DLR v. WDW comparo

[Maistre Gracey]

I fretted about putting this in the trip reports section, but I figured it was more of an informational post about some diferences between DLR and WDW. That subject seems to come up quite a bit on this board, so I opted to put it here.

I tip my hat to the original park. We simply had an outstanding experience.
My wife and I have been to Walt Disney World many, many times (see sig), but this was our first trip to the Disneyland Resort.
There were too many specifics that were better in each particular park (comparing Magic Kingdom, to Disneyland), so I will only hit the biggies…

Appearance:
DL has many more attractions stuffed into a smaller space. This definitely makes for a more cozy, quaint, and more attractive layout. The downside is everything seems smaller— including the walkways. If the crowds are low, DL clearly is a more attractive park. This is not without its downfalls. Many of the lines seem to be winding in the middle of the parks walkways, and in the hot sun. WDW lines seem to be more inside and air conditioned.

California Adventure- Underrated. Many good things here, all themed nicely. Not the best park Disney has ever done, but we were pleasantly surprised after reading the reviews.

Similar Attractions:
Space Mountain- Better at WDW. Seems to be all corners and no drops at DL.

Haunted Mansion- Overall better at WDW, although DL has some nicer features. Outside is clearly better at WDW, but the DL thunderstorm scene in the queue was outstanding. The ride itself has plusses and minuses, with the edge favoring WDW… But not by much.

Tower of Terror- Way, way better at WDW (Disney/MGM Studios).

Pirates of the Caribbean- Outside and queue way better at WDW. Ride itself way better at DL.

Big Thunder Mountain- Slightly better at DL, but could toss a coin on this one.

Additional Attractions:
Aladdin Show- Simply the best show I have seen at any Disney park. A must see.

Indiana Jones- Perhaps the best themed attraction at any of the Disney parks that I have seen.

Matterhorn- Neat ride, but than again it was new to me.

Nemo (coming soon) - This looks real promising.

Restaurants:
Really no comparison here; WDW takes this category, perhaps because of the sheer number of fine dining restaurants.
Where we ate-

ESPN-
What to say? It’s a casual place for simple, good food.

Granville’s-
Outstanding in every way. I highly recommend this restaurant.

Blue Bayou-
The best atmosphere I have ever seen in any restaurant in my life. The food was hit or miss. We mixed and matched many dishes and appetizers amongst the seven of us, and many were outstanding while others were downright bad.
We will dine there again, but we now know what to order and what to steer clear of.

Napa Rose-
Outstanding service, atmosphere, and very high quality food. The downside is the portions are very small.

Resort:
Grand Californian- Great hotel. Also had the best concierge of any of the Disney resorts we have stayed at.
Downfall-- Looooooooooooooooooooong hallways, and there are always tons of room service trays, housekeeping carts, and bed sheets massively cluttering the looooooooooooooong hallways.


The only real negative/downside of Disneyland Resort vs. Walt Disney World was the attitude of the PARK cast members. They almost all acted more like a K-Mart employee rather than a Disney Cast Member. We just don’t see this at WDW. We also didn’t see this attitude from the cast members at the Grand Californian, although we stayed concierge level and only dealt with those personnel.

The whole experience was outstanding, and prompted us to visit twice next year (February and October). We will also purchase annual passes.

It was a very impressive experience.

MG

 

[MATTERHORN]

Glad you had a great time at DL! It really is like apples to oranges and holds in own special place in most people's hearts. Happy to hear you are returnin during low crowds, it's a much better experience IMHO!

Andrea

 

[mystic_path]

Thanks for your post, its always good to get peoples opinions on both parks

 

[HydroGuy]

The only real negative/downside of Disneyland Resort vs. Walt Disney World was the attitude of the PARK cast members. They almost all acted more like a K-Mart employee rather than a Disney Cast Member. We just don’t see this at WDW. We also didn’t see this attitude from the cast members at the Grand Californian, although we stayed concierge level and only dealt with those personnel.

Hey, great write-up. As a DLR vet who just made my first trip to WDW last June, your impressions are similar to mine - but in reverse.

In truth, I did not notice the WDW CMs being all that much better (or worse) than their DLR counterparts. DLR has had continuing labor issues for the last couple years, with extremely high turnover and low pay. The high turnover has meant that during busy season like August all CMs are working like 60 hours a week. I do not know why DLR management has not been able to solve this yet, but there must be some resource constraint somewhere that is preventing them. Something needs to be done. My guess is you must have caught some of this, and it does not reflect DL historically - but may reflect the current difficulties.

