Why Do You Love Disneyland More than WDW?

[Aspencreek]

When we were in DL in May, it was CHILLY...to the point of being uncomfortably cold the one night we stayed out for WOC. We never ended up staying for the DL fireworks because we couldn't bear the thought of another night of freezing like that. Even the days were chillier and kind of gloomy...could be our bad luck or bad pick of dates. Clearly, FL has more than its share of weather issues but our usual travel times are April and October and for the most part, we are blessed with warm weather. We like to get up early and rope drop then spend afternoons lounging by the pool at our resort before heading back for dinner and nighttime shows.

That's interesting your take on the weather as the biggest concern I have about maybe going to WDW again is the weather in FL compared to Cali. I'm from the West and so we go to DL quite often. Out of a dozen or so trips over the last number of years we nearly always have fantastic weather. Usually lots of sun, warm but not hot temps, and no rain. Worst case it might be cool enough for a jacket in the morning or late evening, but that's about it.

Our experience on our one trip to WDW 10 years ago was quite different. We went in early November and for the first 2 days it was very nice, almost tropical feeling, and we loved it. Then a cold snap hit and we literally had to go to Walmart and buy coats and sweatshirts and caps and parkas for the whole family. The next 6 days we were there it was cold and drizzly off and on the entire time. We still had fun as we hadn't been there before, but it was definitely worse weather by far than any we've ever had at DL.

 

[DizMe]

As a WDW regular who visited DLR for the first time in May, here's my $.02, for what it's worth...

WDW feels more like a vacation which I think in large part that has to do with the warmer weather and the resorts.

We stayed at the DLH and I fully expected to love it and didn't. The best part about it was the headboard. Otherwise, it's kind of old and run down a bit with a VERY small hot tub that was overloaded with kids the one time we tried to go. If we go again, I would either stay off-site and save a bunch of money, or go the complete opposite and stay at the GCH because it seems to be more what we are used to when we stay at WDW.

When we were in DL in May, it was CHILLY...to the point of being uncomfortably cold the one night we stayed out for WOC. We never ended up staying for the DL fireworks because we couldn't bear the thought of another night of freezing like that. Even the days were chillier and kind of gloomy...could be our bad luck or bad pick of dates. Clearly, FL has more than its share of weather issues but our usual travel times are April and October and for the most part, we are blessed with warm weather. We like to get up early and rope drop then spend afternoons lounging by the pool at our resort before heading back for dinner and nighttime shows.

We missed EPCOT. I know they have a lot of the rides there in CA, but there's no World Showcase or festivals or GOTG Cosmic Rewind. I know the DLR QS is amazing but with all the festivals throughout the year at EP, it gives DLR a run for it's money. We also missed AK and all of the charm and let's face it, Flight of Passage

One last thing I'll say in favor of WDW is the security at DLR is terrible and is soooooo much better in WDW now that they have scanners. The whole manual bag check at DLR is ridiculous and needs to go.

I'm sure it sounds like we didn't like DLR which isn't true...I was just saying to DD that maybe we should go back next year! It's just different and has it's own appeal, just like WDW has its own appeal for different reasons.

Since you asked, I would say just try to enjoy and not compare while you're there! Here are some suggestions:

Spend more time at your resort (hopefully you're at a good one!). Sit and relax by the pool or the hot tub!

Walk around EPCOT although you seem to be there at one of the rare times there is no festival happening, but I hope you get to stay for some of the Festival of the Holidays because it's wonderful!

Try to get some last minute dining reservations at the unique restaurants in WDW...people change plans all the time so there's a pretty good chance to grab them!

Go walk around DHS and enjoy the most amazing retro Christmas decorations! And while you're there, go on "our" Tower of Terror because it's awesome!

Walk around Disney Springs which IMO is much better than DTD...try to get a Gideon's cookie or eat at The Polite Pig...amazing QS food! I also just saw on a blog that Jock Lindsey's has some really cute Christmas decorations up.

