Thought I'd chip in with some thoughts ... I spent a lot of time as a kid in DL, starting in about 1965. And of course loved it.
Eventually this thing called WDW opened up, but it only had Magic Kingdom. I think I was about 16 when I first visited it. And it was a total letdown. My most vivid impression was that stuff in the MK was "fake", but stuff in DL was "real". Take a wrought-iron bench in New Orleans Square. It was made out of metal in DL. But over in WDW, the bench would be made out of plastic. MK felt more like a movie set where things kind of looked right, but when you got up close you could see they weren't the real deal, and I didn't like it.
Fast forward a few decades, and now I have my own little one. DL is closer to us, so we go there a few times. And eventually we decide to visit WDW, for two weeks. I plan the heck out of that trip, because I secretly know I'm going to hate it and this will be the once in a lifetime trip so I try to fit in everything. But when I go, I kind of fall in love with the place, but for very different reasons than DL.
Here are some thoughts ...
1) DL versus MK? DL, no question. DL is a little jewel of a masterpiece, MK is a very nice copy but just not quite the same, because of a thousand little details, like the benches. Also It's a Small World facade and shrubbery, Haunted Mansion, Pirate's, Fantasyland layout - a thousand little things. It reflects the love of a man who was trying to get everything just right.
DL is intimate, which does not mean cramped! It means that the lands are closer together, and with just a little bit of strolling you are somewhere else completely. And when you are on rides, you get little peeks of other lands and landmarks in a neat way.
2) Length of stay - DL/DCA takes less time than WDW. I tried to "do it all" in WDW in two weeks and could not. A trip to DL for us is generally 4 nights, with 3 days in the park. But that is rather commando-style, and I come home exhausted. 5 days will allow things to be more leisurely, and more time for naps/dips in the pool at the hotel, so you should come back more refreshed. You will have a contented feeling that you've pretty much done it all, and had time to go back and visit your favorites rides again. Especially with little ones, 5 days will be a great length of time.
3) Intimate - Not only are the lands kind of right next to each other, so are the Parks. You can literally walk from the front gate of one park to another in just a few minutes. And Downtown Disney is right there too! You don't really need a car, especially if you are in one of the many hotels within walking distance of the main gates. And other hotels are accessible via ART - which worked great when I used it.
4) Less Walking - Benefit of Intimate. You'll still get plenty tired though.
5) Weather - So. Cal. doesn't really have humidity, which can be a killer in FLA depending on the time you visit. Or rain, except for a few weeks early in the year. And if does rain - look out for movie stars incognito! (not that I've ever seen one, but it's fun looking :-)
6) California Adventure is kind of a single park featuring "Only the Best" rides from the the 3 other WDW parks: It has Soarin, Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania, Hollywood Backlot, etc. It's nice to have all of these rides in a single park, especially if you have less time in your vacation. On the other hand, if you are familiar with WDW you might miss certain rides that are "there" but not "here", such as Great Movie Ride, American Idol, Mission to Mars, etc. See point 2).
7) I love Animal Kingdom, we don't have anything like it, I wish we did.
8) I enjoy Epcot, but don't miss it on a trip to DL.
9) Restaurants - Fewer, and not themed quite as well at DL. DL/DCA doesn't have a Sci-Fi diner, or Mom's cafe, or the kazillion choices in Epcot. We do have Blue Bayou which is very unique, and then a number of places that are themed and very edible but not quite the same as I saw in WDW.
10) Less Immersion - If you stay onsite at WDW, you are in a world of fantasy pretty much 24 x 7, which is cool. Reality seems to bump it's head into the picture a bit more in DL. Not that it's bad or anything, I just think that it's better over in WDW.
11) Less Expensive - Because of the number of non-Disney hotels that are nearby, I think that the nightly price of a room is less in DL than it is in the world; and a shorter stay is also going to be less $$ on admission tickets, food, etc. Things in Florida just seemed overall more expensive to me.
Hope this helps!
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