I’m a fellow WDW vet, we go every year, however, this past August we did DL instead and loved it, it was fantastic. We thoroughly enjoyed it and understand why so many people adore the place. We fell in love with DL and immediately planned a return trip.
Having done both coasts here’s my humble insights:
1. MaxPass is so awesome, it’s worth every nickel.
2. Hopping is so simple and we felt it was worth the extra cost. However, if you’re on a first trip there’s so much to see and do that hopping is not a must do, it’s a luxury on a first trip. We really enjoyed it though and also wouldn’t go again without it.
3. Use a touring plan- I put together one using wait times and this board’s advice and we got a crazy amount of things done using the touring plan, way more than we do in a day at WDW.
4. Rope Drop is equally effective on both coasts, maybe more than at WDW.
5. You’ll have more time than at WDW. Everything is closer, transportation is easier, things just take less time.
6. However, this also means that...It will seem far more crowded, even when it isn’t. It’s more compact, walkways are narrower, there’s a lot more going on in a much smaller space, this isn’t bad, we loved the close proximity, it made touring less exhausting.
7. There’s a difference in the CMs- at WDW the CMs treat you like your trip is a once in a lifetime affair, at DL the CMs treat you like they’ll see you next week. It’s not better, not worse- just a different approach.
8. Use single rider line- we rode RSR 4 times in a row using it, we waited just 5 minutes each time.
9. Ralph’s is a grocery chain that delivers like Garden Grocer. We used
Amazon as well.
10. You will be disoriented at times-familiar things are not in the same places. Study a map before you go.
Finally, You’re probably not just a WDW fan, you’re probably a Walt fan as well. It sounds corny, but we really felt closer to him and loved knowing that we were walking where he walked, enjoying the park that he built, and watched Lincoln just as Walt hoped we would.
Have a great trip!