You don't "get" it?

[BAMLuvMickey]

I don't know what that means. How far are you both from DL related to WDW? (Sorry ... don't know what "TF GREEN" stands for.)


Remind him that "Disney World" is comprised of four parks, while "Disneyland" is two. That will help. Lots of people don't get that.

Although, if he's talking the parks themselves then yeah ... they're relatively the same size. MK is larger than DL, but not by huge amounts. DHS and DCA are about the same. If, in his head, he's thinking that Disney World = MK = Disneyland, then yeah, he's right. They're about the same.

There's an awful lot of WDW that isn't theme parks. Only about a tenth of hte available land is developed. So that's kind of an apples-to-oranges comparison too. Sure, DW is 47 square miles. But the amount actually available to the Guest is a much smaller part of that.

But if you want to compare physical space, acres vs. square miles doesn't always resonate with people. Here are two easy ways to compare:

1. If the "non-believer" has ever been to NYC, ask him if he can picture how big the island of Manhattan is. If he says "yes", ask him if he thinks Manhattan is fairly large. When he says he does (because it is), tell him "Walt Disney World? Three of those." WDW is roughly three times the size of Manhattan.
   
2. From the standpoint of simple park comparison, here's another great visual. You could pick up Disneyland, DCA, both California hotels and all of their parking lots and put it into the Epcot parking lot. With spaces left over.

If neither one of those gets your point across, then pull up aerial maps!

Sorry TF GREEN is Providence, RI. I was just meaning that we use the same airport for travel purposes. So if we booked a flight from there to the same place at the same time with the same airline, flight price is gonna be about the same for the 2 of us to go anywhere...

 

[DisneyChristmas]

Let's see - Disneyland is 160 acres. Walt Disney World is 30,080 acres.

Visually, that's like this:





And that's being generous to Disneyland.

I read once (don't remember which guide book) that the whole of the original DL wasn't as large as just the parking lot at TTC.

 

[shalom]

And I can NEVER find anyone who wants to go to SEA WORLD with me....Even my 9 year old tells me it sounds lame....

Count your blessings. My kids are all nuts about SeaWorld, but I have to practically twist arms to get them to go to WDW with me!

Excellent! Personally, I think Disneyland is more about the rides and WDW more about the experience, but maybe that's because I went to DL with no real plan and knew tons about WDW before I got there.

FWIW, we found Legoland to be just okay.

The Legoland near Orlando doesn't open until October (much to our regret -- we're going in May). Either you're thinking of a different one, or you're thinking of the Lego store in Downtown Disney. Dunno how much the various parks vary but Legoland Florida should include at least the gardens from Cypress Gardens, while they insist the park per se will be oriented toward younger kids (12 and below), which sounds like an... interesting approach.

 

[WDSearcher]

Sorry TF GREEN is Providence, RI. I was just meaning that we use the same airport for travel purposes. So if we booked a flight from there to the same place at the same time with the same airline, flight price is gonna be about the same for the 2 of us to go anywhere...

Right ... but it may seem more expensive to him because it's closer. I know that intuitively doesn't make sense, but if you spend the same amount to go to FL as you do to go to CA (which is possible, since Florida seldom has specials), then it can seem more expensive to go to one place over the other, even if it's not.

 

[DaniB]

The Legoland near Orlando doesn't open until October (much to our regret -- we're going in May). Either you're thinking of a different one, or you're thinking of the Lego store in Downtown Disney. Dunno how much the various parks vary but Legoland Florida should include at least the gardens from Cypress Gardens, while they insist the park per se will be oriented toward younger kids (12 and below), which sounds like an... interesting approach.

Oriented toward younger kids (12 and below)... so does that mean the LegoLand in CA is geared to older kids? If it is, I wonder how much will be cut out for the Florida one then...

My son is 7 now. We probably won't go back until he's 9 and our daughter would be 14. Right now he sees the videos for it and says he wants to go.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

The Legoland near Orlando doesn't open until October (much to our regret -- we're going in May). Either you're thinking of a different one, or you're thinking of the Lego store in Downtown Disney. Dunno how much the various parks vary but Legoland Florida should include at least the gardens from Cypress Gardens, while they insist the park per se will be oriented toward younger kids (12 and below), which sounds like an... interesting approach.

I was comparing WDW to DLR, so I was talking about how you can't fill up a week at DLR IMO so you have to venture out to other parks and that Legoland California was just okay. I can't imagine the one in Florida being that different especially since it is geared toward younger kids similar to the one in California. Most of the rides at Legoland CA are also for little kids. Our kids were 13, 11 and 5 when we went there. Even the 5 year old was bored with most of the attractions. The kids did enjoy seeing the variety of lego models. We also liked that it wasn't that crowded compared to DLR. As our youngest is now 9, we will not be visiting Legoland in Florida unless we had some free passes.

