I finally experienced Disneyland...

[Californian Elitist]

I agree with the above points. Parking was annoying, but I get that Disneyland is limited in space.



I'll see what's going on. I'd love to go back, but I've also got to do Universal Studios. I've been talking with my new neighbor, who's down for both and can get me a discount at Disneyland.

I've got a Universal pass, too. I'm warning you now, don't expect Hollywood to be ANYTHING like Orlando. Universal Studios Hollywood is a movie studio first, theme park second. Filming will pretty much always be more important than the theme park, so don't expect something on the Orlando level. You can get Hollywood done within a couple of hours, unless you take the studio tour multiple times.

 

[216bruce]

My two cents worth: We just got back from DL on Monday morning and had a lot of converstaions about which is better while we were there. Been to MK more than 20 times and been to DL 3 times since '98.
Pirates is MUCH better at DL. So is Space. Splash is rushed but just different. If it wasn't rushed, I'd call it a draw. Tarzan and Swiss are just different. Both have good and bad points, largely dependent on your age. I grew up with Swiss, so it will always have a place in my heart. Lots of folks haven't seen the movie and don't get it. Tarzan is more fun, for sure. Swiss is more nostalgic. Slight edge to Tiki's in DL as it is a lot closer to the original since they've shortened it a little at MK. Tomorrowland is better at MK, without a doubt but I think that may change with the Iron Man addition. Any "land' that has Carousel of Progress has an advantage as it is just so "Walt". The Mansion holiday was awesome, but I prefer the original "look" as an ongoing thing and prefer the exterior of the one in MK and the "show" while waiting. Dark ride advatage in a big way to DL except for Pooh, which is better in MK.
The biggest difference for me is the overall look of the park and it's feel. Can't quantify this, but DL is much prettier, more intimate and just more "Disney" than MK.
I can't speak to the parking issue as I didn't drive there, but after renting a car and driving to Burbank for a Disney Studio tour, all SoCal residents have my sympathy. What a mess traffic is there.
Finally, MK has the "castle" shows which blow away DL's fireworks. Fantasmic is much better at DL than what there is at The Studios in Florida. The setting can't be beat and having the Mark Twain and the Columbia in the show is mind-blowing.
Personally, I prefer DL to MK. If you asked if I preferred Disneyland Resort to Walt Disney World, well, don't ask, I couldn't decide. WDW for size and scope, Disneyland Resort for ambience and "do-ability". Depends on what you want.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

I've got a Universal pass, too. I'm warning you now, don't expect Hollywood to be ANYTHING like Orlando. Universal Studios Hollywood is a movie studio first, theme park second. Filming will pretty much always be more important than the theme park, so don't expect something on the Orlando level. You can get Hollywood done within a couple of hours, unless you take the studio tour multiple times.

I fully expect Universal Studios to be smaller, with nothing comparable to Islands of Adventure. That said, I'm stoked to see the backlot. I love the movies.

I can see some people preferring DL Space Mountain for a smoother ride and the on-board music. I prefer the wilder, rickety single-file seating WDW version. But I also like that they're different.

I also felt that the treehouse was a lot smaller than the one in WDW. It wasn't as impressive and I prefer the classic version as opposed to redressing it to a pretty forgotten Disney flick (the Tarzan cry was getting annoying).

 

[Californian Elitist]

Expect smaller AND less things to do. Much less. USH is more comparable to USO, than IOA.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

My two cents worth: We just got back from DL on Monday morning and had a lot of converstaions about which is better while we were there. Been to MK more than 20 times and been to DL 3 times since '98.
Pirates is MUCH better at DL. So is Space. Splash is rushed but just different. If it wasn't rushed, I'd call it a draw. Tarzan and Swiss are just different. Both have good and bad points, largely dependent on your age. I grew up with Swiss, so it will always have a place in my heart. Lots of folks haven't seen the movie and don't get it. Tarzan is more fun, for sure. Swiss is more nostalgic. Slight edge to Tiki's in DL as it is a lot closer to the original since they've shortened it a little at MK. Tomorrowland is better at MK, without a doubt but I think that may change with the Iron Man addition. Any "land' that has Carousel of Progress has an advantage as it is just so "Walt". The Mansion holiday was awesome, but I prefer the original "look" as an ongoing thing and prefer the exterior of the one in MK and the "show" while waiting. Dark ride advatage in a big way to DL except for Pooh, which is better in MK.
The biggest difference for me is the overall look of the park and it's feel. Can't quantify this, but DL is much prettier, more intimate and just more "Disney" than MK.
I can't speak to the parking issue as I didn't drive there, but after renting a car and driving to Burbank for a Disney Studio tour, all SoCal residents have my sympathy. What a mess traffic is there.
Finally, MK has the "castle" shows which blow away DL's fireworks. Fantasmic is much better at DL than what there is at The Studios in Florida. The setting can't be beat and having the Mark Twain and the Columbia in the show is mind-blowing.
Personally, I prefer DL to MK. If you asked if I preferred Disneyland Resort to Walt Disney World, well, don't ask, I couldn't decide. WDW for size and scope, Disneyland Resort for ambience and "do-ability". Depends on what you want.

