HydroGuy
A Pirate's Life For Me
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2005
I was asked on another forum my opinions on how DLR, WDW, DLRP and TDR rank. I wrote up this reply and thought it might enhance this thread. So I posted it here too.
TDS and TDL are great parks, but because they are rightly focused on serving their Japanese market it lessens the appeal for westerners, IMO. I mean, I would rather hear Tiki Room and Splash Mtn in English than Japanese because that is my first language. So for obvious reasons TDL and TDS did not connect culturally with me personally as well as the other parks. It does not detract from the beauty of the parks though.
Out of all DLR, WDW, DLRP and TDR the only park I just plain did not like was DLRP's second gate Walt Disney Studios. It has zero personality. Other than that I like all the other parks at the resorts for different reasons.
Rather than ranking the parks and resorts, it is easier for me to talk about the strengths and weaknesses of each one. So let me take that approach:
DLR
DL is my home park, the original and IMO the gold standard for all other parks. I am not sure if it is my favorite because I have been visiting my whole life, or because it is truly the best. I suspect it is a bit of both. DL has the highest concentration of rides of any Disney park and the most headliners. It has some fabulous shows. And it has so much personality.
DCA is not terrible IMO. But it is not great either. I am glad it is there, and the California theme works for me.
I like the weather at DLR, especially in the summer.
The proximity of the parks, hotels and DTD makes DLR something you can experience entirely on foot. If you have 3-4 days then DLR is the best of all the resorts.
DLR is weak on food, maybe the weakest of all four resorts.
WDW
WDW is the gold standard for a vacation resort. With four quality theme parks, two water parks, and all those hotels, etc., etc., it is the best of all Disney resorts to go on vacation. It is the most immersive. You need at least 5-6 days to experience WDW but 7+ days is better. It has the most food offerings and themed dining experiences.
IMO MK itself is not as good as DL or TDL. DLP is definitely more beautiful than MK, but DLP's rides are a bit weak. Not sure if I would put MK or DLP at the bottom of the Magic Kingdom type parks.
WDW has terrible weather in the summer and a lot of rain year round.
WDW's strength is not any individual park but the aggregate of the resort.
DLRP
Now that I write this I would have to rank DLRP as the lowest of the four resorts. WDS is by far the weakest second gate, and DLP itself is either the weakest first gate or close to it. But the strange thing is I really have an affinity for DLP. Their castle is my favorite. Their Fantasyland is incredible and better than FL in all the other parks. Their Tarzan show they had running in 2007 was my favorite Disney stage show I have ever seen. And the tune from their Once Upon a Dream parade still rings in my head.
On the downside, I think DLRP has limitations with the local community on when they can do fireworks. So their night time entertainment looks weakest of all the resorts. Their northern latitude means lots of daylight in the summer and when I visited in June they closed at 9PM which meant their Candleabration was not very good because it was still daylight. I suspect it would be better at other times of the year.
They do a good job of mixing French and English languages. It is my understanding that 40% of DLRP visitors are French, 20-25% British and most of the rest European (Spanish, Italian and German mostly). So it is not a "locals resort" like TDR is. It appeals more to a broader audience.
If you stay at one of the Disney hotels (I believe there are six) you can do DLRP entirely on foot like DLR.
DLRP can be experienced fairly well in 2 or 2 1/2 days.
TDR
TDR has two very strong parks. TDL would probably rank as the second best first gate after DL, and TDS may be the best second gate. It is certainly much better than DCA at DLR and WDS at DLRP. Is it better than each of the other three WDW parks? I can't say. If it is not better then it is very close.
TDR is immaculately maintained, and detailed theming oozes out of every part of these parks.
I suspect TDR and especially TDL would have appealed to me a little more if it was not so crowded when we were there.
TDR is definitely a "locals resort" and hence the thrust of their effort is to appeal to their main audience, the Japanese. That lessens its appeal to me and maybe the other occasional westerners. Because of the predominant Japanese language it was harder for me to connect with TDR.
