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FMTX
01-24-2006, 07:49 AM
I have never posted on the site but started reading it mid-summer preparing for a trip to DL this past November. I want to thank MousePlanet and everybody especially the regulars and particularly Darkbeer of course. There are far too many recommendations I used that made our trip to DL that much more special to list here. I do want to mention Darkbeer’s fastpass write-up as it led to a wait free (well not completely wait free) trip. I was able to stockpile regular fastpasses in the morning whenever I could. We made it to DL early 3 out of 4 full days we were in So Cal with one early entry. This led to a plastic sleeve full of fastpasses every afternoon & evening. We stayed walking distance across Harbor Blvd so when we headed back to the park after an afternoon rest, I would just pull out the fastpasses I accumulated and no long lines. We did not actually used fastpasses in the designated come back time once. Sorry to all of you who do not agree with this strategy, but using fastpasses from 10am at 9pm when no more fastpasses were available and the line is over 2 hours long is pretty cool. It almost feels like I need to send Darkbeer some Sierra Nevada Porter as a travel agent fee. Thanks again.

I also feel I am in a somewhat unique situation in that we went to both WDW and DL in 2005. I am not trying to compare parks directly as DL is DL. It is the original and all parks after it are copies. Anyone who likes Disney parks has to go to DL at least once no matter where they live. There is just something about it that can not accurately be put into words. I am instead going to compare the Disney related aspects of our two trips.

Affiliation
I had relatives in So Cal whom we visited every summer when I was a kid so I have been to DL somewhere between 20-25 days in my life but never with my family (wife and two kids). The trip to WDW was my first.

Trips
We went in late April for an all out major vacation 8 days/7 nights with a meal plan at a moderate on site WDW resort. In November, we went with other family on a somewhat budgeted trip to DL and stayed at Anaheim Desert Inn & Suites for 5 days/5nights.

Crowds
I probably should not state the obvious, but WDW just handles the crowds better (except for the Animal Kingdom) with all the extra space it has. We went to WDW in late April. Although this was past spring break season according to Disney judging from the number of Red Sox hats, Massachusetts obviously was having theirs, but we were there for what Disney labels a moderate busy time. We were at DL, the Saturday through Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving also labeled a moderately busy time by Disney so I think the crowds were comparable except for the night before Thanksgiving (crazy busy).

Dinning
No comparison WDW is far superior to DL even before I bring the meal plan into it. The spectrum of Disney restaurant choices was countless and the food seemed much better especially at Epcot. We have two young children so character meals were a must (3 at WDW and 2 at DL). This was no comparison. WDW was much better organized with better food and a better flow with the characters coming by than DL. The meal plan makes it a blow out. It saves money especially when doing a lot of character meals and especially with the cast members on registers going out of their way to make sure you are maximizing what you are getting for the plan. Anyone interested can read into the meal plan, but it is definitely worth doing. One note and downside on the dinning at WDW is you have to plan as far ahead of time as possible on getting priority seating (reservations open up 180 days out) for sit down meals, character meals and dinner shows. You can only call ahead of time for priority seating if you are staying at a WDW hotel.

Location
Even though we were staying on site at WDW, those buses oh those buses can make you frustrated very quickly with the long waits, being over crowded, etc. When going to WDW and staying on site, make sure you mentally prepare yourself for those buses. You can spend the money to stay at a Deluxe Monorail resort but you will still have to deal with some buses. WDW makes it so staying onsite you have a clear advantage with transportation than those staying offsite. However let’s not confuse that with convenience. The walk to the Desert Inn at DL (front of the hotel was 35 feet from the Harbor crosswalk thanks to my brother-in-law’s planning) was shorter than walking to our resorts’ bus stop at some of the WDW parks. Hands down going to DL and staying on-site or within walking distance is the most convenient.

Other Disney Activities
For other Disney stuff to do, WDW is just great. Afternoon breaks at the themed pool with all the extra things to do at the resort (dinner shows, renting boats, fishing, bikes, water ferries, etc.) were great. Also Downtown Disney at WDW is almost like another small park. You can easily do ½ to ¾ of a day there without even doing Paradise Island the adult nightclub/bar area. There was just more stuff to do at downtown Disney in FL and everything was bigger.

Atmosphere & Service
WDW hands down was better even with the buses. You are in the very controlled Disney atmosphere with incredible service. At DL, Anaheim being on top of you quickly brings you back into reality. Even if you stay at a Disney property in So Cal, Anaheim is still on top of you. Service was outstanding at WDW (typical Disney) in our experience with very few exceptions. At DL it was 70% typical Disney, 20% average Disney and 10% awful (un-Disney). From reading this site, this has got to be related with all these employment issues DL is having in So Cal, but you still expect Disney service at DL.

Parks
Although I will not compare directly, I am going to give my general thoughts. The convenience of having DL and California Adventure across from each other is great. At WDW, you have to plan ahead of time with backup plans on what parks you are doing which days as a last minute change at the gate will require at least 1 hour in transportation time to get to another park. Having all the rides within two parks next to each other at DL was just way to cool for going back and forth. Even if DL puts another non-waterpark park on the strawberry fields, you are talking blocks not miles to get there. In comparison, WDW has more stuff and seemed to have more stuff our kids liked. DL is more convenient, but with the addition rides, shows and things to do and see at the various WDW parks, I am going to make this a push.

Fantasmic
The one thing I will compare directly is Fantasmic. This is another blow out for WDW in my opinion. The 6,000 seat stadium makes it much easier to get a seat without wasting a whole night. We were able to show up 1 ¼ hour before the show and got a very good seats midway up slightly off-center on a night there was just one show. They have concession stands in the stadium so you can eat and drink while you wait. Everyone watches from the same seats with essentially the same view which are all great. In contrast at DL, you have to show up 2 ½ hours ahead of time on a night with 2 shows to claim and protect a 3 by 5 patch of concrete for a family of 4 and to still have to stand for the show and peer around others in front of you. There is no comparison here and anyone telling you the more intimate setting around Tom Sawyer Island at DL is better is just flat out nuts.

