bleeps
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2003
Wow.
Still a little bleary after having taken a red-eye back home to Boston last night after a week in So Cal. We spent 4/17 through 4/20 at the Grand Californian and had an incredible time -- we definitely love DL/DCA and will return some day.
As WDW veterans, we share these personal observations -- observations, not facts, and based on this first visit. We stayed at the Grand Californian and highly recommend it.
We think everyone who deeply loves WDW, especially for all the little reasons (all the imagineering, all the special touches) should try to visit Walt's first park:
1. Even though you hear all the time how much smaller DL is, we found that the Magic Kingdom, although on a smaller plot of land, is SO jam-packed with many more attractions and details that the size is only a benefit. (We forgot our pedometers but we know we logged nowhere near our usual 10 to 15 miles per day that we do at WDW; SO much less walking, SO much less time *lost* to transportation between parks/hotel.)
2. Once in the park (either DL or DCA), you really don't have a sense of the world outside. Oh sure, you can get glimpses of outside hotels when you ride tall attractions, but it's minor and really does not take away from the magic. We surmise that the area around the parks has gone through a lot of updates/upgrades since Walt's day -- we definitely would not describe the area as *seedy,* even though that was the image we had in our minds.
3. We didn't realize that every attraction that has a version at WDW is actually different at DL. So Splash, BTMRR, Pirates, Winnie-the-Pooh, on and on -- EVERY attraction that's also at WDW has a unique version at DL; they used the same names and the same *general* format for the attractions, but differences are obvious and many. We came to the conclusion that most people probably prefer their home park's version of each attraction, and this could partly be why some WDW people don't *like* DL as much -- it's just that whole thing about being most comfortable with what's most familiar. We really enjoyed getting the different experiences, especially on the attractions that where there when Walt was there (yes, we do understand that updates have been made since, but you know what I mean!).
4. We had a funny, kind of dream-like state of experience being in the Magic Kingdom -- a place that's SO familiar and dear to our hearts at WDW, and that's just so similar but different at DL. Kind of like, "I know this place, but I don't know it." We enjoyed this feeling, and look forward to someday knowing DL as well as we know WDW.
5. Definitely subjective, but overall we found that the cast members at DL/DCA are certainly nice, but not as nice/friendly/accommodating as at WDW. I'm not complaining, and we had no "bad" experiences, but it was the little things -- no one ever wished us a *magical day,* of the many cast members that we passed during the course of a day (at our hotel, at the parks), it was rare for anyone to make contact with us or say "hello," and many seemed startled that WE said hello to them. And I'm not trying to claim that we've never encountered grumpy/unfriendly cast members in Orlando -- it was just noticeable to us that there was a difference. We wondered if it was a management style difference, or if it somehow had to do with another difference, which was that...
6. ...it was very clear that the crowds at DL are very highly local. Big difference in day-trippers vs. people there on vacation. We always have a sense in WDW of a very international crowd -- we've always met people from other countries and the overall feel of the crowd, as I said, is that of vacationers. So many, many more people at DL/DCA are locals who are there for the day and clearly go there all the time, so maybe that has something to do with the outlook/attitude of cast members -- less of a sense that you have a responsibility in making someone's vacation special?
7. Can't say enough about how fabulous it is to have everything SO close together! We rode the monorail for the fun of it, but we never had to use Disney "transportation." It was SO easy to walk everywhere, walks were short, and park-hopping (as well as getting back to the hotel) was wonderfully easy. A huge plus in our book!
8. We understand why DCA needed an overhaul -- it is lovely, but not a whole lot to it. However we were thrilled with what we could see of Cars Land (it is very visible from Mickey's Fun Wheel and at the Blue Sky Cellar deck) -- anyone headed there this summer is really in for a treat and we look forward to going back to see it some day. They totally nailed the main street in Radiator Springs, and we could see them testing the race car track and it looks awesome. We really enjoyed the overview and film offered at Blue Sky Cellar.
9. Counter Service food was uniformly decent, although we did miss the dining options of WDW. We had a top-5-in-a-lifetime experience at Napa Rose (I plan to post dining reviews/photos later this week), but were underwhelmed by Blue Bayou and Wine Country Trattoria (nothing terrible, but very rushed and not particularly good). We'd love to see them add more table service and better quality (choosing our restaurants at WDW is always a fun and big part of the trip for us). We usually do the dining plan at WDW and found that going plan-less (since it works so differently at DL) worked out great -- the freedom and flexibility may make us go without at WDW on our next trip.
10. Every detail, every view, everything at the DL Magic Kingdom is special. The gardens there are lush and they are real gardens filled with perennials and annuals (very different from the bedding plants at WDW's MK). As others have noted, the park feels/looks crowded at DL but many, many rides are walk-ons. No where near the number of Fast Pass attractions (we were really stunned that they didn't build in FP at Toy Story Mania in DCA). They absolutely let you use *expired* FPs (same day, but later window) and FPs are easy to get -- often, even though they were available, CMs were discouraging people from getting them because stand-by lines were so short (Soarin' was always a walk-on!).
Well, I'll leave it at that for now. Happy to answer any questions! BTW, going the week-plus after Easter worked great for us (Tuesday through Friday). Hotel wasn't full, crowds very manageable, and weather was heavenly (OK, one more thing: the lack of humidity in So Cal is gorgeous -- we had so much more energy because we weren't dealing with all the humidity!)
