California vs Florida

[barb969]

I’m east coast. I prefer DL except using LAX and the LA traffic is a pain. Using LB or SNA involves a plane change on Southwest adding 2 - 4 hours to the flight. It is also more expensive. Blue Bayou is my favorite restaurant which is not at WDW. Most of the major attactions are at both places although in different forms ie. Cars and test track. Also at DL there is no Disney transportation to deal with.

 

[DLgal]

I’m east coast. I prefer DL except using LAX and the LA traffic is a pain. Using LB or SNA involves a plane change on Southwest adding 2 - 4 hours to the flight. It is also more expensive. Blue Bayou is my favorite restaurant which is not at WDW. Most of the major attactions are at both places although in different forms ie. Cars and test track. Also at DL there is no Disney transportation to deal with.

You can't compare Radiator Springs Racers to Test Track, really at all. Its not even close. RSR >>>>>> Test Track

 

[BillFraser29]

Hi,
I am planning a future vacation. I have been to Disney World numerous times. I live on the East Coast. Is it worth making the trip to California for DisneyLand?

If you and your travel party loves the Disney parks, then yes I would go to Disneyland. I am from CA and have been to Disneyland probably 20 times over the years, and much like yourself wanted to see WDW and wondered if it was worth the trip. And YES, it was. While there is enough familiarity to make you comfortable in the parks (especially in the Disneyland Park compared to Magic Kingdom), both coasts are very unique that it will be a completely different experience. In CA, we don't have Pandora but we do have Carsland! Disneyland has a much better Space Mountain (the WDW Space Mountain is more similar to the Matterhorn, imo). Everything in Disneyland is within walking distance. If you can do it, do it.

 

[DC to Disney]

I live on the East Coast, and I used to live in Florida. I’ve been to WDW many times, starting from childhood. I went to Disneyland for the first time about 8 years ago, and I love it. I’ve gone back almost every year since then. It’s so much easier to navigate than WDW. I love Cars Land, which WDW doesn’t have. The only thing I really miss is some of the food options at Epcot.

 

[PinkPixel]

Sometimes they do this with her band and they play music while riding the carousel. I’ve also been on the carousel when Belle and the Beast rode with us.

Pre pandemic Anastasia and Drizella rode the carousel in WDW

 

[Chemist]

The only thing I really miss is some of the food options at Epcot.

Question: I hear people talk about all the international food choices at Epcot. Maybe I'm spoiled by living in a very metropolitan area with a major variety of food, but I don't get it. What's the difference between Epcot and say, eating out at a restaurant?

 

[helenk]

You can't compare Radiator Springs Racers to Test Track, really at all. Its not even close. RSR >>>>>> Test Track

I was going to say the same thing. I love Test Track but RSR has it beat hands down

 

[DisneylandFan22]

The IJ line outdoor portion winds through foliage from Jungle Cruise and is almost 100% shaded all day long.

In thinking more about this, the following are the only outdoor queues that are in full sun for PART of the day and part of the queue (before shadows place them into shade or they go indoors/under cover):

At DL:

Matterhorn (the portion that wraps around the mountain)
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Autopia (a short portion)
Pirates of the Caribbean (extended queue area)
Space Mountain (a small portion upstairs/outside)
Splash Mountain

At DCA:
Guardians (extended queue)
Toy Story Midway Mania (small portion)
Webslingers (the worst offender right now)

Every other queue is either fully shaded for its entirety or its indoors for the most part.

Radiator Springs Racers also has misting fans in the queue.

I would add Peter Pan because there are times during the day when the line is long and extended out that it is right in the sun.

Also, the initial outside portion of Rise of the Resistance can be in the sun, but I haven’t been back since they stopped the virtual queue so I don’t know how that’s working.

 

[DLgal]

I would add Peter Pan because there are times during the day when the line is long and extended out that it is right in the sun.

Also, the initial outside portion of Rise of the Resistance can be in the sun, but I haven’t been back since they stopped the virtual queue so I don’t know how that’s working.

You're right about Peter Pan. I forgot about that one. We always ride in late afternoon and it's in the shadow of the building by then.

Rise doesn't often extend out too far these days, at least I haven't seen it looking like it used to.

 

[DLgal]

The only thing I really miss is some of the food options at Epcot.

