WDW v DLR - calling all views!

[Travel Mum]

the parks are really beautiful and impressive, esp. Disney Sea park. The japanese have a strong cultural aesthetic which translates to a perfectionism and pleasing layout. e.g. The Queen of Hearts counter service restaurant with amazing stained glass windows, soldier/playing card statues, eat under giant flowers/lights

The japanese have built everything with real materials. e.g. The companion park - Disney Sea - has an italian style port theme and hotel, (much like the original of the Universal Portofino Bay Resort), and to build they imported tonnes of italian marble. You don't see miles of painted gyprock. Miles of tile mosaics in the Arabia Port (with a double decker carousel).

Disney Sea also has a huge erupting volcano as the centrepiece of the park - goes off every hour, on the hour. that whole park is unique and way interesting - with very different and high tech rides. the Hotel Mira Costa is actually part of the park and you can get a room looking over the main lagoon and watch all the shows from your balcony - and watch the park after hours. the Mira Costa is beautiful and luxurious

The parks are kept in beautiful maintainence and tidiness. e.g. think about the poor maintenance in WDW Splash Mountain.

They have better technology than any other - e.g. the Winne the Pooh ride is by far the most popular ride. It is trackless, working on a GPS/LPS and when you get to the tigger bit they bounce up and down, when you get the heffalumps dreamy bit, about 16 little cars are all zooming around in different directions, just missing each other - taking different routes. The robotic Stitch in the Tiki Room works really nicely. (the japanese LOVE stitchi)

they have multi-flavoured popcorn! And they have japanese type foods e.g. gyoza buns which makes it more interesting. The restaurants are very good.

It has great access on public transport - 30min by train from Toyko.

Japanese LOVE animated characters and love the parks. they turn up in droves - and dress up in the most amazing costumes. they are very polite and keep the park tidy and respect everything.

full on parades - their spectromagic goes on forever! they are long and very detailed. (not like DHS Pixar sadness)

Please go google and look at photos!

I will admit the japanese started that Duffy thing - dammit.

Gosh, thanks so much for that wonderful description and I'd love to go! Actually might be a possibility one day as Japan is on DH's bucket list and, knowing I could get a Disney fix, I'd be happy to go too

 

[Sugarglider]

i could go on about TDL till we are ill - I believe it is easily the loveliest disney resort.
BTW: you don't need any japanese - everything is dual english/japanese at TDL - a few CMs didn't speak english - and they have translation recordings headphoney sets for the shows. In Tokyo city we couldn't get anyone to speak Japanese to us - everyone automatically spoke english

The place is more expensive than the US at the moment because of the drop in the US $. But Japan is a great place to visit and TDL is wonderful.

there are a couple of really good (albeit old) english fan sites. DISboards and MiceAge have TDL chat boards with lots of photos. Go and have a look. Found Mouseplanet has a great site

In the meantime - I like WDW cause it is cheaper than japan and it is easier - I just arrive and stop for the fortnight - whereas if I went to Japan - I would have to travel around and be a tourist. That would require planning - umm - well - more planning than WDW requires?? Oh now I am confused

 

[jacs1234]

I've only been to Disneyland and I adore it but I'm excited to visit WDW one day, hopefully for my 40th which is creeping up way to quickly. At least if I have a trip planned I can look forward to 40 (kinda) lol. I really want to go to the animal kingdom.

 

[ColinA]

For me it was WDW hands down, I preferred the parks, the ease of getting around, enjoyed the downtown disney area much more. I always felt there was something to do and was completely in Disney mode

With DL at the risk of being shot, I was kind of bored after a day, I didn't really like the set up of the 2 parks, the way hopping is set up there. I also found the downtown Disney area lacking and I just didn't feel the magic anywhere near as much

I agree with all you said.

We last went to DL for the 50th anniversary, stayed 4 nights on the way to WDW. During our stay at DL we were looking forward to getting to our other home at WDW. DL is OK, not too fussed with Californian Adventure.

We love the feel of the WDW resorts and being on Disney property. It is upsetting when you have to leave on the DME bus back to the airport.

 

[gogo65]

Yep,
WDW for me

Going back for trip number three, have done DL twice and Paris Disney once.

Agree with what others have said, DL is part of a a west coast holiday, Vegas, San Francisco, San Diego etc.
WDW is a holiday itself, you go to Orlando to do WDW, immerse yourself, eat and sleep Disney,it can be as busy or relaxing as you want, ADR's are part of the experience, we certainly don't plan meals at DL but at WDW it is part of the holiday.
Will plan on going to Tokyo maybe the end of this year to ski so will add a side trip to TDL
Going back with DD in a week

 

[5ofus]

the parks are really beautiful and impressive, esp. Disney Sea park. The japanese have a strong cultural aesthetic which translates to a perfectionism and pleasing layout. e.g. The Queen of Hearts counter service restaurant with amazing stained glass windows, soldier/playing card statues, eat under giant flowers/lights

The japanese have built everything with real materials. e.g. The companion park - Disney Sea - has an italian style port theme and hotel, (much like the original of the Universal Portofino Bay Resort), and to build they imported tonnes of italian marble. You don't see miles of painted gyprock. Miles of tile mosaics in the Arabia Port (with a double decker carousel).

Disney Sea also has a huge erupting volcano as the centrepiece of the park - goes off every hour, on the hour. that whole park is unique and way interesting - with very different and high tech rides. the Hotel Mira Costa is actually part of the park and you can get a room looking over the main lagoon and watch all the shows from your balcony - and watch the park after hours. the Mira Costa is beautiful and luxurious

The parks are kept in beautiful maintainence and tidiness. e.g. think about the poor maintenance in WDW Splash Mountain.

