At the risk of creating of a firestorm...

[Michael623]

I'm an east coaster and of all of the disney parks I like Disneyland part the best. I love the nostalgia. And for those of you knocking DCA, have you visited Disney Studios in Paris. It makes DCA seem like all 4 WDW parks in one. Totally worthless park. Adds no value whatsoever to DLP.

 

[Wishful Tinking]

We are on our way to DL for the first time EVER next week. We too are from the East Coast. I have to say I was amazed that most of the publicity about the anniversary was for WDW. I also have a relative who worked at DL. She was a "Charter Employee"!! I wish she was still with us to enjoy this anniversary! She was a dancer/entertainer when the park first opened. From what she said, it was a ball to work there.

Joan

 

[Redcon1]

Having an"outsider" perspective here in the midwest, practically living halfway between both resorts, I do feel that DL does play second fiddle to WDW.
As I grew up going to DL almost every summer while visiting my grandparents near San Diego, I am a bit biased for DL.
However, I understand why Disney's marketing leans toward WDW. It's a much more inclusive(re:longer) vacation and draws more tourists than DL does. That's why you see more nationally broadcasted commercials and other advertising geared to the out-of towners or even those out of the country.
I don't think Disney is ignoring DL intentionally. They just want to spend their advertising dollars on where they'll get the most bang for their bucks.

 

[disneysteve]

Here's my 2-cents as someone who has visited WDW 23 times and is heading to Disneyland for the first time in August.

I totally agree that WDW is getting undue publicity. Unfortunately, I don't blame the media. I place the blame solely on Disney. They are doing this to drum up business.

I'm a purist. I think Disneyland's birthday should be celebrated in Disneyland, Disney World's birthday should be celebrated in Disney World (and just in the Magic Kingdom), EPCOT's birthday in EPCOT, etc. The way they are doing it now is purely to get bodies into the parks spending money rather than truly honoring the anniversaries.

 

[lntsmom]

due to the size of Disneyland and the fact that Disney has maybe 1/10th of the hotel rooms in CA that they have in FL, promoting Disneyland would have been an exercise in futility. If I remember correctly, there was an entire week last summer when the park reached capacity every day.

If you're going to spend money advertising something, you want something to sell. Of the two parks, WDW is much more able to absorb a huge increase in the number of visitors.

I'm sure there are still going to be some people like myself. I only decided in January that we could afford a trip this year. And, when I began to compare cost I decided that if I was spending money on a Disney trip this year, it had to be Disneyland.

I live halfway between the two parks and have no emotional attachment to one over the other. For me it wasn't marketing that drove my decision of where to vacation, it was personal choice.

However, I think there are a lot of Disney vacation goers who are swayed by advertising...so it makes sense for the Disney folks to try to encourage them to go to the park that has room for them.

I thought the 50th celebration at DLR is being very well done. The park was gorgeous, everything was clean and cared for, there were 50th touches everywhere.

 

[neenermom]

Can I be really nosey and ask what job your dad had at Disneyland, and you as well! I'm so interested in how they interview the characters, and all that stuff. Just curious what your job was and if you loved it!

Mom2, My dad worked in landscaping. He retired about four years ago after thirty years at the Park. He did a bunch of different things, but my favorite is that for awhile, he was in charge of the trees at Small World. This was about the time I was seven and my brother, three. He'd spend his entire shift listening to that song play over and over and over, he'd come home and my brother and I would be so proud to sing 'It's A Small World' for him over and over and over! We had a Mickey head tree in our backyard for awhile because my brother and I bugged him so much for one.

I worked in Foods through college and a bit beyond. Bear Country (still have a hard time with that one -- Critter Country, and it's been what, over ten years?) Foods to be exact, Hungry Bear, Mile Long Bar (I know, I know), the Fort on Tom Sawyer's Island, and the French Market. I was primarily at HBR. This was during the time of the construction of Splash Mountain, so for about two periods of time, one about seven months (main closure and construction) and one three months, I be-bopped all over the Park taking whatever shifts I could get. I wound up working just about every food location in the Park, including both employees restaurants, but never the Club. During that time, a fellow CM from HBR was filming an underground movie (with supervisor permission) based on the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. We started filming before construction and wound up finishing the movie after construction. There are a few scenes that look totally different and we could tell what was filmed pre-Splash and post-Splash. My kids are always amazed that that area looked so different.

I loved working there, considered going into management for awhile. When I left in 1992, things were starting to turn, and it was kinda sad to see. But I have mostly good memories of my time at DL, and still have many friends from that time.

 

[Mom2my2daughters]

How exciting! My mom and I were amazed at how beautiful the grounds are at DL, just beautiful! We admired all of it. I'm LOL about your poor dad having to listen to "It's a Small World" over and over and then come home to you two! Very cool you got a mickey tree in the back, how fun.

I love reading inside stuff like that...hmmm...just may have to start a thread asking if anyone else has worked there

Thanks, sounds like it would have been a fun job!