Place
Between the rain, excessive humid heat, hurricane season, and the crowds, going to WDW takes much more planning versus So Cal. DL may be hot and crowded but you do not have to plan around a 6 month hurricane season or daily rain showers. Cali is the perfect place for a park where rain and bad weather is basically a non-factor most of the year.

Summary
We will defiantly do both vacations again although never in one year. If you are looking for a complete once a year family vacation, go to WDW because you are going to plan those types of vacations to the hilt anyway. Since this is a strongly pro DL site with mostly Cali folks, I recommend all you Cali folks and westerners try a WDW vacation sometime because you will definitely enjoy it. It’s Disney. WDW truly is a resort destination. The service along with so much to do all without ever having the Disney atmosphere disrupted is great. Just make sure you do not try to compare the Magic Kingdom at WDW to the original Magic Kingdom (DL). If you do you will not enjoy it.

At the same time, if you want to do a commando park trip to do as much as possible, the convenience of DL makes that the better choice. We were able to enjoy rides and the parks probably more in the 4 "park" days at DL than we did at the 6 "park" days at WDW. Also as I stated earlier there is something you just can not put into words about DL and if you like Disney you have to go to DL at least once.

Thanks for spending the time reading and thanks again to everyone for their insight that made our trip more enjoyable.

nvmom
01-24-2006, 12:36 PM
Very interesting. Thanks! :)

pisces
01-24-2006, 05:54 PM
What about cost?

Would you say your money goes a bit further at DL/DCA? To get the complete experience.

To have a complete experience at WDW......and I do mean COMPLETE (All Parks)......you'll end up spending more. Is that correct?

A WDW trip would entail more days, and more $$$$$. ????? Than Anaheim.

And, with my slow, leasurely, fatigued pace.....I can't imagine how many days it would take me, and the money that would eat up.

I like things to be handy. There are only 24 hours in a day, and I don't like my time being eaten up with the drudgery/mechanics of having to get someplace, in order to get someplace else. The way I waste time as it is......DL is just more efficient for me----someone who isn't a big planner and just wants to float from one place to another, yet somehow get it all done.

Am I right---in terms of my own personal situation?; or, am I way off base.

WDW seems way too demanding, in terms of money, and in terms of energy/planning.... for someone in my situation.

pisces
01-24-2006, 06:18 PM
"At DL, Anaheim being on top of you quickly brings you back into reality."

No it doesn't. To me Anaheim IS part of the Disney magic. I see them as both the same thing. Anaheim is synonymous with Disney in a way that Orlando just isn't.

I don't want to separate Anaheim from Disney, because Anaheim with it's hills, the big "A" on Angel Stadium (Please don't tell me they've taken that down)....the Arrowhead Pond....seeing the Matterhorn from the 5 freeway.....that's all part of my Disney experience. And, part of my memories of going in the 1970s.

I think it would be strange going to WDW, if you don't have the memories of going when you were a child. There isn't that emotional connection.

Anaheim is emotionally connected to DL, such that you don't need to be fully immersed to where you block out the city.

I don't know if Orlando is that closely linked with WDW in people's minds.......but, never having been.....I could be wrong.

That being said, I felt totally immersed in the magic when I stayed on property at DL. Seeing the Anaheim hills just made it even more of a magical backdrop......I didn't feel like it was the least bit intrusive.

millionairegirl
01-24-2006, 06:34 PM
How would you compare Magic Kingdom in WDW to Disneyland at DLR?

To me this is where DLR blows WDW out of the water! Sure WDW is a better overall vacation destination, but nothing compares to Disneyland.

gimp_boy76
01-24-2006, 11:08 PM
Fantasmic
There is no comparison here and anyone telling you the more intimate setting around Tom Sawyer Island at DL is better is just flat out nuts.

I guess I'm one who is flat out nuts then. Granted the last time I went to WDW is in 1990, therefore pre-Fantasmic, but I couldn't imagine seeing Fantasmic any other way. Seeing the Columbia come around the island with real pirates and Peter Pan scurrying around the rigging, you can't tell me that's not cool!!! And then the Mark Twain loaded to the gills with all of your favorite characters, and right there, so close you feel like you could almost touch them. But then again I don't mind waiting for such experiences, I liken it to standing all day for the midnight showing of a much anticipated film, sure I know I could walk right in and see it the next day (our current multi-plex system has made the days of having to wait weeks to see the current blockbuster a thing of the past), but the waiting and the anticipation become part of the experience.

btw as a side note to my WDW trip, I first wore my new Bart Simpson t-shirt to the Disney-MGM studios, who knew over 15 years later that show would still be on the air? It's my generation's "Gunsmoke"! :p

FMTX
01-25-2006, 05:35 AM
pisces, you bring up a good point. If you tried to do the same level of trip, WDW would probably be more expensive on an average per day cost. DL you can get more bang for your buck. I think you should try WDW as a trip. You would enjoy it. The first day we went to MK, I started doing the comparing thing and it started bringing me down. Finally by lunch time my wife said, stop doing that and enjoy this vacation for what it is which I did and ultimately enjoyed the vacation immensely. Historically, Anaheim was part of the experience for me as well. Growing up in the 70’s & 80’s, we would spend several weeks in the summer in So Cal visiting family just north of DL so the two are interlinked with me also. However, after WDW & DL this year, I definitely like having Disney isolated away from on encroaching city. After all isn’t that what Walt wanted but could not afford to do?

