Having 2nd thoughts about 1st Disneyland trip

[worldfanatic]

I have no desire to ever ride POTC in Florida again.

That's so funny.
My wife and I often joke about how we should get in line at the Magic Kingdom Pirates of the Caribbean, but leave before getting on the ride.
Because the Magic Kingdom version is so utterly inferior to DL's.
In fact, I don't think we've ridden the MK's POTC in over 10 years.
It sucks that MK's version has such a cool line!

Being a Southern California local, I love the Disneyland Resort, but overall, Walt Disney World is still tops!!! No doubt about it.

However, if you go, and you should, you'll never look at the Magic Kingdom the same way again.
While more beautiful, it can't compare to Disneyland.

Many of us Disneyland regulars laugh when people consider the Magic Kingdom the heart of WDW.

No way. It's Epcot.

 

[Laura]

Many of us Disneyland regulars laugh when people consider the Magic Kingdom the heart of WDW.

No way. It's Epcot.

Yep.

 

[KingdomofDreams]

captainkidd, I've been to the LA area numerous times in the last few years and although you will encounter a bit of a drive and some traffic getting to Universal Studios Hollywood, it's a great drive through LA and into Hollywood. If you've never been to LA or Hollywood, you'll see some familiar sights from the freeway (downtown LA, the Staples Center, the Hollywood sign). If you time your drive there off peak traffic times and just expect you'll hit some traffic, it's not that big a deal really.

You really just need to rent a car. You can bid for a rental car on Priceline. I've done this every time and always get a quality rental car (Hertz, Avis, Alamo, etc.) for a super price. I've gotten an upgrade almost every time too!

Universal Studios Hollywood is a great park in a great area and the Studio Tour alone is worth the price of admission. Also, they're opening a new Transformer's ride next spring that looks to be pretty great. It's a two-level park with a stellar view. We're planning to fly in on a Sunday early (hopefully avoid any extremely bad traffic situations this way), spend the day doing other things, end up at one of the two hotels located at Universal Studios for the night, then do Uni the next day. More than likely, we'll drive down that night to Anaheim and spend the rest of our week based at Disneyland Hotel.

I've always had pretty good luck getting some decent airline fares to LA, but only you can ultimately decide if your family will truly enjoy the SoCal experience. I'm from California and I like going back from time to time. I enjoy the scenery and atmosphere. It will definitely be a different kind of trip than a trip to WDW, but if you set expectations realistically as far as traffic etc., I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 

[Morganificent]

In response to the second question, it is without a doubt worth it. If you guys are devoted Disney nerds, you just have to experience Walt's original park firsthand. Aside from the historical aspect, the park really is great. You know when you love something so much (like a book series, or movie series, or Disney World!) and when you're done you just wish there was more to experience? This is your chance. While they have some of the same rides as WDW, they are a completely different experience for the most part. They even have many rides and shows that WDW doesn't have and thus would be a completely new experience.

I have to say that I use to be hesitant about it, it just seemed that nothing could compare to WDW and especially MK, but it's something to experience and appreciate on a completely seperate level. When we me and my boyfriend went in March 2010 we fell in love with it and are going back in two weeks!

I'll stop my mindless rambling now, hah, and just say don't pass it up!

 

[Victoria]

Disneyland is amazing. I went to WDW exclusively from 1989 to 2010. Then last summer happened and I got to go to DL for the first time. In many ways I had a hard time imagining that WDW was supposed to be "the same" as DL. Disneyland crams so many amazing things into such a small area. Many rides sound the same (Pirates, Haunted Mansion, IASW, Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, Tower of Terror, Snow White, Speedway, Pooh, Space Mt., Teacups, etc) but they are all a very different experience in Disneyland. They share a name and in most cases that is the only major similarity.

The in-park food options (at Disneyland especially) are exponentially better than they are in WDW. A large variety of different types of food and there are good sit down restaurants (Blue Bayou is great!). Disneyland also does outdoor entertainment WAY better than WDW does. Fantasmic! is about 150x better in DL, WoC is pretty much worth cross country plane trip alone, and the nighttime Disneyland fireworks are excellent. Be sure to view them from a couple of different locations (Main St, IASW) in the park too. Each vantage point offers a different show.

I went to DL expecting to like it but I never imagined that I would LOVE it. As soon as I got home I was ready to go back even though I spent a week at Disneyland exclusively. I felt like I still didn't get to do everything I wanted to. There are so many DL exclusive rides (Nemo, Matterhorn, Alice, Mr. Toad, Indiana Jones, at least half of everything in DCA) too.

