Love DL but not so much WDW - Anyone else feel the same?

[manmythlegend]

So, I spent most of life going to WDW. My family was big Disney fans and we'd go to WDW annually and the tradition continued for about 25 years. Always loved WDW but noticed they started putting in changes that I just couldn't get behind. The nail in the coffin for me was FP+ which really impacted my trips there in a negative way. Combine that with the rising costs and I just couldn't justify it anymore. In 2017, while on a road trip out west, got to experience DL and DCA for the first time and fell in love. Love the convenience of the park and hopping, love the easy dining options and the nearby non Disney restaurants outside the park, love that DL stays open super late regularly, love the cost of the nearby hotels, love that's in Southern Cal so you can easily combine DL and other local attractions, and love the FP system.

So, eventhough DL is a bit of a longer flight, it seems well worth it in the end. All that being said, I don't hate WDW or anything. I'm planning to go maybe late next year or 2022 to experience Tron and some of the new attractions that WDW is planning. But I feel like DL is my go to park from now on.

Anyone else feel the same way?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I’m an east coaster and could never give up the size and offerings of wdw...

But I love Disneyland. Everything about it. Much more low key experience with enough to make it a nice 3 or 4 days.

The lack of proper investment in wdw during the Iger years combined with the awful upsells and ride rationing fp+ system is a Black eye in my opinion.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Disneyland was arguably the best park they had in the US with a greater roster of attractions, superior climate, more history.

 

[Disneylover152]

So, I spent most of life going to WDW. My family was big Disney fans and we'd go to WDW annually and the tradition continued for about 25 years. Always loved WDW but noticed they started putting in changes that I just couldn't get behind. The nail in the coffin for me was FP+ which really impacted my trips there in a negative way. Combine that with the rising costs and I just couldn't justify it anymore. In 2017, while on a road trip out west, got to experience DL and DCA for the first time and fell in love. Love the convenience of the park and hopping, love the easy dining options and the nearby non Disney restaurants outside the park, love that DL stays open super late regularly, love the cost of the nearby hotels, love that's in Southern Cal so you can easily combine DL and other local attractions, and love the FP system.

So, eventhough DL is a bit of a longer flight, it seems well worth it in the end. All that being said, I don't hate WDW or anything. I'm planning to go maybe late next year or 2022 to experience Tron and some of the new attractions that WDW is planning. But I feel like DL is my go to park from now on.

Anyone else feel the same way?

I feel the exact same way. We used to go to WDW a lot, and in 2015 we had such an awful experience with FP+ and Magic Bands, we stopped going. We hated the My Magic Experience or whatever its called, and made us stop going to WDW unfortunately. We still went to theme parks, we went on a trip to Universal Orlando, and local parks such as Six Flags and Hershey Park. It wasn't until in 2017 when I started watching FreshBaked that I realized Disneyland was different than WDW. We really wanted to go back to a Disney Park, and we figured why not try Disneyland. When we went to Disneyland in April 2018, we fell in love from the moment we entered the park. It's old school, and we love it.

It's smaller and more manageable. The restaurants in Disneyland are all good, unlike WDW's hit or miss. It has so much charm, and everything has little details. We love just seeing the characters walking freely, and being able to see them without a 30 minute line. We love how the entertainment & shows are just in the street rather than being up on a stage. Entertainment for us is a huge aspect for our trip, and the entertainment there is miles better than WDW entertainment. The attractions are even so much better in the Disneyland Resort. Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, It's a Small World. All better out west. Indiana Jones is better than Dinosaur, RSR is better than Test Track.

And for Disneyland exclusive stuff, nothing at WDW draws me back to the parks as much as stuff like Cars Land & Matterhorn does. Cars Land is one of my favorite theme park lands ever, it's so beautiful. It's much better than any WDW land (have yet to see Avatar).

The size at first made us questionable on whether we should even go to Land, especially because of the longer & more expensive flight, but we actually ended up loving the smaller park better. It's a much better atmosphere than any of the parks in WDW. We love Maxpass, we love not having to know what you want to eat 6 months in advance. We love the character interaction, we love Paint the Night! We love Fantasmic and World of Color better than any WDW nighttime show. We love Indiana Jones and the classic Fantasyland dark rides. It's just a wonderful experience! Disneyland just feels like it's worth the price you pay, meanwhile everything in Disney World just seems over-priced and less of a value.

