Is it really that bad?

Angel Ariel

Angel Ariel

Well-Known Member
KaliSplash said:
For me, it's WDW by a long shot. There are simply More things to do there. 4 parks vs. 2 parks. The ratio is even more in Florida's favor if you add in the water parks.
And yes, that's even with all the stupidity of park reservations and park hopping restrictions and etc.
Just a simple case of more to do.
Click to expand...
More parks doesn’t equal more attractions. DL actually has pretty much the same # of attractions in 2 parks that WDW has in 4.

@rk03221 - with the ages you mentioned, I would absolutely recommend DL over WDW. There are more no height requirement rides at DL, and the smaller footprint makes it much easier for grandparents as well.
 
FullSailDan

FullSailDan

Well-Known Member
rk03221 said:
We love Disneyland much more than wdw, at least myself. I just want a nice Disney family vacation
Click to expand...

I think the Disneyland experience has the most promise for a family vacation given your crowd. The smaller footprint makes it much easier to navigate and keep everyone happy during a park day. Easier to get in and out of the parks for nap-time, less hassle in the parks with crowds, and generally more rides that those little ones will be able to enjoy. People forget just how long it takes to get from say fantasyland to even the contemporary at WDW. Much less trying to get to any of the other hotels. I'd also consider some of the good neighbor hotels for Disneyland some are faster/easier to get in and out of than the Disney ones. Anaheim also allows you to get out of the Disney bubble much easier if you want to take a day trip to the beach or something.
 
A

adam.adbe

Well-Known Member
Angel Ariel said:
More parks doesn’t equal more attractions. DL actually has pretty much the same # of attractions in 2 parks that WDW has in 4.
Click to expand...

and park hopping between the two doesn't take an hour out of your day.

All things considered, I'd rather do a WDW vacation than DLR, but DLR never feels like a mess of compromises in the way WDW can.
 
JusticeDisney

JusticeDisney

Well-Known Member
While some of the complaints you read on here are valid, many others are just ridiculous. There is a select group of people here who literally complain about every single change. Some of the changes stink, but others are actually very cool. WDW is still an absolute ton of fun! I would go to WDW over DL 8 days a week.
 
ppete1975

ppete1975

Well-Known Member
rk03221 said:
So we are deciding between DL and WDW with my family (wife, 2 year old and 1 year old and possibly grandparents).

My wife and I used to be cast members and haven’t been since 2018 so a lot has changed. We really wanted everything to be back to normal or near normal before we returned to wdw.

So, we are debating doing a trip to either Disneyland or wdw. At Disneyland, we’d do 4-5 full days and stay at the Disneyland hotel (potentially). For the wdw trip, I’m looking into renting dvc points somewhere or splitting a Disney hotel with the grandparents. The wdw trip would be 7-10 days.

Is disney world really as bad as everyone says it is? Aside from Genie+ as we already know we’re going to not like it lol.

Any advice on what trip you’d go on? Thanks!

Edit: also, we’d go to wdw in the off season in Jan or February. Disneyland would be next summer
Click to expand...
Some questions
1) where were you cast members -land or world
2) What do you want to see? Some things are only at land others are at world (for me Have to see epcot)
3) have you been to both
4) where do you live? Is one closer to you?
5) Are there special memories that either park has for you or the people going?

I would leave out the concern for genie plus and some of the grumblings, and look into what you want out of the trip.
 
K

KTK

Active Member
You didn't say where you were traveling from, are you flying or driving? If you live on the east coast, flying across country with a 1 y/o and 2 y/o would be difficult. I think traveling distance from home would be a major factor here. We were in DL last summer and WDW in Dec. Both places have their pros (and cons). Traffic is so much worse getting from the airport to DL compared to WDW. I would pick WDW.
 
UNCgolf

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
Missing Animal Kingdom would be unfortunate, but outside of that I don't see much to recommend WDW over DL at this point. Nearly everything worthwhile at DHS and the Magic Kingdom already exists in California (especially since they've stripped out the majority of the original DHS theming, although even that was a pastiche of actual LA, so...) -- Tower of Terror is the one big miss off the top of my head, although it's possible I'm forgetting something.

There's still some good left at EPCOT (the World Showcase and Spaceship Earth being the biggest highlights), but it's not even close to the park it was 30 years ago -- if original EPCOT still existed then WDW would be the easy choice for me because that version of EPCOT was the best theme park ever built, but it's gone.

The biggest issue with DL, at least for me, is that it's in (or technically near) LA. There are just so many other interesting things to do there that it's hard to make time for DL on a trip. Orlando, on the other hand, is basically a theme park city, so if you're taking a trip there you're almost certainly going to spend time at parks.

