How Much Is There To Do....Really?

Character meet and greets don't count at all.

BrerGnat;2479321 wrote: Character meet and greets don't count at all.

While I fully understand why many people don't think they should count, and if you were to ask me to count out loud the attractions at MK I would not instinctively count character meets, but the meets still have a big appeal to lots of people. Ask Anna & Elsa how long their day is if you don't believe me! ;)

We loved Disneyland as much as Disneyworld.....we just prefer Disneyworld more due to Epcot and Animal Kingdom. We find Disneyland to be more crowded than Disneyworld but I think it just seems that way because Disneyland has a smaller footprint. We love love loved that at Disneyland we were walking in places that Walt himself had walked. We definitely preferred Disneyland Downtown Disney to Disney Springs at Disneyworld....mostly because it is more compact. Anyway.....just our opinions...

Goofy4TheWorld;2479322 wrote: While I fully understand why many people don't think they should count, and if you were to ask me to count out loud the attractions at MK I would not instinctively count character meets, but the meets still have a big appeal to lots of people. Ask Anna & Elsa how long their day is if you don't believe me! ;)

Characters at DL still roam freely and there seems to be more "areas" to meet/greet throughout the park. To count all of them might put the total way over MK. Just a thought.

badkitty;2479329 wrote: Characters at DL still roam freely and there seems to be more "areas" to meet/greet throughout the park. To count all of them might put the total way over MK. Just a thought.

I had that same thought!

My last time at Disneyland was in 1973 (I was 9). I still remember Pirates being incredible (much better than WDW) and my grandmother taking a nerve pill after getting off of the Matterhorn, lol. Yes, it may well be time to go back...

I have been to both and love Walt Disney World because of the space. I love wandering around the expanse of EPCOT, the trails of Animal Kingdom, and the tributes to Walt at DHS.

I know this is not empirical data based on counting rides, but I love how there is so much space to experience at the World.

Lastly, I would feel wrong by not completing my post by saying that both places are magic!!

Stu29573;2479404 wrote: My last time at Disneyland was in 1973 (I was 9). I still remember Pirates being incredible (much better than WDW) and my grandmother taking a nerve pill after getting off of the Matterhorn, lol. Yes, it may well be time to go back...

:haha: That is too funny. The last time I was there, I was 10 years old in 1981. My mom and I chickened out just as we started to load!
I loved Pirates at DL too. Now I'm wondering if I remember right in thinking that the drop is bigger in DL than WDW for pirates. But it may have been because I was a child too.
I loved how the attraction went through the then Blue Bayou restaurant though!

magicman;2479621 wrote: I have been to both and love Walt Disney World because of the space. I love wandering around the expanse of EPCOT, the trails of Animal Kingdom, and the tributes to Walt at DHS.

I know this is not empirical data based on counting rides, but I love how there is so much space to experience at the World.

Lastly, I would feel wrong by not completing my post by saying that both places are magic!!

Love this. And I too love wondering around. I go often just to grab a drink and take in the sounds, sights, smells. It's a great place to escape on my own and just get away from reality!

Terra;2479660 wrote: :haha: That is too funny. The last time I was there, I was 10 years old in 1981. My mom and I chickened out just as we started to load!
I loved Pirates at DL too. Now I'm wondering if I remember right in thinking that the drop is bigger in DL than WDW for pirates. But it may have been because I was a child too.
I loved how the attraction went through the then Blue Bayou restaurant though!

Love this. And I too love wondering around. I go often just to grab a drink and take in the sounds, sights, smells. It's a great place to escape on my own and just get away from reality!

Pirates at DL had two drops, both larger than WDWs.

And, it still goes by the Blue Bayou restaurant!

Spent a lot of time in DL as my parents moved to California in 1986. Very different feel in DL vs WDW.

DL caters more on local/repeat customers, as opposed to WDW which caters to one time visitors. And DL is the flagship park. We always found the MK in DL a cut above .....

No one gets ripped by going to WDW. I've done DL the last three years and would now consider myself a veteran and a fan. And while DL matches up with WDW well with attractions, there are things at WDW that sets it above DL for me. In fact, if it didn't cost so much to fly out there, there wouldn't have been all these DL trips I just made.

-Kilimanjaro Safaris
-Expedition Everest (Matterhorn isn't even close...in fact, we all hate it)
-Spaceship Earth
-World Showcase (all 11 countries count as at least one attraction that DL doesn't have)
-Illuminations (nothing can touch this)
-20 resorts more than DL
-47 square mile Disney Bubble

While DL can keep up mostly, there's quite a bit that makes WDW the place I keep trying to figure out how to get back to.

Disneyland has been in existence for over 60 years. Because Walt practically built it with his own two hands (metaphorically speaking), the Company has always lavished a LOT of attention on the Mother Park. It's truly astounding how many attractions they have been able to CRAM into a relatively tiny park. And ... it works! It's incredibly charming. "Charming" is not a word I would use too often with WDW. It is spectacular in another way. And who knows, once it has been there 60 years (the year 2031!!!) it may have as many attractions as Disneyland.

I just went to DLR in November. I usually go to WDW. I am surprised by those numbers! I got through Disneyland much faster than I could get through Disney World. I wonder what gives. I guess shorter walk times must be a factor. But really there is so much more in WDW. I'm baffled.

But that being said I love them both. I would always go WDW regardless of geography because it has so much more to offer. But it definitely was cool seeing the "original." I would say to anyone on the east coast go to Disneyland if you have another reason to be in CA and make it a part of a more extensive trip.

I have to admit, the first time I visited DL I was an adult and had visited DW many many times previously. I was a little disappointed in DL but not exactly sure why. When I was a kid, we used to watch the Magical World of Disney and wanted to go to DL so bad.....but it never worked out. Having visited DW the first time in October '72, I've watched it grow as I've grown older. Now that my family is older, we still enjoy the Magic but through different lenses. Now, we stroll the parks and many times don't even go into an attraction, but we sure do enjoy the resorts, restaurants and watering holes. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing DL's numbers there don't compare. I've only been to DL 3 times, but I guess the space is the biggest thing I enjoy. I would also have to say the 4 different parks all have separate "feels" and I/we enjoy that. Being AP's we spend about 30 days a year at the parks, and we get into our routines....BUT, the magic has never gone away. I'm looking forward to visiting Disney Paris in the next couple years too. Wonder how that compares?

In my opinion, if you compare the Magic Kingdom to Disneyland, Disneyland wins by a large margin. Reasons being the Matterhorn, Indiana Jones, Pirates is much better, Space Mountain you sit by two's (some people prefer that), Mr. Toad, to name a few. But having visited Disney World for the first time in 2000 with over 20+ trips to DL under my belt at that time, there's a reason why I continue to cough up over $1000 in plane tickets to visit DW when I can just drive six hours to DL. DW is simply much more magical than DL.

When you're in DW, you just feel like you are away in another world (World vs. Land right?). I feel so immersed in Disney at DW, whereas at DL, it just seems like a day trip and nothing more. You don't really feel "Disney" as much, I'm sure due to the outside world literally just feet away.