Still a little bleary after having taken a red-eye back home to Boston last night after a week in So Cal. We spent 4/17 through 4/20 at the Grand Californian and had an incredible time -- we definitely love DL/DCA and will return some day.
As WDW veterans, we share these personal observations -- observations, not facts, and based on this first visit. We stayed at the Grand Californian and highly recommend it.
We think everyone who deeply loves WDW, especially for all the little reasons (all the imagineering, all the special touches) should try to visit Walt's first park:
1. Even though you hear all the time how much smaller DL is, we found that the Magic Kingdom, although on a smaller plot of land, is SO jam-packed with many more attractions and details that the size is only a benefit. (We forgot our pedometers but we know we logged nowhere near our usual 10 to 15 miles per day that we do at WDW; SO much less walking, SO much less time *lost* to transportation between parks/hotel.)
2. Once in the park (either DL or DCA), you really don't have a sense of the world outside. Oh sure, you can get glimpses of outside hotels when you ride tall attractions, but it's minor and really does not take away from the magic. We surmise that the area around the parks has gone through a lot of updates/upgrades since Walt's day -- we definitely would not describe the area as *seedy,* even though that was the image we had in our minds.
3. We didn't realize that every attraction that has a version at WDW is actually different at DL. So Splash, BTMRR, Pirates, Winnie-the-Pooh, on and on -- EVERY attraction that's also at WDW has a unique version at DL; they used the same names and the same *general* format for the attractions, but differences are obvious and many. We came to the conclusion that most people probably prefer their home park's version of each attraction, and this could partly be why some WDW people don't *like* DL as much -- it's just that whole thing about being most comfortable with what's most familiar. We really enjoyed getting the different experiences, especially on the attractions that where there when Walt was there (yes, we do understand that updates have been made since, but you know what I mean!).
4. We had a funny, kind of dream-like state of experience being in the Magic Kingdom -- a place that's SO familiar and dear to our hearts at WDW, and that's just so similar but different at DL. Kind of like, "I know this place, but I don't know it." We enjoyed this feeling, and look forward to someday knowing DL as well as we know WDW.
5. Definitely subjective, but overall we found that the cast members at DL/DCA are certainly nice, but not as nice/friendly/accommodating as at WDW. I'm not complaining, and we had no "bad" experiences, but it was the little things -- no one ever wished us a *magical day,* of the many cast members that we passed during the course of a day (at our hotel, at the parks), it was rare for anyone to make contact with us or say "hello," and many seemed startled that WE said hello to them. And I'm not trying to claim that we've never encountered grumpy/unfriendly cast members in Orlando -- it was just noticeable to us that there was a difference. We wondered if it was a management style difference, or if it somehow had to do with another difference, which was that...
6. ...it was very clear that the crowds at DL are very highly local. Big difference in day-trippers vs. people there on vacation. We always have a sense in WDW of a very international crowd -- we've always met people from other countries and the overall feel of the crowd, as I said, is that of vacationers. So many, many more people at DL/DCA are locals who are there for the day and clearly go there all the time, so maybe that has something to do with the outlook/attitude of cast members -- less of a sense that you have a responsibility in making someone's vacation special?
7. Can't say enough about how fabulous it is to have everything SO close together! We rode the monorail for the fun of it, but we never had to use Disney "transportation." It was SO easy to walk everywhere, walks were short, and park-hopping (as well as getting back to the hotel) was wonderfully easy. A huge plus in our book!
8. We understand why DCA needed an overhaul -- it is lovely, but not a whole lot to it. However we were thrilled with what we could see of Cars Land (it is very visible from Mickey's Fun Wheel and at the Blue Sky Cellar deck) -- anyone headed there this summer is really in for a treat and we look forward to going back to see it some day. They totally nailed the main street in Radiator Springs, and we could see them testing the race car track and it looks awesome. We really enjoyed the overview and film offered at Blue Sky Cellar.
9. Counter Service food was uniformly decent, although we did miss the dining options of WDW. We had a top-5-in-a-lifetime experience at Napa Rose (I plan to post dining reviews/photos later this week), but were underwhelmed by Blue Bayou and Wine Country Trattoria (nothing terrible, but very rushed and not particularly good). We'd love to see them add more table service and better quality (choosing our restaurants at WDW is always a fun and big part of the trip for us). We usually do the dining plan at WDW and found that going plan-less (since it works so differently at DL) worked out great -- the freedom and flexibility may make us go without at WDW on our next trip.
10. Every detail, every view, everything at the DL Magic Kingdom is special. The gardens there are lush and they are real gardens filled with perennials and annuals (very different from the bedding plants at WDW's MK). As others have noted, the park feels/looks crowded at DL but many, many rides are walk-ons. No where near the number of Fast Pass attractions (we were really stunned that they didn't build in FP at Toy Story Mania in DCA). They absolutely let you use *expired* FPs (same day, but later window) and FPs are easy to get -- often, even though they were available, CMs were discouraging people from getting them because stand-by lines were so short (Soarin' was always a walk-on!).
Well, I'll leave it at that for now. Happy to answer any questions! BTW, going the week-plus after Easter worked great for us (Tuesday through Friday). Hotel wasn't full, crowds very manageable, and weather was heavenly (OK, one more thing: the lack of humidity in So Cal is gorgeous -- we had so much more energy because we weren't dealing with all the humidity!)
Too bad DCA is still in construction wall mode. Glad you see value in coming back and take it all in. I really think DCA is going to emerge as a worthwhile park in its own right.