As far as airfare is concerned, I think you might be overestimating. I don't know where you are from or how many kids you have, but I rarely see flights for more than $400 roundtrip. Last summer I paid $385 on Virgin America (JFK-LAX) and this summer I am paying $325 for JFK-LAX on Virgin America. I almost went with JetBlue but Virgin had a major price drop about 45 days out and JetBlue never dropped their price.

So basically the whole point of this annoyingly long post is: GO TO DISNEYLAND. :lol: You won't be sorry. Yes, it is different from WDW but almost everything is for the better. The lack of Magical Express from the airport is annoying but there are so many affordable shuttle choices it is really a non-issue. If you want to go to non-Disney parks things are farther away but again there are so many cheap day-trip tours out there. All it takes is a little internet research and asking some questions.

 

[Admiral01]

Many of us Disneyland regulars laugh when people consider the Magic Kingdom the heart of WDW.

No way. It's Epcot.

Double yep.

EPCOT has always been the heart of WDW for me. I've said it before: if I want to go to the "Magic Kingdom," I head out to Disneyland. WDW is for EPCOT and the few unique rides you can find at DHS and DAK. Disneyland is where Disney's Magic Kingdom is truly magical.

 

[CaptainShortty]

Double yep.

EPCOT has always been the heart of WDW for me. I've said it before: if I want to go to the "Magic Kingdom," I head out to Disneyland. WDW is for EPCOT and the few unique rides you can find at DHS and DAK. Disneyland is where Disney's Magic Kingdom is truly magical.

Let start with the fact that MK was only built to help in the funding of creating Epcot.

 

[TP2000]

We did an attraction by attraction comparison of the 2 resorts last night, comparing all the rides our kids can go on. Surprisingly, all of WDW's parks had just 2 more attractions than DL's 2 parks.

Bingo! You just discovered the secret of why Disneyland Resort is so utterly fabulous! :wave:

And here's the amazing thing... there are currently four (4) attractions under construction at DCA that will be opening just under a year from now; Radiator Springs Racers, Tow Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, Luigi's Flying Tires, and the Red Car Trolleys. When that happens, DLR will pull ahead of WDW for overall ride count. Even after FLE opens with Mermaid and a different Snow White ride in 2013, the ride count will still be in Disneyland Resort's favor.

People who only visit WDW just can't fathom that concept, and you have to experience Disneyland to really understand it. There are attractions literally stacked on top of each other at Disneyland, and even DCA offers some fairly dense attraction environments.

My personal favorite example of how different the themed environments of Disneyland are to their comparitively sparse Magic Kingdom versions; the Rivers of America. At Magic Kingdom, the Rivers of America has become stagnant (almost literally) and stuck in the 1970's with a raft going over to a stale Tom Sawyer Island and one riverboat operating reduced hours along the neglected banks that looks like a flood control channel. At Disneyland there's always a couple of rafts shuttling people over to the fantastically freshened Pirate's Lair island, with the Davy Crocket Explorer Canoes running, and the impressive Sailing Ship Columbia chasing the iconic Mark Twain Riverboat around the updated river that now features four distinct regions of the country.

Oh, and then at night, the whole thing transforms into the freshly updated 21st century Fantasmic! show. Twice, at 9:00 and 10:30.

Disneyland Resort packs a punch. And the comparisons to the similar areas at WDW, like the Rivers of America, are often quite striking. It's fascinating to me that these two properties in California and Florida are actually owned by the same company, because their operation can be so starkly different. :veryconfu

Regardless, any WDW regular will find much to enjoy on their first trip to Disneyland.

 

[Admiral01]

Let start with the fact that MK was only built to help in the funding of creating Epcot.

Exactly. From what I understand from Disney history, Walt didn't want to recreate an "East Coast Disneyland" in the Florida-Project. Magic Kingdom was forced by the shareholders in order for Disney to get the money he wanted for his EPCOT. Basically "you want to do your city of tomorrow? Fine, but you are going to build Disneyland-East first." Thus, we got the attraction-reduced Magic Kingdom.

Note how the MK is not in the center of the property. This was on purpose. Walt Disney never wanted to have to have it, so he planned it out of the way of his vision of EPCOT. Disneyland was his themepark. Florida was meant to be something different. Obviously, things drastically changed after he passed, and EPCOT developed into a theme park rather than an actual city. But, as the earlier post said, EPCOT is the heart of WDW, not the MK.

