DVDizzy Forum

kbehm29 wrote:Oh, I just love this topic. My favorite subject and I have a huge opinion.

Disneyland is much, much, MUCH better! For the following reasons:
1. You can stay offsite and be within walking distance of Downtown Disney and the parks. No crazy parking. You can get there as early in the morning as you want, be first in line.
2. The smaller scale makes it much more intimate and appealing to me.
3. POTC is SO much better - longer, original, double drops.
4. It's a Small World has so much curb appeal, especially with the holiday lights.
5. You can still see Snow White and Mr. Toad at Disneyland.
6. Alice in Wonderland.
7. I like DL versions of Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, and Space Mountain much better.
8. I like how the two parks are right across from each other. Makes park hopping a snap.
9. Disneyland was Walt's park.
10. The Matterhorn.
11. Yes, the hotels are cheaper in Florida BUT you can fly to LA and take the Disneyland Express for cheap (they let up to 3 kids ride for free) directly to your off-site hotel and then walk to the parks. No rental car. If you stay off-site in Florida and want to get there before the park opens you need to rent a car.

Now, I will make some points in favor of Disney World.
1. The castle is jaw-dropping. DL's castle almost pales in comparison.
2. The new additions to Fantasyland are awesome.
3. I love Philharmagic.

Big Disney Fan wrote:

kbehm29 wrote:Oh, I just love this topic. My favorite subject and I have a huge opinion.

Disneyland is much, much, MUCH better! For the following reasons:
1. You can stay offsite and be within walking distance of Downtown Disney and the parks. No crazy parking. You can get there as early in the morning as you want, be first in line.
2. The smaller scale makes it much more intimate and appealing to me.
3. POTC is SO much better - longer, original, double drops.
4. It's a Small World has so much curb appeal, especially with the holiday lights.
5. You can still see Snow White and Mr. Toad at Disneyland.
6. Alice in Wonderland.
7. I like DL versions of Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, and Space Mountain much better.
8. I like how the two parks are right across from each other. Makes park hopping a snap.
9. Disneyland was Walt's park.
10. The Matterhorn.
11. Yes, the hotels are cheaper in Florida BUT you can fly to LA and take the Disneyland Express for cheap (they let up to 3 kids ride for free) directly to your off-site hotel and then walk to the parks. No rental car. If you stay off-site in Florida and want to get there before the park opens you need to rent a car.

Now, I will make some points in favor of Disney World.
1. The castle is jaw-dropping. DL's castle almost pales in comparison.
2. The new additions to Fantasyland are awesome.
3. I love Philharmagic.

Plus, Disneyland still has a Toontown, while WDW no longer does. And DL's Tiki Room show is a bit longer than the recently-reintroduced show at WDW.

Mind you, I've been to both parks, but I've been to Disneyland a WHOLE LOT more than to WDW, so there's the feeling of longevity.

Flanger-Hanger wrote:Disneyland offers quality over quantity. While WDW offers more stuff to do, much of that stuff is never updated or maintained properly. That and the guest behaviour is worse across the board from my experience (MK being the worst of all the Disney parks I've been to in this regard). It's not just a certain type of guest, everyone is pushing, shoving, taking flash photos on EVERY ride they can and in general acting clueless about the fact that there are other people besides them in the park. That Disney has had to change the park's rope drop policy to discourage adults trampling each other towards a character meet and greet says everything. The resort's internal transportation system is also a mess at this point.

WDW was built as a destination resort, but is being run like a tourist trap, and the customers are treating it as such.

I still love the place, but at this point I only really go for MK and Epcot. Universal is my preferred Orlando resort.

However, if I had to pick one park that was my favoruite it would be Disneyland Park near Paris.

Nala wrote:You have to remember most of the people that go to WDW are from out of country or out of state. In Disneyland, about 80% of the people are from California. I've never had the experience you've had. In Disneyland, you can't take pictures with a flash and you're not allowed to tape shows even if you video camera doesn't use a light. In WDW, you can video tape shows as long as you don't use a light. Whenever I do want to tape, I ask a cast member and they tell me it's fine as long as I don't use a light.

