This is a good thread. It will probably inspire my longest post ever. Here goes.
I grew up in Southern California and moved away after college, so reading everyone's response has been very nostalgic. It's making me miss DL. Don't get me wrong, I love WDW too. I've taken my family there 4 times, and we will leave for our 5th trip to WDW two weeks from today.
I very much echo many of the things already pointed out. Definitely Indy, Small World facade, Matterhorn and POC. I don't think anyone who has ridden POC at DL is ever satisfied with POC at WDW. And, a hearty AMEN to whoever talked about the Monty Christo sandwiches at Blue Bayou. They are extraordinarily good.
But what I miss most about DL compared to WDW has to do with a design limitation imposed on the imagineers. Constrained by space in Anaheim, the imagineers really packed everything they could in the limited space they had to work with. Where WDW is sprawling, DL is tightly packed. This gives DL a different feel than the MK in WDW. At DL, I always felt that I needed to explore every nook and cranny, because each nook and cranny was used expeditiously.
But, I fully realize that for me at least, its not a fair comparison. To compare the park of my adulthood, to the park of my youth is obviously slanted in favor of those powerful youthful memories. It's like, comparing my first kiss to any that followed. (Ahem.....with the possible exception of kissing my wife of 18 years. Yeah whatever.)
For those of you who did not grow up in So. Cal., were you aware of the DL grad night program?
Many of the So. Cal. high schools, including mine, participated in the DL grad night program. The park is open from 9PM to 6AM the next morning. There is a semi-formal dress code, and the only way to get in is if you came on a bus with your graduating class (i.e. not open to the general public). How can WDW possibly compete with those impressionable high school memories of me and my high school sweetheart getting to spend the whole night at DL together? (Note to wife of 18 years - We didn't really have that much fun. I was thinking about you the whole time!)
All of the above notwithstanding, let's face it. I now live in the middle of the country, about equal-distance from DL and WDW, and where do I chose to take my kids? WDW of course. Sure, I miss certain things about DL. But there would be numerous things that I would miss about WDW if we went to DL instead. Like Typhoon Lagoon. And Boma. And the World Showcase. Etc. Etc.
Thanks to the original poster. I have enjoyed thinking about this, and who knows. Maybe next year it will be time to show my kids what POC should be like when it is done right!!
JG
