Just back, DLR vs WDW

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.
 
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Micky vs the witch, some fire, water effects, things floating by in front. I am sure there are differences, but it wasnt big enough for us to say "hey this fantasmic is a completely different nighttime show."
 
I have been to both multiple times and agree with a decent portion of what you covered. DLR does suffer from the Main Street/Hub choke points for sure.

However, MK at WDW was built around the premise of looking at what was wrong with DL and improving on it, including dedicated character meet and greets, better queue management and the doubled footprint. If you come to DLR during peak season expecting those to be at similar levels you will be in for a shock for sure. Also MK has fewer rides than DLR (DLR has 32 compared to MK's 26), more rides + less space = queue issues.

I have not heard conversations around just making TS reservations when you arrive, I can only assume these were discussion had during off peak time-frames. We always try and plan it out much as we do for WDW trips. You are certainly right about the amount of dining options there - just not as many to choose from.

I would agree and disagree about Fantasmic! You are certainly correct about the overall bullet points of the shows. Where I find the difference is with the pirate elements (formerly Peter Pan/Hook) and the difference in the venue. DHS has the advantage with the dedicated space/seating for the event. But DL has the much closer feel of the show - everything is more present and immediate due to the proximity of having it on the Rivers of America and not in a stadium.

I agree on Radiator Springs and am hopeful both east and west coast are using that level of detail while designing each of the Star Wars lands. Both parks currently just have that world shoe-horned in with individual attractions (Star Tours). DHS outer theming is a bit better but overall I'm just looking forward to both being done right.

We are big ToT fans so although we like GotG we are hesitant about the makeover. DHS's version was always better with its ride-thru piece so at least we can return to that one and enjoy it.

I'm still not sure how I feel about the FP changes but appreciate your feedback on it and how it worked for you. And yeah, the paid app will probably be hitting WDW soon enough. They are taking a page from Universal Orlando on the separate tiers of Fast Passes.

As far as which is superior, I have never landed firmly on that one. They are different, so different that it is hard to make an apples to apples comparison. For large, immersive, diverse options WDW of course will always be the destination that makes your vacation that all-inclusive "shut out the world" experience. But it will never have the specific magic of being the place that Walt built, have the places he frequented, and the charm of being the original. I can compare individual elements, but one will never top the other for me.

I appreciate your thoughts on all of it though and hope that you give DLR another chance when it is off peak season :thumbsup2
 


Thanks for your thoughts on the matter. You are correct about Fantasmic being much closer is very nice, and the pirates portion seems out if place. We never have been to DLR before so never saw the Peter Pan part that it replaced out there, but heard what Pete said and must agree, it is a 2 minute section that disrupts the show.

I also agree that WDW was built to make up for space limitations DLR had so that is why I pointed out why I didn't like the cramped nature at DLR as we are WDW vets and are used to that.

Don't get me wrong, we very much enjoyed DLR and CA, my wife and I just thought WDW was better. We will certainly be back however. As for doing so off season, with young kids that poses an issue with school. Our family trips are always peak season, but my wife and I used to hit WDW in September or December so I know the difference at WDW between peek and off peek. I was comparing both resorts during summer.
 
Thanks for your thoughts on the matter. You are correct about Fantasmic being much closer is very nice, and the pirates portion seems out if place. We never have been to DLR before so never saw the Peter Pan part that it replaced out there, but heard what Pete said and must agree, it is a 2 minute section that disrupts the show.

I also agree that WDW was built to make up for space limitations DLR had so that is why I pointed out why I didn't like the cramped nature at DLR as we are WDW vets and are used to that.

Don't get me wrong, we very much enjoyed DLR and CA, my wife and I just thought WDW was better. We will certainly be back however. As for doing so off season, with young kids that poses an issue with school. Our family trips are always peak season, but my wife and I used to hit WDW in September or December so I know the difference at WDW between peek and off peek. I was comparing both resorts during summer.

Yeah, the floating stuff always seems a bit disjointed in both shows. I thought Peter Pan worked better than PoTC does, but it is all a bit of a hodge podge.

As far as the young kids thing, we were able to work with our kid's teachers and plan in advance to do early December. One year we even got one of them to cover a history requirement by doing a paper on the history of WDW! Other than that we received assignments ahead of time and there were homework blocks built in to some of the trip days. But that whole scenario depends on the school/teachers. For my work (IT Director at a College) I actually need to be around when everyone else takes vacations as that is when we do our upgrades.

And given the choice we would go to WDW 2 out of 3 times just for the variety of entertainment and food. Plus, we love Universal Orlando! Thanks much for the reply and explanation and have a Disneytastic day!
 

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