Disneyland vs Disney World - Help me choose a trip!

[204charity]

I am looking for opinions of travellers that have done both parks in either January or March! We are a family of 4. Myself, DH, DD (16) and DS (11) - DS, DD and myself have all been to DL and DW. DH has only been to DL.

I have the option of 3 trips:

Option #1 - 7 nights in Disney World, last week of March, 2019 (3 weeks before Easter)
For this trip, we would be paying for our hotel, park tickets and dining OOP (flights would be free through airmiles)
Kids miss ZERO school!

Option #2 - 7 nights in Disneyland, last week of March, 2019 (3 weeks before Easter)
We would do 1 day at Universal Studios, 4 park days at Disney
For this trip, we would only be paying for park tickets and dining OOP (flights and hotel would be free through airmiles)
Kids miss ZERO school!

Option #3 - 5 nights in Disneyland, last week of January, 2019
We would do 1 day at Universal Studios, 3 park days at Disney
For this trip, we would only be paying for park tickets and dining OOP (flights and hotel would be free through airmiles)
Kids miss 2 days of school!


My considerations for this trip are:

PRICE - I do NOT want to be gouged to death with prices just to be standing in lines all day in the heat. I want to get my monies worth! Have you been to DW during Spring Break? Did you find it unmanageable?

WEATHER - We have done DW in April and May and been very hot some days. We have done DL in January, and were cool in the mornings and evenings, but comfortable during the day. We never complained of being "COLD" but it was a shame to not use our pool at the Disneyland Hotel! (we splurged on that one!) Hence, why if we go BACK to Disneyland in January, we would book a Good-Neighbor Hotel on Airmiles and not pay a penny for a pool we won't use.

CROWDS - I am a VERY organized Disney Traveller and will definately have a touring plan for our trip, no matter where we go and when. I am personally fine with crowds, however, I am concerned that my DH (Who has never been to DW) will be overwhelmed if it is too "GO GO GO!!!"

Clearly I have a LOT to consider here when booking this trip. So, any thoughts, opinions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Indiana Scott]

We had to make a very similar choice last month.
I really wanted to do WDW becasue DLR has been so torn up and frankly I'm tired of the horrendous crowds. It just isn't fun to me to stand in long hot lines all day. We're also tired of the way Disney treats us like cattle and just keeps packing people in no matter the affect to the guests experience.
OTOH, WDW involves a ton of walking and both of us are not qutie as mobile as we used to be.
The more we thought about it, the more going to Hawaii sounded good and much more relaxing.
So we're skipping another year of Disney.

 

[204charity]

We had to make a very similar choice last month.
I really wanted to do WDW becasue DLR has been so torn up and frankly I'm tired of the horrendous crowds. It just isn't fun to me to stand in long hot lines all day. We're also tired of the way Disney treats us like cattle and just keeps packing people in no matter the affect to the guests experience.
OTOH, WDW involves a ton of walking and both of us are not qutie as mobile as we used to be.
The more we thought about it, the more going to Hawaii sounded good and much more relaxing.
So we're skipping another year of Disney.

Oh my Goodness! You sound like us THIS year! We were planning on DW for January with the kids, and we said screw it - all inclusive in Mexico instead! So, that's what we did....lol...so I would really like to try settle on some sort of a Disney trip next time around. Our kids are getting older and we are running out of time to take them away!

 

[GenGen22]

I have a question before giving my opinion. If you go to DW will you be staying onsite at a DW hotel? Because fp+ is included for all onsite guests. This will assist greatly with waiting in lines.

 

[HydroGuy]

First some weather comparison data: "Comparison of Weather For WDW and DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1711098

For me as a former SoCal person (28 years) the weather in January would be a little too chilly. So I would go for March and just deal with the crowds. Further, January is an off-season month for DLR and refurbs are likely to be at a maximum. I would rather go during peak season and deal with crowds than off-season and miss rides. That is from someone who visits there 1-2 times a year. Others may (and do) view things differently.

So that leaves us with WDW or DLR in March.

In 2019 both WDW and DLR will open Star Wars Land. It was announced that DLR's SWL would open before WDW's. Mostly because construction is going faster. Until about a week ago the #9 Star Wars movie was due out in May 2019. That would have put pressure on Disney to get Star Wars Land open as early in the year as possible at both resorts. I just read that the movie release has been pushed back to Dec 2019. So that will lessen pressure a little.

No one (even Disney) knows when SWL will actually open at this point, but it is possible it will be open at DLR for Spring Break 2019. For me that would be a plus to go to to DLR. Others would dread the crowds which will be extreme in a way that WDW does not experience as often. So you may be dealing with SWL at DL in March 2019. Likely you will not be dealing with SWL at DHS in March 2019. And even if you were, the impact is less for numerous reasons including they have four parks to DLR's two.