Did you ride Tower in DCA? I had forgotten about it, but having experienced it again lately, it is a shadow of the DHS version.

 

[WED99]

I think a lot of what you said is fair. Disneyland is my favourite park, but that's mainly because the atmosphere feels so much better than WDW. There is a certain charm to it, like it leaks from the buildings! Just Walt's touch probably

But come on..... Roger Rabbit is awesome!

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

I think they need to add new attractions behind Big Thunder Mountain. I also think they should give Tomorrowland more of a retro-futuristic theme (since the current doesn't work at all and futuristic themes frequently become dated at Disney) and reopen the Peoplemover. I also think they should put the rocket ride in its original place and out of the entrance.

 

[Californian Elitist]

The Peoplemover is not coming back. Tony Baxter confirmed that. Both Tomorrowland and Frontierland are being considered for new attractions.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Will they take down the trackway? I don't quite follow how WDW can pull off having a Peoplemover with terrible maintenance and management, while DL cannot.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Will they take down the trackway? I don't quite follow how WDW can pull off having a Peoplemover with terrible maintenance and management, while DL cannot.

You're starting to sound like the famous Disneyland community, and you've only been here for a few weeks LOL. The track definitely needs to be taken down, if it's not going to be used. There was a ride that used the track called the Rocket Rods. It went around all of Tomorrowland. It was the Peoplemover on steroids, a lot of fun, when functioning properly. Unfortunately, it was VERY flawed, and it was taken down sometime in 2000, lasting only 2 years. Since then, the tracks have been sitting there, rotting. It's pathetic and a disgrace and many Disneyland fans are sick of it. People here talk about Disneyland as if it were perfect but it's definitely got its flaws, too. They can be lazy here, too.

Apparently there's an Iron Man attraction being considered for Disneyland's Tomorrowland. If that gets built, maybe they'll do something with the tracks. Hopefully they do something by the time the 60th birthday hits in less than three years now. Tomorrowland is, without a doubt, the worst land, as far as looks, in all of Disneyland and it needs help. The good thing is Disneyland is in California, and Imagineering and the bigwigs are in Glendale and Burbank. We have people like Tony Baxter and John Lasseter that love Disneyland very much.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

I waited in a 20-car deep line the other day, only to find that one person was handling two lines of cars! And this was half an hour before opening, a time you know is gonna be busy! The thing that actually bothers me more is the lack of a "no bag" line. Why are we waiting in line at bag check when we have no bags? It is not an insignificant line. One of the "best practices" from WDW that DL could actually use...

Come to think of it I noticed that as well. If you have no bags you just walk through at WDW. Disneyland was different. That was strange. But you can overlook that, as for the parking they have to open up another entrance somewhere because the parking is just ponderous. I realize you are coming right off some busy streets but getting into that main parking garage is murder. If I didn't "cheat" a bit I can only imagine how long it would have taken. The only day it was fine was when they had Downtown Disney's parking opened up (the parking lot near the hotels).

I'll see what's going on. I'd love to go back, but I've also got to do Universal Studios. I've been talking with my new neighbor, who's down for both and can get me a discount at Disneyland.

You'll notice Universal is a litle different than the one in Orlando. They rely heavily on the Studios Tour which you should not miss. There are also more shows there and less rides. Still worth seeing though.

 

[WDW1974]

OK, so here goes my opinion of your opinions (and, btw, what is it with young dudes unhappy with lives in Rhode Island -- a place most of us don't believe exists like say Delaware or Idaho -- moving to SoCal on a whim? Not that I know anyone else who has done that!)

You seemed to have done a very half-arsed job of visiting DLR. You skipped one park. You skipped DD and the hotels. You missed HUGE parts of DL because you were there on a day a film was being produced. It sounds like you weren't there for a whole day, either, or a day when you saw Soundsational or Remember or any entertainment.