As far as Fantasmic, I was looking at it from more a family viewpoint, but the shows are pretty much the same except for the Columbia and you are right that was pretty cool. You are close enough in WDW that you feel the heat and feel like you are right there but not to the same degree as DL. Your film/theater analogy is good though and right on. I guess with kids now I look for more convenience over uniqueness.

efoxx
01-25-2006, 03:01 PM
I'm sorry but you cannot possibly say you get more bang for your buck at dland resort. you can make a lot of generalizations showing how in your opinion dland is better then WDW, but this argument cannot be successfully made.

first of all assuming that you are not buying an AP because you live 50 yards from dland, and therefore go 120 times in a year making each trip cost only a couple of dollars then the cost per day for three days or less is about the same. between that three days and an AP the cost of WDW gets cheaper and cheaper.

what changes, and this is where WDW is more bang for your buck, is what you can do there with that buck. no matter how many days you are planning at Dland you will only get 1 1/3 parks (dca is really only a third a park). even the worse critics of WDW will admit that there are four theme parks, and using the same general criteria that says Dland resort is only 1 1/3 parks I come up with at least 3 1/2 theme parks. so the shear amount of stuff that is available for your admission vastly outways Dland.

and now with the magic you way ticket available a 10 day trip cost $20 a day. whereas a 5 day ticket, the best they offer still cost over $30 a day. and I am pretty sure that most people would run out of things to do a dland in 5 days.

so analizing the rest of the trip for a family of 4 from the midwest (that's so it would be about equal distance to both places)
round trip airfare we will call the same. at $800
tickets for 6 days admission to dland $ 229 (ap for non socal residents being cheapest way to go)
7 nights at a disney hotel $1155 (paradise pier)
renting a car for a week $150
total price would be $2350

WDW price
Airfare $800
WDW magic your way plan for a family of four $1500
airport transfer free
total $ 2350, or for all practical purposes the same price.

so the question is what bang do you get for this buck
Dland resort you get Disneyland (this is arguably better then the MK, some will disagree, to each his own).
DCA (this is a minus no matter how you add it up, sorry but the only park that comes close to being as bad is disney studios paris which is worse IMHO)

what you get at WDW resort for that same buck
four theme parks
two water parks
DTD/PI (PI being part of the plan)
DQ

so just on the shear number of things to do during this time WDW wins.

now some might argue that this is a bad thing. well no one is holding a gun to anyones head saying you must do everything or you lose. what you gain at WDW is CHOICES. something for everyone all the time.

don't get me wrong I love Dland, Wfoxx and I cannot wait to return to the place we dated at, and have loved so much since we were little kids. but the fact is WDW does offer more bang for the buck.

oh and gimp_boy76 you really need to get back to WDW, it has changed a bit since you were there. and waiting for Fantasmic is still a thing to do at WDW. the difference is you have somewhat comfortable seats to sit in. you don't have to constantly fight for your little square of cemant. you are guaranteed not to have some dolt isnt going to force his way into your seat at the last minute. every seat is a good seat. mom and dad don't struggle to hold their little ones in their above the heads of a 7 foot giant who despite the fact that his entire family could see unobstructed from the back row in a seated position insists upon standing in front of you no matter how many times you move. when it is over you aren't fighting 20,000 other people going the opposite way to get their little piece of cemant for the next show.

I will grant the Columbia is a big plus. the rest is a wash. while the paddle wheeler is somewhat less authentic then the dland one, it is still cute.

ILovePoker
01-25-2006, 03:32 PM
I'm sorry but you cannot possibly say you get more bang for your buck at dland resort. you can make a lot of generalizations showing how in your opinion dland is better then WDW, but this argument cannot be successfully made.

first of all assuming that you are not buying an AP because you live 50 yards from dland, and therefore go 120 times in a year making each trip cost only a couple of dollars then the cost per day for three days or less is about the same. between that three days and an AP the cost of WDW gets cheaper and cheaper.

what changes, and this is where WDW is more bang for your buck, is what you can do there with that buck. no matter how many days you are planning at Dland you will only get 1 1/3 parks (dca is really only a third a park). even the worse critics of WDW will admit that there are four theme parks, and using the same general criteria that says Dland resort is only 1 1/3 parks I come up with at least 3 1/2 theme parks. so the shear amount of stuff that is available for your admission vastly outways Dland.

and now with the magic you way ticket available a 10 day trip cost $20 a day. whereas a 5 day ticket, the best they offer still cost over $30 a day. and I am pretty sure that most people would run out of things to do a dland in 5 days.

so analizing the rest of the trip for a family of 4 from the midwest (that's so it would be about equal distance to both places)
round trip airfare we will call the same. at $800
tickets for 6 days admission to dland $ 229 (ap for non socal residents being cheapest way to go)
7 nights at a disney hotel $1155 (paradise pier)
renting a car for a week $150
total price would be $2350

WDW price
Airfare $800
WDW magic your way plan for a family of four $1500
airport transfer free
total $ 2350, or for all practical purposes the same price.

so the question is what bang do you get for this buck
Dland resort you get Disneyland (this is arguably better then the MK, some will disagree, to each his own).
DCA (this is a minus no matter how you add it up, sorry but the only park that comes close to being as bad is disney studios paris which is worse IMHO)

what you get at WDW resort for that same buck
four theme parks
two water parks
DTD/PI (PI being part of the plan)
DQ

so just on the shear number of things to do during this time WDW wins.

now some might argue that this is a bad thing. well no one is holding a gun to anyones head saying you must do everything or you lose. what you gain at WDW is CHOICES. something for everyone all the time.

don't get me wrong I love Dland, Wfoxx and I cannot wait to return to the place we dated at, and have loved so much since we were little kids. but the fact is WDW does offer more bang for the buck.

oh and gimp_boy76 you really need to get back to WDW, it has changed a bit since you were there. and waiting for Fantasmic is still a thing to do at WDW. the difference is you have somewhat comfortable seats to sit in. you don't have to constantly fight for your little square of cemant. you are guaranteed not to have some dolt isnt going to force his way into your seat at the last minute. every seat is a good seat. mom and dad don't struggle to hold their little ones in their above the heads of a 7 foot giant who despite the fact that his entire family could see unobstructed from the back row in a seated position insists upon standing in front of you no matter how many times you move. when it is over you aren't fighting 20,000 other people going the opposite way to get their little piece of cemant for the next show.

