I've been to WDW many, many, many times and just got back from my first trip to DL. While out there, my wife and I kept comparing everything to WDW and giving the edge to one attraction over the other. This gave me the idea for a trip report, WDW vs. DL. I'm comparing only the attractions that we did in both parks in Amaheim.
One man's opinion:
Buzz Lightyear Rides: DL's ride is not rapid fire, but the targets seem to be a little easier to hit. We gave a very slight edge to WDW.
Space Mountain: Not even close! DL has double-ride cars, music the whole way through, and is dark! A great, smooth ride, but doesn't have the same dips as WDW. I wonder what people who have been to DL and not WDW think when they ride Space at WDW for the first time. HUGE advantage to DL.
Splash Mountain: This is my favorite ride at WDW, so DL was really going to have to measure up here. I'm not crazy about the one-seat per row cars, and the inside of Splash didn't match up to WDW's. It seemed shorter and rushed. Edge to WDW.
Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Weird thing--outside loading and unloading! Ride was virtually the same, but we didn't bounce through the Tigger section, which is my wife's favorite part. Edge to WDW.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Slower, longer, better themed at DL. They use the music from the movie in parts of the ride and it's just done better. Two dark thrill hills along the way. DL did this ride right. Edge to DL.
Haunted Mansion: Virtually identical rides, but WDW wins out with the recent rehab additions and the outside themeing of the building. WDW.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: Again, pretty much a carbon copy of each other. This ride has never done much for me. Even.
Soarin: The ride is exactly the same, the difference is queueing. While WDW has ecological info on the walls, DL has flight history and information on the walls for your reading pleasure. Tiny edge to DL because I enjoy the flight info more than the green info.
The other attractions we did are not at WDW, but merit mention.
Indiana Jones: This was the best themed queue at DL. While not at WDW, it's clone is Dinosaur at AK. Comparing those two, Indiana Jones got this ride right. Very well done all around.
California Screamin: Great coaster. Very smooth and exciting. One of our favorites on the trip.
Toy Story Midway Mania: I haven't ridden this at WDW, so I did no comparison. That being said, Disney scores BIG with this ride. We had so much fun doing this that we both felt it was worth standing in line for an hour a second time to do it all over again. Lots of fun!
Matterhorn: We rode this since it was a Walt original. Been there, done that, never again. A herky-jerky disappointment.
Aladdin Stage Show: Probably the best live show on Disney property, easily rivaling Festival of the Lion King. Very well done, entertaining and funny. The Genie makes the show and we had a good one. This is a must-see for everyone.
General observations: DL is quite smaller, but still has a nice charm to it. It's nice to have everything right there at your walking pleasure. We did DL and DCA for two days without any transportation other than our feet. We stayed right across the street (Fairfield Inn) and were on Disney property in 5 minutes.
I never could get over all of the outside queueing at DL. We thought we had messed up at Space Mountain when we were outside for so much of the queue, but we quickly learned that this is the way it is. We missed WDW's themeing and queueing because it seemed to tell the story better for the attraction. DL almost had a Six Flags feel to it with the outside queues.
DCA was also great. I don't know why all the complaints abound about this park. We had a great time there.
Oh yeah, the CM's at DL and DCA were fantastic. We did not encounter a "sour" one the entire trip. Very courteous, very friendly, very talkative and engaging, almost having a southern charm to them that I didn't expect in Southern California. Our attitude as park guests towards them as CM's goes a long way. Relationships are a two-way street.
Overall, a great trip, better than we expected. I'm glad we had the chance to go.
One man's opinion:
Buzz Lightyear Rides: DL's ride is not rapid fire, but the targets seem to be a little easier to hit. We gave a very slight edge to WDW.
Space Mountain: Not even close! DL has double-ride cars, music the whole way through, and is dark! A great, smooth ride, but doesn't have the same dips as WDW. I wonder what people who have been to DL and not WDW think when they ride Space at WDW for the first time. HUGE advantage to DL.
Splash Mountain: This is my favorite ride at WDW, so DL was really going to have to measure up here. I'm not crazy about the one-seat per row cars, and the inside of Splash didn't match up to WDW's. It seemed shorter and rushed. Edge to WDW.
Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Weird thing--outside loading and unloading! Ride was virtually the same, but we didn't bounce through the Tigger section, which is my wife's favorite part. Edge to WDW.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Slower, longer, better themed at DL. They use the music from the movie in parts of the ride and it's just done better. Two dark thrill hills along the way. DL did this ride right. Edge to DL.
Haunted Mansion: Virtually identical rides, but WDW wins out with the recent rehab additions and the outside themeing of the building. WDW.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: Again, pretty much a carbon copy of each other. This ride has never done much for me. Even.
Soarin: The ride is exactly the same, the difference is queueing. While WDW has ecological info on the walls, DL has flight history and information on the walls for your reading pleasure. Tiny edge to DL because I enjoy the flight info more than the green info.
The other attractions we did are not at WDW, but merit mention.
Indiana Jones: This was the best themed queue at DL. While not at WDW, it's clone is Dinosaur at AK. Comparing those two, Indiana Jones got this ride right. Very well done all around.
California Screamin: Great coaster. Very smooth and exciting. One of our favorites on the trip.
Toy Story Midway Mania: I haven't ridden this at WDW, so I did no comparison. That being said, Disney scores BIG with this ride. We had so much fun doing this that we both felt it was worth standing in line for an hour a second time to do it all over again. Lots of fun!
Matterhorn: We rode this since it was a Walt original. Been there, done that, never again. A herky-jerky disappointment.
Aladdin Stage Show: Probably the best live show on Disney property, easily rivaling Festival of the Lion King. Very well done, entertaining and funny. The Genie makes the show and we had a good one. This is a must-see for everyone.
General observations: DL is quite smaller, but still has a nice charm to it. It's nice to have everything right there at your walking pleasure. We did DL and DCA for two days without any transportation other than our feet. We stayed right across the street (Fairfield Inn) and were on Disney property in 5 minutes.
I never could get over all of the outside queueing at DL. We thought we had messed up at Space Mountain when we were outside for so much of the queue, but we quickly learned that this is the way it is. We missed WDW's themeing and queueing because it seemed to tell the story better for the attraction. DL almost had a Six Flags feel to it with the outside queues.
DCA was also great. I don't know why all the complaints abound about this park. We had a great time there.
Oh yeah, the CM's at DL and DCA were fantastic. We did not encounter a "sour" one the entire trip. Very courteous, very friendly, very talkative and engaging, almost having a southern charm to them that I didn't expect in Southern California. Our attitude as park guests towards them as CM's goes a long way. Relationships are a two-way street.
Overall, a great trip, better than we expected. I'm glad we had the chance to go.