Something we also like in Disneyland is the number of stuff to do outside of the parks. In WDW, outside of the resort, you have more theme parks. Disneyland has so much to do within a day's drive of the parks, Hollywood, Palm Springs, Studio City, beaches, San Diego. Since we only spend a few days in the parks out of our week-long trips, we appreciate the infinite amount of stuff to do outside of theme parks.

We love Disneyland now and are so glad we made the change! We have made the switch to Disneyland from WDW (despite it being almost double flight length). Like you, I don't hate WDW either, and we are planning to go back for the 50th, but Disneyland is much better. We will go to WDW every once in a while, but we will continue to make the trek out there for it as much as we can!

(sorry for the length but I'm a very fond believer that Disneyland is much better than WDW, I got excited and just started typing lol)

 

[CastAStone]

Yes. WDW is great in a lot of ways but the difference between our trip to WDW with small children and DLR with a small child was night and day. We spent SO much time in cars, trams, buses, monorails, boats, and walking through parking lots at WDW (exacerbated by the fact that all four entrances were torn up this fall). At DLR we walked from the Hyatt House to the park and back in meaningfully less time than it took to walk from the closest non-preferred lots at MK to the TTC (let alone continuing on to the park).

When I compare the two in my head, setting aside the exclusive WDW attractions, the only thing WDW beats DLR on to me is stroller parking. And that won't matter to me forever. We live a less-than 2 hour, $200 flight to Orlando and a 4.5 hour, $400 flight to LAX (or a 7 hour, $500, 2 flight journey to SNA) and we still are seriously considering DLR APs whenever we can get back to the parks again. We love it that much.

 

[westie]

Ha! I'm the exact opposite. West coaster, grew up on DL. Was at opening day of DCA. Passholder, yadda yadda. But, went to WDW first time when in college and was blown away by the sheer size of it. So while we do DL trips often I always look forward to the almost annual WDW trip.

 

[Texas84]

Nope, love them both. Apples and oranges to me. Two different experiences.

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

I've been to both numerous times but I have to say that DL is my absolute favorite.

Pam

 

[Model3 McQueen]

Disneyland itself is THE premium Disney parks experience, and always will be so long as the historical landmarks remain (castle, matterhorn, main street, etc)

Ultimately I would've agreed with you prior to 2015 - 2016. I feel as if the Disneyland Resort as a whole is going completely backwards compared to WDW. SW:GE is way too big, and DCA has become a joke.. again.

 

[SteamboatJoe]

Nope, love them both. Apples and oranges to me. Two different experiences.

This is the way.

 

[Texas84]

This is the way.

I have spoken.

 

[TheDisneyDaysOfOurLives]

I might be partial to DLR because that's the first theme park I remember going to. I lived in Orlando as well and had an AP to WDW. I think DLR is better though and while I love WDW, I would pick DLR over WDW any day of the week. Its funny because the AP population is so big for DLR (I'm sure it is too for WDW, but it's never talked about on the same level), but I feel like WDW is better if you have an AP and DLR is better to visit. I've cancelled our trip for the end of May and am resigning the fact that we won't be going until 2022 just based on how everything is going. We were going to do WDW for the 50th (and still may, we shall see), but I would prefer a yearly trip to DLR then one to WDW. Though both pale in comparison to TDR.

 

[Lilofan]

Enjoy WDW better but what would make it the best if WDW can have the low humidity of DLR. Summer time at WDW is walking around feeling like a wet sponge.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

OP, I could have written your statement! We haven't been to DL before (except my husband once when he was a little boy).
Like you, we have been going to WDW once a year for many years. However, the increasing costs of everything is getting a little old. I feel that the return on your money is also getting smaller. With cutbacks in CM's and ride maintenance, it's beginning to show more and more. It is also so crowded now; there is no slow time. That impacts the experience for me too.
We have made up our minds that our next trip will be a trip to family in Arizona, and a trip to So. Cal including Disneyland. I can't wait to experience Disneyland Parks after reading so many wonderful accounts of why people love DL. I hope we can find the magic again at DL! We probably won't go to DL because of the virus, until 2021 in the fall.
Like you, we don't dislike WDW, but are getting tired of the changes and up charges of what used to be free, and the outrageous prices of the food/beverages. Can't wait to visit DL

 

[Rich T]

As a West Coaster growing up with annual summer trips to Disneyland, I’m biased, of course. But, while WDW still is an amazing resort complex, there are definite elements keeping me from liking the East Coast experience as much as DL.