How easily we forget what Disney actually wanted in Florida...

 

[KingdomofDreams]

I haven't been in DL since 2005 and that trip wasn't even a full day because I could only squeeze it in before another commitment, but since deciding to make a trip there next summer I've been looking forward to it more and more.

Everything I've read and all the pics and videos I've seen give one such a sense of a truly beautiful and completely charming park. There are SO many small details to experience and appreciate. I absolutely love WDW but the lush landscaping, intimate walkways and all the little areas within the DL park, have really captivated me.

The food offerings actually look good too! There are some lemon cupcakes I saw that are calling my name and I can already see myself chillin' at Trader Sam's with a little adult beve. Now if I could just hit the lottery so I can stay in that luscious Adventureland Suite....

 

[Rufus T Firefly]

Trader Sam's is pretty cool. :slurp:

 

[Victoria]

Trader Sam's is pretty cool. :slurp:

This is something I am really looking forward to doing on this upcoming trip. I'm staying at DL Hotel so I figure I will be able to work it into the crazy schedule I will be keeping.

 

[Disney_Belle]

...and you have to experience Disneyland to really understand it.

There is no better way to know Disneyland than to experience it. I was only there for barely 3 days. And 75% of those days were training, and I still fell in love with it. I was able to do some classics - Matterhorn, iasw, Storybook Land Canal Boats, Mr. Toad, PotC... but not nearly as much as I wanted to. There is a charm and a nostalgia about Disneyland. It cannot be described. It needs to be experienced

 

[captainkidd]

We're still going.

We've decided just to do 7 nights at the DL hotel, spend 6 days in Disneyland. We'll save a weeks vacation for August, and do either WDW or Universal that week.

 

[TP2000]

We're still going.

We've decided just to do 7 nights at the DL hotel, spend 6 days in Disneyland. We'll save a weeks vacation for August, and do either WDW or Universal that week.

That's good news!

6 days at Disneyland/DCA is a lot. Will you have a chance to jump in a car and get out to see some of the rest of SoCal? Laguna Beach, Hollywood, Palm Springs, San Diego? Any of those makes for a great day or half-day trip. In Orlando the whole place exists because of pre-packaged theme parks from the late 20th century, but Disneyland is just the tiny tip of the iceberg in SoCal when it comes to vacation fun. I hope you can get away from Disneyland for at least a day or two that week. :wave:

 

[Victoria]

We're still going.

We've decided just to do 7 nights at the DL hotel, spend 6 days in Disneyland. We'll save a weeks vacation for August, and do either WDW or Universal that week.

Good! I did almost the exact same thing last summer. We did a 6 days at DL (never went anywhere else) and then in late August did a week at WDW. It was fun going to both parks within a few weeks of each other.

 

[worldfanatic]

Trader Sam's is pretty cool. :slurp:

Very, very cool!!!

Went there two weeks ago for the first time and I loved it. Pure Disney!!

My wife was shocked, because as a huge sports fan, I generally reject any bar that doesn't have a TV in it.

But for Trader Sam's........I had to make an exception.:sohappy:

 

[KingdomofDreams]

This is probably the wrong place to ask this, but since we're talking Disneyland and all the special touches that make it worth visiting, I have a couple of Dumbo questions.

Does the Dumbo ride still have the water feature around it? Also, I recently saw a video featuring Dumbo flying during the fireworks show. Is that still a part of the show? I really hope so, because that is so awesome!

 

[TP2000]

Does the Dumbo ride still have the water feature around it? Also, I recently saw a video featuring Dumbo flying during the fireworks show. Is that still a part of the show? I really hope so, because that is so awesome!

Yup, the water fountains under Dumbo were part of the 1983 New Fantasyland, and it's still there and still operating.

It's a particularly pretty effect at night.

Dumbo flies above the Castle nightly in the Magical summer fireworks show, along with Tinkerbell. Magical runs through Labor Day weekend, and then they change to the Remember show and the Halloween Screams fireworks shows in the fall, neither of which use the Dumbo effect.

 

[becanya]

You know, I feel your pain on the second guessing. We have been having a similar issue. I have a conference in San Diego, so we were thinking about all going out and doing Disneyland. The problem is, it's crazy expensive to fly a family of 4 out there, the hotels are expensive, DL is expensive, etc. So we decided instead to make my conference trip a mom and dad only trip, then just all go to WDW and use our DVC points and annual passes. Way cheaper. But I can't wait to read your trip report to plot our trip to DL in the future when we are way richer.