Question: I hear people talk about all the international food choices at Epcot. Maybe I'm spoiled by living in a very metropolitan area with a major variety of food, but I don't get it. What's the difference between Epcot and say, eating out at a restaurant?

Nothing. Epcot's restaurants are "international food for the masses." If you have a diverse array of restaurants where you live, it's likely all better than anything Epcot offers. I live in a similarly diverse city and in general the WS restaurants hold no appeal, except for Via Napoli, because I always crave pizza at WDW and they have the best (although we have several legit, Italian government certified Neapolitan pizzerias here that blow VN away at a fraction of the cost).

 

[Steven G]

all the below, is of course, my opinion:

not counting pure shows, fireworks and other spectaculars, meet and greets, etc.

i tried to compare very similar ride types, like rsr versus test track.
Pure Dark rides technically are all very similar, but I didnt try to compare those, unless both parks had the same dark ride like Peter Pan, or winnie the Pooh, or little mermaid.

as well, it’s hard to directly compare coasters, and there are no identical Coasters at both parks, except big thunder and space mountain , so they are listed that way.

attractions at WDW that DLR doesn’t have equivalent:
enchanted tales with Belle (this is more of a meet and greet/show though)
Everest
the two avatar rides
all the animal experiences at animal kingdom
cosmic rewind
Frozen ever after
ratatouille
mission space
spaceship earth
barnstormer
country bear jamboree
Magic carpets and triceratops spin(both similar to dumbo)
monsters laugh floor
Seven dwarves mine train
people mover
carousel of progress
grand fiesta tour
Journey into imagination
living with land
Seas with nemo
Runaway railway (but will show up in DLR next year)
Rock n roller coaster
Slinky dog dash



Attractions at DLR that WDW doesn’t have equivalent:
mr toad
alice in wonderland
matterhorn
Nemo submarine
Webslingers
casey jr
Canoes
pinnochio
Car toon spin
Snow white
Storybook canal boats
golden zephyr
Goofy sky school
incredicoaster
Emotional whirlwind
jumping jelly fish
luigi roadsters
Mike and sully to rescue
pixar pal a round
Silly symphony swings





Attractions at WDW that beat DLR:
haunted mansion (except during holidays)
peter pan
jungle cruise
winnie the Pooh
philharmagic
Splash mountain



attractions that are more or less the same at both:
Both Galaxy edge rides
tiki room (Small differences)
soarin (unless dca is running the original, which is better)
little mermaid
Toy story mania
astro orbiter
Dumbo
Mad tea party
Carrousel
turtle time with crush
Star tours
animation academy




attractions where each have significant advantages over the other resort But kind of equal out:
gotg mission breakout versus tower of terror. I truly like both for their differences. If I had to choose, I would choose mission breakout.
swiss family treehouse versus Tarzan (unknown how new version of Tarzan will compare)



attractions where DLR beats WDW:
indiana jones versus dinosaur
pirates of the Caribbean
small world
buzz lightyear rides
space mountain
autopia versus speedway (barely)
big thunder mountain railroad
disney railroad
radiator springs racers versus test track
Mater versus swirling saucers
Grizzly river run versus kali river rapids

 

[mkb3]

World Family from Texas here and we just got back from a week at DL. After just one and a half days at DL we had wished we had gone back to World. While DL is nice for the history you are over it in just a few hours. We 100% missed the bubble and not being surrounded by the outside world. I can't think of a single ride in DL that I liked more than the WDW version. Only Pirates first half I enjoyed more but once you enter the Barbosa scene I prefer WDW more. I had always heard DL cast members were over the top exceptional, but honestly we only ran into 3 who looked as if they were enjoying their job. As for the guests I'll always remember it could be worse when at WDW. I don't think I've ever heard more F Bombs in one week than I did in DL. I even heard a guy in New Orleans Square screaming profanities back at his family 50 yards away. Yes I use cuss words and yes it's nothing my kids haven't heard before, but I prefer they still not have to hear them and Disney should be an escape from that.

As for positives, I did enjoy DCA. If this park replaced Studios or AK in World I wouldn't be mad at it. Avengers campus and Cars Land is amazing, my only complaint about DCA was the 38 minute wait in LL we paid for RSR. With that being said I also had zero issues using Genie Plus otherwise. We were able to get on all the rides in a day without issue.

I'm glad we experienced it but we are going back to World.

