What would you like to bring from DL to WDW?

[Twigs]

dpic, we went to DL in 2003 right after July 4 weekend. It is not called the Magic Kingdom there, just Disneyland. It feels smaller when you are there, but then it is a lot older. The walkways are a lot narrower, at night the lighting isn't as good, and the castle is much much shorter, this was the biggest shock for us. We entered DL for the first time via the monorail which lets you off in Tomorrowland, We walked to the hub and I looked up to see the castle and it wasn't there, I had to lower my sightline! We had our own car and went to the Anaheim Angels game one night and out to dinner another so we did drive around some, I didn't think it was too rundown.

 

[missypie]

California Screamin' is our family's favorite roller coaster anywhere...it is pretty thrilling and is incredibly smoooooth. (I love Storybook Canal, too.)

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I'd like to bring the drier weather!

T&B

 

[leighe]

What's the Alice in Wonderland ride like? I LOVE anything Alice. This might make me consider a trip west!

 

[Rhonna]

leighe - The Alice ride is in Fantasyland. I can't tell you how many times we have gone to DL and that ride has been closed. I finally got to go on it again as an adult a couple of years ago. I did enjoy it - childhood nostalgia - it has a bit of a feel (to me) of the Pooh ride at WDW in the "dark" portions of Pooh - the Huffalumps???(whatever's, lol).

You get into the vehicles outdoors and then move along on top of "plants and foliage" and the catapillar is out there also. It winds around several tight turns before you go "down" into the rabbit hole (inside the building) and then move through the scenes of the story.

In the outside portion I always feel like the "foliage" your vehicle is riding on (the tracks) is very precarious, it doesn't look very sturdy to me.

I am not by any means a large person but I was surprised how tight the ride vehicles at Alice are to get in and sit in. Quite a squeeze. I would be surprised if a "Pooh sized" person could fit in the vehicle. Seems designed for children (what about the parents?)

Anyhow, it's one of those rides like Mr. Toad's that they just need to keep - it's a classic.

 

[Laralyn]

I'd bring over:

Pirates! It's so much better. The line is actually better at WDW, but the ride is much longer at DL.

Blue Bayou! Escaping the crowds and heat to listen to banjo music and crickets INSIDE the PoC ride is one of the highlights of my trips to DL. And the monte cristo sandwich.... mmmmm!

Storybookland Boats! It's a very simple ride--miniature sets with even more miniature (but real) plants. Worth doing once during the day and then again at night. Watch out for the giant ducks and starlings!

Indiana Jones. Even the line area is worth experiencing.

Tiki Room and outer area! I haven't seen Under New Management yet, but I love the original show, especially the small show in the waiting area. I remembered how much it impressed me as a child.

 

[Jen D]

The Small World facade. Alice in Wonderland. Casey Jr.s Train and the Storybook Canal Boats. DL's Fantasyland rules!

And New Orleans Square.

 

[Rhonna]

I would LOVE it if WDW had the (non-alcoholic) mint juleps that they have in New Orleans Square and at the Blue Bayou restaurant in DL. Kind of a mint flavored lemonade. Sooooooooo good!

 

[AladdinsPrincess]

Twigs - I had the same reaction to the castle! When we first got to Anaheim, I couldn't understand why I couldn't see the castle from the roads around the park (like I could see CA Screamin and Space Mountain). We were shocked at how "petite" the castle was when we finally got inside. That said, the history of it makes it almost more magical then the one at MK (almost )

Anyway, if I could bring some things from DL to WDW it would be:
Small World Facade
Haunted Mansion at the holidays
The Matterhorn

For what it's worth, I also thought Toon Town looked way better in DL for some reason. It was bigger I guess.

Great thread!

 

[JohnGalt]

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, it’s 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

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

What a great thread! I've never been to DL, but have seen pics of the Matterhorn, so that's what I would like to bring to WDW.

Now, after reading this thread, I am very curious. What is it about the Small World Facade and the Pirates ride that is so much better at DL? I'd love to hear about it.

Can you tell me anything about how HM is decorated for Christmas? It all sounds so cool.

Tink

 

[vjc715]

Please forgive me for saying this....but I LOVE DL's Magic Kindom sooooo much better than WDW's Magic Kingdom.

You just gotta love DL's.....
It's a Small World building
Blue Bayou
Indiana Jones
The fronts of the rides in fantasyland
Not to mention just LOVE walking to Toontown...feels like you are somewhere else. When I went to WDW's magic kingdom, I felt jipped.
Alice in Wonderland

Basically the entire design of the park.

Plus I think DL's magic kingdom is just more quaint and the nostalgia of it all....you can "feel" the difference!

 

[danny1649]

 

[JohnGalt]

tinkerbellmagic -

It took some time, but I found a picture of the SW facade at DL that everyone on this thread keeps talking about.

I didn't know quite how to describe it for you, so I hope this picture helps, in a small way, (pun intended) to see how special this ride is at DL.

JG

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

Oh my gosh! The picture of IASW is GORGEOUS! Thank you so much for posting it, John. I really appreciate it! It's breathtaking!

Tink

 

[Tigger's Mom]

Matterhorn, Indiana Jones, and the Blue Bayou with that Monte Cristo sandwich...Toontown is a lot better too.

But we thought overall WDW is a much better park. Our castle puts the DL version to shame.

 

[jmclester]

Indy ride!!!!

 

[Missy1961]

I went to DL once, and we stayed offsite. But we loved Alice in Wonderland. POC is soooooooooooo much more fun there. Haunted Mansion is too. We also liked the area around the Disneyland Hotel. We ate at Goofy's Kitchen at least 3 times! And this was before California Adventure.

 

[darner]

Storybook Canal boats (they have at DLParis, too) and Casey Jr. RR

Unfortunately, the Florida weather probably influences much of what is built at WDW... it is such a shame to have Small World essentially enclosed at WDW... The inside/out of Alice and the uncovered Tea Cups bring the park alive at DL...

The other thing I would do away with is having the exit to a majority of the rides at WDW in a gift shop. If memory serves me correctly, only small world at DL exits to a gift shop and that is easily avoidable...

 

[barbeml]

Indiana Jones Ride and the Blue Bayou restaurant overlooking Pirates of the Caribbean.