Flanger-Hanger wrote:

Nala wrote:You have to remember most of the people that go to WDW are from out of country or out of state. In Disneyland, about 80% of the people are from California. I've never had the experience you've had. In Disneyland, you can't take pictures with a flash and you're not allowed to tape shows even if you video camera doesn't use a light. In WDW, you can video tape shows as long as you don't use a light. Whenever I do want to tape, I ask a cast member and they tell me it's fine as long as I don't use a light.

People act a certain way because they think they can get away with it. Doesn't matter what the stated or posted rules are.

I don't buy the ignorant foreigner excuse when most Orlando area tourism is from the US (not sure what coming from another state has to do with the failure to comprehend policy) and the two largest foreign markets are Canada and the UK, based on statistics published Visit Orlando. WDW may have a disproportionaly high number of South American or Asian tourists, but the excuse of limited English is just that. If you can order food, call a cab, buy merchandise and answer Custom's questions you can understand the phrase "no flash pictures".

That 80% statistic is also quite old and has been on a decline for some time now. What about all the Mexican, BC/Alberta, Oregon, Washington, Japan, Australian visitors Disneyland gets? At this point it's more like 60% or 55%.

Nala wrote:I get you like DL but you got to respect people that like WDW. Both Parks have attractions that the other park doesn't have.

Nala wrote:When it comes to shows, WDW has a lot more than DL.

WDW has The Adventures of the Little Mermaid/b], Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage, Festival of the Lion King, Finding Nemo - The Musical, Dream Along with Mickey. WDW has a stage show in front of Cinderella's Castle.

The only show I know of in DL is Aladdin - Musical Spectacular.

Flanger-Hanger wrote:

Nala wrote:I get you like DL but you got to respect people that like WDW. Both Parks have attractions that the other park doesn't have.

Where did I say I didn't respect people who like WDW? I was talking about the people who behave poorly in WDW and how, based on my experiences, they make up a larger proportion of the visitor base than other theme park resorts I've visited in recent years.

Nala wrote:When it comes to shows, WDW has a lot more than DL.

WDW has The Adventures of the Little Mermaid/b], Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage, Festival of the Lion King, Finding Nemo - The Musical, Dream Along with Mickey. WDW has a stage show in front of Cinderella's Castle.

The only show I know of in DL is Aladdin - Musical Spectacular.

You forgot Mickey & the Magical Map. DLR also has a number of parades and night time shows (a new light parade is rumoured to be coming next year) too, along with smaller scale live performances and such as the two shows in Princess Fantasy Faire.

Nala wrote:There's a parade in Disney's Animal Kingdom and Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Nala wrote:- The hotels are more expensive in DL than WDW.

Big Disney Fan wrote:How are DL's hotels more expensive? Doesn't that depend on the hotels themselves, either DL or WDW?

Flanger-Hanger wrote:

Big Disney Fan wrote:How are DL's hotels more expensive? Doesn't that depend on the hotels themselves, either DL or WDW?

Correct. DLR's 3 hotels are more in line with the WDW deluxes in terms of prices and amenities. There are no "value" or "moderate" hotels operated by Disney there. However, there are a wide variety of hotels within walking distance or a short bus ride from the resort with more reasonable rates, but still good quality rooms. A number of these hotels are also part of the "Good Neighbour" program and offer a Disney desk with information and reservation capabilities.

I wouldn't recommend the official DLR hotels to someone unless money is no option. It's not like Hilton, Marriott and Sheraton hotel beds & toilets are in reality less "magical" than Disney's.

Nala wrote:The hotel we stayed at in DL didn't have free shuttle to DL. We had to pay or walk to DL.

Nala wrote:It costs almost the same for 1 week at DL than it does for 2 weeks at WDW.