 

[duckboyone]

World Family from Texas here and we just got back from a week at DL. After just one and a half days at DL we had wished we had gone back to World. While DL is nice for the history you are over it in just a few hours. We 100% missed the bubble and not being surrounded by the outside world. I can't think of a single ride in DL that I liked more than the WDW version. Only Pirates first half I enjoyed more but once you enter the Barbosa scene I prefer WDW more. I had always heard DL cast members were over the top exceptional, but honestly we only ran into 3 who looked as if they were enjoying their job. As for the guests I'll always remember it could be worse when at WDW. I don't think I've ever heard more F Bombs in one week than I did in DL. I even heard a guy in New Orleans Square screaming profanities back at his family 50 yards away. Yes I use cuss words and yes it's nothing my kids haven't heard before, but I prefer they still not have to hear them and Disney should be an escape from that.

Very interesting, we were there Jun 27 - Jul 1, and had basically the exact opposite experience. I plan to do a more detailed write-up when I have time, but we had great experiences with the cast members, and other than larger crowds than we were used to (we used to normally go in off-season) things were great, had no issues with people and in fact made "friends" a few times on rides and in line. My daughter's birthday was on the 28th, and she wore her birthday button all week, and I was kind of surprised how many cast members went out of their way to say happy birthday to her.

I'm sorry you had a less-than-great experience!

 

[mkb3]

Yep we were there at the same time. Over all we had fun, but are in no rush to go back.

 

[ktlm]

Pre pandemic Anastasia and Drizella rode the carousel in WDW

Lady Tremaine too! My DD was a huge fan of those 3 from the time she was very little. One of our trips, DD was lucky enough that Anastasia took her with her on the carousel. Our trip the next year, one MK day she was lucky enough that Drizella took her, and our other MK day Lady Tremaine spotted her in the crowd and ordered her to come along with her to ride. LOVE those 3!!!!!!

 

[PinkPixel]

Lady Tremaine too! My DD was a huge fan of those 3 from the time she was very little. One of our trips, DD was lucky enough that Anastasia took her with her on the carousel. Our trip the next year, one MK day she was lucky enough that Drizella took her, and our other MK day Lady Tremaine spotted her in the crowd and ordered her to come along with her to ride. LOVE those 3!!!!!!

That’s super fun!

 

[Helene_C]

It's absolutely worth it! I live in DC and Florida is so much closer (and cheaper) to fly to, but I am thrilled to head back to Disneyland this summer. Land and World are so different and both have their strengths and unique offerings, so I don't think of one as a lesser version of the other. Sometimes I want Animal Kingdom and Typhoon Lagoon... sometimes I want Walt-ness and Cars Land. And that's before you get into the differences of what else each state offers if you're planning a longer vacation.

WDW is a bubble in the sense of not seeing the outside world at all if you don't want to, but I actually found DL more bubble-like because of how close everything is. Even though I stayed off-site on Harbor I could easily walk to and from the parks, my hotel, and dining options whenever I wanted to, no need to drive or call a cab or take a bus and plan ahead for long travel times. Especially with little kids, DL was more of a vacation bubble in the sense of avoiding the hassles of ordinary life.

 

[DLRExpert]

Families with younger children, Disneyland Resort (mostly Disneyland) is waaaaay better. Much easier for families with young kids. Easier when it comes to the walking, dining, weather, and attractions.

Families with young adults and teenagers it is much easier for them to handle WDW.

 

[nutshell]

Neither! Go to Tokyo Disneyland Resort! Hands down better than WDW and DLR!

 

[Christine]

I did my first DL trip this past June. It was part of a trip to San Diego and tacked on at the end so it was an add-on and not the purpose of my trip. I'm a WORLD person, living on east coast, so that's what I know. After the trip, I am still a WORLD person and I don't think I'd make a special trip out west just for DL. Would I go again as part of another trip--yes. There are certainly advantages to DL--it's much less overwhelming and easier to navigate between parts. You don't need all that transportation to get everywhere, which is a huge plus. But I found DL (not DCA) to be very cramped and tough to just even walk through unless it was very early morning. Made me really cranky. And I've been to the World during Easter break and the middle of summer and never have I felt that overwhelmed by just being in a mass of moving crowd. I did really enjoy CarsLand. I will fully admit that part of my lack of loving it was not spending enough time really studying it before I went--I spent most of my time fretting over Genie+, which ended up to be so easy when getting there. I should have paid more attention to getting some sort of park strategy.