So, I'm not sure what to say beyond you seem to have gone in expecting the MK (and despite getting a better product and, yes, that's my opinion but I can also lend facts as to why that opinion is a correct one) and when you got an unfamiliar product you sorta were blah about the day. I'm guessing that will change if you are truly going to live in SoCal and aren't just on a brief escape from the NE. I'd also suggest that what sweetpea wrote about her experiences with DCL may have been similar to your experiences.

I have visited every Disney park and I don't base them on the first one I ever visited MK and likely have spent more time at than perhaps any expect for EPCOT. You judge them on what you experience. ... Although for my money, I can't in my mind fathom how anyone could enjoy the MK of today more than the DL of today.

Best of luck with your job search!

And hey raven ... you coud shoot me an email every once in a while ... just because you've chosen to leave the insanity of the WDW News and Rumours and Lunacy and Coffee board!

 

[WDW1974]

I actually also preferred the current WDW soundtrack to Disneyland's.

Um ... what soundtrack?

 

[WDW1974]

I don't understand how a Disney fan just couldn't seem to enjoy themselves at a Disney park, especially the original one. I myself have yet to visit all the Disney parks, but I have very little doubt I wouldn't have fun at all of them.

As you know, I have. And I have enjoyed all of them even parks like DSP, which is absolute worst/ugliest thing Disney has built, and the beautiful although attraction-lite HKDL.

As a matter of fact, I'd prefer either of the above to the MK in its current condition, although I am anxious to see the rest of Fantasyland that was still walled off when I was there a month ago.

I guess Walt Disney World spoiled a lot of things for me.

Spoiled? Or maybe you just, like many fans, are addicted to the familiar?

 

[WDW1974]

Overall I have come to the conclusion that Disneyland is the best park out of all of them clear cut. WDW is the best resort because it is just so grand. But they have yet to outmatch a park Walt made 57 years ago.

That's pretty much it. DL still is the gold standard.

TDL outdoes it in some important ways, but overall DL is still amazing.

I don't get that feeling in the MK. ... It's sort of like a friend's wife once put it (she isn't a Disney fan, he is): the MK is a mass market characture of DL. I agree.

 

[WDW1974]

One thing you wish DL would improve on is the parking. Somehow they have to find a way to make getting into the parking lots with shorter lines. WDW doesnt have this problem

It's California. Parking is an issue EVERYWHERE. You learn to deal with it ... just like traffic, you don't pull out onto the 405 at 3:30 in the afternoon after a Venti Latte at Starbucks and not expect to be in some serious pain and trying desperately to get off at the next exit as traffic barely moves across six lanes.

 

[cba]

Um ... what soundtrack?

I think ride music. Here's both of the Space Mountains to compare.

 

[WDW1974]

WDW's Space Mtn doesn't have onboard sound ... it has some speakers tossed near the TAFNatTTA track that are barely audible except when on said attraction.

DL has a soundtrack created for it, much like HKDL and DLP do.

WDW's Starryophonic Sound is a cheap joke.

 

[Californian Elitist]

And hey raven ... you coud shoot me an email every once in a while ... just because you've chosen to leave the insanity of the WDW News and Rumours and Lunacy and Coffee board!

I'm so sorry if you feel you fell I've been ignoring you! This site has been driving me so crazy I've forgotten about all the people I actually like. An email will be coming to you, soon!

 

[Cosmic Commando]

It's California. Parking is an issue EVERYWHERE. You learn to deal with it ... just like traffic, you don't pull out onto the 405 at 3:30 in the afternoon after a Venti Latte at Starbucks and not expect to be in some serious pain and trying desperately to get off at the next exit as traffic barely moves across six lanes.

Kids are good for (at least) two things: taxes and carpool lanes. Was that you I waved at as I was doing 80 in the carpool lane on the 405 coming off the Harbor Freeway? From carpool lane on the Artesia Freeway to the carpool exit to I-5 to the carpool exit to Disneyland Dr... one of the most beautiful stretches of road I've ever seen.

From the perspective of someone who pretty much always arrives early in the morning, Mickey & Friends is pretty darn good at what it does: it holds a lot of cars and it's a short tram ride or walk to the parks. There's less of a line at the parking entry than there is at the main gate now that they're really trying to put the ticket renters out of business. Good for them, but I just wish there were a way to do this that didn't bring every line to get into the parks to a standstill. The only thing I wish they'd change when they build the next parking garage is they need more or bigger elevators. You can only fit two Nimitz-class strollers in those elevators at a time... that line moves slower than the Subs queue!