Having just visited DL (essentially, for the first time) I thought Id give my state of the parks address for the other coast. Since DCA is such a lightning rod I will cover it in a separate thread.
APPEARANCE - DL was in better shape than I was expecting. Nothing jumped out at me as being in grave disrepair. Of course, I have no point of reference for how things use to look. I couldnt tell if ToonTown was faded or if those were the intended colors. IASW was fresh off a rehab. I didnt inspect the Tiki Room or TSI, however. Trash/cleanliness wasn't an issue. We did see a painter or two each day, and the construction going on around Pooh was pretty noticeable. Maybe, some of you locals can set the record straight.
FEEL I was struck more by the congestion than the shorter distance between lands. Given how crowded the walkways were I kept expecting everything to have much longer wait times. Escapism is an important part of the Disney experience. WDWs size is a big insulating advantage. However, the contrast at DL almost seemed bigger. I felt more removed from S. Cal. in DL, than from Florida in WDW. The sudden transition from suburbia to theme park is one factor, but not the only one? I can understand the locals reverence for this effect. Is it real or was it just me?
RESORT - I was expecting the surroundings to be even tackier. The recent area renovations must have made a big difference. Staying at a neighbor hotel, with a clear view of the resort, I didnt feel that disconnected. ART was a very effective off-site traffic option. The addition of DTD and a second park gives the place a nice balance. Made me wonder why it took them so long to do this?
DIFFERENCES - It was fun observing the differences. Angles that seemed askew, attraction elements on the wrong side. Several times it felt like the Bizarro MK. Some brief observations:
Splash More detailed than expected. However, it runs way too fast. Have they increased the water speed to offset the new lower capacity logs? WDW an easy winner.
BTMMRR More inwardly focused, makes me prefer WDW.
New Orleans Square Excellant atmosphere.
HM Better loading, but prefer the WDW exterior.
Pirates Whoa, what a difference!
Indy Lives up to the hype. Needs some little things to be perfect. With outside queue do people really follow the plot.
Jungle Cruise Always a walk-on. How to revitalize?
SpaceM Prefer the WDW interior/setting. No ride preference versus the DL version sans music (since it never was working).
Autopoia If the speedway is going to exist it should at the minimum be this.
Tomorrowland I like Orbitor as an entrypoint. After that the land loses its feel.
Matterhorn Still a good ride for a 45 year old coaster. You have to shake your head wondering how they never got a clone of this funded for EPCOT all these years.
Fantasyland Love the extra detail. Being a Mr. Toad fan it was a real treat to ride the original (and better) version. Will be even nicer when the carousel is back.
Toon Town I can see why the locals are spoiled. Again, the extra detail.
RogerRabbit Why did they leave this out of WDW? A classic dark ride.
Believe Fireworks Great. Again, why dont they copy this at the MK?
Fantasmic Closer does make it better, but only marginally.
Castle The initial shock does wears off.
Sometimes it wasn't clear if the WDW versions were different to be better or just to be different?
We had a great time and look forward to returning some day.
APPEARANCE - DL was in better shape than I was expecting. Nothing jumped out at me as being in grave disrepair. Of course, I have no point of reference for how things use to look. I couldnt tell if ToonTown was faded or if those were the intended colors. IASW was fresh off a rehab. I didnt inspect the Tiki Room or TSI, however. Trash/cleanliness wasn't an issue. We did see a painter or two each day, and the construction going on around Pooh was pretty noticeable. Maybe, some of you locals can set the record straight.
FEEL I was struck more by the congestion than the shorter distance between lands. Given how crowded the walkways were I kept expecting everything to have much longer wait times. Escapism is an important part of the Disney experience. WDWs size is a big insulating advantage. However, the contrast at DL almost seemed bigger. I felt more removed from S. Cal. in DL, than from Florida in WDW. The sudden transition from suburbia to theme park is one factor, but not the only one? I can understand the locals reverence for this effect. Is it real or was it just me?
RESORT - I was expecting the surroundings to be even tackier. The recent area renovations must have made a big difference. Staying at a neighbor hotel, with a clear view of the resort, I didnt feel that disconnected. ART was a very effective off-site traffic option. The addition of DTD and a second park gives the place a nice balance. Made me wonder why it took them so long to do this?
DIFFERENCES - It was fun observing the differences. Angles that seemed askew, attraction elements on the wrong side. Several times it felt like the Bizarro MK. Some brief observations:
Splash More detailed than expected. However, it runs way too fast. Have they increased the water speed to offset the new lower capacity logs? WDW an easy winner.
BTMMRR More inwardly focused, makes me prefer WDW.
New Orleans Square Excellant atmosphere.
HM Better loading, but prefer the WDW exterior.
Pirates Whoa, what a difference!
Indy Lives up to the hype. Needs some little things to be perfect. With outside queue do people really follow the plot.
Jungle Cruise Always a walk-on. How to revitalize?
SpaceM Prefer the WDW interior/setting. No ride preference versus the DL version sans music (since it never was working).
Autopoia If the speedway is going to exist it should at the minimum be this.
Tomorrowland I like Orbitor as an entrypoint. After that the land loses its feel.
Matterhorn Still a good ride for a 45 year old coaster. You have to shake your head wondering how they never got a clone of this funded for EPCOT all these years.
Fantasyland Love the extra detail. Being a Mr. Toad fan it was a real treat to ride the original (and better) version. Will be even nicer when the carousel is back.
Toon Town I can see why the locals are spoiled. Again, the extra detail.
RogerRabbit Why did they leave this out of WDW? A classic dark ride.
Believe Fireworks Great. Again, why dont they copy this at the MK?
Fantasmic Closer does make it better, but only marginally.
Castle The initial shock does wears off.
Sometimes it wasn't clear if the WDW versions were different to be better or just to be different?
We had a great time and look forward to returning some day.