Do a monorail resort crawl and look at all the gorgeous Christmas decorations then take the boat over to Wilderness Lodge to see the best tree of all. Finish out with dinner/drinks at Geyser Point (which doesn't require reservations) and watch the Electric Boat Parade go by on Bay Lake.

Enjoy the rest of your trip!

Thanks for this excellent review! I think when we compare what we're used to to the "other" Disney, we don't know how to "do" the other park the way we know our usual and it feels less comfortable. We don't know the tricks or how to take advantage of things the way we would at our home park.

I've thought it would be great for a person like me, who only knows DLR, to go to WDW with someone who is very familiar with it. I do find these boards to be excellent places to sort through the collective knowledge and experiences of others. It definitely helps me, even with a park I've known all my life!

Again, thanks for your insight and suggestions!

 

[buzzrelly]

That's interesting your take on the weather as the biggest concern I have about maybe going to WDW again is the weather in FL compared to Cali. I'm from the West and so we go to DL quite often. Out of a dozen or so trips over the last number of years we nearly always have fantastic weather. Usually lots of sun, warm but not hot temps, and no rain. Worst case it might be cool enough for a jacket in the morning or late evening, but that's about it.

Our experience on our one trip to WDW 10 years ago was quite different. We went in early November and for the first 2 days it was very nice, almost tropical feeling, and we loved it. Then a cold snap hit and we literally had to go to Walmart and buy coats and sweatshirts and caps and parkas for the whole family. The next 6 days we were there it was cold and drizzly off and on the entire time. We still had fun as we hadn't been there before, but it was definitely worse weather by far than any we've ever had at DL.

I was surprised and more than a little disappointed how chilly it was, especially since all I ever hear is how spectacular the Southern CA weather is. I think it was bad timing on our part because even the couple days we spent afterwards in LA were pretty gloomy. What month would you go for the best weather?

Thanks for this excellent review! I think when we compare what we're used to to the "other" Disney, we don't know how to "do" the other park the way we know our usual and it feels less comfortable. We don't know the tricks or how to take advantage of things the way we would at our home park.

I've thought it would be great for a person like me, who only knows DLR, to go to WDW with someone who is very familiar with it. I do find these boards to be excellent places to sort through the collective knowledge and experiences of others. It definitely helps me, even with a park I've known all my life!

Again, thanks for your insight and suggestions!

Thanks! It is very hard not to compare and I definitely found myself doing that too when we were there. But it takes you out of the moment so I tried to just stop and enjoy all that DLR had to offer and not think about what we were missing

 

[Chili327]

I was surprised and more than a little disappointed how chilly it was, especially since all I ever hear is how spectacular the Southern CA weather is. I think it was bad timing on our part because even the couple days we spent afterwards in LA were pretty gloomy. What month would you go for the best weather?

I’d say you should be good most of the year, especially May thru Sept is usually very warm weather, if you don't want to risk it go in July or August and it should be in the 90’s (no humidity)
I’ve never been to WDW so I was surprised someone told me to bring a jacket in Jan. lol

 

[buzzrelly]

I’d say you should be good most of the year, especially May thru Sept is usually very warm weather, if you don't want to risk it go in July or August and it should be in the 90’s (no humidity)
I’ve never been to WDW so I was surprised someone told me to bring a jacket in Jan. lol

Thanks, I'm thinking I'd like to go sometime in July.

FL does get crazy cold sometimes and we have had trips in December where it was freezing and other trips when it was gorgeous and we swam! You just never know what you'll get down there!

 

[upritbass]

I was surprised and more than a little disappointed how chilly it was, especially since all I ever hear is how spectacular the Southern CA weather is. I think it was bad timing on our part because even the couple days we spent afterwards in LA were pretty gloomy.

That's why they refer to the weather in May/June as the June Gloom. There is a persistent marine layer that sets up in May and doesn't break up until at least July.

 

[katyringo]

We did a week long stay at DLH last October and just returned from a week at Pop century in WDW.

