Maistre Gracey
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2002
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? Its a casual place for simple, good food.
Granvilles-
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 dont see this at WDW. We also didnt 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
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? Its a casual place for simple, good food.
Granvilles-
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 dont see this at WDW. We also didnt 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