I will grant the Columbia is a big plus. the rest is a wash. while the paddle wheeler is somewhat less authentic then the dland one, it is still cute.
Ok, you are clearly missing some very important things which make your statement opinion and not fact. Hotels are a big chunk of ones vacation. Having a city like Anaheim so close to you means you can stay off property and save up to thousands of dollars on accomodations and still be right next to the park. With Disney World, if you choose not to stay on property, you are very far away from the park. Most hotels there are fairly expensive on site. You could stay at an All Stars Resort but you still aren't nearly as close to the parks in Disney World. Another big issue is that with fewer parks in Anaheim, you are not in the resort nearly as long as Disney World which requires a good 7 days to do a big bulk of things (excluding water parks). Disneyland, you need less than 3 days to do a big bulk, which equals fewer nights in a hotel, which mean thousands of dollars saved. Also, in your Disneyland prices, why do you list the Paradise Pier as the hotel everyone stays at? Many people stay off property because it's just as easy to get to Disneyland off property than on property.

Also, why did you feel the need to bash California Adventure? You sure lost a lot of credibility trying to prove points by taking a petty swipe at a park that many people do enjoy like myself, if you don't like it don't go. I am not sure where you figured out those flight costs because flights to Los Angeles are much cheaper than flights to Orlando. I'm talking in the thousands of dollars cheaper range. I could get a flight for as low as 165.00 dollars one way to Los Angeles; for Orlando, the cheapest flight I could get is for 265.00 dollars one way. Multiply that by 2 on the return and multiply that by how many are going, it really adds up. Also, I would like to add that the taxes to go to Orlando are more expensive than to go to Los Angeles. Taxes were about 25 dollars more per person to go to Orlando.

I can tell you right now, straight up that you did not add up your numbers correctly, or you just put whatever numbers you felt like putting next to the ridiculous prices. It was very biased to list Disneyland's prices without a package and then list Walt Disney World's prices with a package. Those packages also have restrictions as well.

Sure, I would love to go to Disney World right now, I'm not trashing its great quality parks. The bias really leaked out on this posters post and from my personal experience, I can tell you right now that Disney World is definitely thousands of dollars more expensive than the Disneyland Resort. If a trip to Disneyland or Disney World was only going to be 2500.00 dollars, I'd be on my flight ready to go. Sad reality is, that's just not true by my personal experience. Unless you live within driving range of Florida, I don't see how it could be cheaper to visit than Disneyland. I live thousands of miles away from both parks and Disneyland is cheaper for us to visit.

efoxx
01-25-2006, 04:49 PM
Ok, you are clearly missing some very important things...

Also, why did you feel the need to bash California Adventure?

I can tell you right now, straight up that you did not add up your numbers correctly, or you just put whatever numbers you felt like putting next to the ridiculous prices.

I didn't miss anything. the statement I took was "more bang for your buck". of this there can be no contest. it's like saying so what if you get 35 miles per gallon I get 22 per gallon so I get more because my car is older. the fact is, and I'm sorry but facts are stuborn things, for every dollar spent at WDW there is more to do with that dollar. Options thats what I said.

the prices I quoted are actual figures from WDW web site, and from internet sources like Mousesavers. these are the current prices for tickets and such, and the $1500 the WDW is exactly what disney offers. that's actually for 7 nights with MYW/options tickets for a family of four.
so you want actual airfare.
kansas city to LA on American leaving May 12, 2006 $270 per person.
kansas city to Orlando same dates $221
denver to LA $271
Denver to Orlando $222
these were through expedia, and reflect the cheapest tickest offered there.
I picked these locations because they represent two sides of pretty close to equal distance. then I zeroed the difference as being largely irrelevant. yes if you live in SF it would be cheaper to go to LA the Orlando. and if you live in Atlanta it would be the opposite. I picked the length of stay based on what an average family would do for a vacation. even if you down size to three days the prices are still similar. airfare doesn't change, tickets remain the same relative, only hotel costs change significantly, but in line with each other.

as far as places to stay. well there you get into a war of words and opinion. you may say "I can save a buck by staying off property at Dland." you can do the same at WDW. but I counter you get what you pay for.

as to how I feel about DCA. well my opinion doesn't really matter. attendance figures, and fan reaction in general are what matters. of all disney parks in america DCA comes in dead last.
www.coastergrotto.com/theme-park-attendance.jsp
looking into the world wide figures DCA drops to 12th. (note the top two are the top two). and the other relative fact is at best DCA is a diverson for a few hours. don't believe me? I challenge any APer who disagrees with me to tell me straight up they would pay as much money for their AP if Disneyland was going to close for a year. I bet you get a lot more who would give a different answer if it were DCA closing for a year.

but over all I feel I have been very objective. I rated the WDW parks down also. note I said 3.5 theme parks at WDW. and note I also took a much larger shot at Disney Studios Paris. so bad it doesn't even make the international list. apparently not even being able to attract the 550k that Michigan's adventure pulled in. now that's sad.

and in the post quoted above I was accused of being biased. nothing could be farther from the truth. my DW and I lived in So Cal for more then half our lives together. we were ORIGINAL Dland APers, getting our first ones in the first WEEK they were available. I love Dland IMMENSLY. I readly conceed there are parts to that park that FAR outshine florida. but that is not the question I took up.

so I will conclude with how I started. when you talk "BANG for BUCK" there is little comparison. now since you think I made an error in my calc. show me your bucks. just strait up how Dland is cheaper then WDW. using real figures, and as I did nulifing airfare as being to random to count accross the country.