I can't choose .i won't choose. I love Disney. There are things I love about each coast and things I can critique about each coast. From a logistics standpoint- I hate the 7am booking process at world, but really loved that finding characters there was super predictable. And EPCOT- need I say more? But at land I can ride all my favorite rides multiple times in a trip and park hopping is SO easy. The magic is at both..

 

[LKing]

When we were in DL in May, it was CHILLY...to the point of being uncomfortably cold the one night we stayed out for WOC. We never ended up staying for the DL fireworks because we couldn't bear the thought of another night of freezing like that. Even the days were chillier and kind of gloomy...could be our bad luck or bad pick of dates.

Did you go in May, 2023? If so, it was an unusually wet and cold year. We had no spring. It was cold and rainy up until summer. We even had rain in August.

 

[European]

DL sure has its charms and it shows it was the first park, in a good way. But WDW is so much bigger, I love it for the bubble and always stay onsite. I don’t like the surroundings of DL and only the Grand Californian looks like a real Disney hotel to me. But have never been able to stay there as it’s always booked when I decide to visit DL. (And it’s expensive).

 

[KPeterso]

Disneyland local...

I love both coasts for very different reasons.

Disneyland is just home. I know how to do the parks and where to go to have the best days.

Disney World is a vacation for me. No pesky work interruptions. No stopping at CVS or Ralphs or Target on my way home. Getting to be away and have not have to think about cooking and all I have to do at home for a week is relaxing. And then the parks ---- we love AK and spend a ton of time in that park --- it is our favorite. We also really love Epcot. Some of our favorite restaurants are in Epcot (Le Cellier, Teppan Edo, Chefs de France, Akershus). Hollywood Studios has grown on me over the years. I can take or leave MK. I prefer the Disneyland versions of all the rides to the MK versions, so I am ok with just visiting for short spurts there. I have even considered skipping it on shorter trips.

 

[gardenrooms]

While I actually prefer the World, I really did LOVE the Guardians of the Galaxy (tower of terror ride) at California adventure and Incredicoaster! Those two rides beat out others in DW for me.

lol as a Twilight Zone kid, I am so glad WDW still has Tower of Terror (which was always better than DL's because of the footprint, in any case).

 

[gardenrooms]

Love both resorts for different reasons. At WDW, spend half our trip at the Beach Club which makes hopping between Epcot and Hollywood Studios, at least, doable (though not as easy as DLR, a LOT longer walk). But we always hop at both places. I am a park hopper by nature, maybe a little ADD, so it has never bothered me at WDW, though there was more incentive in the past with more early entries and late nights. I would always plan my visits around those (I'd set up a grid and take it from there, but with only being able to come every few years, we always had to do a lot of pre-planning. We can be more spontaneous at DLR, though with reservations and having to wait to hop, not as much as in the past.). (Spend the other half of our trip at Kidani Village because even though we have to use buses for EVERYTHING, I LOVE having my morning coffee on the balcony watching the giraffes have their breakfast.)

 

[gardenrooms]

Disneyland local...

I love both coasts for very different reasons.

Disneyland is just home. I know how to do the parks and where to go to have the best days.

Disney World is a vacation for me. No pesky work interruptions. No stopping at CVS or Ralphs or Target on my way home. Getting to be away and have not have to think about cooking and all I have to do at home for a week is relaxing. And then the parks ---- we love AK and spend a ton of time in that park --- it is our favorite. We also really love Epcot. Some of our favorite restaurants are in Epcot (Le Cellier, Teppan Edo, Chefs de France, Akershus). Hollywood Studios has grown on me over the years. I can take or leave MK. I prefer the Disneyland versions of all the rides to the MK versions, so I am ok with just visiting for short spurts there. I have even considered skipping it on shorter trips.

Agree I prefer DL over MK but maybe I'm a glutton for punishment, but I love WDW's Peter Pan queue, and I do like 7 Dwarves, though the absolute worst nightmare caused by LLs that we have ever had was there. MK also has some strange sightlines at night.

 

[Chili327]

Disneyland local...

I love both coasts for very different reasons.

Disneyland is just home. I know how to do the parks and where to go to have the best days.