 

[bumbershoot]

I don't know why this is bothering you. And it sounds like he knows more than you're giving him credit for. He's using the term "Disneyworld", he knows about Epcot... He seems to have done his homework for his trips, and knows what he usually finds price-wise.


A good way of describing the total size of WDW property is that it's twice the size of Manhattan (or for me, a bit bigger than Tacoma, where I live). If those mean nothing to you, look up some closer cities to you that would mean something. Of course, a lot of property isn't the parks, it's just woods and roads.

He kept talking about all the "lands" at DL and comparing them to the "lands" at DW but it sounds like he thinks all four parks are one big park. This is not the first time we have had this discussion, btw. I HAVE tried to explain it to him before but I guess he just doesn't get it. ....


I know some people don't understand how huge it is, but when you show pictures and other stuff, you figure it would just click.

From a guide a trusted source on the boards wrote: " While physically smaller than WDW’s Magic Kingdom, Disneyland actually offers 25-30% more attractions."

That might be what he's referring to.


I did a year's worth of study on WDW, I planned and prepared. And I was startled to find nearly proper highways on WDW property...I just did not expect it. (mainly b/c a city doesn't normally have highways running straight through it like that, or at least Tacoma doesn't) Some things have to be learned for yourself. And if he doesn't want to know it right now (or does know it and doesn't care) you're not going to push him happily into that knowledge.

LOL I have gone all over Florida...I can't wait to do a Florida only vacation again so I can go to LEGOLAND!!! We didn't care for US/IOA, some of it was ok though. Haven't seen Harry Potter part yet maybe that will make it better for us. I have always wanted to go to Busch Gardens in Tampa.
And I can NEVER find anyone who wants to go to SEA WORLD with me....Even my 9 year old tells me it sounds lame....Ahh well, next Florida only i will force them all and they will see how fun it is(i hope)lol

You could take a southern CA trip, spend a nice chunk of time at DLR (if you wish to have your cousin use the proper terms for WDW, use Disneyland *Resort*, not just DL, because DLR refers to the whole place including DCA, while DL just refers to the park), travel an hour away to go to Legoland and stay in Carlsbad for the night, then drive another half hour south the next
morning to go to San Diego proper for SeaWorld...be sure to see the Pets Rule show, it's pretty awesome!

No need to go to Orlando for Seaworld and Legoland...

Oriented toward younger kids (12 and below)... so does that mean the LegoLand in CA is geared to older kids? If it is, I wonder how much will be cut out for the Florida one then...

My son is 7 now. We probably won't go back until he's 9 and our daughter would be 14. Right now he sees the videos for it and says he wants to go.

Legoland is not geared towards older kids...go ASAP. Unless your son remains a Lego fanatic, then he'll enjoy it even in his 20s...but if you look at their website and the pictures of the rides...it's obviously for younger kids.

I was comparing WDW to DLR, so I was talking about how you can't fill up a week at DLR IMO so you have to venture out to other parks....

I entirely disagree with that. DLR is an incredible, awesome place if you really really REALLY give it a chance. We're experts at giving things a chance. Bought DVC before ever being at WDW (and just before The Grand Cal became available to buy as DVC), scheduled our very first family trip to Orlando to be 17 days long, upgraded to APs a few days into the trip b/c we figured we would need longer to really crack the surface, invested 4 days in Universal, on site, because we wanted to give it a solid chance. LOVED it all!

And when I got home, I cried because I missed Disneyland Resort so so so much; it's like home, and I miss it dreadfully (haven't been there since Oct '09 because the money is going to WDW visits for now). My family could *easily* spend *at least* a week just at Disneyland and DCA without ever venturing further away than the grocery store. It's that awesome.


It's entirely possible that the OP's cousin feels just like I do, but with the added problem of having a much bigger family. It's just the 3 of us for now, and it's easier financially to take a chance on a new place. It's also easier to get a majority vote in favor of venturing away from our happy place. In a bigger family, not so easy...and much more expensive.



Since you are trying to teach him about WDW, you might like reading about DLR: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599 It's not totally up to date, so be sure to not have blind expectations based on some of the things he talks about, but it's still a good guide.