TowerofTerror
01-25-2006, 05:01 PM
Well that whatwe are here for to give help and advice to others

Malcon10t
01-25-2006, 05:13 PM
tickets for 6 days admission to dland $ 229 (ap for non socal residents being cheapest way to go)
Actually, your numbers are a little off here. A 6 day pass is $170. An 8 day pass is $189. So, the difference is $60 per person, so thats a $240 difference. Just in the ticket. And $1155 for Paradise Pier is a little high isn't it?

Malcon10t
01-25-2006, 05:49 PM
as far as places to stay. well there you get into a war of words and opinion. you may say "I can save a buck by staying off property at Dland." you can do the same at WDW. but I counter you get what you pay for.
That may be the case at WDW, but not so at DLR. I will be staying at the Carousel Inn in an upcoming visit. I have the View Suite at $139. The PP is comsiderably further to walk than the Carousel, and the Carousel is a lovely hotel.

I just went to Disney World's website and clicked on their packages, and chose a package for the same time frame as our current trip. I have no clue which hotels are cheaper or more expensive, so I chose a hotel that looked about equal distance from WDW as Paradise Pier. Let's forget airfare, you can find different air fares, but they will all be within 100.

The package price at WDW for 2 adults and 2 teens, 7 nights 6 days of MYW, $3340.

The same dates at DLR using their website also:
Paradise Pier - $2248

You can stay as close, in a very nice room, with 6 day tickets for $1840.

To me, thats a big price difference.

I am curious which hotel you can get for the $1500 package, cause I couldnt find it.

:::edit::: I found it. Its the $77 hotels that are on the outter most edge. I would guess it would be like staying on the far side of I-5. OK, now to investigate the cost of Parkside Inn. OK, that rice with tickets would be $1050. But I don't like doing the shuttle stuff. I like being CLOSE.

ILovePoker
01-25-2006, 05:50 PM
as to how I feel about DCA. well my opinion doesn't really matter. attendance figures, and fan reaction in general are what matters. of all disney parks in america DCA comes in dead last.
www.coastergrotto.com/theme-park-attendance.jsp
looking into the world wide figures DCA drops to 12th. (note the top two are the top two). and the other relative fact is at best DCA is a diverson for a few hours. don't believe me? I challenge any APer who disagrees with me to tell me straight up they would pay as much money for their AP if Disneyland was going to close for a year. I bet you get a lot more who would give a different answer if it were DCA closing for a year.

but over all I feel I have been very objective. I rated the WDW parks down also. note I said 3.5 theme parks at WDW. and note I also took a much larger shot at Disney Studios Paris. so bad it doesn't even make the international list. apparently not even being able to attract the 550k that Michigan's adventure pulled in. now that's sad.
So, just because attendance is bad that means it's awful? Yet you justify it for putting down another park as well?
Also, you say you checked all the flights on Expedia, well I can tell you right now that I do not book flights over the internet and never will. Plus, I will say this, I am not sure how many people actually buy 6 day passes to the Disneyland Resort, I sure as heck don't. You are simply unfairly generalizing what a typical guest does at the resort. I have 3 day park hoppers, I stayed off property, I got cheaper flights, yet you tell me that I'm blowing smoke?:confused: Also, for Park Hoppers, a 5 day park hopper is the longest park hopper I can buy, for 149.00, a Walt Disney World 7 day park hopper costs 295.00. Let's add this up. 150 divided by 2 parks is 75.00 for both parks for 5 days. 300 divided by 4 parks is 75.00. It's the same price for both parks. Now that I've done the math, I can now say that where I live, there is no way you can justify that Walt Disney World theme parks give you more bang for your buck.

Malcon10t
01-25-2006, 06:05 PM
Also, for Park Hoppers, a 5 day park hopper is the longest park hopper I can buy, for 149.00, a Walt Disney World 7 day park hopper costs 295.00. Let's add this up. 150 divided by 2 parks is 75.00 for both parks for 5 days. 300 divided by 4 parks is 75.00. It's the same price for both parks. Now that I've done the math, I can now say that where I live, there is no way you can justify that Walt Disney World theme parks give you more bang for your buck.
An 8 day hopper to DLR (call WDT, I get them all the time for family and friends) is $189. $189/8=$23 a day. 300/7=$42 a day. Personally, I enjoy the relax time in CA also, its a slower park, and while I prefer DL, CA is nice too.

ILovePoker
01-25-2006, 06:47 PM
An 8 day hopper to DLR (call WDT, I get them all the time for family and friends) is $189. $189/8=$23 a day. 300/7=$42 a day. Personally, I enjoy the relax time in CA also, its a slower park, and while I prefer DL, CA is nice too.
I agree. Off season Disneyland with short wait times is great. Especially since the Magic Kingdom has fewer attractions, it can increase wait times on busier days. It's awesome to just relax at the Blue Bayou or the Pacific Wharf and have a good meal without being rushed.

efoxx
01-25-2006, 06:52 PM
you know I'm accused of bias and making up numbers, but I have varifiable proof on ticket prices and hotel accomodations.

www.mousesavers.com/dltickets.html#2006advance

5 day advanced purchase park hoppers. $ 174 or $ 34.8 per day. this is for non discounted advanced purchase. the same criteria I am using for WDW.
www.mousesavers.com/dlticketprices.html#annual
ap NON so cal (we can't all live in so cal, and the purpose of this excorsize is after all BANG for BUCK). is $229. I chose this one as being cheaper then getting two 3 day hoppers for each person.

my prices for WDW are quoted from WDW advertisments.

