https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 11 May 2026 13:06:54 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-advicewdw-or-dl#post-2184969 Wed, 20 May 2015 20:32:48 +0000 Pepper 2184969@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@woodentulip: I've been to both with LO. I would do Disneyland! I really liked it more than WDW. It's smaller and easy to cover, has more of an authentic charming vibe, the weather in SoCal is amazing, and you have the added bonus of the beautiful beaches nearby (It's a bit more of a drive to the beach in FL from Orlando). Next time, we are going to visit California Adventure... my one regret is not doing both parks! </p> <p>Not to hate on WDW, it's definitely a really fun park, and I enjoyed myself there! We are also considering a move to FL, so I imagine we will be going there a lot in the coming years. I just think Disneyland is a little easier with small children. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-advicewdw-or-dl#post-2184841 Wed, 20 May 2015 18:27:13 +0000 woodentulip 2184841@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thank you all for your help and opinions. I think that you also pointed out a lot of things that we hadn't thought of and that we will have to think about! </p> <p>...back to the drawing board... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-advicewdw-or-dl#post-2184192 Wed, 20 May 2015 08:42:33 +0000 Keybee 2184192@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree with your origional plan. WDW is huge and intimidating, but super cool and fun.<br /> DL has the new cars land which is really neat. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-advicewdw-or-dl#post-2184185 Wed, 20 May 2015 08:37:23 +0000 yoursilverlining 2184185@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We’ve done both, and they both have their pros and cons. IMO Animal Kingdom is only meh, and I would skip it in the future. There are some better rides at both DL and DW so it’s ideal to go to both at some point (both rides that are not the same at each park and for example both DL and DW have a “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride, but they are not the same and the one at DL is tons better), but for me overall, I like the rides at DL better.</p> <p>If you plan to do things outside of the parks/resorts, obviously DL is hands-down better. Southern CA vs. central FL isn’t really a contest. </p> <p>That said though, DW wins big-time for an “all-inclusive experience”, if that’s what you are looking for. We were just there a couple weeks ago at the Yacht Club, which has it’s own manmade beaches (so you don't have to leave the resort to have a beach experience) and tons of pools and kids activities all day and evening. We did the parks in the morning, and then when it got super got out we just took the bus back to the hotel and hit up the beach. LO had a blast digging around in the sand and DH and I sipped margaritas and lounged on beach chairs. At night they had roasted marshmallows on the beach and showed kids movies on a huge blow-up screen. They bell-service your luggage for you everywhere, and check it to your airlines so you don’t even have to take your luggage to the airport. It was all AWESOME, and we will definitely go back to DW. </p> <p>I couldn’t agree more with @MrSads about reservations and FastPasses. You can do everything online, it’s super easy and it really is necessary. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-advicewdw-or-dl#post-2184120 Wed, 20 May 2015 07:36:52 +0000 MrsADS 2184120@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think the key to a successful trip to WDW, ESPECIALLY if you've never been or not in a long time, is a lot of planning/research. DL does not require as much. </p> <p>Generally everyone I know who had a horrible time at WDW didn't do their research/planning. You need to make dining reservations in advance (up to 6 months), you need to make Fastpass+ reservations in advance (up to 60 days if staying onsite, which means you need to purchase tickets and link them to your online account by that time), which means you need to look at the park hours and plan where you want to be on which day of your vacation, what sort of rides/shows you want to do, what the park hours are, etc. </p> <p>I think if you do all that stuff you'll have a great time! We live 3 hours away and go frequently so I feel like we're WDW veterans. We see SOOO many people in the park who obviously show up around 10am and grab a park map and then decide what to do... well, that doesn't work so well. Do a little planning/research. Hit the park early, do the headliners/rides that get big waits first, use your Fastpasses, take a lunch/swim break at the hotel, then come back later when it's cooler and less crowded. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-advicewdw-or-dl#post-2184064 Wed, 20 May 2015 06:54:00 +0000 ms.line 2184064@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I second everything @Charm54 said! Do WDW at your own pace and you'll have a blast. Plus Animal Kingdom and Epcot are awesome. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-advicewdw-or-dl#post-2184047 Wed, 20 May 2015 06:25:26 +0000 looch 2184047@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would do WDW, because there really is so much more to do with Animal Kingdom and Epcot. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-advicewdw-or-dl#post-2184028 Wed, 20 May 2015 05:10:02 +0000 Amorini 2184028@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Charm54: I am also partial to DLR. Being the original Disney park, it's much more charming and authentic. I like the smaller scale. I also think the weather is much more bearable! We did WDW as a family when I was 12 and it was a dream come true (good old Disney Magic!), so I'm pretty sure it will be great no matter what you choose. I agree with others about staying at the resort hotels to take advantage of the Disney family-friendliness. Have fun! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-advicewdw-or-dl#post-2184024 Wed, 20 May 2015 04:55:31 +0000 Charm54 2184024@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If you can get 7 days at WDW for less $$ I would do that in a heartbeat. 