Our family (my wife and 2 teenage daughters) returned about 2 weeks ago from our 1st ever trip to Disneyland. We are WDW vets (5 trips in 8 years) so needless to say we had lots of comparisons to make. However, rather than focusing on the individual ride comparisons (i.e. Pirates was better in California) I wanted to ask if anyone else noticed a huge difference in the overall "atmosphere" and "Disney experience" that the two locations offer? We certainly did, and I must say that California was a little disappointing.
Overall, we just didn't feel that same "Disney Magic" as we do in Florida. It may have been a combination of several things, but overall it just wasn't there. At WDW, we always stay at a Disney resort and in California we didn't. That may have been a contributing factor but it was far more than that.
The parks themselves (especially DCA) just seemed to have more of an amusement park feel to them, rather than being "theme parks". There wasn't that feeling that we had been whisked away to an alternate reality where everything is run by a mouse and nothing in life matters except having fun. Even the little things that make WDW so special just weren't there in Anaheim - the Magical Express, the bus rides from the resort to the parks, the fact that you aren't in a city but in Disney. The restaurants in California just seemed like places to eat - not "eating attractions" like they are in Florida. I could go on, but it's hard to explain why there just wasn't that same feeling.....has anyone else felt the same?
I think the biggest thing, and maybe the best way to describe it is this - on our 3rd day at Disneyland we asked a Cast member about that nights performance of Fantasmic. After answering our question, the cast member (who was very friendly) left us with "I'm glad I could help. Have a good night". My wife and I both looked at each other and almost at the same time we both realized - not once in 3 days had anyone, not one person, said to us "Have a magical day!" We never did hear that during our trip to Disneyland and that, above everything else, is disappointing....
Overall, we just didn't feel that same "Disney Magic" as we do in Florida. It may have been a combination of several things, but overall it just wasn't there. At WDW, we always stay at a Disney resort and in California we didn't. That may have been a contributing factor but it was far more than that.
The parks themselves (especially DCA) just seemed to have more of an amusement park feel to them, rather than being "theme parks". There wasn't that feeling that we had been whisked away to an alternate reality where everything is run by a mouse and nothing in life matters except having fun. Even the little things that make WDW so special just weren't there in Anaheim - the Magical Express, the bus rides from the resort to the parks, the fact that you aren't in a city but in Disney. The restaurants in California just seemed like places to eat - not "eating attractions" like they are in Florida. I could go on, but it's hard to explain why there just wasn't that same feeling.....has anyone else felt the same?
I think the biggest thing, and maybe the best way to describe it is this - on our 3rd day at Disneyland we asked a Cast member about that nights performance of Fantasmic. After answering our question, the cast member (who was very friendly) left us with "I'm glad I could help. Have a good night". My wife and I both looked at each other and almost at the same time we both realized - not once in 3 days had anyone, not one person, said to us "Have a magical day!" We never did hear that during our trip to Disneyland and that, above everything else, is disappointing....