When I'm wrong I'll admit it and never thought I'd say this but.....

[disneyfan67]

Many WDW vets would be horrified at the thought of dining off-site. So that is a perk to penny-wise folks but not to many WDWers.

Because dining offsite can be very, very time consuming at WDW. It can be cheaper dining price wise, but a lot of visitors to WDW don't have cars and use either M.E or have a limo/towncar service drop them off. If you have no car, you're at the mercy of Disney dining and I have been there. You can walk to Mimi's, Denny's, Mickey D's, and a lot of others at DLR. Good luck on doing that in WDW's 47 square miles of property. Renting a car can be expensive for the week, so a lot of folks just add the dining plan at WDW and suffer through it for the most part.

 

[HydroGuy]

Because dining offsite can be very, very time consuming at WDW. It can be cheaper dining price wise, but a lot of visitors to WDW don't have cars and use either M.E or have a limo/towncar service drop them off. If you have no car, you're at the mercy of Disney dining and I have been there. You can walk to Mimi's, Denny's, Mickey D's, and a lot of others at DLR. Good luck on doing that in WDW's 47 square miles of property. Renting a car can be expensive for the week, so a lot of folks just add the dining plan at WDW and suffer through it for the most part.

My impression is that rather than "suffering through it" they choose it on purpose. That is why so many reservations fill up six months in advance. It is part of the immersion factor so important to many WDW vets...

 

[mermaidwannabe]

For a 7 to 10 day vacations WDW wins hands down!! We love enjoying 1 or 2 parks each day along with far better restaurant variety for lunch and dinner daily. Just a relaxing time for a long vacation and plenty to do without ever being bored.

We visit DLR far more than WDW, mostly because its closer to us. DLR has far better attention to detail in the buildings and rides. POTC, Grizzly, Space are superior and it looks like Carsland will offer a better version of Test Track. We too enjoy the ability to park hop, shop and dine without having to spend the time on a bus, boat or monorail.

So for us, DLR easily wins for shorter 2-4 day trips. WDW for longer vacations.

Yes on the longer vacations, especially with Epcot. And yes to the restaurants. We've gone both times to DW with free dining. Eating at Cinderella's Royal Table, Tonga Toast at Kona Cafe, etc. is hard to beat.

 

[ConnieB]

Walt's park

To me THAT is why it wins over people. I love and adore WDW and am definitely looking forward to going back when their construction is complete.....but I am not feeling any regret at spending this next two years at DLR. It's odd to me how much Magic Kingdom and WDW have in common and yet they feel so very different. And I think it's the "Walt" factor. DLR was his and you can feel him still there somehow. Maybe it's just the sentimentalist in me, but I don't recall feeling his presence in WDW.

Disneyland has a lot of secrets to discover too....so keep looking for the little details and the surprises around every corner. It adds to the wonder.

 

[disneyfan67]

My impression is that rather than "suffering through it" they choose it on purpose. That is why so many reservations fill up six months in advance. It is part of the immersion factor so important to many WDW vets...

The suffering wording is more meant for me and while many guests choose it, trust me when I say this, as a wdw vet, Disney Dining has gone down hill.

It may have been convenient at one time and something that was supposed to make your vacation easier, but over the years, it has become a hassle. 6 months booking to get a decent dining reservation that are almost always taken when you want them. Food and menus that have become more generic and bland tasting and vacations becoming like work by planning your dining ressies around your theme park time. I liked it back in the day when there was no plan and the menus weren't so dumbed down and generic to fit within the plan. It sucks and I'm not the only WDW who feels that way either.

I like the fact that at DLR I can wake up in the morning or call the night before and get a reservation for where I want. Every morning I would call and sure as can be, there was room at GK or Storytellers, etc. Last summer at DLR I never had a problem getting into anywhere on site. Be thankful you guys don't have the dining plan.

 

[Judy from Boise]

I am in a very small minority that prefers the dining options at DLR for that very reason. I love quality and variety of counter service coupled with the weather that makes it a treat to eat outside.

I can get sit down dining at home cheaper and better......but I can't eat by the Rivers of America etc for any price except for DL !

