As others have said, I highly recommend taking a look at
Hydroguy's A DLR Guide for WDW Vets. It'll help give you a sense of the similarities and differences between the two resorts.
One really big question to ask: when are you going?
What do I need to know about Fastpasses?
At this point, DLR still uses the legacy (i.e., paper) FP system (there was a recent test of an RFID enabled paper FP at Space Mtn, but no one knows if that will continue when it re-opens at Hyper Space Mtn next month, if the test will expand to other attractions, or if everything will remain as it was). The biggest difference between the DLR FP system and the old WDW system is that once you've used your park ticket to enter either DL or DCA, you can get FPs in both parks (at WDW, you could only get FPs for whichever park(s) you ticket had been used to enter the park that day).
The other issue you'll hear about is whether or not something is "connected" or "disconnected". All attraction FPs within each park are "connected" to each other, but the two parks (DL and DCA) are "disconnected" from each other. As an example, let's say you get a Space Mtn FP in DL. You cannot get another DL attraction FP for two hours or when the time window open, whichever comes first. You could, however, "hop" over to DCA and immediately get a RSR FP. In addition to the attraction FPs, there are three shows (WoC in DCA, and F! and Frozen at Fantasy Faire in DL) and one character meet & greet (Anna & Elsa in DCA) that also use the FP system. The show and character m&g FPs are "disconnected" from each other and from the attraction FPs. So you could (in theory) get a FP for all of the shows and character m&g and still get an attraction FP in DL and DCA.
Correct, no MagicBands (or FP+) at DLR.
We will want to do character meals, so what should I plan for that? Do I still make ADR's the same way?
You can make ADRs for DLR 60-days in advance. You can make them online or over the phone. The system rolls to a new day somewhere between midnight and 6:00 am, but ADRs generally do not book up that quickly at DLR. You can often fine prime ADRs with only a few weeks (to days) to go. Like WDW, DLR has a $10 per person no show fee if you do not show up for you ADR or do not cancel the ADR in time ("one day").
In terms of character meals, there aren't a lot of character meals at DLR and most all are breakfast. Characters are subject to change without notice.
- Plaza Inn (breakfast) - Minnie and friends (e.g., Eeyore, Tigger, Max, Rafiki, Fairy Godmother, Chip & Dale, Captain Hook - not all, some combination, varies)
- Ariel's Grotto (breakfast and lunch) - Ariel and Princesses (e.g., Rapunzel, Belle, Snow White, Cinderella, Tiana - not all, some combination, varies)
- Storytellers (breakfast) - Chip, Dale, and other woodland friends (usually Koda, Kenai, and Meeko)
- Goofy's Kitchen (all meals) - Goofy and friends (usually Chip & Dale, Pluto, and Minnie)
- PCH Grill (breakfast) - Mickey and friends (usually Pluto, Daisy, and Stitch).
We will probably stay offsite, unless someone has a compelling reason to stay in a Disney hotel.
When are you going and for how long? The biggest advantage to staying onsite is access to Extra Magic Hour (EMH). It's basically like the morning EMHs at WDW. Onsite guests have access to select attractions in DL or DCA for one hour before the park opens to the general public. DCA usually has EMH on Sun, Mon, Wed, and Fri mornings (although it can vary depending on special events and times of the year) and this is only available to onsite guests. DL usually has EMH on Tue, Thu, and Sat. DL's EMH happens on the same morning as DL's MM (Magic Morning), so it means guests with certian three-day or longer tickets are also eligible to be in the park during this period (basically EMH and MM are the same thing in DL). In DL, only select attractions in Fantasyland and TOmorrowland are open for EMH/MM. In DCA, a wider range of attractions are open (including TSMM and RSR).