If we knew now that SWL will not be open at DLR I myself would lean towards WDW in March 2019. I have been there in March two times including earlier this year. My personal experience is that the WDW crowds were not nearly as bad as I was expecting. Very manageable. But then I am anal about how I choose parks at WDW and always avoid EMH parks which helps avoid crowds. So YMMV.

If we knew now that SWL would be open in March 2019 at DLR I myself would lean that direction. With the delay of the #9 movie until Dec my suspicion is SWL will open at DLR in May before Memorial Day 2019 so DLR can get the summer promotion for it out.

So that leaves us with WDW. And that is what I would recommend.

Now, I have not been to DLR in March since I was probably a kid in the the 1970's. So I cannot compare apples to apples except I grew up in SoCal and know the weather and I know DLR well and I do often visit DLR during peak season (just not Spring Break). So I think I can imagine DLR in March pretty well.

OK my two cents, there you have it.

 

[elaine amj]

WDW in March is very busy (although not as busy as Easter). Weather is usually good, but very occasionally, chilly for the pool. In general though, March typically has pleasant pool weather (of course, we swim in WDW in January too lol!)

As for costs, you're looking at a bit of a wash. You'd be paying more for your onsite hotel at WDW - but not forking out extra money for Universal tickets (which are rather pricey). I usually split my Universal and Disney trips for that reason.

You January trip would be much less busy (I don't know about DLR, but that used to be the least busy time in WDW) but I like it when kids don't miss schooldays. Not that I care much about them missing school (IMO it has no long term effect), but it just causes extra stress - especially as the kids get older.

 

[GenGen22]

Per Mousesavers.com I found this information about crowds.

WDW: The WORST times to visit Walt Disney World are:

• Mid-February through mid-April (or later, depending on the date of Easter). Easter week (the weekend of Easter and the following week) is the second most busy time of the year. Holiday weekends in this time frame, such as President’s Day, are also exceptionally busy. Expect big crowds, high resort prices and expensive airfares, but usually very nice weather. This whole period is a peak time due to various overlapping Spring Breaks, though there can be slower periods of a few days here and there, particularly mid-week.
• https://www.mousesavers.com/walt-di...asked-questions-about-walt-disney-world/#busy

DL: The BEST times to go to Disneyland are:

• Second week of January-March (except holiday weekends). However, often rides will be closed for refurbishment at this time of year. The first week of January can be busy due to extended holiday vacations.
• https://www.mousesavers.com/disneyl...uently-asked-questions-about-disneyland/#busy

You can check the weather in Orlando here: https://www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp

I have been to WDW from like 12/8-12/18 aprox and the weather was humid but not as bad as I heave heard the summer months are. I have read the spring months are the best weather months in Orlando. I went in May this past year and the weather was better than December as there was less rain and humidity was similar to December. So, my personal opinion is that the weather in Orlando at that time of year is good. Not as good as CA of course as we are spoiled with our beautiful weather. Spring break is very busy at DL.

I would also watch Figment's thread on calendar of events as this also effects crowds due to events.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/2018-calendar-of-events-school-breaks-and-dlr.3635162/

 

[204charity]

I have a question before giving my opinion. If you go to DW will you be staying onsite at a DW hotel? Because fp+ is included for all onsite guests. This will assist greatly with waiting in lines.

Yes - Disney World would be onsite. (POR) Disneyland would be a Good Neighbor Hotel.

 

[HydroGuy]

Per Mousesavers.com I found this information about crowds.

WDW: The WORST times to visit Walt Disney World are:

• Mid-February through mid-April (or later, depending on the date of Easter). Easter week (the weekend of Easter and the following week) is the second most busy time of the year. Holiday weekends in this time frame, such as President’s Day, are also exceptionally busy. Expect big crowds, high resort prices and expensive airfares, but usually very nice weather. This whole period is a peak time due to various overlapping Spring Breaks, though there can be slower periods of a few days here and there, particularly mid-week.
• https://www.mousesavers.com/walt-di...asked-questions-about-walt-disney-world/#busy

DL: The BEST times to go to Disneyland are:

• Second week of January-March (except holiday weekends). However, often rides will be closed for refurbishment at this time of year. The first week of January can be busy due to extended holiday vacations.
• https://www.mousesavers.com/disneyl...uently-asked-questions-about-disneyland/#busy

For the record I would disagree with Mousesavers on this because I define "BEST" and "WORST" differently than they do.

Personally I would say the "second week of Jan-Mar" (early March anyways) as the worst time to visit DLR. Once Spring Break kicks in at DLR (mid-March usually - see "Choosing When To Visit DLR: Summary of High and Low Season and When Each Happens" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=36509602) and they transition to peak season I would increase DLR's rating out of the worst category. But even so I would pick summer at DLR over Spring.

As for WDW, I think summer is the worst time to go because their weather is so extremely intolerable in the summer. That trumps crowds for me which I can at least tolerate.