 

[manchurianbrownbear]

I think the DL trip planning video is kind of a slight!

But I guess I can understand why Disney is kind of making WDW the focal point of DL’s anniversary. It’s a great promotional theme to use for all of Disney’s parks, they’re all descendents of DL, and they can accommodate a lot more guests at WDW than at DL.

I wonder how much a person’s age impacts their opinion of DL vs WDW. I turn 41 this summer (and will be visiting DL a couple days after my birthday!) and when I was very young; 4, 5, 6 years old, there was no WDW, and I wanted to go to DL more than anywhere on earth. I’d guess for some people, if DL was your first love, it will always be difficult to not think of WDW as mutant copy DL!

For the record, I LOVE WDW!

 

[PryncessChrysty]

I wonder how much a person’s age impacts their opinion of DL vs WDW. I turn 41 this summer (and will be visiting DL a couple days after my birthday!) and when I was very young; 4, 5, 6 years old, there was no WDW, and I wanted to go to DL more than anywhere on earth. I’d guess for some people, if DL was your first love, it will always be difficult to not think of WDW as mutant copy DL!

For the record, I LOVE WDW!

I think it actually has a lot to do with location, and which park you grew up with. I grew up in Orange County, CA, so DL was (and is) constantly a part of my life. However, had I grown up in or near FL, I'm sure I would feel the same way about WDW. I think preference is just about comfort and familiarity in some instances.

 

[ralfrick]

First, I just have to say that when DL fans say they never want to visit WDW, or WDW fans say they don't want to visit DL, I can't help but ask myself "Are these people really (we're sorry but we are unable to bring you the rest of this sentence as it is, at best, condescending, and at worst, insulting, honest though it may be).

Anyway, I was definitely feeling a slight at the beginning of all of this, and voiced that displeasure on a few occasions, but stopped for a couple of reasons.

I understand reality enough to know that Disney is in the hotel/restaurant business, and has a lot more of them in Florida than Cal. But ads and promotion aren't as important to me as new attractions, which comes to point number two.

There were two enormous problems standing in the way of DL getting the treatment it deserved-Paul Pressler and Cynthia Harris, and let us all kiss the next rodent we see that those two have been banished from the kingdom!
Had CM Matt come onto the scene a couple of years earlier, they might not be announcing the return of the subs, they would more likely be opening them on July 17. Unfortunately, Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dummer had let things get so bad from just a basic upkeep and infrastructure point of view that Ouimet had a huge chore just to get back to square one.

What does still chap my hide, and this waon't pass so easily, are all the Disney fans [sic] that seem convinced that this whole celebration is about Florida. Those people...

Cheers.

 

[dulluth]

Let me start by saying that I have only visited WDW (x 4). I will be visiting DL for the first time this summer, and have had this plan with my sister for over 5 years, knowing that the 50th would be something special. I love WDW, and feel very comfortable there ... could tell you where all the bathrooms are ... but even though I know that DL will be different, I expect to love it, as well! Many of you say that DL is being slighted, and it kinda is, but, and it's a BIG BUT, you all know in your minds, if not your hearts, Disney is a business. Did you really expect them to NOT carry it to all their parks? The way I try to look at it is that none of the other parks would exist if DL had not come first, so we are, in fact, celebrating the same thing ... the seed, the mothership, etc! My brother in law keeps saying that we will be disappointed, because DL is not WDW, but that's not what we're expecting! We have heard the castle is more "charming than awe-inspiring", and that's cool, that's what we want to see!!! The honest beginnings! And for those of you who say you never want to see WDW ... sad for you if you don't! It's like saying I like Yellowstone so much (my last year's vacation) that I will never visit Yosemite (part of my this year vacation)! Really, you can like both!

 

[MousseauMob]

My brother in law keeps saying that we will be disappointed, because DL is not WDW, but that's not what we're expecting!

I think it's the comments like the one from your BIL that riles people and makes them feel like DL gets no respect. Personally, I LOVE WDW and DL, but then again I love all things Disney. We just got off the Disney Cruise and we LOVED that also. But for me, there is a quaintness and intimacy at DL that is unmatched in WDW. There are times it has brought tears to my eyes and that's never happened in WDW or on the Cruise or DCA or any of the other parks. It's almost like you can feel Walt's spirit. I think that's what people have meant when they said there is that indelible stamp of Walt in DL that is missing from WDW. This in NO way diminishes WDW; it just means that for some of us DL holds a special place in our hearts. So, I think you're going in with the EXACT right attitude. Don't expect WDW because it's not. It’s the original, smaller, older, maybe not as cool, but with its own charm!

Ok, I better go now since I’m sure you all think I’m

 

[ralfrick]

Well, dulluth, you're going to 2 of my 3 favorite places in Yosemite and DL, you should just go for the trifecta; I'm sure you'll like Maui, too. If you like hiking, get the Yosemite guide from Wilderness Press.

Cheers.