For those that have been to DL and WDW?

[wesTcoastY]

Even with the refurb, I prefer Disneyland HM. It has an overall creepier feel. The HM Mansion itself is simply superb in its themeing.

BTMR seems longer and bigger at WDW. I prefer the WDW version.

Splash at DL seems to move more quickly which i think suits the overall theme...the WDW version seems so pokey to me.

POTC is just waaaaaaaaaaaaay better at DL. Like HM before the refurb at WDW, POTC at WDW just seems like a shorter cheaper version.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Sassagoula-Rvr]

I have never been to DL but a lot of reviews I read say that a lot of the attractions that both resorts share are better in DL. I rarely read that one is better in WDW. For example a common one is that POTC is better in DL. So my question is does WDW have any attractions that are better than it's counterpart in DL?

I just went to DL this summer and the first thing you will notice is that everything is smaller. Even the walking, which was wonderful, when we got back to the Grand Californian I wasn't completly worn out. Splash Mountain is better in Florida. And I think Haunted Mansion is too. POTC is TONS better in Disneyland, and Disneyland has Indiana Jones which is now my favorite Disney attraction EVER. If you go, you MUST see Fantasmic at DL. I liked it alot better than at WDW, but maybe that is just me.

 

[Disneykidder]

OIK, granted that it has been years since I have visite DL, but I am a WDW girl through and through. For some reason, which I know cannot be true, the rides seemed shorter in DL. We did everything there was to do in DL in one day and it was Christmas Eve. The look is different to eachother but I did love the fact that Walt Disney walked the same streets that I was walking when at DL.

I think everyone who is a big Disney nut needs to visit both to compare for themselves. We'll be visaiting DL again in a few years when my littlest one is older.

 

[Sassagoula-Rvr]

Hey there all, I love this thread!!!!! I had just gotten back from California in Mid September. I was out there for the Disney Earmarked Conference for select travel agents, so I was in seminars and training classes for a lot of the time but I did get to get into some of the park stuff as well. My absolute favorite ride is California Screamin'!!!! I loved it!! Did this one a bunch of times. I thought the Orange Zinger was cool in that it was a LOT More than your average swing ride. I didnt get over to Soarin' so I cant compare. Also many things I wanted to see such as HM, Small World and Aladdin were all down when I was there. I think the resorts in Florida are a touch above the ones in CA, with the possible exception of the Grand Californian. I noticed that the rides really are all on top of each other in CA as opposed to more spread out in FL. Some of the ride configurations to make use of the space are pretty interesting such as POTC. I wasnt crazy about the walk through DTD to get to either park from the onsite resorts. The first few times were cool, but after that, I really could have skipped that part. It was interesting to compare and contrast the differences in both parks. I loved some of the rides we dont have anymore or never did. I liked Alice and Mr Toad a lot. I really liked Monsters Inc ride, that was very cute. Indy was a great ride and I prefer it to Dinosaur every day of the week. All in all though, I like WDW for a more immersive experience. I think that DL is too close to the real world for me. I could look out my hotel window and see the houses that are built right next to the property, which I didnt care for. Plus for me it is a 5 hour plus flight to get there!!!! I think both parks have something to offer and should retain the differences, as that is what makes them fun to explore!!! Belle

Really? I actually enjoyed the walk through DTD in the morning. And at night, I decided I was hungry so before I went back to the resort I grabbed some Ice Cream at Haagen Dazs. (Warning: don't order Chocalate malt there as it doesn't have ice cream. Just malt powder and chocalate milk. I think of a malt as ice cream with malt powder.)

 

[wannabeBelle]

I would think of a choclate malt as the same thing you did!!! I didnt mind the walk the first few times, after that though I just kinda wanted to get to where I was going. Then again I was hitting the hotel a lot on that particular trip as I had events going on there that most people didnt Sadly Fantasmic in DL was down when I was there as well!!!! Belle

 

[curt3333]

Wow,I just got here and bumped to this thread. It reminds so much of my first visit of DL this summer. I went to WDW so many times before but never DL until few months ago. WHAT A TREAT!!! I am really suprised at how good a disney park can be! I felt it is sooooooo much better than our Magic Kingdom!! serously this come from a die hard fan of MK! The theming, the size, the detail, the weather, and the quality of attractions are just incredible!! Don't get me wrong, MK is still my love, but DL just has a special charm that my MK in orlando is missing. I love how Walt Disney designed New Orleans Square. And Blue Bayou is probably the most beautiful restaurant I've ever been to. I don't know, but I just felt that every attraction (except for a few) is more polished or longer at DL. Space Mountain is so pretty! Indy is great but I think I expected too much. Pirates is so much better! So artistic! Haunted Mansion is very unique in terms of architecture and style and very different from MK. I actually liked it better than MK's huge mansion. Pirate's Island (which replaced Tom Sawyer Island) is REALLY COOL! Gosh I wish MK will have the same makeover. I like the queue of Soarin better, but my other family members don't think so. Toy Story Mania is so beatiful! I love how they themed the ride! It looks so much better than MGM's. Oh remember don't miss the fireworks! The best I've ever seen. I gotta say I don't normally care about fireworks, but "Remeber,Dream come Ture" is really something to behold. So magical! I am really looking forward to come back, but probably not in the near future! Anyway, coming from a WDW fan, I love DL and hope you have a good time!

