Why choose DL over WDW?

[afcgirl]

I live in the Midwest and am a little closer to WDW but have not been to California in a while and am considering DL. It seems like WDW is much more popular. Is it worth it to choose DL over WDW just to see a few sights in California (such as L.A.)? We would stay at the Grand Californian.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Firefly777]

Well if you haven't been to DL, it is definitely worth it. It really is a great place, but just doesn't get quite as much attention as WDW gets (depends on where you are).

 

[Snurk71]

We find DL to be a less stressful trip than WDW. WDW has so much and is so spread out that you can feel like you missed out on a lot at the end of a WDW trip. DL is very confined and has many of the populars to still feel like you accomplished a lot, without the stress.

At least that is one aspect that we enjoy more at DL vs. WDW.

Another is the DTD area. DL is much more spread out and varied than WDW's cramped and packed DTD.

 

[year2late]

I echo the sentiments about DLR being a much less stressful trip .

I am planning our November WDW trip and I am getting tired just thinking of everything we "need" to do.


Ohhhh yessssss.......DLR weather is quite nice. No worrying about summer rains, thunderstorms, hurricaines.

 

[cjsmom5]

We much prefer WDW ... however, DL is only an hour plane ride away vs. 5 hours. So, for short trips we do DL.

The hotel prices at WDW are much better than at DL. Always costs us more for the same level of room. However, the park passes are more at WDW than DL, I think. We always get Annual Passes so it doens't matter.

We like the hotel theme at WDW much more so than DL. We also like the variety. Since we go every year we never stress about what to see and do. We just go with the flow.

If you are one that has to see and do everything, than DL and CA are much more easily navigated and seen than WDW. After 10 plus trips I still don't think we've done everything at WDW.

And, we prefer the food at WDW over DL. We like the variety. Price is about the same but it seems like with all the resorts, parks, etc. there is more to choose from

All that being said, we are returning to DL for our second trip in three months but are very much looking forward to our Nov. trip to WDW. My DS (6) talks about WDW all year and barely mentions DL except right before we go.

 

[Judy from Boise]

Because i beleive that DL is the single best Disney park, it is definately worth it even if you never saw any other sights ! But, I would caution you to wait until early summer 05 for your trip. Right now DL is in a major "refurb" mode for the 50 th celebration, and it is not at it's "best".

 

[lulubelle]

I would agree with many things the previous posters have said.

A major, major factor for us is the weather. If you are not used to heat and humidity, it will kill you. We have been to WDW three times, Feb., March and July. Even Feb. was hot and humid for us!

Also, DL is more quaint and laid back. Granted, there is less to do than at WDW, but it is a different kind of vacation. That is why we do both.

But if you have not been to CA and experienced the DL/DCA/DTD vacation, by all means, you really need to. It is an absolutely awesome family vacation and should not be missed. You cannot say DL or WDW is better, they are just two different kinds of destinations, and both awesome. The disney magic is alive and well all around. We do go to DL more since we live so close, but hey, that is logical, right?

Enjoy whichever you choose

 

[Friend_of_Piglet]

Can't explain it, there is this certain "Magic " feeling you get when you are on Main Street in Disneyland.

Sooz

 

[Tantor]

I grew up going to DL. We went back in 2001. It is very quaint and I loved DTD. And of course it's the * Disney that Walt built*. Something about the *magic* as the previous poster mentioned.
ALSO

Pirates and Splash Mountain are longer AND the Raiders Of The Lost Ark ride is AWESOME!!!!

 

[Brynnie]

I live in Boston so obviously WDW is easier for me to get to. Last year I went to DL in December to see Haunted Mansion Holiday and It's a Small World Holiday and I had a BLAST!! I loved the the parks is Anaheim are smaller and if you stay in a hotel nearby you don't need a car. I really liked California Screamin and Soarin over California! If you like Monte Christo sandwiches you will LOVE them at the Blue Bayou Restaurant. The restaurant is in the Pirates ride and you can watch the boats while you eat. Very cool. I really loved these parks at Christmas time and I am planning to go again in 2005 when they re-open Space Mountain.

Happy Planning!

Angie

 

[afcgirl]

Thanks for all of the great tips. I have to chew on this a bit more. Decisions, decisions....

 

[damo]

We just came back from Disneyland and thought it was awful. We waited twenty minutes to actually get into the park at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. They had only two wickets open. The alleyways are so small at Disneyland that everyone is running into each other all over the place. There are very few good rides. We really enjoyed Indiana Jones (probably the best ride I've been on) but there really was nothing else. Pirates and Splash Mountain were good but not great. There was absolutely no magic whatsoever.

California Adventure, on the other hand, was fantastic. The crowd management is excellent. The rides are excellent. The park is beautiful and we would go back in a heartbeat. This was my favourite park in California.

I would choose WDW over the two parks in California. The parks, in my opinion, are much better managed and crowd capacity is much better. They should add a California Screamin' coaster to WDW though .

 

[dsnylndmom]

If you've previously done WDW a few times then why not give DL a try!

The Grand Californian is a beautiful hotel and you'll love it's proximity to the parks.

I prefer Disneyland to WDW myself, but I'm biased, I love it & have grown up on it.