 

[HydroGuy]

The suffering wording is more meant for me and while many guests choose it, trust me when I say this, as a wdw vet, Disney Dining has gone down hill.

It may have been convenient at one time and something that was supposed to make your vacation easier, but over the years, it has become a hassle. 6 months booking to get a decent dining reservation that are almost always taken when you want them. Food and menus that have become more generic and bland tasting and vacations becoming like work by planning your dining ressies around your theme park time. I liked it back in the day when there was no plan and the menus weren't so dumbed down and generic to fit within the plan. It sucks and I'm not the only WDW who feels that way either.

I like the fact that at DLR I can wake up in the morning or call the night before and get a reservation for where I want. Every morning I would call and sure as can be, there was room at GK or Storytellers, etc. Last summer at DLR I never had a problem getting into anywhere on site. Be thankful you guys don't have the dining plan.

Oh, I am not advocating the WDW system over the DLR system. I love that we just nailed down our DLR trip details today for a trip one month from now, and I can get every reservation I want and when I want. Still, I would argue that WDW lends itself more to an integrated dining philosophy. DLR does not because of the closeness of everything. I like both for different reasons.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

As I am within a few weeks of making my first ever visit to DLR, I think I like reading this thread. I love WDW so much that it is hard to imagine I will like DLR better; I will keep an open mind and not try to waste my time and vacation on running comparisons.

I guess I am as ready as can be for DLR to overwhelm me with its charms.

 

[disneyfan67]

As I am within a few weeks of making my first ever visit to DLR, I think I like reading this thread. I love WDW so much that it is hard to imagine I will like DLR better; I will keep an open mind and not try to waste my time and vacation on running comparisons.

I guess I am as ready as can be for DLR to overwhelm me with its charms.

First off Zip, I hope you and your family have a wonderful time. I went to DLR last summer with just my two sons as a guys only trip and it was a great experience. I think a lot of that had to do with a few things I taught myself before hand. I knew it wasn't going to be WDW and I didn't try and compare the two. DL is almost like a museum of Disney history and I enjoyed walking around riding attractions that Walt himself was on. You feel the history of the park and look at it on another level than just a theme park. It dawns on you, no pun intended, that you're walking in an important part of 20th century American history. You realise if this park had never had been conceived and built, we wouldn't have WDW or any other Disney vacation experience.

Please take the time to enjoy the little details and re ride some of the attractions a few times to see things you miss the first time around. Pirates and Indy come to mind, but there's many more. DCA is was dog when it opened in 2001, imo, but you can see how nicely it is shaping up and becoming a worthy addition to DL. Enjoy WOC and what the DCA has to offer. You lucky to be able to go on TLMR this visit and I look forward to riding it in my upcoming visit.


Enjoy the trip, don't compare, and I hope you become a fan of DLR like I did. Good luck and have a great time.

 

[HydroGuy]

First off Zip, I hope you and your family have a wonderful time. I went to DLR last summer with just my two sons as a guys only trip and it was a great experience. I think a lot of that had to do with a few things I taught myself before hand. I knew it wasn't going to be WDW and I didn't try and compare the two. DL is almost like a museum of Disney history and I enjoyed walking around riding attractions that Walt himself was on. You feel the history of the park and look at it on another level than just a theme park. It dawns on you, no pun intended, that you're walking in an important part of 20th century American history. You realise if this park had never had been conceived and built, we wouldn't have WDW or any other Disney vacation experience.

Please take the time to enjoy the little details and re ride some of the attractions a few times to see things you miss the first time around. Pirates and Indy come to mind, but there's many more. DCA is was dog when it opened in 2001, imo, but you can see how nicely it is shaping up and becoming a worthy addition to DL. Enjoy WOC and what the DCA has to offer. You lucky to be able to go on TLMR this visit and I look forward to riding it in my upcoming visit.


Enjoy the trip, don't compare, and I hope you become a fan of DLR like I did. Good luck and have a great time.

I would go further and say comparisons are inevitable and - to a point - fun and healthy. Where comparisons tilt towards the unhealthy is when every comparison is done as if WDW is the ideal and one only looks at where DLR falls short.