 

[MinnieFan]

We very recently returned from our first trip to DL as well, and I agree wholeheartedly with your observations. I was concerned that we would not enjoy DL after WDW, but we all loved it and would be happy to return in the future.

I also agree about the CMs - they are polite in DL, but just so much friendlier in WDW.

 

[calena]

Interesting post. Can't wait to share my impressions when we visit DL for first time in October!!!

 

[Judy from Boise]

Thanks for the post, you will love DL even more in the low crowd times.

 

[pouncingpluto]

I also agree about the CMs - they are polite in DL, but just so much friendlier in WDW.

Do you think some of this could simply be the culture in Florida versus the culture in California? I think southerners tend to be a lot more outgoing toward strangers than elsewhere in the country. I know Florida isn't considered the deep south, but I still think there's a lot of that attitude.

 

[TwingleMum]

Another great thread Maistre Gracey How was the weather?? Did it effect your touring?? Were there any kids with you?? If so, what was their impression DL vs WDW?? How did they handle the heat?? Thanks again.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Another great thread Maistre Gracey How was the weather?? Did it effect your touring?? Were there any kids with you?? If so, what was their impression DL vs WDW?? How did they handle the heat?? Thanks again.

Hi TwingleMum!
The weather was near perfect for me, but my wife was a bit chilly at night. The days were a little hot, but I like it hot.
We didn't have any kids with us, just seven adults.
One really different aspect of DL v WDW was when you leave the park, the Grand Californian Hotel is RIGHT THERE (DLH and PP a bit further), so bringing kids back during the day would be very easy.

It really was a great trip.

MG

 

[tmt martins]

Great report

We to also love WDW but will go to DL/CA at anytime we can get over to that side of the states.
I've been several times Solo and we did it last year as a family for the 50th.

I also think IASWAA and BUZZ are a bit better in DL but I still ride multible times when in WDW as well.

And when things are a bit better in one or the other it seems it's just a detail here or some more space there that makes the difference.

June 05 Dl and June 06 WDW no real difference in the CM's

 

[TwingleMum]

MG~ I'm contemplating a trip to the homeland (DL) next year and have a few more questions for you, if you don't mind?? How many days did you spend there?? Did you think it was enough?? Which airport did you fly into?? How did you get around? Rent a car?? Was it easy to get to & from Airport to DL?? Did you use points?? It didn't seem a good use of points to me. And What were the rooms like?? View?? I love staying CL at WDW before we go to a DVC resort (my favs so far are AKL and Poly LVC haven't gotten to GF yet) Can you elaborate on the CL at GC?? Thanks sooo much for the info!

 

[Maistre Gracey]

MG~ I'm contemplating a trip to the homeland (DL) next year and have a few more questions for you, if you don't mind?? How many days did you spend there?? Did you think it was enough?? Which airport did you fly into?? How did you get around? Rent a car?? Was it easy to get to & from Airport to DL?? Did you use points?? It didn't seem a good use of points to me. And What were the rooms like?? View?? I love staying CL at WDW before we go to a DVC resort (my favs so far are AKL and Poly LVC haven't gotten to GF yet) Can you elaborate on the CL at GC?? Thanks sooo much for the info!

Hi TwingleMum. No, I don't mind. As always, feel free to ask away...

We spent 4 nights at the Grand Californian. We would have liked another day or two simply because it was all new to us, and we wanted to see as much as possible. I think 4 nights will be about right on our future trips.

We flew Jet Blue from JFK to LGB non-stop. We used Best Limo for transportation from LGB to the GCH and back. That's the only transportation we used, as the whole stay was on property. The limo service was great. We got a stretch for the 7 of us, and the service was outstanding.

We paid cash for a 3br Artisan Suite (divided by 7 adults). It's a master bedroom, living room area with fridge and sink, and two more connecting bedrooms. We added concierge for $150/night, which included the entire suite. There were only 7 of us, but that price would cover all 12 that would fit in the 3br. -- Very good deal IMO.

We were on the 4th floor corner above The World of Disney Store. We had a wrap around balcony with a view of the Mainstreet train station, Space Mountain, Soarin' (in California Adventure), and some of Downtown Disney. -- Incredible!

It will definitely be worth your while to visit!
Have fun!