1) My only trip to WDW was a week stay in ‘93. Loved it. So glad I got to experience all the original Epcot pavilions, 2-track Mr. Toad, Snow White’s REALLY Scary Adventures, Great Movie Ride, Adventurers Club and more. Now, every single WDW-exclusive attraction I enjoyed most is gone. EVERY ONE. And only a couple of the WDW-exclusive additions interest me at all, and Slinky and FoP aren’t enough to get me East again.

2) Hate the travel time between WDW parks. Hate the emphasis on pre-planning and scheduling. Hate the longer distances between attractions. Hate the shorter hours. Don’t care at all about hotel ammenities, resort restaurants, water parks or cutesy overpriced desserts.

3) And this one applies to both coasts, and is the main reason I’ve cut my Disney visits to once-every-few-years: The one-two-three punch of:
A) Increased emphasis on franchises Disney didn’t create
B) Marketing to the wealthy
C) Prices rising to the point where it’s simply not worth it anymore.

But, let’s say prices become more reasonable someday and Disney keeps adding great attractions on both coasts. Disneyland still fits me better. It’s so easy. So casual. So NOT dependent on reservations. More rides with less walking. More history. More “classic” Disney. More live music. Characters walking around everywhere. More dark rides. Longer hours. Better weather. MUCH less money per visit.

The things WDW does better (hotels, non-park activities) are the things I don’t care about. I’m not a cruise ship person, either. I‘m willing to spend on visiting parks, but I can eat, sleep, lounge and relax just fine at home.

 

[Disneylover152]

1) My only trip to WDW was a week stay in ‘93. Loved it. So glad I got to experience all the original Epcot pavilions, 2-track Mr. Toad, Snow White’s REALLY Scary Adventures, Great Movie Ride, Adventurers Club and more. Now, every single WDW-exclusive attraction I enjoyed most is gone. EVERY ONE. And only a couple of the WDW-exclusive additions interest me at all, and Slinky and FoP aren’t enough to get me East again.

This is an interesting point, and I'm just realizing something. For a resort that claims to have the blessing of size, they sure don't use it up as well as Disneyland. When Disneyland expands, they keep pushing the boundaries of the parks and using up all real-estate they can get. I mean, Runaway Railway and Galaxy's Edge didn't replace anything (minus the Petting Zoo).

Meanwhile in WDW, sure they are getting many many new rides, but they always replace the old stuff. Ratatouille & TRON are the only true new additions to that resort. Frozen replaced Maelstrom, New Fantasyland replaced Old Fantasyland & Toontown, Guardians replaced Ellen, Moana is replacing Innoventions. Despite DHS going through a massive renovation, no new real estate was added to the park. All of their new additions are just replacing old stuff. And they are dropping the history of their parks. And yes, I know the parks are not a museum but at the same time, some of this stuff is too iconic or historical to replace. DHS still is lacking in things to do, how hard would it have been to update GMR and build Runaway Railway somewhere else. Snow White was replaced with a M&G hall, imagine if Disneyland took Mr. Toad away for a meet & greet location? Everything "old" in WDW just seems to be dropped for the newest & hottest attraction, but not everything can be huge, groundbreaking E-tickets. Old Fastpass and online reservations are gone for this new billion-dollar my magic experience (that almost everyone hates). Classic and iconic opening day attraction to be replaced by a new projection-paloza dark ride.

 

[manmythlegend]

Fantastic feedback so far!!

 

[smooch]

I definitely prefer DLR but I definitely loved WDW on my trip a year ago. I live in NorCal, so it is about a 6-7 hour drive to get to DLR so I don't have an AP and only go once every year or two. Last year my dad got a free trip to WDW through work and took me because he knows how much I love the parks and I had a fantastic experience. I'm sure he had much more fun knowing the only things he had to pay for were food and the very few pieces of merch we got (a hat, a shirt, and a couple pins) and everything else was taken care of. DLR is definitely a much more relaxed trip as far as I'm concerned. Not only is the park smaller so it is easier to navigate, but the whole atmosphere is a lot more laid back. WDW has definitely shot itself in the foot with the FP+ system. I didn't do a ton of research prior to the trip, honestly, so we didn't have any FP+ reserved but we did make some dining reservations. We stayed at the Four Seasons and we had a private bus take us to the parks for opening each of the 3 days we were there (first day MK, second AK, third HS). I don't stay on property at DLR anymore, I did with my family but now when I go with friends we stay off property aside from one trip where I went with a friend whose sister works at DLR and got us a very heavily discounted price at the Paradise Pier hotel. I definitely prefer the ability to simply walk back to your hotel room at the end of the night even if you're off property, rather than having to wait for a bus, monorail, or boat along with every other tired grumpy guest.

