Dw and I just got back from our first visit to DL. 9 days, stayed at DLH. We are DVC members,been to WDW several times. Now for the bad news: I totally prefer WDW. Before I go into details I will offer this disclaimer: The middle of Sept is very off season and several rides were down for refurb so we weren't seeing DL at its best. That said:
1) The monorail looked very tired. I have never seen duct tape anywhere in WDW. I think every car we got into had duct tape holding together at least one seat. At the DTD stations the steps looked ancient,paint peeling. At the TL station,the people mover belt was inoperative.
2) My disclaimer: Even in the off season,too many things were down. The Railroad,Matterhorn,Storybook land, Caseys Train, Haunted House, Carousal,(sp),the Art Gallery, and I know I'm leaving something out- oh well.
3) They had Fantasmic on Fri & Sat nite. I'm sorry,but staking out a spot to see it hours before it starts is not "good show". To make matters worse: They added the best water front spots to their reserved $45.00 pp desert package. People were standing on the tables of a nearby resteraunt just to get a glimps.
4) Even in the off season,Fri & Sat had nice crowds- not huge,but nice.The place felt packed,getting anywhere was a project. I can't imagine the place in the summer.
5) Too many reminants of closed rides. The Submarines,the Sky Cars, something I would compare to the Tomorrowland Transit Authority at WDW.
6) Location,location,location. We had a rental convertible and were so disgusted with the highways and local roads we never wanted to go out exploring,(although we did go to Hollywood & PCH). While this is not DL's fault,it is a reason to prefer WDW.
I'll stop there and not go into details about DCA or even DLH, but they just added fuel to our fire. On a positive note we truely did enjoy ourselves.The things I listed did not in any way ruin our trip.There are some rides I wish WDW had-Indy & Soarin quickly come to mind.DL's POTC is better then WDW,but our Splashmountain beats yours. It was neat knowing that Walt actually got to play in this park,something WDW will never know. And the CM's were absolutely great,well above WDW standards.
All in all, we can't see ourselves returning to California just to go to DL. The "been there,done that,going back" phrase just isn't happening for us. Let the flames begin.
1) The monorail looked very tired. I have never seen duct tape anywhere in WDW. I think every car we got into had duct tape holding together at least one seat. At the DTD stations the steps looked ancient,paint peeling. At the TL station,the people mover belt was inoperative.
2) My disclaimer: Even in the off season,too many things were down. The Railroad,Matterhorn,Storybook land, Caseys Train, Haunted House, Carousal,(sp),the Art Gallery, and I know I'm leaving something out- oh well.
3) They had Fantasmic on Fri & Sat nite. I'm sorry,but staking out a spot to see it hours before it starts is not "good show". To make matters worse: They added the best water front spots to their reserved $45.00 pp desert package. People were standing on the tables of a nearby resteraunt just to get a glimps.
4) Even in the off season,Fri & Sat had nice crowds- not huge,but nice.The place felt packed,getting anywhere was a project. I can't imagine the place in the summer.
5) Too many reminants of closed rides. The Submarines,the Sky Cars, something I would compare to the Tomorrowland Transit Authority at WDW.
6) Location,location,location. We had a rental convertible and were so disgusted with the highways and local roads we never wanted to go out exploring,(although we did go to Hollywood & PCH). While this is not DL's fault,it is a reason to prefer WDW.
I'll stop there and not go into details about DCA or even DLH, but they just added fuel to our fire. On a positive note we truely did enjoy ourselves.The things I listed did not in any way ruin our trip.There are some rides I wish WDW had-Indy & Soarin quickly come to mind.DL's POTC is better then WDW,but our Splashmountain beats yours. It was neat knowing that Walt actually got to play in this park,something WDW will never know. And the CM's were absolutely great,well above WDW standards.
All in all, we can't see ourselves returning to California just to go to DL. The "been there,done that,going back" phrase just isn't happening for us. Let the flames begin.