Disney World is a vacation for me. No pesky work interruptions. No stopping at CVS or Ralphs or Target on my way home. Getting to be away and have not have to think about cooking and all I have to do at home for a week is relaxing. And then the parks ---- we love AK and spend a ton of time in that park --- it is our favorite. We also really love Epcot. Some of our favorite restaurants are in Epcot (Le Cellier, Teppan Edo, Chefs de France, Akershus). Hollywood Studios has grown on me over the years. I can take or leave MK. I prefer the Disneyland versions of all the rides to the MK versions, so I am ok with just visiting for short spurts there. I have even considered skipping it on shorter trips.

Agree with everything. But it is hard to deny Tomorrowland is absolutely amazing in WDW.

DL is home, but WDW is a vacation. DL is just a theme park trip, WDW is a whole vacation destination. I couldn’t imagine staying at DLR for more than about 4 nights w/5 day hopper, where I think I could do WDW for 2 weeks with a 10 day hopper easy.

Doing VGC for the first time in December so that may change my view a little.

 

[KPeterso]

Agree with everything. But it is hard to deny Tomorrowland is absolutely amazing in WDW.

DL is home, but WDW is a vacation. DL is just a theme park trip, WDW is a whole vacation destination. I couldn’t imagine staying at DLR for more than about 4 nights w/5 day hopper, where I think I could do WDW for 2 weeks with a 10 day hopper easy.

Doing VGC for the first time in December so that may change my view a little.

Vgc is amazing! My favorite of all the Dvc. Despite being a local, I own 100 points there so I can do 2-3 short staycations per year. We will be staying there again in July for the anniversary and again in early December! Hope you love it as much as I do.

 

[gardenrooms]

Agree with everything. But it is hard to deny Tomorrowland is absolutely amazing in WDW.

DL is home, but WDW is a vacation. DL is just a theme park trip, WDW is a whole vacation destination. I couldn’t imagine staying at DLR for more than about 4 nights w/5 day hopper, where I think I could do WDW for 2 weeks with a 10 day hopper easy.

Doing VGC for the first time in December so that may change my view a little.

We have never spent more than 3 days, I think, at DLR,(we live in No. Cal, so we know we can always come back) though in a couple weeks we will be doing 5 days just since I think it will be so crowded we want to be able to relax a little while still doing everything we want to do. We won't be on site, so no early entry, so expect to shut the parks down every night.

For me, 10 or 11 days at WDW is needed to do everything we want to do knowing we won't be able to come back for a while. We can only come every 2 or 3 years, and it's go, go, go just to get it all in (which is getting harder and harder to do every visit).

 

[gardenrooms]

Vgc is amazing! My favorite of all the Dvc. Despite being a local, I own 100 points there so I can do 2-3 short staycations per year. We will be staying there again in July for the anniversary and again in early December! Hope you love it as much as I do.

It is a wonderful DVC and especially beautiful at Christmas. If my family ever tires of DL, which I hope they don't, and if they're like me they won't, I could easily see staying there during the holidays and spending a lot of time hanging around the hotel.

 

[Chili327]

We have never spent more than 3 days, I think, at DLR,(we live in No. Cal, so we know we can always come back) though in a couple weeks we will be doing 5 days just since I think it will be so crowded we want to be able to relax a little while still doing everything we want to do. We won't be on site, so no early entry, so expect to shut the parks down every night.

For me, 10 or 11 days at WDW is needed to do everything we want to do knowing we won't be able to come back for a while. We can only come every 2 or 3 years, and it's go, go, go just to get it all in (which is getting harder and harder to do every visit).

Yes, I have definitely changed my way of thinking... I don't think I'll even go to a park before 9am (at the earliest), & take a break from about 2-6pm. I'll go grab dinner elsewhere, or hang by the pool or whatever, just to switch it up.
And I am new to WDW, but there is so much to do, & see I could spend half my days outside the parks... I just started watching some youtubers from the UK & they will spend like 2-3 weeks, but rarely in the parks for half the days, & even then just a couple rides & move on, their excitement for everything is contagious. lol