I love that it's "Walt's Park", I think that it has much, much more magic than any of the other parks. It's the original park and ahs wonderful history The cm's there are wonderful.
There are some great rides you can't ride at WDW
Matterhorn
Indiana Jones
California Screamin'
Soarin'(although soon to be at Epcot)
Alice in Wonderland
Mr. Toad
The Aladdin Show
The Animation Building is not to be missed!
Plus, the Haunted Mansion Nightmare Before Christmas Overlay
Storybook Canal Boats

plus there are some duplicate rides that are much better at DL vs WDW
Pirates
Space mountain
the exterior of IASW is gorgeous at DL, esp at Christmas
Grizzly River Run(vs Kali River)

The Blue Bayou restaurant is amazing! The Disney Gallery is wonderful
Fantasmic! Is better at DL, especially if you get the Dessert Buffet Balcony seating!

We've had better character interaction at DL.


DL & WDW are both wonderful and there are great reasons to try out both!
Let us know what you decide!

 

[zipDdoodah]

I agree, there is just more of a feeling of "magic" at DL. While we love both parks, there is just something that makes DL much more charming. Thankfully we get to do both this year, so we will get the best of both worlds. I absolutely love Grand Californian. In fact, I would have to say it beats WL by just a hair in my book. Also, I agree that some rides are definitely better at DL than at WDW.

However, with that being said, there is a lot more to see and do at WDW. I think it kind of depends on what you want to get out of your trip. WDW takes more planning, DL is more "fly by the seat of your pants (and you get to do that on Soarin Over California ). It's really a tough decision and a personal one, but the bottom line may be determined when you figure how long you can go for and what you are willing to spend. For less time and less money I would go to DL. For a longer more expensive trip I would go to WDW. Either way, you'll have a great time!

 

[Alison Wonderland]

The first day I was at DL I was thinking about how it wasn't as good as WDW but it grew on me. And now I like it just as much. And I do think there is something a little bit better about it. Maybe that's cuz I just love going to California. THis is what made me decide to make my next trip to Cali instead of Florida--I was thinking about how blasted hot it was whenwe went in June to DisneyWorld. We couldn't stand it after about 3 days and had to just wait until the evening to go to the parks. So California here we come (in 2005) and I cant' wait to get back to Disneyland. (and Universal Studios Hollywood and San Diego, etc etc etc)

 

[iceskatejen]

It was that hot to you in June and you're from New Orleans? OK, a friend was trying to talk me into heading to the Orlando area for a special event in July--I think this pretty much nixxes that idea. When I was there in April the heat coupled with the humidity just about did me in (and I was told it wasn't humid--to someone from So Cal it was very humid). No way I could take it in July. I think I'll stick with the Nov or Dec of 05 plan.

 

[TheLeonhardts]

We're WDW veterans. However, we planned a last minute, August vacation, and just didn't want to do the heat, humidity, and crowds in Florida. So, we took the cross-country flight to California. It was wonderful!! The weather was sunny, in the mid-70's, with a slight breeze. We never waited more than 20 minutes to ride anything -- although the Splash stand-by lines did get up to 90 minutes long (we fastpassed it). Pirates, Mansion, and Small World are better done at Disneyland. You have to experience the Matterhorn, Indy, Soarin', and Mr. Toad's. We missed Big Thunder and Space Mountain ("under refurb", and truly under refurb) - but had a marvelous time.

The Disneyland Hotel was great -- like a good moderate at WDW, inching towards a luxury. We watched the fireworks from our lower level resort view room every night. The pool and side entertainment items were well done.

The hotel was slightly more expensive than a WDW moderate would be -- but the annual passes were signifcantly less expensive. For some reason, I just seemed to spend less money than I thought I would. Don't know if we were buying less or getting bargains. . .

Most of the best of the 4 WDW parks can be found in these 2 parks. TOT, the 3 D movies, Indy is like Dinosaur, Star Tours -- most of the most popular attractions are there.

Would we do it again -- we would, maybe even next year if I have to plan a vacation for the same week in August. No school, no camp, no daycare -- might as well take a vacation.

Judy

 

[Alison Wonderland]

I was thinking about the heat and how I should be used to it living in New Orleans ,but I don't get out in it so much and do all that walking out in 90 and 100 degree weather when I am at home--stay inside as much as possible during the heat of the day. The weather was nice when we went to Florida in October but it was miserable with raining and heat when we went in June and August, so I decided the summer trip will be to DisneyLand, not DisneyWorld.

 

[MOMOF2LILPRINCESSES]

We visit DL at least 3 times a month & maybe 4 times a month now that summer is over. We feel DL is soooo magical and is always so special when we visit. Sometimes when my DDS are in school I just walk around the shops on Main Street and feel like I am in a whole different, wonderful world.

We just got back from WDW a few weeks back (when Hurricane Charley visited) and it was quite amazing. I feel like we did sooo much in less than a week there, but it was fantastic. The weather was a quite a bit humid & sooo hot. I can stand the heat, but the humidity was pretty intense. WDW is awesome and can't wait to go back, but I am very satisfied with living 20 minutes from the "HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH"!!

Also, there is so much to sightsee in Southern California, the beaches, Hollywood, Venice, Santa Monica, Universal Studios, Knotts, Beverly Hill, Laguna, Newport Beach....and the list goes on. Have fun

 

[djm99]

I am a WDW lover, but next summer I'm going to try Disneyland. I haven't been to DL since 1990. I didn't like it then, but I didn't like WDW as a teenager either, so go figure. Now an adult I'm sure I'll love it now, and besides like someone wrote before me, there is so much to do in the area. Its so much to do, we are planning 5 nights in LA area, 5 nights in Anaheim area, and 5 nights in the San Diego/Mexico area. I only have one problem - waiting on time to go by ...........