My one data point for WDW in late March (like the OP) was thinking how absolutely perfect the weather was every...single...day. For a week. For me spring time weather at WDW is the only time of year I favor over DLR weather. All other times of year DLR wins on weather for me. I say that based on weather data and the fact that I do visit Florida year round on business and do not visit WDW every time I am there.

OP it really depends on how you define best and worst. Crowds? Weather? Cost? Refurb closures? Embracing or avoiding a "new big thing"? Other?

 

[GenGen22]

For the record I would disagree with Mousesavers on this because I define "BEST" and "WORST" differently than they do.

Personally I would say the "second week of Jan-Mar" (early March anyways) as the worst time to visit DLR. Once Spring Break kicks in at DLR (mid-March usually - see "Choosing When To Visit DLR: Summary of High and Low Season and When Each Happens" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=36509602) and they transition to peak season I would increase DLR's rating out of the worst category. But even so I would pick summer at DLR over Spring.

As for WDW, I think summer is the worst time to go because their weather is so extremely intolerable in the summer. That trumps crowds for me which I can at least tolerate.

My one data point for WDW in late March (like the OP) was thinking how absolutely perfect the weather was every...single...day. For a week. For me spring time weather at WDW is the only time of year I favor over DLR weather. All other times of year DLR wins on weather for me. I say that based on weather data and the fact that I do visit Florida year round on business and do not visit WDW every time I am there.

OP it really depends on how you define best and worst. Crowds? Weather? Cost? Refurb closures? Embracing or avoiding a "new big thing"? Other?

I agree that spring time in Orlando is the best time to visit per all I have read on it and based on my recent May visit which I also pointed out. Summers in Orlando have terrible weather and huge crowds. I also agree that DL is extremely busy during spring break which is another point I made. I also would select summer over spring break at DL based on personal experience. You probably know more about DL than I do as you probably visit more than I do per your posts. I only visit DL a few times a year and vary rarely visit WDW. Thanks for your input Hydro Guy.

Edited to add I only highlighted the time frame the OP was asking about as far as best and worst times to visit as there are other times suggested as best and worst that is why I provided the link for their review.

 

[GenGen22]

Yes - Disney World would be onsite. (POR) Disneyland would be a Good Neighbor Hotel.

With that said. I think your best two options are option 1 and option 3.

Here is my reasoning since you would be staying onsite at WDW and they offer fp+ and like you said you prefer to be a planner and your DH has never been here and your kids wont miss any school and also there are discounts per Mousesavers historical deals listed in the below link. This is one good option. I am sure you already know but with fp+ you can reserve up to 3 attractions per day 60 days in advance lessening your wait times. Also this is great tool as after you have utilized all three of these options you can book your next attraction via the park app while waiting in line. You can take this at your own pace but it is a really great tool that have. This is free to all onsite guests.

https://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/

For option 3 the crowds are low, the weather is pretty good and you would be saving money due to your air miles covering your flights and hotel. I haven't used it yet but will next month but DL has maxpass which is similar to fp+ at WDW. You can utilize this to not have to wait in lines as well. If not definitely utilize fast passes to lessen your waiting in line.

Option 2 to me in not a good idea due to the spring break crowds. My personal opinion is Spring break and Christmas week and the week after Christmas are the worst crowds that I have experienced. I try and avoid these times as it just isn't enjoyable to me. I don't mind crowds but at this time it's just too crazy packed for my personal taste.

 

[Elfinbaby]

We just got back from DL from a week long stay. Over the last 5 years, we've done WDW twice. I still have a lot to learn about navigating DL but, from my newbie experience last week, DL is harder to stick to a touring plan. I can rock it with TP at WDW but you can't plan FPs ahead of time at DL so you are always adjusting. That said, we were definitely able to manage fairly well. I just like having a plan On the one hand, it's not a bad thing to fly by the seat of your pants (although the feeling is disconcerting to planners) On the other, I felt like I was staring at my phone all the time watching for FPs or knocking off the list of rides we wanted to get on for the day.

Also, predicted crowd levels last week based on TP were mostly 2s but ended up being 4-6s. One day was actually a 2 and it was divine! Although 4-6 is midway to crowded, the walkways seem narrower and there are several bottlenecks in both parks so the parks felt crowded imo, even if the wait times were low.

 

[204charity]

We just got back from DL from a week long stay. Over the last 5 years, we've done WDW twice. I still have a lot to learn about navigating DL but, from my newbie experience last week, DL is harder to stick to a touring plan. I can rock it with TP at WDW but you can't plan FPs ahead of time at DL so you are always adjusting. That said, we were definitely able to manage fairly well. I just like having a plan On the one hand, it's not a bad thing to fly by the seat of your pants (although the feeling is disconcerting to planners) On the other, I felt like I was staring at my phone all the time watching for FPs or knocking off the list of rides we wanted to get on for the day.