The Japanese workers at TDR and park visitors were unfailingly polite and positive.
Like DLR, TDR needs about 3-4 days to get a solid experience.
TDS and TDL are great parks, but because they are rightly focused on serving their Japanese market it lessens the appeal for westerners, IMO. I mean, I would rather hear Tiki Room and Splash Mtn in English than Japanese because that is my first language. So for obvious reasons TDL and TDS did not connect culturally with me personally as well as the other parks. It does not detract from the beauty of the parks though.
Out of all DLR, WDW, DLRP and TDR the only park I just plain did not like was DLRP's second gate Walt Disney Studios. It has zero personality. Other than that I like all the other parks at the resorts for different reasons.
Rather than ranking the parks and resorts, it is easier for me to talk about the strengths and weaknesses of each one. So let me take that approach:
DLR
DL is my home park, the original and IMO the gold standard for all other parks. I am not sure if it is my favorite because I have been visiting my whole life, or because it is truly the best. I suspect it is a bit of both. DL has the highest concentration of rides of any Disney park and the most headliners. It has some fabulous shows. And it has so much personality.
DCA is not terrible IMO. But it is not great either. I am glad it is there, and the California theme works for me.
I like the weather at DLR, especially in the summer.
The proximity of the parks, hotels and DTD makes DLR something you can experience entirely on foot. If you have 3-4 days then DLR is the best of all the resorts.
DLR is weak on food, maybe the weakest of all four resorts.
WDW
WDW is the gold standard for a vacation resort. With four quality theme parks, two water parks, and all those hotels, etc., etc., it is the best of all Disney resorts to go on vacation. It is the most immersive. You need at least 5-6 days to experience WDW but 7+ days is better. It has the most food offerings and themed dining experiences.
IMO MK itself is not as good as DL or TDL. DLP is definitely more beautiful than MK, but DLP's rides are a bit weak. Not sure if I would put MK or DLP at the bottom of the Magic Kingdom type parks.
WDW has terrible weather in the summer and a lot of rain year round.
WDW's strength is not any individual park but the aggregate of the resort.
DLRP
Now that I write this I would have to rank DLRP as the lowest of the four resorts. WDS is by far the weakest second gate, and DLP itself is either the weakest first gate or close to it. But the strange thing is I really have an affinity for DLP. Their castle is my favorite. Their Fantasyland is incredible and better than FL in all the other parks. Their Tarzan show they had running in 2007 was my favorite Disney stage show I have ever seen. And the tune from their Once Upon a Dream parade still rings in my head.
On the downside, I think DLRP has limitations with the local community on when they can do fireworks. So their night time entertainment looks weakest of all the resorts. Their northern latitude means lots of daylight in the summer and when I visited in June they closed at 9PM which meant their Candleabration was not very good because it was still daylight. I suspect it would be better at other times of the year.
They do a good job of mixing French and English languages. It is my understanding that 40% of DLRP visitors are French, 20-25% British and most of the rest European (Spanish, Italian and German mostly). So it is not a "locals resort" like TDR is. It appeals more to a broader audience.
If you stay at one of the Disney hotels (I believe there are six) you can do DLRP entirely on foot like DLR.
DLRP can be experienced fairly well in 2 or 2 1/2 days.
TDR
TDR has two very strong parks. TDL would probably rank as the second best first gate after DL, and TDS may be the best second gate. It is certainly much better than DCA at DLR and WDS at DLRP. Is it better than each of the other three WDW parks? I can't say. If it is not better then it is very close.
TDR is immaculately maintained, and detailed theming oozes out of every part of these parks.
I suspect TDR and especially TDL would have appealed to me a little more if it was not so crowded when we were there.
TDR is definitely a "locals resort" and hence the thrust of their effort is to appeal to their main audience, the Japanese. That lessens its appeal to me and maybe the other occasional westerners. Because of the predominant Japanese language it was harder for me to connect with TDR.
The Japanese workers at TDR and park visitors were unfailingly polite and positive.
Like DLR, TDR needs about 3-4 days to get a solid experience.
