World or Land ?

[Leslie]

This is total for curious question being I/we have never been to Disneyland before just a zillion times at WDW. Wgat exactly is the difference between the 2? Does the DL have 4 parks? Same resort choices? DME from airport? Im just wondering as I think it would be cool to try something different. Thanks

[stan4d_steph]

You can check out the MousePlanet guide pages to give you an idea of the DLR, and also read the resort update every Monday. There are only 2 parks at DL: Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. There are only 3 official Disney hotels. There is no DME, but there are some airport transportation options.

[candles71]

Also, off site hotels can be a better choice. There are some directly across the street that come in closer than the Disney hotels and are cheaper.
I have never been to WDW, but in reading TRs of others (and advice from Drince), some things are better at DL, some things are better at WDW.
There are threads on advice for WDW regulars heading to Disneyland, they have some good advice. Tino had a good trip report recently, giving some recent differences.

[HTanner]

The two are totally different, imo - and I think you have to go into a trip to the "other" parks with that mindset. I grew up going to DL, so going to WDW the first time was a real overwhelming (but joyful) experience for me. WDW is a vacation destination - where you are started on your vacation from the moment you step off the plane - and it can all be Disney. It has lots of options for different styles.

Disneyland is intimate. You can practically feel Walt walking around with you at some points. It is also smaller, in comparison to WDW, so you can fully experience the parks in less time. Disneyland is much more of a part of a vacation than a vacation in itself (although I have certainly done that, too).

These are my reasons for why I like both.

[Leslie]

The two are totally different, imo - and I think you have to go into a trip to the "other" parks with that mindset. I grew up going to DL, so going to WDW the first time was a real overwhelming (but joyful) experience for me. WDW is a vacation destination - where you are started on your vacation from the moment you step off the plane - and it can all be Disney. It has lots of options for different styles.

Disneyland is intimate. You can practically feel Walt walking around with you at some points. It is also smaller, in comparison to WDW, so you can fully experience the parks in less time. Disneyland is much more of a part of a vacation than a vacation in itself (although I have certainly done that, too).

These are my reasons for why I like both.

Thanks HTanner, wow do I have even more questions but maybe instead of bugging people for info. I better snoop around. Any other info you want to share would be great.

[candles71]

We are not "bugged", you are talking about something near and dear to us all.

[Leslie]

Great, thanks, ok then let it rip I'll take any info. you got. LOL
ok here goes: Transporation to and from the nearest airport? Cost?
Are the 3 Disney resorts value, moderate or deluxe?
Bussing from hotel to parks?
What rides does the Land have that the World does not?
Are the cost the same between the 2?
What did I forget? LOL
thanks....

[candles71]

Closest airport, (16miles)SNA/Orange County/John Wayne/Santa Ana (yes, the first is the code, it is also called by the other names.) We used Long Beach(20 miles) last week for the first time (which is where Jet Blue flies to), it is just a bit farther. You can also use Ontario airport (like 30 miles) which has better deals, but you'd want a rental car from here most likely. These are all smaller airports. Then there is LAX which is about the same distance as Ontario. LAX and SNA you can get a Disney bus from, but I know nothing of the service costs. We have had a rental car from SNA and also used Super Shuttle (about $15 pp, each way, iirc). We just took a taxi from Long Beach as we had no other plans, it was flat rate $45 to Disneyland area, and cost us $58 by the meter (different company) on the way back.
Um, bus from hotel to park [um, hehehe...] its like a 5 minute walk through DtD. This is a MUCH smaller, intimate configuration. It takes 2 minutes to walk out the gate of Disneyland to walk to the gate of California Adventure.
If I recall from reading Grand Californian is like a Deluxe, but I have no actual knowledge.
Some like to stay on property for various reasons, but really you cross one street and you are at off site hotels. You get one Early Entry to Disneyland with almost any 3 (or longer)day PH, you can use all available staying on site (T days and S days). Start reading in the Disneyland Trip planning forums, you will get some ideas.

[stan4d_steph]

Thanks HTanner, wow do I have even more questions but maybe instead of bugging people for info. I better snoop around. Any other info you want to share would be great.

My reply was to inform you that a lot of the information you are asking about is readily available right here, and also by reading up in the Disneyland forums.

[HTanner]

Airports: Depends. If you are planning on doing driving to other things, getting into Long Beach or SNA is good and renting a car from there is easy. I've done the Long Beach trip many times and the drive is maybe 30 minutes on very easy to navigate city streets. If you want cheapest airfare, you're probably going into LAX, which means you'll need a shuttle unless you want to start your vacation stressed out by LA freeway traffic. (thrill ride all on its own...). [I went to college in Long Beach, so I feel qualified to comment... LOL]. Shuttle options vary... but be wary of those that advertise rates very dissimilar from other companies. We used to take the "cheap" rides in college only to have some shuttle drivers ask for more money when you got to your destination - - holding your luggage hostage. Not all companies, just some. Anyhow, Super Shuttle goes out of there and they are pretty decent.