An open mind that yes, DLR can actually be better than WDW in certain ways (here is where you insert Indiana Jones ride, POTC, Space Mtn and World of Color, for example), and that it is OK for Splash Mtn to not be right next to BTMRR. In fact since each was first built at Disneyland it is MK which is "weird" (that they are right next to each other).

Any way, the big thing is not set up WDW as the best and only way for a Disney resort to exist.

 

[scguy843]

Well, I've been to both places once.

WDW - It was the week between Christmas and New Years in 2008 and I've never ever seen crowds like this. Lines for everything were long. The weather was great though.

DLR - It was the third week in January of 2010. If anybody remembers that week, yeah it rained like crazy. But we used it to our advantage and enjoyed very short lines throughout the week.

Rides - DLR has much better rides IMO. Indiana Jones, Matterhorn Bobsleds, California Screamin, and classic rides like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Pretty much all the good ones WDW has, they have at DLR (minus RnR Coaster and Expedition Everest)

Castle - WDW has the better castle. I was pretty disappointed with DLR's castle.

Layout - The layout for DLR is much better and easier to get around. Then again, it's only two parks side by side, but it just made things a lot easier and less aggravating than catching a monorail, tram, or bus to another park.

Magic - WDW is definitely more "magical" IMO because it really does look like a fantasy world. DLR just looks like a regular theme park.

With all that said, I enjoyed DLR a lot more because I am all about the
rides.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I would go further and say comparisons are inevitable and - to a point - fun and healthy. Where comparisons tilt towards the unhealthy is when every comparison is done as if WDW is the ideal and one only looks at where DLR falls short.

An open mind that yes, DLR can actually be better than WDW in certain ways (here is where you insert Indiana Jones ride, POTC, Space Mtn and World of Color, for example), and that it is OK for Splash Mtn to not be right next to BTMRR. In fact since each was first built at Disneyland it is MK which is "weird" (that they are right next to each other).

Any way, the big thing is not set up WDW as the best and only way for a Disney resort to exist.

I can't wait to ride Indy. Also I have read so much about PotC that I know I will love it, since it is one of my favorite WDW attractions. The BIG deal is that I absolutely can not wait to ride Space Mountain and not feel jerked around when the ride is done. I love the atmosphere of SM, and everything I read says DL has perfected it.

 

[2princes'mom]

Thank you for everyone's comments!

I visited DL on my 10th birthday and then 3 other times during highschool & my early 20's - but I haven't returned. I enjoyed my trips but once I went to DW I was hooked. I've been to DW 5 times since 1998 (that's as often as we can afford to go) and because I am absolutely in LOVE with it I was a little worried that our DL trip would be some how a let down.

It was DH who picked it for our 5 yr anniversary trip (over Vegas, San Antonio, etc). He explained that it was the one of the places he had always wanted to go and had never been. As a child his family didn't travel (other than a few hrs away to see family) and so when we married me and I started taking him places this was always in the back of his mind.

The last time I was there they had just began to clear space for DCA so I while I was happy that there would be some "new to me" parts I was a little worried that it just wouldn't compare with DW.

However with ALL of that being said, I have to tell you that it is because of your thoughts on the subject I am now realizing there is so much to look forward to. I will not "compare", I will embrace the differences and will enjoy being a kid again - with my husband on my arm.

 

[tndislvr]

2princes'mom - I think you will thoroughly enjoy your trip. I, too, prior to our trip was concerned DLR just wouldn't measure up to WDW. The closer it got to our trip the more nervous I got. However, thanks to our fellow DISers my mind was put at ease and I went with the same mindset you are going with - don't compare, just enjoy and appreciate the differences. Our trip was amazing, we were not disappointed in the least, and cannot wait to go back! While I can't say for certain I do think DLR will have a special place in your heart after your trip. Have fun!

 

[vratiana]

What I love about DLR is the charm. Fantasyland, especially, is much more charming to me. For example, the teacups at DLR are just beautiful. At WDW, they are in a steel pavilion.