3 and 5 are perfect ages and if you stay on site it is really not that complicated. Everything is designed so smoothly and for families. Take your time - go back to your hotel for a nap/swim in the middle of the day, use a couple of your 7 days to just chill at your resort and have fun in the pool or explore downtown Disney.... You don't have to do every park for 8 hours a day! The on site transportation is amazing and there is so much to see and do that you will not get bored. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-advicewdw-or-dl#post-2184015 Wed, 20 May 2015 03:37:49 +0000 brownie 2184015@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If you know you want to do lego land, check out the SoCal city pass. 3 day park hopper to dl, 1 day lego land, 1 day seaworld. Are you pricing dl hotels or local hotels? We always stay in the local hotels (just got back from 3 days at dl ourselves). We love cal adventure more than dl but both are fun. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-advicewdw-or-dl#post-2184001 Wed, 20 May 2015 01:23:07 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2184001@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Since we are in FL we obviously did WDW. We did two days at Magic kingdom and we're happy. If we had a this day it would have been perfect. But we didn't need more than that </p> <p>FL also has Lego land and beaches :wink: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-advicewdw-or-dl#post-2183980 Tue, 19 May 2015 23:38:09 +0000 HabesBabe 2183980@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'd do your original plan. DLR is a nice intro to WDW, and everyone that I know who's gone to DLR after going to WDW was underwhelmed. Plus, with their ages, I think a more low key approach would be better. </p> <p>Paradise Pier-&gt; Disneyland Hotel-&gt; Grand Californian is cheapest to most expensive if you're looking to stay on property. Paradise Pier actually has the largest rooms, and the Grand has the smallest. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-advicewdw-or-dl#post-2183946 Tue, 19 May 2015 22:23:26 +0000 renee 2183946@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've only been to Disneyland, so I'm biased. Disney World seems really overwhelming for the first trip to a Disney park. I would do Disneyland in 1-2 days, California Adventure in 1 day. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-advicewdw-or-dl#post-2183939 Tue, 19 May 2015 22:14:15 +0000 DesertDreams88 2183939@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've been to both, multiple times. My grandma worked at WDW for 10 years. </p> <p>I think WDW is better in the sense that it has more parks, more rides, more shows, more nearby waterparks, everything. We usually do a 7-8 day trip there. </p> <p>I liked DL, but wasn't hugely impressed compared to WDW. It took us about 2 days, but we went for a 3rd anyway because we had a CityPass. We only went to DL because now it is a lot closer and we bought the CityPass, which was a great deal. </p> <p>In my opinion, park hopper passes aren't that important. Each park deserves a full day. </p> <p>Also, since DL &amp; WDW lets you bring in food (an entire picnic basket, if you want), I personally don't think the dining plan is that helpful. We always ate breakfast at the hotel, a picnic lunch, and then dinner at one of the cheaper buffet style places. </p> <p>Now, granted, all of my trips have been age 12 or older, I don't have kids and I haven't gone with kids. If price didn't matter and I didn't have kids, I'd choose WDW hands down. If I had kids, I'd lean towards DL when they're younger (8 and younger) and WDW when they're older. There's just so much to do at WDW I feel like younger kids wouldn't appreciate it, and they'd be just as satisfied with DL. I'm also a "do ALL THE THINGS" person on vacation so I'd want to wait until we could do WDW "right." </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-advicewdw-or-dl#post-2183905 Tue, 19 May 2015 21:29:30 +0000 Mrs. Microscope 2183905@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Disneyworld. Especially if it's cheaper. The resorts are great to relax at, nice pools etc. And free airport transfers and luggage handling are a bonus! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-advicewdw-or-dl#post-2183903 Tue, 19 May 2015 21:20:02 +0000 AprilFool 2183903@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>With kids you'd deff need 3 days at DL. We spent four days in Nov and got rained out on a fifth. </p> <p>But I would do Disneyworld since free dining and more time. Am trying to talk my husband into going for free dining but he is being a grinch ;) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-advicewdw-or-dl#post-2183898 Tue, 19 May 2015 21:17:22 +0000 Miss Ariel 2183898@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm not sure you'd need three days at DL. If you want to do both parks two days makes sense, but you could argue 1 day and just do DL. As for legoland it's a relatively long drive for the day. It may make sense to also spend a night or two in San Diego and then you could also include the zoo or sea world.</p> <p>But if you're asking whether to do DL or wdw, as someone who grew up in CA, I'd say DL. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-advicewdw-or-dl#post-2183887 Tue, 19 May 2015 21:06:23 +0000 woodentulip 2183887@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't even really know what I am asking...but you folks always have the answer. </p> <p>So I have never been to Disney, and my husband went only once when he was 13 and hated it because he was 13 and hated everything.</p> <p>We want to take our kids. I am super intimidated by the idea of going to WDW, and we are leaning toward DL. Here is why:<br /> -the smaller size of DL would mean that we could 'do' the whole park in 3 days-ish and not feel rushed or worried about missing things<br /> -we would then be able to take a day or two to Legoland, a day at the beach and then come home<br /> -our 'plan' was to go to DL this year, and then in a couple of years go to WDW when the kids are older (they are 3 and 5 now) and would be more interested in other aspects of the park<br /> -no matter where we go, we would stay on resort</p> <p>But then we started pricing it out, and for us to go to DL for 3 nights (4 day park hopper ticket) is slightly more than 7 days at WDW with free dining and park hopper tickets. </p> <p>...but then we go back to our original plan. Opinions? </p>