Doug M
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2015
So our family took Pete's advice and went to Disneyland. I wanted to give my thoughts on it vs WDW as I have been to WDW 8 times and now 1 to DLR.
Coming into the trip I did almost 0 planning, totally different than my WDW trips. I always heard little was needed, and for he most part that is true.
Dining:
This is where no planning got us. The old story was at DLR you could get into a table service by showing up same day, just like WDW used to be. This is not the case. If you use their app you can reserve a table. Monday our first day of 3 i discovered this option and 1 reservation for Blue Biyou was left, for very late on our last day. We were leaving a few hours before. We ended up doing quick service and the food was good most places. Far less table selection than at WDW, but probably the same if you remove the plethora at EPCOT.
Rides:
The big argument is always which park's version of a ride is better. We prioritized DLR only rides since we had just 2.5 days or so. Those rides with WDW counterparts were similar in my eyes with the exceptions being I liked BTMRR better at DLR, Pirates a bit better at DLR, Haunted Mansion and Tower of Terror better at WDW. The new theme is ok, but the old theme fits better for the ride. DLR has the best ride or rides between the parks, as California Screaming is our favorite now, and RSR is in the top 5 for sure.
Theme:
One big positive for DLR was Radiator Springs in CA. WDW needs to find a way to replicate this in WDW. Theming was excellent, and I am not a fan of the franchise.
Shows :
The nighttime shows were pretty good, WOC being amazing. Fantasmic was similar to WDW and the fireworks were not as good as at WDW. They recently got Main Street Electric Parade so the locals were very happy, but we have seen it countless times. It is good, but we would have rather saw something else.
Fastpass:
I think after experiencing FP- again I am now fully on the FP+ train. While you could get more FP using the old system, it would be difficult to pull off. The big rides use up quick, so if you want a FP for RSR, maybe it's already late morning or afternoon. If you get others instead now the headliner is late afternoon or evening before you get back. Our last day the introduced a new feature to get them via phone, but it's a paid feature. I bet that comes to WDW soon. We probably ended up with 5 or so FP a day, many being near walkons as fastpass return was almost immediate vs a 30 min standby. I would have rather been able to guarantee a FP at ToT, RSC, and a third at CA, and SM plus 2 at DLR on our day there, then get bonus after we were done.
Now the biggy:
My overall impression is WDW is the superior resort. I assumed going in that the small size of DLR would be a big bonus. This works heavily against it as it sees nearly as many people as MK, but in half the footprint. This lead to 2 big problems. The small hub and walkways were always jam packed. The queues rarely didn't spill out into them as well. This led often to having no clue where a queue ended or what the queue was even for. As for the queues, we hated nearly all of them them. Outside queues are not horrible, of course would be suicide at WDW, but due to the size of the resort and lack of themeing, they left much to be desired. BTMRR and Indy were notable ezceptions. My daughter was disappointed that characters were almost an afterthought at DLR. At WDW they are prominate, but its seemingly random at DLR, and seems quite sparse. Even the guests seem to not be into them. At WDW you always see kids dressed up, this was rare at DLR. We also did not like the castle, or the fact that the "icon " Matterhorn was easily the worst ride in the park.
I know i forgot something else to add, when i do this space will be edited.
Coming into the trip I did almost 0 planning, totally different than my WDW trips. I always heard little was needed, and for he most part that is true.
Dining:
This is where no planning got us. The old story was at DLR you could get into a table service by showing up same day, just like WDW used to be. This is not the case. If you use their app you can reserve a table. Monday our first day of 3 i discovered this option and 1 reservation for Blue Biyou was left, for very late on our last day. We were leaving a few hours before. We ended up doing quick service and the food was good most places. Far less table selection than at WDW, but probably the same if you remove the plethora at EPCOT.
Rides:
The big argument is always which park's version of a ride is better. We prioritized DLR only rides since we had just 2.5 days or so. Those rides with WDW counterparts were similar in my eyes with the exceptions being I liked BTMRR better at DLR, Pirates a bit better at DLR, Haunted Mansion and Tower of Terror better at WDW. The new theme is ok, but the old theme fits better for the ride. DLR has the best ride or rides between the parks, as California Screaming is our favorite now, and RSR is in the top 5 for sure.
Theme:
One big positive for DLR was Radiator Springs in CA. WDW needs to find a way to replicate this in WDW. Theming was excellent, and I am not a fan of the franchise.
Shows :
The nighttime shows were pretty good, WOC being amazing. Fantasmic was similar to WDW and the fireworks were not as good as at WDW. They recently got Main Street Electric Parade so the locals were very happy, but we have seen it countless times. It is good, but we would have rather saw something else.
Fastpass:
I think after experiencing FP- again I am now fully on the FP+ train. While you could get more FP using the old system, it would be difficult to pull off. The big rides use up quick, so if you want a FP for RSR, maybe it's already late morning or afternoon. If you get others instead now the headliner is late afternoon or evening before you get back. Our last day the introduced a new feature to get them via phone, but it's a paid feature. I bet that comes to WDW soon. We probably ended up with 5 or so FP a day, many being near walkons as fastpass return was almost immediate vs a 30 min standby. I would have rather been able to guarantee a FP at ToT, RSC, and a third at CA, and SM plus 2 at DLR on our day there, then get bonus after we were done.
Now the biggy:
My overall impression is WDW is the superior resort. I assumed going in that the small size of DLR would be a big bonus. This works heavily against it as it sees nearly as many people as MK, but in half the footprint. This lead to 2 big problems. The small hub and walkways were always jam packed. The queues rarely didn't spill out into them as well. This led often to having no clue where a queue ended or what the queue was even for. As for the queues, we hated nearly all of them them. Outside queues are not horrible, of course would be suicide at WDW, but due to the size of the resort and lack of themeing, they left much to be desired. BTMRR and Indy were notable ezceptions. My daughter was disappointed that characters were almost an afterthought at DLR. At WDW they are prominate, but its seemingly random at DLR, and seems quite sparse. Even the guests seem to not be into them. At WDW you always see kids dressed up, this was rare at DLR. We also did not like the castle, or the fact that the "icon " Matterhorn was easily the worst ride in the park.
I know i forgot something else to add, when i do this space will be edited.
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