Hotels - lots of info here on hotels. I personally prefer the HoJo, but have stayed at others and enjoyed them.

[candles71]

Cost, for some ideas.
We just spent 5 days at DL. We stayed at the Quality Inn for 270 (10 minute walk), included breakfast. Our friends' had 5 day hoppers ($246 each) I went with a Deluxe AP 379 (we are likely to take the kids back in the spring, and you get 10 percent off dining). Jet blue from Sacramento to Long Beach came in at about 200 for 2 people. About 100 for the taxi (s) to and from the airport.

Whistler and my total was 1195 not counting food, for 5 days air/taxi/hotel/tickets. (Our friends ended up payong half of the taxi, but we had planned the trip w/o them and would have had to pay the taxi anyway)

ETA: Stef, would she be better served to have this thread in the DL forum? Just a thought.

[Leslie]

Thanks all for the quick responses. There are differences no doubt. I do have enough to go on and take off with your ideas. I will defiently be doing some research. Thanks again.. Cant wait to visit for which ever park I decide on.

[oregontraveler]

As Steph has said, there is plenty of info here to digest. More than just deciding to visit the west coast, do any other attractions interest you. The beach, Hollywood, San Diego. That would require a rental car. But if you just want to hit DLR, you can take an airport shuttle, limo or town car. Plenty of hotels within walking distance of the resort. If you desire to stay on site. 3 hotels: Grand California (GCH), Disneyland Hotel (DLH) and Paradise Pier (PPH) give you the full Disney experience, but you can find better deals offsite. There is a Good Neighbor hotel program. Depending on your group, a stay of 3 to 5 days
covers alot of ground.

[mxrapu]

I've been to DL twice (before California Adventure was built), when I was on the west coast for other reasons. I like it, and there are some things that are better at DL than at WDW. However, as an east coaster, it's just not worth the extra travel time and expense, in my opinion. WDW has so much more to offer, is a very short trip from home, and travel costs are much, much lower. If I were going to be in southern CA anyway, I'd definitely schedule a visit to DL. But I can't imagine it ever being our sole destination.

[coronado_g]

As a west-coaster, DL is a part of life - easily accessible. I can just hop in the car and be there. It is a destination for So Cal folks, but not one that neccesarily takes any major planning to do.

[mousecanuck]

Oh Boy, what a question! We are also West-Coasters, up North, but still much closer to DL than WDW. We loved WDW - it is a WORLD unto it's own - you get on that bus from the airport and that's it, Disney takes over. We love Disneyland, too, but it is much smaller. The 'resorts' are nice DIsney hotels, you can't walk them for an hour to get from one end to the other. There is nothing to eat at Disneyland compared to WDW, just a couple of decent places. After WDW, we wouldn't ever dream of going off-site to eat, but at Disneyland, we eat a bit at DTD and a little in one of the two parks and Mimi's (by Howard Johnson's) or maybe (big maybe) a fast food joint across the street from DL. Some may argue this, but no way I could spend less than three days in DL; five is about right if you want to do pretty much everything in both parks and the stuff you really like twice or more (Screamin', nine times in three days...) Depending on time of year, yes it can get busy at DL, but nothing like the wait times in WDW (in my very limited experience). Love TSMM, but could not believe how quickly the FP system was used up - we got there 1/2 hour before regular opening and still our FP were for 1:30 that afternoon and the line up was 1 1/2 hours long already!!! In California Adventure, if you get there at opening, you probably wait 1/2 hour and (I might be wrong, it's been three years) there is NO FP for TSMM. The line can get longer later, but usually reasonable at opening. DLs It's a Small World is much more impressive from outside; we have Matterhorn and Indy (similar to Dinosaur, I like Indy better but many disagree), our Pirates is better (drop), submarine ride, our Autopia (IMO) is much better than speedway. We have 'Bugs Land', we'll have Cars Land, Screamin', Little Mermaid, World of Color (I haven't seen but I sure want to!) Fantasmic is supposedly better in DL (I haven't seen it enough to really compare, but most who have would say so) but I did enjoy the seating in WDW vs. standing in DL. Tower of Terror is better in WDW I think; no Rockin' Roller Coaster, no Philharmagic (which I loved and wish they had here), I like our Animation Academy better, no 'Hollywood Studios' here (and I loved the Walt DIsney story), no Animal Kingdom (and I think Kali is longer than Grizzley, but I could be wrong), no Everest, no Safari or animal exhibits. No Epcot - nothing like Epcot, nothing can compare! Soarin' in California Adventure (I think) has a nicer queue. California Adventure has some nice 'classic fair' rides - Silly Symphony Swings, Mickey's Ferris Wheel, Golden Zepher (might have the names wrong, sorry!) Goofy's Sky School is a mouse-coaster, it's fun, but I didn't get to go on the one in Dinoland USA (it was closed, might still be?) I think California Adventure may have (hopefully) gotten rid of it's 'Carny games', not sure?

