DVDizzy Forum

Im going to just post a new thread here...sorry...

Ive never been to Disney Land or Disney World, I dont even know the difference but I would like to go maybe next summer, give me some time to save up. I would prefer to go to the one in Florida, mostly cause its closer. Where do you go to book everything or buy tickets or whatever you do? Where to stay? Whats there to do? How many days are needed to see everything or can you do it on one day?

Like I said, I know nothing but I think I would like to go next year, my daughter will be almost 3 so I think she would have a good time....but I dont know anything about anything lol

Boy, you just asked a mouthful!

The first bit, about comparing the differences between the two, is the easy part. WDW in Florida is huge, containing 4 parks (Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom and Disney Studios) and 2 water parks. California is the original, and has many of its own unique attractions and many would say just as good in a different way, it only has two parks (Disneyland Park and Disney's California Adventure). A great comparison can be found here:

http://allearsnet.com/dlr/tp/dl/dlmk.htm

WDW may be bigger, but don't discount Disneyland for that reason alone. If you have a limited amount of time, it may be a better way to 'ease into Disney', and as I said, it has its own group of unique rides anyway. However, if WDW in Florida is closer, you probably want to stick close to that. It makes sense because it has a huge amount of Disney all in one place.

Hotels

WDW has about twenty resort hotels with about 22,000 rooms. California has three inside the park, and countless others just across the road as 'Good Neighbours'. Most are within quick walking distance of the park. I'd have a look at something like MousePlanet or even the official sites for Disneyland and WDW to get an idea of the official ones on offer within your price range. Be aware that the Disney parks hotels are often more expensive, but come with a lot of benefits (e.g. early entry; character dining priority; easier access to the parks etc).

If you are staying in Anaheim, I can personally recommend the Howard Johnson and the Radisson Maingate outside the park.

Booking

In addition to going to a travel agent, you can book ticket, hotel and even airline packages all through the Disneyland and WDW sites. Be aware that this is not necessarily the best price.


Other Stuff

Along with some great sites and resources (such as MousePlanet and MiceChat, I'd also suggest borrowing or buying the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland and/or Walt Disney World. They are invaluable in planning these trips, especially for your first time.

Hope some of that helped.

As you begin researching each destination, I expect you will feel inundated at the vast resources available to you. Do not get discouraged and basically just "wing it" on your visit, because some thoughtful research and planning will be very beneficial!

Since Loomis already pointed out some good web sites to reference, I just wanted to add a few other thoughts. I feel that a good starting point for you would be to just get a general understanding of both resorts and then gradually delve into more details from there, thus avoiding the stressor of brain overload. I would recommend ordering, from Disney, their vacation planning video. While it is not the greatest production, it does provide some basic information for novice guests (e.g., parks and attractions, and resorts). Also along the same line of programming, The Travel Channel is airing 'WDW Resort: Behind the Scences' on 5/28, 6/21 and 6/22. Just a couple of starting points.

On reference books.....

The Unofficial Guide is a good resource, but rather voluminous at over 700 pages, depending on your time constraints (which I am guessing that you have with a 3 year old). I would also recommend picking up a copy of Birnbaum's Official Guide, which is a little less detailed at 263 pages, but very informative.

Well, this should keep you busy for a while. Have fun.