He has also written one for DL vets going to WDW which might be good for your cousin if you choose to pursue this (though I DO hope you'll educate yourself about DLR while you educate him about WDW!). If you send him the link, remember he'll have access to the Dis, and might just find your thread about him...http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=16541636

 

[iheartdisney]

OK, this is rubbing me the wrong way, probably due to the situation I had a few months ago...
a mutual acquaintance posted something on facebook about how much she misses WDW, so I replied, reminding her that the original is less than 2 hours from here. She then posted the "education" reply, that WDW is 4 parks, 2 water parks, acreage, blah blah blah. Like I am the village idiot. Not that I have been to WDW over a dozen times. It really changed how i view her, and I find her kind of annoying now. Nobody likes a know it all.I mean, how can someone claim to "spend every penny trying to get closer to the mouse" (her words) but then mock the original, saying Sleeping Beauty's castle is "a joke" and that Walt "learned from his mistakes". How can someone who claims to love Disney refer to Disneyland as a mistake?
MAYBE, he doesn't NEED to "get it". Maybe he has his opinion, and you have yours. Different strokes for different folks, you know?

 

[KSDisneyDad]

I entirely disagree with that. DLR is an incredible, awesome place if you really really REALLY give it a chance. We're experts at giving things a chance. Bought DVC before ever being at WDW (and just before The Grand Cal became available to buy as DVC), scheduled our very first family trip to Orlando to be 17 days long, upgraded to APs a few days into the trip b/c we figured we would need longer to really crack the surface, invested 4 days in Universal, on site, because we wanted to give it a solid chance. LOVED it all!

And when I got home, I cried because I missed Disneyland Resort so so so much; it's like home, and I miss it dreadfully (haven't been there since Oct '09 because the money is going to WDW visits for now). My family could *easily* spend *at least* a week just at Disneyland and DCA without ever venturing further away than the grocery store. It's that awesome.

Wow. 17 days in Florida! To us, 7 days at WDW during a single visit is more than enough. And we spent one day during a visit a few years ago visiting both Universal parks and thought that was plenty.

I realize that everyone has different vacation habits, but I really think 7 days at DLR would be overkill for most people. Yes, there are a few die hard fans who could live there (well now that I think about it, maybe I could too) and 7 days would not be enough. For us, we found 3 to be plenty. No, we didn't do everything we wanted, but we knew we'd be back.

I do agree that the original DL has a certain charm to it. In particular, we loved the Pirates ride and the whole New Orleans Square area. We also really wished that WDW had the Indiana Jones ride. And over at CA, the Aladdin show had us laughing for days.

That said, we are more at "home" with WDW. The CM's at DLR seemed more strict. We had been to WDW over a dozen times when we visited DLR and found ourselves with not so friendly CM's on several occasions and we are nerdy rule-followers. We were like fish out of water at DLR and missed the Castle, Spaceship Earth and just the overall largeness of WDW with the lakes, monorail as true transportation, the ferries, bus system, sprawling resorts and the feel that we had completely escaped from the "real" world! We still enjoyed our trip to DLR, but missed the "comfort" of WDW. It's all what you're used to.

 

[disnut8]

I got into a debate with my cousin about Disney. He has never been to DW,

You can't win unless you put it into his terms. He has no idea how big Disney World is. My daughter-in-law didn't understand it until she was at Disney World. And then I looked at her hometown area versus Disney World's. Her hometown is SMALLER than Disney World. She compared everything to Cedar Point. And, well, I've never been to Ceder Point but paying $X there and $X at Disney World is like comparing apples to oranges. She didn't see that until she was there.

You cannot win any discussion with your cousin on this. He's not been. He will never be. He cannot get into a car (as we did with my daughter-in-law) at Fort Wilderness and drive all the way over the Animal Kingdom Lodge and have him realize that that entire time, he was at Disney World. He cannot fathom it. He will never get it.

 

[shalom]

Walt "learned from his mistakes".

I'm pretty sure the only "mistake" Walt saw in building Disneyland when he was planning what became WDW was his inability to control the outside environment. Besides, Walt died in '66, while "Walt Disney World" (the Magic Kingdom, the Contemporary and the Polynesian) opened in '71. Disneyland is Walt's vision in a way that WDW can never be.

I personally prefer WDW, but I don't know how you can be a Disney fan and consider Disneyland a "mistake." I do agree that some people can prefer one and some the other, but I think the OP has a point that his cousin is "not getting it." It's one thing to see both and pick a favorite; it's something quite different to love one and refuse to consider visiting the other (assuming it's doable). You would think that rides fans would prefer Disneyland while atmosphere fans prefer WDW, and there's definitely a trend in that direction, but it's by no means a sure thing. The OP's cousin, who seems to think you can see WDW in a day, might end up thinking WDW was the best thing ever once he got there.

OTOH, the OP might discover he likes Disneyland the best if he gave it a chance. Y'just never know.