I have no clue which hotels are cheaper or more expensive, so I chose a hotel that looked about equal distance from WDW as Paradise Pier. Let's forget airfare, you can find different air fares, but they will all be within 100.
this is not really a fair comparison. the hotels (I'm not sure which one of only two you could have chosen) are two of the most expensive at WDW. Contempo or Grand Floridian. much more equivilant to the Grand California in class and location. if you plug your numbers in for that I bet it would be close to the same. one thing you must consider is that at WDW it is more important to consider the class of hotel as they have on the order of 15 hotels in three classes.
the $1500 price I quoted for a family of four is based on Disney's advertised rate for the disney equivilant of the carousel hotel. what's more is in the past year Disney has been offereing free food for that price as well. but that was a special... as you go up in hotel class you go up in price. the same on both coasts.

and Disney does offer on site hotels not owned by disney, but still using the disney transportation system. some of these hotels advertise right here on MP and offer special discounts. prices as low as $69 a night.

I will also state again that I chose a 6 day vacation to reflect what most people do for a vacation. but even when you break it down to only three days it still comes out to the same ratio. or about the same price. what differs is, and I fail to see why this is so hard for some people to grasp, what is available for that price. yes you can see everything at dland in only three days making it cheaper then 7 days at WDW. but that is apples to oranges.


So, just because attendance is bad that means it's awful? Yet you justify it for putting down another park as well?
Also, you say you checked all the flights on Expedia, well I can tell you right now that I do not book flights over the internet and never will. Plus, I will say this, I am not sure how many people actually buy 6 day passes to the Disneyland Resort, I sure as heck don't
I'm not putting down the park. look face it DCA has right next door the second most popular park on the planet. with all those people going there it should follow that DCA should get a good attendance boost from it's neighbor. my coments are opinion I have been to DCA, I don't deny it. but my opinion apparently is also the general publics. as far as me "putting down another park as well" well I can say in all honesty I have been to Disney Studios Paris. and it is AWFUL. the fact that the most popular attraction in all of europe is right next door, and yet the attendance at this park isn't even 10% of that attendance is pretty solid proof that people don't like it.

ok so you don't buy 6 day park hoppers. but if you are going to compare you must have similar things to compare. so even when you take into account only three days at the parks the balance still remains the same. or on average about the same cost per day. but your argument actually works in my favor. the question that I answered had to do with bang for buck. do you understand this concept. at which location is there more to do? in three days you run out of things to do and go home. if you only have three days at WDW you will not even get to spend a whole day in each park, much less run out of things to do.

finally I fail to see the logic that I am wrong on my assesment of airfare because I used a popular web site. this statment is totally irrelevant. it doesn't matter where you buy your airfare, in the end by virtue of the fact that airfare differs widely in so many ways that for the sake of argument I wrote that one off as balance for both sides of the equation.

efoxx
01-25-2006, 07:13 PM
Also, for Park Hoppers, a 5 day park hopper is the longest park hopper I can buy, for 149.00, a Walt Disney World 7 day park hopper costs 295.00. Let's add this up. 150 divided by 2 parks is 75.00 for both parks for 5 days. 300 divided by 4 parks is 75.00. It's the same price for both parks. Now that I've done the math, I can now say that where I live, there is no way you can justify that Walt Disney World theme parks give you more bang for your buck.
I'm sorry upon further review I just needed to come back and talk about this. where are you getting your numbers?

from www.ticketmania.com/discounttickets.shtml#MagicYourWay

7 day MYW with park hopper option $259 with tax. or $37 per day.

from this site www.mousesavers.com/dltickets.html#2006advance
$ 174 plus tax and handling fee of $10. giving the tax away it works out to $34.80 a day I would say that is pretty darn close.

I have given the facts, not opinion when it comes to money. I don't know what part of the country you live in, as I pointed out above when it comes to airfare there are parts of the country that it will be cheaper to get to one place or the other. when we lived in so cal, before you were born BTW, it OBVIOUSLY would be cheaper for us to drive 70 miles to disneyland then to fly 3000 miles to Disneywolrd. so that is why this cannot be a fair part of the equation for a general discussion on the relative cost.

but I guess what really needs to be decided in order for this dicussion to go anywhere is that we agree on terms. so I have made it clear what my defination is for "bang for buck" what is yours?

Malcon10t
01-25-2006, 07:31 PM
this is not really a fair comparison. the hotels (I'm not sure which one of only two you could have chosen) are two of the most expensive at WDW. Contempo or Grand Floridian.
It was something with the name Explorer in it. It was far from one of the most expensive. Thing s, I used dates, not just choosing the advertised price. If you want to go that way...

A 6 day park hopper is $170 per adult, $140 per child (since you used children and I was using all adult rates.) The Paradise Pier offers specia rates at $89 a night (since we are just saying their best deal, regardless of limitations.) That is a total of $1154, and I am staying at a location where I don't have to wait for busses, or walk a mile. The hotels allowed for the $1500 rate are 2 economy hotels (the sports one and teh music one) which when I talked to the agent, were a considerable distance from even the bus stops.

