Do you prefer Disney World or Disneyland?

[Pacolovestacos]

What is your preference for a Disney getaway: Disney World or Disneyland?

 

[Nancyg56]

They are two different experiences I think. For a vacation destination I would choose WDW because for my family, when we arrive we do not need to fill the days with another area attraction. It's all there for us.

DLR is not like that for me. It is not the vacation destination, but rather is one of the area attractions to visit while on vacation.

DLR is smaller, more compact and is lovely. I do not feel immersed though, and while that is not a necessity for me, it makes my vacation style change. I would compare this vacation to a florida attractions vacation. We would visit several area attractions, and we would not stay onsite at any of them. WDW is immersive for my family We arrive and we are in a bubble. We stay onsite and we do not visit other area attractions.

 

[Cindylieu]

We prefer WDW for a long vacation and DL if we have only a few days. DL, with only 2 parks, seems more manageable for a getaway with limited time. WDW with its many parks seems to lend itself to the 1-2 week vacation. Also, we live in the west, so it is easier for us to get to DL....traveling to WDW is an all-day affair for us, so we stay longer to make the hassle more worth it.

 

[bcinohio]

We were at Disneyland for the first time in May (many times to WDW) and it was fun. We only spent 2 1/2 days and I think we saw almost everything. It is much smaller but fun. I don't think it would be a place I would spend a week like we do at WDW, just not big enough. We went for a few days because we had been in Vegas with some friends and decided since we were that close to go for a few days. We really enjoyed it but would only go back if we were on the west coast for something else. We love WDW and just got back from a Christmas trip. You never get to see everything at WDW. Can't wait to go back.

 

[lizabu]

Disney world but only by a little bit. I love Disneyland too.

 

[Tattylou]

I always thought I would say I prefer WDW as it was my home park growing up bc we live on the east coast. Wdw is very sentimental to me. However, I prefer the pace and size of DL. My DH never went to disney growing up so he isn't park loyal or sentimental and he like WDW, but prefers DL. It is so much easier to park hop and it has almost all the attractions that wdw has (well... except world showcase and few others). I think a lot of the classic rides are better at DL (esp pirates and space mountain). We come from Boston so FL is an easier flight and we've been to WDW many more times than DL. We last went to DL in 2015 and we did 4 park days. It was perfect, we took long afternoon breaks for the kids to swim and still felt like we saw everything and we weren't rushed. In 2016, we went to WDW twice and DH kept being like "Aren't we going to do this or that or go here or there" and they were all things at DL. At the end of our recent WDW trip, he told me he misses DL and our next Disney trip needs to be to California. I do think they are 2 different experiences like others have said. I never thought I'd say this, but I think I prefer DL....except the castle, I always always get choked up when I see Cinderella's castle bc it is such a part of my best childhood memories.

 

[MommaBerd]

I agree with previous posters. But, I'll add that DL had, to me, a much more laid-back, slower-paced feel. Because it is smaller and because more locals are there, people aren't frantically trying to "fit everything in." My DH and I have taken a kid-free trip to both WDW and DL, and so my thoughts on DL are from an adult-only perspective.

When we arrived at our hotel (The Disneyland Hotel - LOVED it!!!), Chip was in the lobby *watching cartoons* with a couple of kids - there wasn't anything for him to be doing at the time! (As an aside, later a family with a young girl who had significant physical impairments came in and I got to witness one of the sweetest interactions, between her and Chip.) Later that day, Goody was in the lobby greeting people as they arrived - again no wait line or anything! Talking about different! Characters in the parks rarely had long lines, and it was more how I remember WDW when I was a very young girl. I also thought the food was better. One of the down sides was that it seemed the rides broke down a LOT. Usually they would have them up and running within an hour or less, but somewhat frustrating. However, because the parks are smaller, it was easy to come back by (or check the app) to see if it had re-opened.

Probably more answer than you bargained for, but it got me reminiscing. Since we are so far away from DL, it was a really special treat to go. One day I hope to be able to take the kids, too, because it really was one of my favorite trips.

 

[DizDaD7]

I also echo pretty much what everyone else is saying. While I love both, each has its pluses & minuses Having the 4 parks along with the 2 water parks just adds to the excitement.

When I'm in WDW , you can feel the energy from the families ( hard to describe ) . Also when in EPCOT, If even for a brief moment, it feels like I'm in Europe, through the ways that the CM's interact & the families there speak & mingle & stuff.

While @ DLR I don't get that vibe. From what we gathered it doesn't necessarily feel like a destination vacation. We do indeed feel the HISTORY and all that Walt wanted us to feel.(Something you don't get @ WDW). It also feels like a ton of locals (which I'm sure it is.) And that's not a bad thing. I've done it once already, with 4 days in those 2 parks, & for sure wouldn't hesitate to do it again, but I'm sure there will be other things that we visit there if we go.

 

[Travis B]

I love both. I like DLR better than Magic Kingdom, probably. I preferred the general vibe of the crowds at DLR over those at WDW - WDW seems to bring out the rudeness and desperation in people. Pirates is wwwaaayyyy better at DLR. I would recommend any Disney fan try both. If you're a WDW vet, DLR has a lot of new experiences for you.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

I prefer Disneyland for a theme park vacation, and for more "romantic" vacations (one of the reasons why we chose DLR over WDW for our honeymoon). I like WDW better as far as an all encompassing experience (food, shows, Spas, mini golf, Disney springs-all in addition to the parks) it all just depends what kind of vacation I'm looking for to be honest. I like them both the same but for different reasons.

 

[DebbieB]

I love both. Go to WDW more because it's closer. Go to DL at least every 2 years, next summer will be the 4th time at D23. It's nice to have variety, it's still Disney but it's different. The whole California vibe is different. I used to travel to LA a lot for work but don't anymore and I really miss it, so DL gives me that.

 

[cady12]

Disney world: just so much bigger!!

 

[fractal]

1 to 2 day trip - Disneyland

5 days or more - Walt Disney World

3-4 days - toss up

 

[Meriweather]

Disneyland is my favorite since it is my childhood park.

We go for 6 days....drive......4-5 times every other year
WDW is for longer....fly (costs more so want to stay longer).....stay 2 weeks, 3-4 times every other year.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

I always say Disneyland is my favorite. To me it doesn't compare to WDW. I say that because:

1) I grew up 20 minutes from Disneyland.
2) It's the only park Walt Disney walked in.

Disneyland has a different feel to it. It's a lot smaller, but that's what I like about it. I feel more "immersive" at Disneyland than at Walt Disney World. Maybe because Disneyland is more like a home to me than WDW is. People always say they like Walt Disney World more because it has 4 theme parks instead of 2. Also, California averages about 2 weeks a summer (when i lived there) where it really gets humid and hot. The weather is a lot more manageable at Disneyland than WDW. There are also several attractions I like better at Disneyland than Walt Disney World.

Average amount of time for me to see the Disneyland Resort: 3 days.
Average amount of time for me to do all of my favorite things at WDW: 7 days.

You can definitely make Disneyland a shorter trip destination and Walt Disney World a longer trip destination.

To completely answer your question, my pick would be Disneyland. You won't go wrong with whichever you may choose. There are things I like at both.

 

[ZagHawk]

1 to 2 day trip - Disneyland

5 days or more - Walt Disney World

3-4 days - toss up

Pretty much this.

DL > Magic Kingdom
WDW > DL/CA

Although for me

1-3 Days DL
3-4 Days Toss Up (maybe more towards DL for now, because I have a kid, and we now move at a much slower pace)
5+ WDW