All that being said, I think there is merit to the fact that WDW truly is a destination. I know a lot of people talk about how you should get out of the Disney bubble in Orlando and explore (I only went to Universal, which was again through my dad's work, they rented out Diagon Alley for the evening) but it is an entirely different experience to go to WDW and truly be contained in the bubble. Disneyland can't compare when you have to walk off property to your hotel and pass all the stores and restaurants and the people selling toys on the sidewalk and return to the real world. At WDW, you are always surrounded by the clean, pristine magic Disney wants you to see.

It all comes down to personal preference and that is made up of multiple factors that can honestly change depending on the trip. Like how I said I like that you can just walk off property to your hotel in DLR, on my WDW trip I enjoyed just having buses take care of transporting us around the resort. That being said, I think DLR's FP system is much more preferable than WDW's FP+. I hate the thought of planning 60 days in advance what I want to ride and when. I love the spontaneity of DLR's system and if you really want to get MaxPass it makes it much easier but doesn't create the problem of reserving months in advance. I like to get to the park for the day and we make our plan as we go, not set a schedule then have to follow it because it creates an unnatural, forced flow in my personal experience.

 

[truecoat]

I definitely prefer DLR but I definitely loved WDW on my trip a year ago. I live in NorCal, so it is about a 6-7 hour drive to get to DLR so I don't have an AP and only go once every year or two. Last year my dad got a free trip to WDW through work and took me because he knows how much I love the parks and I had a fantastic experience. I'm sure he had much more fun knowing the only things he had to pay for were food and the very few pieces of merch we got (a hat, a shirt, and a couple pins) and everything else was taken care of. DLR is definitely a much more relaxed trip as far as I'm concerned. Not only is the park smaller so it is easier to navigate, but the whole atmosphere is a lot more laid back. WDW has definitely shot itself in the foot with the FP+ system. I didn't do a ton of research prior to the trip, honestly, so we didn't have any FP+ reserved but we did make some dining reservations. We stayed at the Four Seasons and we had a private bus take us to the parks for opening each of the 3 days we were there (first day MK, second AK, third HS).

No Epcot?

 

[smooch]

No Epcot?

We had park hoppers, we just weren't dropped off directly at Epcot any of the days. But that was probably where we spent most of our time during the trip, my parents and I tried so much of the food around the World Showcase that we normally wouldn't have, except since we didn't pay for anything in the trip but food and merch like I mentioned we used it as an excuse to try a lot of food. My guess is maybe because the World Showcase opened later than the Future World section of the park they didn't want to drop us off to a half open park? So they figured we would make our ways there eventually? To be fair I much preferred getting dropped off at the other three parks first, because at MK for the first day we got to experience the castle park, the next day for AK we went on FoP first and then Na'vi River Journey, Kilimanjaro Safari, Everest, etc. and explored, had a few things to eat there, then later in the day we went to Epcot to relax / try more food. Then the last day we went to HS and my favorite ride of all time is Tower of Terror so we got to ride that, explore the park and ride the other rides and check out the shows / Star Wars exhibit, and we ate at the Brown Derby with some higher ups from my Dad's work / where I work who invited us to join them because they made 3 extra spots specifically to ask us to lunch. Funny side note on that, while there I decided to order a Roy Rogers because I love them, when I worked in a sushi restaurant I made them for myself in the back basically every shift, but I didn't realize it came with one of those glowing ice cubes from specialty drinks because I figured it wasn't considered a specialty drink because it wasn't where I worked. Then they brought out the tray of drinks and I saw it glowing and got nervous because I didn't know if it was mine or not but she set it down and all the executives were chuckling how I got a rainbow glowing ice cube in a somewhat dimmer area so it was particularly bright. I was just embarrassed for no reason though because they all thought it was very fun and entertaining and at the company Christmas Party this last December one of the executives came out for our region's party and he was talking to some people at the table I was at and even brought up the ice cube and how funny it was, so it gave him a reason to remember me I guess.

But yeah, now that I went way off track, I did go to Epcot a ton of times and truly love that park, much more than I did as a little kid. We just never started our days there, but any time we wanted a break from ride hopping / wanted something to eat, we usually just went to Epcot to get something from the world showcase and sit and eat and admire the park.