efoxx
01-26-2006, 06:27 AM
It was something with the name Explorer in it. It was far from one of the most expensive. Thing s, I used dates, not just choosing the advertised price. If you want to go that way...
there is absolutly no hotel with the word "explorer" in it. there are three catagories of hotels at WDW. the first is the value resorts which include the three all star resorts, and the pop century. the second level are called the moderate resorts which include coronado springs, caribbean beach, and the Port Orleans french quarter and riverside resorts. then there is the deluxe resorts which include the contempo (that's the one that sits right next to the MK and is a backddrop for tomorrowland) Grand Floridian, the Polynessian, Wilderness Lodge, Yacht and Beach club, Boardwalk, and finally the Animal Kingdom lodge. you sit and whine about something you know nothing about, that is the fact that you don't have to ride a bus at dland, as if that in and of itself was a bad thing. well the fact is there are several hotels at WDW where you don't have to ride a bus to get to the MK or other parks. from the contempo you can walk or take the monorail, about the same distance as any of the hotels near disneyland. from the poly, contempo, or GF it is a monorail to the MK or Epcot. from wilderness lodge it is a real pleasant boat ride to the MK. from the BW, YC, or BC it is either a short walk or a boat ride to both Epcot or the Studios.
I have been to Dland, so I know a bit of what I am talking about. apparently you know nothing about WDW, yet you feel confident on passing judgment on something you know nothing about. even using your "ride a bus" argument goes only a short way. only twice in 20 years of going to WDW have I ever waited what I would consider excesively for a bus (more then 20 min.) the busses are large and very comfortable, the drivers always friendly warm and often very funny. the roads do not resemble the roads around dland, rather they are wide, open multi lane highways with no congestion. they are all on disney property so are well maintained. perhaps rather then bashing a place you should come and see for yourself.


A 6 day park hopper is $170 per adult, $140 per child (since you used children and I was using all adult rates.) The Paradise Pier offers specia rates at $89 a night (since we are just saying their best deal, regardless of limitations.) That is a total of $1154, and I am staying at a location where I don't have to wait for busses, or walk a mile. The hotels allowed for the $1500 rate are 2 economy hotels (the sports one and teh music one) which when I talked to the agent, were a considerable distance from even the bus stops.
instead of just making up prices why can you not post links so they can be verified
from disney's own web site http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/en_US/reserve/ticketListing?name=TicketListingPage
right now if I can meet their time limits I can get 5 day tickets for $149. but otherwise it is the $189 price I quoted above.
also from disneylands own web site http://dlr.reservations.disney.go.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/TravelDLIBC.woa/4/wo/twbTBUxQW2wu8ZUfVBabTM/4.default.4
$2,002 for the same catagory, same dates s for WDW.
Even when we drop down to the best western level we come up with a price of $1360.
so again we find that the prices ARE COMPARABLE. of course for the $1500 you are staying in a disney hotel, and say what you want, there are some distinct advantages to staying in a disney hotel.

but then you seem to be stuck up on that bus issue. I don't understand your prejudice against a disney bus. last time we were at disneyland we stayed at a hotel on Harbor. I can't remember the name of it, but it was across from dland approx a hundred yards north of the light where you would come out. the walk from the front gate to the hotel was about 15 min. last time I was at WDW. the boat ride from the MK to WL was about 15 min. during that time I didn't have to cross any busy streets with my kids, didn't have to breath all the smog from the thousands of cars on harbor, didn't have to wait for lights etc. Even when we road the bus :eek: to the AK which would be the farthest distance to travel BTW. we boarded a bus that had a grand total of 14 people (we were 10) and the trip took almost 20 min. in which we were transported all the way to africa. my father who lives in the San Diego area, who hasn't riden a bus there in the last 35 years, who would rather drop dead then board a SD city bus likes the buses at WDW. it is a NON ISSUE unless you make it an issue.

so proved bottom line WDW and Dland costs for equivalent stays are of equivalent prices. therefore with more options available at WDW hands down WDW has more Bang for Buck.

I know this comes as a hard, unexceptable blow for you die hard, I would never go anywhere else Disneyland fans, but you cannot prove otherwise. I am NOT dissing Dland. I love the place, and we will be returning there shortly. perhaps it is time some of you opened your mind a little. since California is supposed to be all about diversety and exceptance, maybe you should consider venturing forth and diversifying a little.

FMTX
01-26-2006, 06:46 AM
I certainly did not want my post to go down this path. I made that statement “more bang for your buck” as I am looking at scheduling our next trip and trying to decide between WDW and DL. I am in Texas so airfare is exactly the same (+/-$100) to either place. It was for our previous trips in 2005 and it is every time I have looked it up going forward. Since this will be our only trip over the next year, I am looking at going all out so am looking at the monorail deluxe resorts at WDW (minimize buses) and GC at DL. When I compare my average per day price, DL is cheaper. I am sure there are scenarios going the other way, as well as, countless numbers of other arguments going each way, but the above is what I based my statement on and didn’t mean to heat things up.

As far as DCA, we loved it. This was the first time I had been to it, and we ended up spending much more time in that park than I expected. The kids loved it and we ate some meals over there to get away from the crowds in DL. Since we had 4 “park” days we had plenty of time to hamper DL as much as possible and spend time at DCA. Most people do not have that much time so they do not want to lose DL time. My opinion and this is just my opinion is DCA’s biggest problem is that it is next to DL. Anyone with limited time will only/mostly want to go to DL. People who have never been will only want to go to DL. What it sounds like from this site is that people from California typically only want to go to DL. Thus, I think you could stick any park even Epcot (if you theoretically had the room) and the attendance would suck. Probably not as bad, but it would still suck. After going to it and going to all the parks at WDW, I think it would do much better if it was at WDW. It would still be towards the bottom but I think would have much higher attendance figures.

Why does Disney not steer teenagers from the area over there with concerts and events. Seems like a no-brainer but what do I know.

I also stick to my statement that if you have not been you should try WDW at least once and do not compare it to DL when you are there and you will have a great time. It's Disney.

pisces
01-26-2006, 08:13 AM
Just last month, I bought a Disneyland 7-day park hopper for $189.00, as a resort guest of the GC, right at the front desk.

I'll scan up my ticket, which I saved, when I get the chance.

