have the same allergy to the sun, so I know exactly what your talking about. We made the mistake of going to WDW in August last year. It was just so hot and humid. My poor son melted in to a puddle. lol Seriously he was bad off, no matter how many breaks or fluids we kept in him. My legs were all broken out in hives. The lines have shade helped, but next time we'll pick a different time of year when it's cooler to visit WDW.

We are all entitled to our opinions, and thank you for sharing yours. I do think you might have not be as disappointed had you not compared the two as much. But I know that's easy to do.

 

[Jynxed]

If you have a sun allergy, why go to a theme park in the summer?

The sun shines 365 days a year. I choose not to vacation in the rain.

 

[kikiq]

If you have a sun allergy, why go to a theme park in the summer?

I have a sun allergy also. And we have been to WDW in the summer, I would be the one with the long sleeve shirt on, and sometimes long pants also. Love my Solumbra! But back to folks with sun allergies, you learn to deal with it. You look for shade, you wear "sun" clothing and in WDW, we go out early in the morning and after dinner. And yes, DLR does not have the shady/indoor queues that WDW has. I understand what the OP's concerns are. I hope that she will consider a return trip in a few years after Carsland is built and find a time when the SoCal sun is not so "hot".

 

[starshine514]

The sun does shine 365 days a year; however, it does shine for fewer hours during the winter. The people talking about sun allergy here are indicating that heat and humidity cause the condition to worsen. If wearing layers of clothing makes the condition more manageable, it would seem to be logical to vacation at an outdoor venue at a time of year when there are fewer daylight hours and wearing covering clothing would be more comfortable.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Rome and Paris...exactly!

We are long time WDWers who fell in love with DLR!

I agree with the queue lines, but it's a matter of space. I would rather have more attractions, like DLR, than more queues, like WDW.

We find DLR much more quaint and magical. So many rides are superior.

We love not having to spend time on buses! Maybe your experience would have been different had you stayed closer?

We agree on TS options, but we think DLR is superior on CS.

I'm going back to WDW in December for Disapalooza (just me, meeting sisters and mom). I'm surprised my kids haven't voiced their disappointment in not joining me. All they chant is "we want to go back to DLR!!!"

 

[Armadillo4]

Let me clarify for quite a few people... I did enjoy my trip. I made quite a few magical memories while there and do not regret going one bit! I simply prefer WDW over DLR.

Jynxed, thank you for posting your thoughts about DLR here! And I'm glad you made a trip out here to try it out.

I do not think you were dissing our park, just expressing your opinion. I do think both WDW and DLR have their pluses and minuses.

I wholeheartedly agree. DLR is my "home" resort as I'm lucky enough to be a local and can frequent it monthly...if not more often lol! But I also love WDW vacations! I've made 7 trips to Orlando in the past 10 years. And when I go there, I have a different mindset on the Disney theme park experience--for example, dining at the various restaurants becomes a priority. I think both resorts provide excellent quality and magical experiences and that's a big reason why I love Disney!