 

[imagineer boy]

There is one major flaw about DL and that's because its in LA. My god, what a horrible city. The highways are the most poorly designed and maintained highways ever, its incredibly smoggy that it burns your eyes, and there's gang graffitti everywhere you look.

But its truly amazing how all that disappears after you walk into DL's gates.

There is another flaw however. And that's that it doesn't have enough "crowd eating" attractions. Rides that take away small portions of crowds on the streets like the TTA, CoP, Timekeeper, etc. Because when I went, it was PACKED. Every single ride even the most unpopular rides had veryu long lines.

 

[wesTcoastY]

....you MUST see Fantasmic at DL. I liked it alot better than at WDW, but maybe that is just me.

Being out in the park for Fantasmic adds lots of the charm to the show. I agree, better at DL.

 

[maryszhi]

i love dw more then disneyland because there is more to do in disney. when we go to disneyland we also do a beach and others things that we useually wait until after dw. anyways i think the person who compared the two into better dl/dw hit it right on.

 

[wesTcoastY]

The highways are the most poorly designed and maintained highways ever

Could not disagree with you more! Have you ever been to Houston, TX? Or anywhere else for that matter with an extensive frontage/feeder road system? YIKES to say the least.

Certainly the freeways are congested in L.A. but the overall design and maintenance is actually not that bad comparatively speaking.

Not to mention that drivers in California are among the best in the nation. Car Culture has to be good for something.

I know i know few will agree. In my defense I have lived in every corner of this country and in between so i feel as though i am speaking from experience.

Anyway, DL rocks!

 

[curt3333]

One other thing you will just never be able to duplicate at WDW...the fact that you can walk out onto Main Street and KNOW that Walt's in the park since his light is on at the FireHouse. Sure, they do it at WDW, but we all know its just a prop. Speaking of the Fire House, its a lot different than the one at WDW, including the station number.

And I forgot how cool California Screamin was. Its compared to being a RoRC ripoff that Disney simply placed outdoors. Whatever! It rocks.

One othe ride that seems to take a beating and that people dont like it is the Maliboomer at DCA. I thought it was awesome. That thing shoots so fast and so high that I was giggling when it was over...and I'm 37!

New Orleans Square. I can't imagine why they never did that at WDW, but they should have. Having been to WDW over a dozen times before I went to DL, it was downright shocking seeing the HM at DL. You get so used to the WDW version that you feel like you are doing it for the 1st time all over again! I also loved the Sweet Mint Juleps you could get there.

Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln was pretty incredible, too. Think of it as Hall of Presidents, but everyone is actually paying attention and not napping!

Thought the Jazz Kitchen was good food in DownTown as well as the Blue Bayou in PoTC in DL. And the RainForest at DT at DL is kind of cool, looks like an Aztez temple. I ate on the roof terrace and got to watch a football game on teh huge LCD displays on teh outside of ESPN that was right nextdoor.

DL might be 50 years old and a trial size version that had all the problems Walt said he would fix when he found more land, but I think its something every WDW fan should do at least once. It gives you a whole new sense of appreciation and understanding of Walt did and why he did it.

What a great post! I also love New Orleans Square soooo much especially it's absent from MK. What a shame! Why didn't Disney copy that land to Florida? The original Pirates,the Blue Bayou Restaurant, all the stuff that Walt himself desinged, why can't they be brought to WDW? There is so much charm of DL came directly from the Walt Disney. I never knew those history before visiting DL and I soon realized that there is another new world outside WDW that is nothing less stellar. Now I only wish I could visit other MKs around the world as well.

 

[s8film40]

To me the winning factor at Disneyland is the overall feel. I have my favorites at each park, but I find Disneyland to be a far more enjoyable experience. At WDW with the exception of a few days here and there it's either really hot and humid or raining or both. In the summer (the peak vacation season) the place is almost unbearable. Just the thought of spending the day walking though a hot humid park sweating and getting rained on makes me cringe. On the other hand I've visited Disneyland during some of the worst times in the summer and found it to not be nearly as bad. The crowds are also very different, almost everyone at WDW is on a 4 or 5 day mission to do everything that can be done at the parks. For most it is treated as a once in a lifetime experience and thousands of dollars are spent so everything has to be seen and done to get the most out of it. While this can also happen at Disneyland it seems most people are for the most part enjoying themselves and a little more casually doing what they want. I love the immersive feel at WDW, but I have always enjoyed a day at Disneyland more than a Day at WDW.