 

[BAMLuvMickey]

OK, this is rubbing me the wrong way, probably due to the situation I had a few months ago...
a mutual acquaintance posted something on facebook about how much she misses WDW, so I replied, reminding her that the original is less than 2 hours from here. She then posted the "education" reply, that WDW is 4 parks, 2 water parks, acreage, blah blah blah. Like I am the village idiot. Not that I have been to WDW over a dozen times. It really changed how i view her, and I find her kind of annoying now. Nobody likes a know it all.I mean, how can someone claim to "spend every penny trying to get closer to the mouse" (her words) but then mock the original, saying Sleeping Beauty's castle is "a joke" and that Walt "learned from his mistakes". How can someone who claims to love Disney refer to Disneyland as a mistake?
MAYBE, he doesn't NEED to "get it". Maybe he has his opinion, and you have yours. Different strokes for different folks, you know?

See now if I lived closer to DL, I would probably go there more often instead of WDW. I have always wanted to go there too. And Disneyland was NOT a mistake...I don't know why some people say that...

BUMBERSHOOT: The way he referred to EPCOT was that it was inside MK making it one park. I don't think he knows about anything else: DHS, AK, water parks, mini golf etc...
It doesn't bother me at all, I just want to help him see that DW has a lot to offer to.

 

[BAMLuvMickey]

I'm pretty sure the only "mistake" Walt saw in building Disneyland when he was planning what became WDW was his inability to control the outside environment. Besides, Walt died in '66, while "Walt Disney World" (the Magic Kingdom, the Contemporary and the Polynesian) opened in '71. Disneyland is Walt's vision in a way that WDW can never be.

I personally prefer WDW, but I don't know how you can be a Disney fan and consider Disneyland a "mistake." I do agree that some people can prefer one and some the other, but I think the OP has a point that his cousin is "not getting it." It's one thing to see both and pick a favorite; it's something quite different to love one and refuse to consider visiting the other (assuming it's doable). You would think that rides fans would prefer Disneyland while atmosphere fans prefer WDW, and there's definitely a trend in that direction, but it's by no means a sure thing. The OP's cousin, who seems to think you can see WDW in a day, might end up thinking WDW was the best thing ever once he got there.

OTOH, the OP might discover he likes Disneyland the best if he gave it a chance. Y'just never know.

Oh I am definitly up to checking it out...Actually was thinking about going there next year instead of DW. But havent made up my mind yet. Have a little bit before I can book at either place anyway...

 

[KSDisneyDad]

See now if I lived closer to DL, I would probably go there more often instead of WDW. I have always wanted to go there too. And Disneyland was NOT a mistake...I don't know why some people say that...

BUMBERSHOOT: The way he referred to EPCOT was that it was inside MK making it one park. I don't think he knows about anything else: DHS, AK, water parks, mini golf etc...
It doesn't bother me at all, I just want to help him see that DW has a lot to offer to.

Don't know why that made me think that he probably also thinks that the Harry Potter land at Universal is its own park. I've talked to many people who think it's a completely brand new theme park by itself. There are so many misconceptions of WDW, DL and other theme parks.

We had friends go to WDW recently and they wanted my advice as they heard from others at church that my DW and I are the Disney "experts". After asking them a few questions, I found out that they were only going to "Disney World" for one day - Magic Kingdom as we know it. They were then going to leave for a week at Clearwater Beach. I didn't tell them much as I knew it was a lost cause.

 

[KJMAX1]

I just wanted to give my two cents. We live in Seattle, and until 2000 we had never been to FL. Honestly, it was too far for us...why not go to CA where we usually go for a sunny vacation? Well we took the plunge and went in 2000. I read books, and just couldnt comprehend the size. I loved CA because it was where Walt walked. When we got to DW I was just blown away. Now our family visits DL on our way to visiting friends and grandma. Its the original, and we go for the day. We visit other places in Southern CA as well and enjoy being in the real Hollywood. However, when we want a vacation away from anyone we know, and its someplace we can enjoy, we look at WDW as a resort. Its a place to go and stay for about two weeks.

If I were to stay two weeks in CA there is no way we could afford it. However, if we stay two weeks in FL hands down its the cheaper vacation.

I would have to say DL and WDW are two VERY different places. One was a reality, and one was a dream.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

I was really surprised by a friend of mine who had no idea that Disneyworld had so much to offer. He had no idea it had Animal Kingdom! I was glad he asked me for help because he was going to go to Disneyland because it had 'Sea world' nearby. So I let him know about all the parks, waterparks, Downtown Disney and of course, the other Orlando attractions. He and his wife had no idea and they were happy to find out!

Of course, if you see the commercials in Colorado for Disneyworld - it is all about Cinderella's carriage, or Peter pan, or the fab 5 - nothing about the four parks (unless you know the pictures they flash across the screen). Maybe Disney needs to market those parks a little better? Or maybe they don't since they still have the number 1 amusement park...and 2...and 3...and, well you get it