Downtown Disney is a ten minute walk maybe from end to end; one of the nicest things about Calfornia's Disney is that it is close to 'itself', you literally walk across the pavillion to the other park and turn left (or right, depending on where you're coming from) to get to DTD. It's small, but then you don't waste an hour waiting on and transporting to another park or resort or area. We will (according to DH) never stay any further than across the street at Disneyland; there are plenty of hotels to chose from and though they're not Disney, they all have comfy beds to rest in after a long day in the parks. Haven't stayed at Howard Johnson's but I hear they have one of the best pool areas overall for kids off-site if that's a priority; most just have a rectangle! Our last hotel was the Carousel and my husband paced it out at 110 steps from our room to the crosswalk to Disneyland and swore we'd never stay further away again after that trip (and I went - 'Woo Hoo! We're gonna have at least one more trip here!' at that time; pretty much converted him over totally at this point )

You HAVE to do it at least once, just so you can say you did it and know what the heck everyone's referring to. Even though it'll feel 'off' compared to Magic Kingdom (the layout is just a little different beyond Main Street), you'll still enjoy it and get something out of it. I don't know that I could pick a favorite if I had to between the two coasts (and man do people ask!) because they are such different experiences. Have fun and let us know what you think once you have been!

[Leslie]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!! That really has explained alot that I had no idea about. I honestly thought All Disneys were all the same. Boy was I wrong. After going to WDW all my life I think I would get bored at the land after a few days. Because after 7 days at the World I'm getting bored already but I been there so many times already. I agree with you I do have to try it to say that I did for sure. I will still do my homework on the Land and even see if I can find some sort of pics right from the airport to maps of the 2 parks and Downtown...I'll let you know how I do. Thanks so much again you were very helpful..

[stan2u]

Let me just add a big second to the intimacy of DL. We stayed at the Grand Californian, and you can walk out the side door and right into the California Adventure. So when we rode Grizzly Peak - the water ride where you get soaked - we'd just walk back to our hotel and change into dry clothes and continue on. For meals several times we walked out of the park and over to Downtown Disney to eat. Then afterward we'd walk back to one of the parks. So if you're staying on site, not only is there no need for your car, there is no need to take a bus, boat, tram, or monorail to get anywhere. Just walk, it's all that close!

[mousecanuck]

What he said (and I thought of it later) - we would do the park all morning/early afternoon, then do any 'wet' rides (Grizzly and Splash, I think that's it) and after getting soaked, we'd head the 110 steps back to our room, change into dry clothes and then head out for dinner and back into the parks. Never used a bus or car or tram, just a little walk everywhere we wanted to go - awesome!!!

[CBFETT]

Great topic! We are planning on a DL trip next year instead of our normal WDW trip. Want to make sure Cars Land will be done first. That being said, I have been reading some of the DL threads which provide a lot of great info for those used to going to WDW.

[Leslie]

I cant wait to do some research on DL and see some pics. All I know is WDW so this sill be fun.

[stan2u]

this whole DL intimacy topic is really interesting, considering that transportation within WDW always seems to be an ongoing headache. So how do you handle the movement of people? Expand the monorail? More buses? More cars? Moving sidewalks? Think how different this issue would have been if they had clustered the parks instead of spreading them out. Ironic that the intimate layout is in Los Angeles area and not the other way around.

[scoobydooby]

But if you tried to cluster WDW (4 parks, DTD, 2 water parks and piles of hotels), you would not be able to provide effective infrastructure (transport). Personally on the whole, I have always found WDW transport rather effective. Exceptions to this have been just that.

[stan2u]

well this issue has popped up quite a few times in the past. Traffic is getting heavier and there has been lots of suggestions that the monorail be expanded. Obviously you couldn't cluster the whole World, but easily three things could have bee put together. You could easily have added a third destination near Epcot and the Studios. And why AK is so far from everything else blows me away.

[scoobydooby]

And why AK is so far from everything else blows me away.

Good reason. The animals