Also, predicted crowd levels last week based on TP were mostly 2s but ended up being 4-6s. One day was actually a 2 and it was divine! Although 4-6 is midway to crowded, the walkways seem narrower and there are several bottlenecks in both parks so the parks felt crowded imo, even if the wait times were low.

Our last time we went to DL was in January, but we visited the parks on a Tues/Wed/Thurs - this time, if we went in January, our park days would be Fri/Sat/Sun, so I expect the parks to be MUCH busier, but still quite managable. I absolutely LOVE having a touring plan, but to be honest, when we did DL last time, I had no plan other than running to RSR in CA as soon as the park opened for us. LOL And even with that, we rode it many MANY times during the trip, by pulling fast passes. It was a great, fun, EASY trip and I have to say I am leaning towards DL now more than ever. We already have nearly 6000 airmiles saved, and our hotel would only be 7000 miles- so to say I am excited is an understatement! It's already within my grasp. LOL

DD would miss ONE day of school if we did the January trip, it would be a whirlwind - but totally doable. We have family there to come and pick us up and take us to Universal Studios too! We would do one day there, and then the rest at DL.

 

[Linkura]

Per Mousesavers.com I found this information about crowds.

WDW: The WORST times to visit Walt Disney World are:

• Mid-February through mid-April (or later, depending on the date of Easter). Easter week (the weekend of Easter and the following week) is the second most busy time of the year. Holiday weekends in this time frame, such as President’s Day, are also exceptionally busy. Expect big crowds, high resort prices and expensive airfares, but usually very nice weather. This whole period is a peak time due to various overlapping Spring Breaks, though there can be slower periods of a few days here and there, particularly mid-week.
• https://www.mousesavers.com/walt-di...asked-questions-about-walt-disney-world/#busy

This is a generalization to say the least. Mousesavers is wrong that the whole period is a peak time. First week of March is excellent. I went last year and the crowds were low and the weather is fantastic; I'm even thinking of going next year! You want to avoid weeks with a lot of school vacations, Easter, Presidents' Week, and Mardi Gras week, of course. But there are some gems during that time. Writing off a whole period is a poor generalization on their part. You need to look week by week to get a real sense of crowds. **************, for example, has a week by week calendar that is very good.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I'd go in March. If swl was open I'd avoid because of crowds. I'm guessing it won't be.

We're going in march '18. I know it will be busy but summer is too hot for us.

 

[DizneeRailFan62]

Let me add a different point of view here by asking the question "Which resort feels like home to you - WDW or DLR?" For the wife and I, we grew up mid-westerners, so family vacations in the early 70's constituted WDW, to include our honeymoon in 1989. But in the early 90's we moved out west (Las Vegas), and began yearly visits to DLR, where we fell in love with the park's intimacy and closeness. While we still visit WDW, it is about every 10 years, and then we still get a short DLR trip in. We just do not feel the same at WDW as we do at DLR, so to us, that would be the determining factor on deciding where to go. Just my 2 cents worth on the subject.

 

[NeedMoreMickey]

I've been to DLR once mid-January 2017. It was chilly, too chilly for shorts for us and it rained every day and not the WDW summer rain that passes through in the afternoon. It rained every day either most of the day or most of the evening. Could have been a fluke weather pattern. Most of my WDW trips, at least a dozen trips are in mid-March and I love that time of year. The flower & garden at Epcot is so pretty that when I went this past July for a quick weekend everything looked bare. Usually wear shorts or capris and bring a light sweatshirt along for the evenings. I don't think the crowds are any worse during the spring than the summer and the weather is much better in the spring. I think Toy Story Land is supposed to open in HS in summer 2018 so that will be something new to see.

 

[GatorChris]

January can be very rainy in DL as that's Cali's rainy season. And when it rains, it doesn't just come in, dump for an hour and leave. No, it stays all day like was said above. That said, the busiest I've ever experienced DL was on March 3rd of this year.

It sounds like you'll save a bunch of money going to DL vs WDW. That's why we have been going to DL for the last 5 years. We like WDW waaaayyy more, but we can do two week long trips to DL for the price of a 9/10 day trip to WDW. So either we get a annual trip or bi-annual trip. And we've been choosing the annual trip. WDW has a lot more to offer, that's for sure. But if it's money thing, choose DL. If there's not that big of a difference in money, head to WDW and experience the Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot.

 

[ktlm]

I don't know about Disneyland and the West Coast schools, but I know that last week of March is prime spring break time at WDW. Magic Kingdom can close to capacity that week. We have not been that week, but I have a good friend who has been that week and she said while they still had a great time, they would pick a different week next time and she did not think they would go back during spring break.

 

[longboard55]

for 7 nights I would do WDW, for 3 or less it would be DL for sure.