EDIT: I was forgetting something. The Carousel of Progress is one of my can't miss attractions.
 
Last edited:
Y

yonafunu

Active Member
Been in wdw in 2018/2019 and 2021, going to wdw/DL in september 2022.
We have loved 2021 trip, maybe more than pre-pandemic years. Almost all is open now, there are severals things added than in 2018. You will see a lot of news things/new shows.
You will always heard some grumpies people arguing wdw was much better when the tickets was at 30$ and with a much lower crowd.
Nostalgia is a pain seriously. Don't expect anything and you will have a great trip at wdw :)
 
Chef Mickey

Chef Mickey

Well-Known Member
WDW is far better than DL, despite all the negative things you read here and even my own complaints. More to do, bigger, better hotels, more restaurant options, has EPCOT and AK, and has the Carousel and PeopleMover.
 
Chef Mickey

Chef Mickey

Well-Known Member
UNCgolf said:
Missing Animal Kingdom would be unfortunate, but outside of that I don't see much to recommend WDW over DL at this point. Nearly everything worthwhile at DHS and the Magic Kingdom already exists in California (especially since they've stripped out the majority of the original DHS theming, although even that was a pastiche of actual LA, so...) -- Tower of Terror is the one big miss off the top of my head, although it's possible I'm forgetting something.

There's still some good left at EPCOT (the World Showcase and Spaceship Earth being the biggest highlights), but it's not even close to the park it was 30 years ago -- if original EPCOT still existed then WDW would be the easy choice for me because that version of EPCOT was the best theme park ever built, but it's gone.

The biggest issue with DL, at least for me, is that it's in (or technically near) LA. There are just so many other interesting things to do there that it's hard to make time for DL on a trip. Orlando, on the other hand, is basically a theme park city, so if you're taking a trip there you're almost certainly going to spend time at parks.
Click to expand...
What is interesting in LA?
 
UNCgolf

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
Chef Mickey said:
What is interesting in LA?
Click to expand...

The Griffith Observatory, the Santa Monica Pier, La Brea Tar Pits, Hollywood, the Getty Center, the Getty Villa, all of the historic studio lots (Paramount, W.B., etc.), Huntington Library and Gardens, the Original Farmers Market, the National History Museum, the Peterson Museum...

I could keep going, but even beyond specific attractions there's a ton of interesting architecture. Just walking/riding around L.A. is fun because of the architecture of not just the larger buildings but even random homes. To be technical, some of that isn't actually in Los Angeles proper, but that's beside the point.

I like NYC, but LA is actually my favorite city to visit in the US.
 
Last edited:
Vegas Disney Fan

Vegas Disney Fan

Well-Known Member
If you were planning a weekend trip I’d vote DL but for such a long vacation I have to vote WDW, if just offers a lot more to do while staying in vacation mode.

DL and DCA are better theme parks (to us) but WDW is a better vacation, by day 3 at DL we’re usually ready to head home, we can spend a week at WDW and still feel like we missed out on half the things we wanted to do. More dining options, more shopping options, more hotel options, water parks, resort hopping…there’s just more to see and do in general and because there’s so much to do outside the chaos in the parks we find it more relaxing.

For what you’ll pay for a week of DL at the Disneyland hotel you could spend a week at a moderate in WDW and add a 3 night Disney cruise out of Port Canaveral for the same price.
 
Last edited:
Vegas Disney Fan

Vegas Disney Fan

Well-Known Member
UNCgolf said:
Yeah, I mentioned that in my original comment. But quite a lot of what people think of as Los Angeles isn't actually in Los Angeles.
Click to expand...

This drives my girlfriend crazy, I refer to all of metro LA as LA, doesn’t matter if it’s Corona, Rancho Cucamonga, Anaheim, Universal City, Dana Point… I call it all LA. I think that’s true of most places though, the Strip isn’t technically in Las Vegas, WDW isn’t technically in Orlando, etc.
 
bhg469

bhg469

Well-Known Member
Vegas Disney Fan said:
This drives my girlfriend crazy, I refer to all of metro LA as LA, doesn’t matter if it’s Corona, Rancho Cucamonga, Anaheim, Universal City, Dana Point… I call it all LA. I think that’s true of most places though, the Strip isn’t technically in Las Vegas, WDW isn’t technically in Orlando, etc.
Click to expand...
I mean WDW is partially in Orlando at least but you're right. We went to "LA" and we just had to go to DL just because. If you're a Disney world fan and you don't even consider going to Disneyland, you're a fraud... I am so glad we went but at the same time it somewhat ruined WDW for me.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom