DLR vet’s first WDW trip review

Aqua82

Earning My Ears
Joined
Oct 1, 2013
Hello to you all fellow Disney geeks!

I have been reading so many trip reports from wdw vets First visit to dlr and dlr vets going to wdw and now it’s my turn!

I have to say for all the hype I read about how superior wdw is than dlr for the sheer size of the resort couldn’t be more far from the truth!
It’s a beautiful place, there’s not doubt about that... but as far as the parks go only Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom would be worth a revisit, in my opinion...

I am a soouthern California native so of course I have a soft spot for Disneyland and DCA, and even more so now having been to the WORLD!

In a nut shell: the best of Disneyland and DCA are s p r e a d out over four parks.... which made Hollywood studios feel empty... even with toy story land (I can’t imagine how it was before!!!) and I went thinking Epcot would be the highlight.... and was a little let down at how 80’s everything felt...

Im not trying to start any wars over what coast is better or this or that... but I’ll move on to the parks I did like: Animal Kingdom and of course Magic Kingdom.

Magic Kingdom was beautiful as it is a Disneyland replica just a little bigger. It didn’t seem so much bigger than Disneyland other than the hub and the walkways that extend to the lands. I enjoyed seeing the differences and I actually liked space mountain despite all the negative things I’ve heard about it compared to Disneyland’s. Pirates wasn’t nearly as good as the original but also wasn’t as horrible as some say... just much shorter. But I honestly felt that ALL the rides at WDW seemed short! Well maybe not so much at MK but the other parks for sure. And then there’s the castle... it was very nice but I also like the little one in Cali with the Matterhorn looming over it! So storybook-esque!
The happily ever after show was nice but not the best show I’ve seen.

Animal Kingdom’s crown jewel Pandora was amazing as was flight of passage! Didn’t wait the two hours for Navi but then again I wouldn’t never wait more than an hour for ANY ride...
Everest was great but super short and dinosaur was just pretty lame...
Loved the safari and just the feel of being in a jungle with all the greenery and water was just beautiful.

Now the two parks that were sparse and just wasn’t a fan of... why is DHS even there? Quantity vs. quality? Maybe Epcot should have taken the three rides at dhs and just kept three good parks... I know the world showcase seems to be many people’s highlight of the park and it was lovey no doubt... but... just didn’t seem like a Disney park to me...

And the food- awful! I sometimes go to Disneyland for lunch or dinner, what happened at WDW?!? The prices match Disneyland’s but the taste was bland at pretty much every place I ate (Prime time 50’s, crystal palace, I can’t think of any others at the moment) and the thought of having to board another bus boat or monorail to go eat at a hotel or Disney springs was just way too much time consuming.

I do believe you love the parks you first visit most.... so maybe that is all my situation is. But I get that the magic found at Cali parks is not only literally but physically (swamps... lol)watered down by the complex being so big. I did love all the water out there and how it’s all in it’s own forest.

I know there is more to wdw than the parks, I know there are more things do do, but not enough for me to want to go do those things.

I stayed at a value “resort” All star Movies in a refurbished room in the toy story area. I liked the hotel even though it’s really a motel with Disney characters slapped on the walls. The transportation was good but again the size of the place makes it feel like you’re a good 30+ minutes to get from place to place.

I’m not a rope drop person nor a stay till they close but felt that I saw plenty. Fast pass+ has its good and bad to it, but I prefer getting them as I go vs. planning 60 days prior....

It really is a lovely Disney experience... but for this so cal guy next time I go to Florida it will be for the beaches!
 
Thanks for your report. I visited DLP two weeks ago for the first time ever. It was an 18th birthday celebration for my niece, and I decided to tag along. WDW is my favorite place, so in my mind I didn’t have high expectations for DLP. There was really nothing to plan, and that’s one of my favorite parts of going to The World.
However, I was overwhelmingly surprised with what DLP and DCA had to offer.

Stayed at Paradise Pier, and from the moment I arrived, I felt the Disney magic. Didn’t expect that. I don’t know why, I just didn’t. Hotel was lovely. Very expensive ($400/night), but lovely. I appreciated how the entrance to both parks is in walking distance and accessible via Downtown Disney. I was impressed by how the entrance to both parks face one another, and how they are literally a stone’s throw away from one another. No excess travel time, which was nice, really. DLP, although smaller and much more congested than Magic Kingdom, was very lovely. Very magical - even with the castle under construction and not visible. Pirate’s of the Caribbean- all I can say is WOW!

DCA was great! Awesome rides, and wonderful carnival-like atmosphere. The Incredi-coaster, though!!! The only drawbacks I experienced was the difficulty in getting table service reservations. Most places didn’t even offer a wait for a table, and I grew tired of eating basic park food - hot dogs, churros, and such.
I also thought their Photopass system was a ripoff. I saw one Photopass photographer the whole time. Their Photopass & Maxpass (FastPass) option are combined, or at least that’s the ticket I had. $15 extra per day. MaxPass was fine, but Photopass was non-existent. Overall though, it was a great experience, and I actually want to go again. WDW is still my first love, but DLP truly impressed me.
 
  1. Thanks for your reply! And for sharing your Disneyland experience! Disn
    Thanks for your report. I visited DLP two weeks ago for the first time ever. It was an 18th birthday celebration for my niece, and I decided to tag along. WDW is my favorite place, so in my mind I didn’t have high expectations for DLP. There was really nothing to plan, and that’s one of my favorite parts of going to The World.
However, I was overwhelmingly surprised with what DLP and DCA had to offer.

Stayed at Paradise Pier, and from the moment I arrived, I felt the Disney magic. Didn’t expect that. I don’t know why, I just didn’t. Hotel was lovely. Very expensive ($400/night), but lovely. I appreciated how the entrance to both parks is in walking distance and accessible via Downtown Disney. I was impressed by how the entrance to both parks face one another, and how they are literally a stone’s throw away from one another. No excess travel time, which was nice, really. DLP, although smaller and much more congested than Magic Kingdom, was very lovely. Very magical - even with the castle under construction and not visible. Pirate’s of the Caribbean- all I can say is WOW!

DCA was great! Awesome rides, and wonderful carnival-like atmosphere. The Incredi-coaster, though!!! The only drawbacks I experienced was the difficulty in getting table service reservations. Most places didn’t even offer a wait for a table, and I grew tired of eating basic park food - hot dogs, churros, and such.
I also thought their Photopass system was a ripoff. I saw one Photopass photographer the whole time. Their Photopass & Maxpass (FastPass) option are combined, or at least that’s the ticket I had. $15 extra per day. MaxPass was fine, but Photopass was non-existent. Overall though, it was a great experience, and I actually want to go again. WDW is still my first love, but DLP truly impressed me.
Thanks for your report. I visited DLP two weeks ago for the first time ever. It was an 18th birthday celebration for my niece, and I decided to tag along. WDW is my favorite place, so in my mind I didn’t have high expectations for DLP. There was really nothing to plan, and that’s one of my favorite parts of going to The World.
However, I was overwhelmingly surprised with what DLP and DCA had to offer.

Stayed at Paradise Pier, and from the moment I arrived, I felt the Disney magic. Didn’t expect that. I don’t know why, I just didn’t. Hotel was lovely. Very expensive ($400/night), but lovely. I appreciated how the entrance to both parks is in walking distance and accessible via Downtown Disney. I was impressed by how the entrance to both parks face one another, and how they are literally a stone’s throw away from one another. No excess travel time, which was nice, really. DLP, although smaller and much more congested than Magic Kingdom, was very lovely. Very magical - even with the castle under construction and not visible. Pirate’s of the Caribbean- all I can say is WOW!

DCA was great! Awesome rides, and wonderful carnival-like atmosphere. The Incredi-coaster, though!!! The only drawbacks I experienced was the difficulty in getting table service reservations. Most places didn’t even offer a wait for a table, and I grew tired of eating basic park food - hot dogs, churros, and such.
I also thought their Photopass system was a ripoff. I saw one Photopass photographer the whole time. Their Photopass & Maxpass (FastPass) option are combined, or at least that’s the ticket I had. $15 extra per day. MaxPass was fine, but Photopass was non-existent. Overall though, it was a great experience, and I actually want to go again. WDW is still my first love, but DLP truly impressed me.
 


Have not been to WDW in about 4 years but for the last 7 have gone to DLR at least once a year (some years have gone twice). My first park was WDW in 1978 (was even a CM there for a few years as well as in DLP) but my favorite is really DLR and I love DCA. I think it has a lot to do with the ease of going from one park to the other and that you don't have to go for more than 5 days to really enjoy everything. Oh and the weather! Even on hot days at DLR it is nothing like a humid day in Central FL - one of the big reasons we moved!

The values at WDW are like the motels on Harbor but with nicer pools, free airport and park transportation. Love how close (and affordable!) the Harbor motels are.
Dinosaur has the same track as Indy but Indy is much better themed. Epcot has always been about the food for us but hopefully that will change when the proposed rehab/rehaul goes into effect. MGM (I will always call it that) has always been a half day park and all about the shows with some rides thrown in - and I am not a fan of shows. TSL has helped and of course it will be a bigger change once SWGE opens.

What WDW has over DLR is how immersive it is. Once on property we never leave, it is Disney 24/7. At DLR we do several meals off property and take a day or two to explore other nearby attractions - we have done the Observatory, Petersen's Auto museum, watched NBC 4D one Halloween at El Capitan, went on the Carousel at Griffith Park, San Diego etc.
Another thing WDW has is land - they have so much yet to develop it is crazy to think of what they could do with it all!

I totally agree with you about the food! There are so many options at WDW but most of them have the same things and a lot of them not done well. There are some really good places at WDW but they are mostly in the resorts - Jiko (really all restaurants/cs at AK are great), Flying Fish, Yachtman's Steakhouse.
For cs DLR beats them by a mile.

I do like FP+ and would love it if DLR had Magic Bands.

At least you went, you saw, you can skip the bad stuff next time ;)
 

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