 

[appleset]

I'm lucky enough to have grown up with many trips to Disney World. I've been a big fan of the Disney parks for as long as I can remember. This past summer I took my girlfriend on a cross-country trip that included a day at the Disneyland resort. I agree with everything I've read so far... I think it's worth the trip to Disneyland just to see how it compares to WDW, if you've spent a good amount of time in the Florida parks. You WILL NOT be disappointed with a trip to either of the American resorts -- so just check 'em both out and see which you like better for yourself.

Anyway, the only thing that kind of bugs me about the Disneyland resort is this: before we left for California this summer I sat down and listed my top 15 must-see attractions from the four WDW parks. Then, I compared those 15 to all of the attractions that Disneyland and DCA had to offer. As it turns out, 11 (soon to be 12) of my 15 favorite E-ticket attractions are also found in the 2 Californian parks.

What does this mean? To me, Disneyland has a ton to offer, considering there are only 2 parks. Disney World has a far lower ratio of "E-ticket attractions" to "attractions" than Disneyland does. In other words, they squeezed all of the best rides into the TWO Cali parks, whereas in WDW they're broken up into 4 parks.

This ultimately means that Disney World makes you more likely to buy a Park Hopper pass, or spend more days on property. (Not to mention that a 1-day ticket to Disneyland is cheaper than a 1-day ticket to WDW!)

Having 4 separate parks is great -- but in the end, aren't the number and quality of the attractions that the parks have to offer a little more important than the way the theme park is themed? Hey, Animal Kingdom is my favorite park in WDW, but it has (and probably always will have) far less to offer than California Adventure!



P.S. - Indy at Disneyland was great and all, but am I the only person that prefers DINOSAUR to it? Maybe I'm just nuts, but Dino is a freaky ride and gets nowhere near the praise that Indy does. BOOOO!

 

[MDAY]

Better at DL:
Space Mountain - unbelievably better
Haunted Mansion - like that elevator lowers, walk into the ride and then onto doom buggies and the overlay rocks
Indy - much better than dinosaur
IASM - little touches
Railroad - dioramas
POTC - wow - wdw what happened?
Big thunder - toss up
Fantasyland - It is all so much better there, wdw needs to copy it asap
Fireworks and Fantasmic! are better in my opinion - love how they take Remember Dreams come True and highlight Walt's dream and the rides into fireworks.
Fantasmic! - Love the sailing ship Columbia with Peter Pan much better than Pochontas stuff at WDW
Grizzly River Rapids - blows away Kali
Aladdin Spectaluar - blows away Beauty and the Beast
Autopia - like the off roading
Jungle Cruise - love the ending....


Better at WDW:
Splash Mountain
Carousel of Progress -oldie but a goodie
Wedway in tomorrowland
Big Thunder - kind of like it better here
Spaceship Earth and all of Epcot
If it wasn't for Epcot I wouldn't go back to WDW

 

[MDAY]

One more thing....

This quote sums up alot...

"There's an answer the old timers at Disney like to give when asked to compare the Anaheim and Orlando main parks, and to me it still applies as to how they are currently run: Disneyland is a park designed by a father for his daughters, while the Magic Kingdom is designed by a committee for the hordes."

It has been stated above, the ambiance at DL is charming, detailed, and you can imagine Walt himself walking the park in the morning.

When you hear Walt's voice come across the loud speakers on Parade of Dreams it gives you chills...."to all that come to this happy place welcome, disneyland is your land" at this point in the parade it all comes to a halt and then they break into "welcome to our family time" from tarzan. Truely amazing. Remember Dreams Come true is by far the best firework show by disney as well.

 

[TP2000]

Not to mention that drivers in California are among the best in the nation. Car Culture has to be good for something.

I know i know few will agree. In my defense I have lived in every corner of this country and in between so i feel as though i am speaking from experience.

I agree with you. And in my adult life over the last 30 years I've lived in a dozen states and some of America's biggest cities. Southern California freeways are some of the most efficient and well designed in the world. They are crowded and busy, especially at 5 o'clock, but they work well and are very well maintained.

The "smog" crack made me laugh. It's not 1974 anymore and Johnny Carson doesn't tell smog jokes. No one tells smog jokes because the smog went away 15 years ago. I remember the Smog Alert days as a child in SoCal. We haven't had one since the early 1990's, and the air just keeps getting clearer and clearer. Someone is pulling your leg if they tell you their "eyes burn" in SoCal due to smog. That's simply not happening anymore. Disco is dead and smog died with it.

