Differences between a DVC vacation at WDW & DL?

[DVC Mike]

Okay, while I used to visit Disneyland for 20+ years when I lived in Orange County, that was as a local. I have never visited DL as an out-of-towner. As folks consider whether or not to add on points at the new DVC at GC, I'd like to get some feedback about what differences there will be in cost for East Coast visitors.

For example, I have a WDW AP. However, if I buy enough points to go ever 2-3 years to DL, I'll need to factor in the cost of DL admission tickets.

I can use the free Magical Express in Orlando, but there is no such service in CA. Thus, I'll need to pay for transportation to and from the airport. Of course, a lot of folks will get rental cars to get to other SoCal destinations.

ADRs can be made at WDW 180 days in advance, but priority reservations can only be made 60 days in advance at DL. Not a cost issue, but could be more difficult getting the dining reservation I want.

What other differences would there be between a WDW DVC vacation and a DL DVC vacation (besides the obvious park size, number of parks, and no need for buses at DL)?

 

[dwelty]

Okay, while I used to visit Disneyland for 20+ years when I lived in Orange County, that was as a local. I have never visited DL as an out-of-towner. As folks consider whether or not to add on points at the new DVC at GC, I'd like to get some feedback about what differences there will be in cost for East Coast visitors.

For example, I have a WDW AP. However, if I buy enough points to go ever 2-3 years to DL, I'll need to factor in the cost of DL admission tickets.

I can use the free Magical Express in Orlando, but there is no such service in CA. Thus, I'll need to pay for transportation to and from the airport. Of course, a lot of folks will get rental cars to get to other SoCal destinations.

ADRs can be made at WDW 180 days in advance, but priority reservations can only be made 60 days in advance at DL. Not a cost issue, but could be more difficult getting the dining reservation I want.

What other differences would there be between a WDW DVC vacation and a DL DVC vacation (besides the obvious park size, number of parks, and no need for buses at DL)?

I can address your questions about dining since I am a local sort-of (1 1/2 hours away) we often use our points at the GCH and stay for 3 or 4 days. Dinning reservations are generally not hard to get. (Except Blue Bayou) even then if you call about 2 weeks before is usually good. I just made reservations at Napa Rose (A very popular location at the GCH for Saturday) and I got the time I wanted. The big difference here is there is no dinning plan, and many people eat off site. If you are on a budget you can really save alot by eating off site. (Short Walk). If you want to have a full Disney experience, you coud stay on property for about 4 days and see most of what the Resort has to offer. The other 2 days you could visit Universal Hollywood, the beach (About 30 min drive) or San Diego.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Good question, but I think the answer will change over time. Although they will never have the land WDW has, it seems like the trend is toward expansion. Some how they keep coming up with more land to expand..

Anyway, we have visited DLR twice in the last 13 months. We plan to visit again within the next year.
Both times we visited we stayed at the GC for four nights, two of which were weekends (good for DVC??).
We loved DLR, but it did seem as though DLR didn't understand that people would travel accross the country to visit... It was almost like they weren't ready for the big time.

Anyway, if they want to make DLR a destination resort they will need to either create a weeks worth of entertainment at DLR (a third park would do it!), or....
Continue to team up with the other Southern California attractions, AND provide some sort of transportation. People traveling from the east coast will not want to rent a car and drive in Southern California.

MG

 

[zulaya]

I don't think they have the demand for a Magical Express type service in CA. There aren't enough resorts. I think it's a pretty big generalization to say that people won't want to rent a car. There are plenty of people, DVCers included, who rent a car for WDW.

I think that there are a couple strong potential itineraries:

1. 2-4 days just at DLR
2. A week with DLR and other SoCal attractions (Knott's Berry Farm, Universal, Sea World, Beach).

I'm in MN so it's just as long a flight to FL as it is to CA. We typically go for a week at a time because the flight is 3 hours. BUT we have done a few long weekends for Star Wars Weekends and sometimes "just because".

I can see my family doing either of these options. Which would happen on a regular basis...that's up for grabs still.

 

[dwelty]

I would like to add something here. One BIG difference between a WDW vacation and a DLR vacation is the weather. California has a Dry Mediterranean climate. This means low humidity, low rainfall (about 10 in. a year) and mostly comfortable summers. Because the humidity is low, there are very little problems with bugs of any kind. (many people do not even have screens on their windows) There are no Love bugs in May or September. There are no swealtering summers because, with the low humidity, comes a low heat index. It is about 12 miles from the coast so cool sea breezes in the summer are not uncommon.