MG

 

[tinkermell]

WOW! Interesting comments on CM's of DL. Went to WDW for the first time last year with my family of 10. We ALL thought that the CM's at WDW weren't near as friendly as DL's. Hum??? As a matter of fact, that was a big deal to my husband. That was his biggest gripe of comparisons for the whole trip! Anywhos, we thought that the MK was beautiful also, but in a way different way. It was just bigger in evey sense of the word. Castle, walkways, areas and so on. I'll have to say that I am partial to DL, because it does have that quaint intimacy, and every thing is close. Much nicer we thought for those who would get tired easily, like senior citizens. Went at Christmas to WDW and also thought decorations are better at DL vs. MK. Sorry to those who love them at WDW. (More on that later if anybody is interested.)

 

[Harmony]

Visited DL for the 1st time in June and I completely agree with your observations.

I would like to add one of my own here. The castle. Whereas in WDW, the castle has that "wow, chills running down your arms" effect, at DL, it's more about the park as a whole. Sleeping Beauty's castle was beautiful, it just didn't give us that "awww jaw-drop" feeling like WDW's castle always seems to do.

As we were walking down Main Street, my 11y/o says to me, "wow, Sleeping Beauty must really be jealous of Cinderella." Hahaha.

When we first left to DL, we "assumed" that DL wasn't going to beat WDW at all...well, we too were wrong! DL has it's own special charm and we absolutely LOVED it! Even my 17y/o enjoyed it and when a "I'm too cool to hang with my parents" teen says that he's having fun, well, you know that you're at a special place!

 

[HydroGuy]

Visited DL for the 1st time in June and I completely agree with your observations.

I would like to add one of my own here. The castle. Whereas in WDW, the castle has that "wow, chills running down your arms" effect, at DL, it's more about the park as a whole. Sleeping Beauty's castle was beautiful, it just didn't give us that "awww jaw-drop" feeling like WDW's castle always seems to do.

I agree about the WDW castle, it is spectacular. Something that WDW vets should understand about DL is that DL vets do not consider the castle as the central visual landmark of the park. At DL, the much larger Matterhorn adjacent to the castle is the central landmark. So having a small castle has never been an issue with me. Its more an expectation issue with WDW vets at DL, that they expect the castle to be big. If they realize that at DL the Matterhorn is the visual center, and adjust their expectations accordingly, they can avoid the "small DL castle disappointment syndrome".

 

[Harmony]

I agree about the WDW castle, it is spectacular. Something that WDW vets should understand about DL is that DL vets do not consider the castle as the central visual landmark of the park. At DL, the much larger Matterhorn adjacent to the castle is the central landmark. So having a small castle has never been an issue with me. Its more an expectation issue with WDW vets at DL, that they expect the castle to be big. If they realize that at DL the Matterhorn is the visual center, and adjust their expectations accordingly, they can avoid the "small DL castle disappointment syndrome".

Actually, that's exactly what we did! We went "oh" to the castle and immediately went "wow, cool mountain!" And for a mom with 3 boys...the 'cool' mountain beats any girlie castle hands down!

 

[SamIAm21]

I also agree with your observations, but I have never stayed at GC, so that I can't comment on!

But, I also feel that the Aladdin show is by far THE BEST Disney show in production at this time. The Genie for our performance was amazingly funny, quick witted and the show would not be the same without him! I was sad to see it end!!

 

[SamIAm21]

I agree about the WDW castle, it is spectacular. Something that WDW vets should understand about DL is that DL vets do not consider the castle as the central visual landmark of the park. At DL, the much larger Matterhorn adjacent to the castle is the central landmark. So having a small castle has never been an issue with me. Its more an expectation issue with WDW vets at DL, that they expect the castle to be big. If they realize that at DL the Matterhorn is the visual center, and adjust their expectations accordingly, they can avoid the "small DL castle disappointment syndrome".

I totally agree with this!! And while Sleeping Beauty's castle is smaller, I thought it was just as beautiful in its own way. Then again, I've always been partial to "pink" .

 

[TwingleMum]

MG~ Thanks again for all of your insights. I'm sooo tempted to book right now. My oldest will be 6 next year and I would like him to be excited about all the younger kid things ~ Monsters Inc ride, Rodger Rabbit, Bugs life, Toontown etc that WDW doesn't have. I'm worried if I wait a few years he won't be into it. I figured we could go back in a few years and do the older kid stuff ~ Matterhorn,Space Mountain etc...