I don't know if that price is still going on, or if that was just a special deal with the GC and their guests, but that's what the front desk charged me. I had no package and just did everything separate.

And, I definitely found things to do in 7 days at Disneyland, especially with all the special holiday stuff going on that week.

I've compared rates of both GC and Grand Floridian. Although both hotels are overpriced, Grand Floridian is even more expensive than GC. I'm sure there are special deals if you look hard enough with the Grand Floridian.

Choices. All the choices and options in the world don't mean much if they are not accessible. The Animal Kingdom Lodge is not on the monorail stop, and I simply won't take buses. I just won't do it. I'm on vacation and I can't take the getting on and getting off of a bus.....only to do more getting on and off, and so on.....that eats up a lot of time, and I was born lazy-----I don't even like the hassle of getting in and out of a car, or driving around looking for a parking space-----NOT ON VACATION, ....I do that in my daily life, I don't want the bother of that on vacation!!!

But, the main thing is the money. If I could find Grand Floridian for just a little bit cheaper than GC.......and they had better transportation to the AKL, and they had some type of Harbor Blvd. lodging to fall back on, just in case, with the Harbor Blvd proximity----that DL has...... WDW would be a viable destination.

If you are talking about choices, especially in terms of lodging......Disneyland is unbeatable with all those Harbor Blvd. places to fall back on if you aren't staying on property, or can't afford to.

ILovePoker
01-26-2006, 09:39 AM
I'm sorry upon further review I just needed to come back and talk about this. where are you getting your numbers?

from www.ticketmania.com/discounttickets.shtml#MagicYourWay

7 day MYW with park hopper option $259 with tax. or $37 per day.

from this site www.mousesavers.com/dltickets.html#2006advance
$ 174 plus tax and handling fee of $10. giving the tax away it works out to $34.80 a day I would say that is pretty darn close.

I have given the facts, not opinion when it comes to money. I don't know what part of the country you live in, as I pointed out above when it comes to airfare there are parts of the country that it will be cheaper to get to one place or the other. when we lived in so cal, before you were born BTW, it OBVIOUSLY would be cheaper for us to drive 70 miles to disneyland then to fly 3000 miles to Disneywolrd. so that is why this cannot be a fair part of the equation for a general discussion on the relative cost.

but I guess what really needs to be decided in order for this dicussion to go anywhere is that we agree on terms. so I have made it clear what my defination is for "bang for buck" what is yours?
I am getting my VALID numbers from CAA which is equivalent to the American AAA. You are NOT being fair in your reasoning at all. Most guests do NOT visit the park for 6 days per trip. Hotels off-site are much cheaper and tons of guests stay off site. You are tweaking Disneyland's prices to make it appear that Walt Disney World is better. Neither resort is better than the other one but you are trying to find the cheapest things at Walt Disney World but you don't do that for Disneyland either. There is no way that Disney World would be the same price as Disneyland for me. It would be way higher. Your post is biased.

Malcon10t
01-26-2006, 10:21 AM
Just last month, I bought a Disneyland 7-day park hopper for $189.00, as a resort guest of the GC, right at the front desk.

I'll scan up my ticket, which I saved, when I get the chance.

I don't know if that price is still going on, or if that was just a special deal with the GC and their guests, but that's what the front desk charged me. I had no package and just did everything separate.

And, I definitely found things to do in 7 days at Disneyland, especially with all the special holiday stuff going on that week.

I've compared rates of both GC and Grand Floridian. Although both hotels are overpriced, Grand Floridian is even more expensive than GC. I'm sure there are special deals if you look hard enough with the Grand Floridian.

Choices. All the choices and options in the world don't mean much if they are not accessible. The Animal Kingdom Lodge is not on the monorail stop, and I simply won't take buses. I just won't do it. I'm on vacation and I can't take the getting on and getting off of a bus.....only to do more getting on and off, and so on.....that eats up a lot of time, and I was born lazy-----I don't even like the hassle of getting in and out of a car, or driving around looking for a parking space-----NOT ON VACATION, ....I do that in my daily life, I don't want the bother of that on vacation!!!

But, the main thing is the money. If I could find Grand Floridian for just a little bit cheaper than GC.......and they had better transportation to the AKL, and they had some type of Harbor Blvd. lodging to fall back on, just in case, with the Harbor Blvd proximity----that DL has...... WDW would be a viable destination.

If you are talking about choices, especially in terms of lodging......Disneyland is unbeatable with all those Harbor Blvd. places to fall back on if you aren't staying on property, or can't afford to.This guy doesn't get there are more to the differences than meet the eye. He wants to compare a $77 a night hotel (the economy one) on the outskirts of WDW to the Paradise Pier. Apples and Oranges. The rates for the 7 and 8 day park hoppers (its the same price) is $169 (I rounded to 170) Its not on the website, you call Walt Disney Travel and ask for the Passport plus package. I've been buying that way for years, since few of our vacations to DLR are less than 8 days (last one was 11 at Christmas.) I just bought 9 of them yesterday for our April trip. Or you go to the Disneyland Vacation Package and click on the "8 days". To accuse me of making up numbers was ridiculous. The lodge I got a quote on was the Wilderness Lodge. What my exploration did for me was make me realize how much I enjoy Disneyland's intimate atmosphere. Being in a bus line and on busses for an hour is not my cup of tea, and to compare that to staying at the Pier, which is a 5 min walk tops to the 2 parks is over the top. I'm glad the guy feels WDW offers him more, he can spend his time there. Cost wise, I've figured out DL is much cheaper. I really did not expect WDW to be that expensive.

FMTX
01-26-2006, 11:37 AM
DL convenience was what I was trying to explain in my original post. Staying on site at DL or walking distance off Harbor and have DCA, Downtown Disney and DL all right there where you can go between them all in minutes was just really convenient.