Disneyland is a perfect place to get your summer Disney fix, and avoid a miserable Orlando. We plan on 2 trips a year to WDW (October and January) when Florida weather is nice, and 2 trips to DLR (March and July).

 

[DVC Mike]

I forgot that there is no DDP or DDE in DL. Makes eating at Disneyland more expensive.

Yes, the weather is much nicer than Orlando (no humidity!). The only thing I don't miss is the smog!

 

[simzac]

I drive for a living, and the last thing I would want to do is rent a car at LAX and drive to DL

 

[mamatojon]

I forgot that there is no DDP or DDE in DL. Makes eating at Disneyland more expensive.

Yes, the weather is much nicer than Orlando (no humidity!). The only thing I don't miss is the smog!

And in addition, the food at Disneyland is just more expensive than at WDW, I actually paid $5 for an ice cream treat! We found the menu items to be somewhere from 10 to 20% more expensive than in Florida, both trips were taken within 5 months of each other.

 

[Barnum01]

I drive for a living, and the last thing I would want to do is rent a car at LAX and drive to DL

We did it on our trip in 2002 and plan to do it again on our next one. The drive was not bad at all for all the horror stories we heard about Cali highways. Spent the better part of 4 days at the parks (3:1 DL-to-DCA ratio timewise), drove to Hollywood, Simi Valley, Laguna Beach (before the TV show), and Saugus the other days. For us, SoCal is the destination with DLR being the feature location.

 

[ChrisMouse]

I think the biggest perk at DLR is the fact that the entire resort (so far) is within walking distance to everything else. NO big waits for busses, so park hopping is truly delightful, and done in a matter of minutes. GC has its own entrance into DCA...it's just a lot different than all of the "transportation hassles" of WDW.

That being said, frequent WDW visitors might find the DLR itself a bit limited, with "only" two parks so far. But I agree with other posters, that if you feel like visiting other So. CA attractions you can. (Personally, our family found plenty to do right on property for 5 days).

I just think "Walt's Park" has such charm...his personal touch is everywhere, and WDW visitors who have never visited will love the attractions available there that aren't available in Florida.

(Of course, maybe I should be taking another tack here, to make sure there isn't too much competition to buy these points!!!!)

My main criticism of DLR is the food is expensive (as mentioned above) and generally not that great.

There! You'll hate the food, so don't buy up all the points.

 

[dwelty]

I forgot that there is no DDP or DDE in DL. Makes eating at Disneyland more expensive.

Yes, the weather is much nicer than Orlando (no humidity!). The only thing I don't miss is the smog!

about Smog....

The Air Quality has greatly improved over the years in the Los Angeles Basin (Due mostly to the most stringent air quality laws in the nation) When I was a child growing up in Los Angeles County, we had several 1st and second stage smog alerts a year, close to 30. On these days, we had to take our recess indoors because air quality was so bad. Over the last several years, these alerts have dropped to 1 or 2 a year, and we have had a few years where there weren't any. The worst air quality is inland where the smog is carried into Riverside and San Bernadino Counties. Since Anaheim is 12 miles from the ocean, the air quality is pretty darn good.

P.S. you are right about the food prices, they are higher in Anaheim, However, with Disneyland's annual pass, you get 15% off table service locations and 10% counter service. I think overall, WDW has better food quality in the theme parks (I hate most theme park foods on both coasts). However, the resort hotels and Downtown Disney have some good quality choices, and you can Walk to these areas from either park.

 

[deedeetoo]

We went to DLR a couple years ago. We stayed offsite (but a very short walk away). The feel is totally different for me. WDW is a destination. DLR really isn't. The destination is the LA area and DLR is just one aspect of it. We bought 3 day tickets and thought that was plenty. We also went to the beach and saw other sites in the LA area. We had no problem renting a car and for the most part driving wasn't that bad except for the day we screwed up and were driving back from the beach right at rush hour. We flew out of Long Beach Airport which is very convenient to DLR. We only ate one TS meal on-site - Goofy's Kitchen character meal. In general we thought the food was too expensive, especially when compared to the non-Disney restaurants within easy walking distance of the parks.

I would consider staying at DLR DVC as a base for an LA vacation, but definitely would not hang around DLR for the whole time.

 

[snowbunny]

I would consider staying at DLR DVC as a base for an LA vacation, but definitely would not hang around DLR for the whole time.

I agree...I think the biggest shock for people who have only been to WDW will be the scale of Disneyland - everything is smaller and of course, much more tightly contained than in WDW.

Basically DLR sits in a parking lot in the center of complete and utter sprawl known as Anaheim. Much as I love it because of the climate and childhood memories, it would be difficult to be there for a week or more just hanging out as people do in WDW.