They have better technology than any other - e.g. the Winne the Pooh ride is by far the most popular ride. It is trackless, working on a GPS/LPS and when you get to the tigger bit they bounce up and down, when you get the heffalumps dreamy bit, about 16 little cars are all zooming around in different directions, just missing each other - taking different routes. The robotic Stitch in the Tiki Room works really nicely. (the japanese LOVE stitchi)

they have multi-flavoured popcorn! And they have japanese type foods e.g. gyoza buns which makes it more interesting. The restaurants are very good.

It has great access on public transport - 30min by train from Toyko.

Japanese LOVE animated characters and love the parks. they turn up in droves - and dress up in the most amazing costumes. they are very polite and keep the park tidy and respect everything.

full on parades - their spectromagic goes on forever! they are long and very detailed. (not like DHS Pixar sadness)

Please go google and look at photos!

I will admit the japanese started that Duffy thing - dammit.

You've described some of the best bits of TDR very well My husband and I both LOVE TDL and DisneySea. We stayed that MiraCosta for one night on our last trip there (the Hilton Tokyo Bay for the rest) and will never forget how wonderful to gaze out over the park after closing. The kids got a kick out of seeing daddy down in the park while we were in our room too

We have both agreed that Tokyo has our favourite parks now, and traveling in Japan is so easy. We've been twice now and are itching to get back. DH has even been trying to figure out a way to make Tokyo on our way to DL and WDW somehow

Hmmm, now you've got me dreaming about the wonderful popcorn.... might be time to break out our TDR popcorn buckets (another cool little extra at TDR, the collectible popcorn buckets) and have a movie night

 

[battymum]

oooh,

I think I have found my next Disney fix - DisneySea!!!!

DH has always wanted to go to Japan - just trying to find accomodation for our family -

I think this might be our next trip - April 2013 -

 

[Aust]

I haven't been to WDW, and I adore DL so much I'm afraid to go to WDW in case I don't like it as much - also when my kids are young I prefer to avoid the extra travel time and travel to/from parks etc. Maybe one day.

I went to Tokyo DL about 20 years ago, there was no DisneySea then. I had a good time but remember thinking I just wanted to go to the 'real' DL (took me 16 years after Tokyo DL to get there!) I'd love to go now though to see TDS after all these grerat reviews.

 

[Minniemum]

So what's your favorite and why?

I am keen to hear your views on which Disney in the USA you like best and why?

Please give me your views on things like the parks,shows, dining , accommodation and off site stuff.

I am tossing and turning as to which way to go for our next trip ( most likely 2013) so looking for lots of points of view.

I don't think it's a case of which is my favourite park but more of which is the right park for my family and what we are wanting out of a holiday.

If you had children under the age of 6, I would encourage families to go to DLR. The main reasons being 1 flight to LAX, the compact nature of the parks and the close proximity to a variety of hotels. In addition, DLR is a must do for any West Coast USA holiday.

WDW on the other hand is a one stop shop. It has a multitude of parks and other experiences nearby. We made the switch to WDW 2 years ago when DS, our youngest, was 6. In addition to age, I would also take into account the height of your children. DS is very tall and was over 48" at the time allowing him to go on the majority of rides.

Our favourite parks are:
DH - MK
Me - AK
DD - Epcot
DS - MK

Our favourite rides are:
DH - Pirates of the Caribbean
Me - Peter Pan
DD - Space Mountain
DS - Splash Mountain

We also love the waterparks, with BB edging out TL. DD and DS both love the Ski Patrol Training Camp and Teamboat Springs at BB.

Our favourite shows are a toss up between Aladdin at DLR-CA and The Lion King at WDW-AK.

In terms of dining, WDW wins hands down over DLR. Our favourites:
DH - Whispering Canyon
Me - Coral Reef
DD - Coral Reef
DS - Teppan Edo

This will be our 3rd year in a row back to WDW. In 2010 we were there for Halloween and POP from all accounts had one of the best Halloween parties. Whilst the children had a ball, I must admit we found ourselves wanting more in the way of accommodation. Last year we stayed at POFQ and feel like we've found our Disney home, at least for the next couple of years!
One of the things we liked best about it was the pool activities and party at it's sister resort, POR. At other resorts, think Fiji, Thailand etc you may have a kids club where you drop them off for a couple of hours and pick them up again at lunch or dinner. Whilst the peace and quiet is appreciated, we loved that we were able to share the experiences of the POR pool party with our children. The activities started about 1pm and went through to 5.30pm. As with all things Disney it was well organised and a lot of fun! It also made for a great non park day.

To answer the last part of your question around "off site stuff", both years we've added in trips to US, IOA and KSS. We also like unique experiences so in 2010 we went to Discovery Cove which we loved and in 2011 was the Family Training Experience at KSS. I'm not sure what we will do this year as I'm still researching. I'd certainly appreciate any suggestions.

I feel like I need to add a disclaimer, suggesting that the opinions expressed are likely to be changed at a moments notice, following another trip to WDW

Melbourne5, having read your fabulous TR it sounds like you had a blast at IOA. WWoHP will not be opening in Hollywood until about 2015 so if you're wanting a similar experience maybe WDW is a better fit. Also your DS3 would get a whole different experience as he would be able to ride a heap more rides.

 

[Melbourne5]

I noticed your several trips in your signature. Which one did YOU prefer?

We're going on our first trip to both WDW and Disneyland this year. Which do you think we'd enjoy more? (I suspect we'll enjoy Disneyland more as it seems to look less... industrial?).

That's my dilemma . I can't decide I just am a sucker for the Disney way. and like both equally.

The good news is I reckon I have a little while to work out which way to go and all the views from this group will help. I am really enjoying the views already