Nevermind the fact that Disneyland is not in Los Angeles but is in Orange County, a county of 3.3 Million people with a reputation and culture all its own. It's lovely here, and in fact they do TV shows about it because it's so nice. Maybe the housewives have a little too much botox, but it's certainly attractive. Los Angeles is a 45 minute drive to the north from Disneyland, although that can stretch to 90 minutes or more if you are trying to get there at 5 o'clock. Like any big city on the globe, LA can have its scary neighborhoods and its ritzy neighborhoods. I don't go up there much, there's really no need for me to, but it's better than many big cities I've lived in.

Want horrible freeways? Live in Seattle like I did. Want crazy drivers? Live in Boston like I did. Want some scary streets? Live in Atlanta like I did. Heck, check out these crime statistics on which is safer; the county where Disneyland is or the county where WDW is. WARNING: You won't want to leave WDW property without a bodygaurd again if you do see the difference between Anaheim and Orlando! :lol:

Murder Rates

Orange County, Florida - Population 1.04 Million in 2006
Orange County, Florida 2006 - 113 homicides
Orange County, Florida 2007 - 98 homicides

Orange County, California - Population 3.25 Million in 2006
Orange County, California 2006 - 12 homicides
Orange County, California 2007 - 6 homicides

Murders are bad, obviously. But the rates are similar for carjackings, burglaries, robberies, rape, aggravated assault, etc. Even though Orange County, Florida has one third the population of Orange County, California, the crime is up to ten times as high in the county that surrounds WDW.

Then there's this fun table that lets you compare directly. I've matched up Anaheim Vs. Orlando, just for fun. Don't forget your Kevlar vests Orlando!

http://anaheim.areaconnect.com/crime/compare.htm?c1=Anaheim&s1=CA&c2=Orlando&s2=FL

 

[TP2000]

Anyway, the only thing that kind of bugs me about the Disneyland resort is this: before we left for California this summer I sat down and listed my top 15 must-see attractions from the four WDW parks. Then, I compared those 15 to all of the attractions that Disneyland and DCA had to offer. As it turns out, 11 (soon to be 12) of my 15 favorite E-ticket attractions are also found in the 2 Californian parks.

What does this mean? To me, Disneyland has a ton to offer, considering there are only 2 parks. Disney World has a far lower ratio of "E-ticket attractions" to "attractions" than Disneyland does. In other words, they squeezed all of the best rides into the TWO Cali parks, whereas in WDW they're broken up into 4 parks.

CONGRATULATIONS! You've just summed up the major difference between the two properties quite succinctly, and perfectly explained what a trip to Disneyland is like. :wave:

 

[agent86]

Better at DL:
Space Mountain - unbelievably better
Haunted Mansion - like that elevator lowers, walk into the ride and then onto doom buggies and the overlay rocks
Indy - much better than dinosaur
IASM - little touches
Railroad - dioramas
POTC - wow - wdw what happened?
Big thunder - toss up
Fantasyland - It is all so much better there, wdw needs to copy it asap
Fireworks and Fantasmic! are better in my opinion - love how they take Remember Dreams come True and highlight Walt's dream and the rides into fireworks.
Fantasmic! - Love the sailing ship Columbia with Peter Pan much better than Pochontas stuff at WDW
Grizzly River Rapids - blows away Kali
Aladdin Spectaluar - blows away Beauty and the Beast
Autopia - like the off roading
Jungle Cruise - love the ending....


Better at WDW:
Splash Mountain
Carousel of Progress -oldie but a goodie
Wedway in tomorrowland
Big Thunder - kind of like it better here
Spaceship Earth and all of Epcot
If it wasn't for Epcot I wouldn't go back to WDW

:veryconfu

 

[jaredliu]

Anyway, the only thing that kind of bugs me about the Disneyland resort is this: before we left for California this summer I sat down and listed my top 15 must-see attractions from the four WDW parks. Then, I compared those 15 to all of the attractions that Disneyland and DCA had to offer. As it turns out, 11 (soon to be 12) of my 15 favorite E-ticket attractions are also found in the 2 Californian parks.

For me what really counts is that out of those 12 E-ticket rides at DL, most of them are better version of the two IMO. Yeah DL might be missing 3~4 E-rides that appear in WDW, but it also has the Submarine ride, the pretty good E-ticket that is no longer at MK.

 

[appleset]

Yeah DL might be missing 3~4 E-rides that appear in WDW, but it also has the Submarine ride, the pretty good E-ticket that is no longer at MK.

Yeah, exactly. I agree.

My point was just that THEORETICALLY, Disney World should have two times as many E-ticket attractions as Disneyland, since they have twice as many parks.

Instead, Disneyland is almost up to par with Disney World in that regard. In the end I think Disneyland is the better value (unfortunately for me!)