Does WDW make all other Disney parks pointless?

I like small places, but I’d miss the FPP the most. After our last trip it was AK & EP we wanted to see more of, and they are only at WDW. Next year we plan to spend tons of time in those 2 parks, and not so much in MK & HS, so maybe we will visit DLP in a few years.

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I want to go back to WDW but I also want to visit all the parks just because I can. I did California this year and i enjoyed seeing what was the same and what was different, but I’m not rushing back (mainly because of the cost from the UK). I’ve been to Paris multiple times just because of the ease of access, it’s a good filler between ‘big’ holidays and can be done over 3 days. Tokyo is booked for next year and after that, Hong Kong and Shanghai here I come. Then I will go back to WDW for Star Wars

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Granted the footprint is small, but there are more attractions knitted into that much smaller footprint than in all 4 of the WDW parks combined. Plus, for me peronsally nothing beats the fact that it was the original park where Walt stood. That is special to me. WDW is special as the full realization of his vision too, but the original has just as much magic.

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What an amazing run of vacations! We live in the Western United States so Disneyland is so easily accessible to us (still a vacation though as we’re far enough away to either need to drive for 9-11 hrs or fly for an hour) but it makes everything else seem so much farther & expensive. I would LOVE to visit all the parks one day, but first we have to figure out how to either A) Receive a windfall of some sort that would facilitate this level of travel or B) Quit going to Disneyland 5-10 times a year & save that money for a few years towards these larger travel goals.

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What I maybe should have added is this.

Since we’re coming from the U.K., we would come for at least 10 nights, probably 2 weeks. I don’t see there could possibly be enough to do for more than 4-5 days in just 2 parks.

Plus, since the DVC villas are hard to book, it would almost certainly mean staying elsewhere. That adds a further cost that we don’t have at WDW. Plus it makes using the Disney hotels as a base for the rest of the LA area very expensive.

Likely this will either be an add-on to Hawaii, or to the rest of California.

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California makes for a great trip. I spent 7 weeks there over 3 different trips and there is still a LOT of places I want to see that I didn’t get to yet. As I said, I absolutely love Disneyland but there are so many even better places to visit in California if you are even just a little bit outdoorsy. Easily my favorite state in the US at this point (but I still haven’t seen the 2 biggest contenders: Hawaii and Alaska).

It is rather! I spent pretty much my entire childhood asking to go to Disney (Not realising the expense of course). I got my wish aged 14 with a trip to Paris and I loved it. But I wanted go to the one I grew up seeing on TV. So I kept floating the idea until my mum finally agreed in 2016. Three weeks later it was booked. Luckily I don’t have a lot of expenses personally (single, no kids) so I basically work to fund my habit. And now the air miles I have gained from traveling to Orlando and Cali (Tokyo doesn’t count unfortunately) will pay entirely for a flight to either HK or Shanghai so the expenses shouldn’t be too high there. Just need to find a travel buddy (Asia is not for my mum and the friend I’m going to Japan with is not a Disney enthusiast, not yet anyway :joy:)

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I think I could spend 30 days in Disneyland and still be happy & entertained, but I’m also a fanatic of the place so that’s not for everyone, I get that.

There is though, plenty to do in California. I have also known people to combine Disneyland with Las Vegas (less than 4 hours away with no traffic) and/or the Grand Canyon or other national parks in the southwest. So I hope you do get the chance to come & combine all of that into 1 fantastic trip.

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I am dying to do the Adventures by Disney tour in California. The 6 day one where you get to see Walt Disney Studios, etc. I love visiting WDW but Disneyland is my real home. My DH and I honeymooned there 42 years ago (gee, has it really been that long?) and have celebrated many of life’s landmarks over the years. I am 5 days older than Disneyland so they always throw a big celebration for those special times - 30, 50, 60, etc. My favorite year was 30 because they gave away a car every day. Ah, memories…

There’s still time! I’ll be excited to hear how your Asia spree(s) go!

I really do one day want to take the kids (when they are considerably older) to Asia & all the parks would be not be missed. My sister lived abroad in Hong Kong & now is in the Netherlands and she has incessantly begged that we bring the kids to the Disney parks near her each time she’s re-located.

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I love Disney Paris! First, they have some things we don’t have which are just wonderful. Particularly Crush’s Coaster is such a great ride.

It has been about 8 years since I was there, but I also remember really appreciating the size. It is perfect for a young family in that there are two parks that are delightful but very manageable. My first trip to WDW was 25 years ago when I was 7. My parents still tell stories of me sleeping through fireworks and barely making it to the end of the day. WDW can be overwhelming - entirely magical - but overwhelming. I think the smaller parks can be refreshing.

Also, I loved seeing some familiar rides in French :slight_smile:

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So many of the local hotels are within walking distance of Disneyland. We only were there 3 nights at Paradise Pier. You have a good view of DCA.

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To me, PP was the most “overpriced for what you get hotel” that Disney owns. “Deluxe” prices but not a deluxe resort by WDW standards. No grounds; it’s a high rise on a city street. Pool is a rectangular cement hole on the roof. Elevator is completely insufficient for number of guests using it. Almost non-existent lobby with few stations and long check-in/out lines. Only food is a CM buffet. And for “convenience”, there are off site hotels, for a fraction of the cost, that are a shorter walk to the parks. I stumbled on a crazy good discount (50%) and even st that, I felt I over paid.

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I should add that I stayed there because I was going a few months after Carsland opened, and the first week that the HM and SM Halloween overlays were open, and I placed a high value on having EE all three days. That perhaps made the price “worth it”, but the hotel itself did not.

I guess you guys have made a solid case for Disneyland though, even with Universal Studios, is there enough to merit a long enough stay to justify the flight?

I’m not a big fan of the West Coast in terms of adding a side trip while I’m there.

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In addition to DLR, Universal Hollywood is there, as is Knotts Berry Farm that may not have the level of theming as Disney, but us very pleasant and had some great rides.

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Pete Werner of Dreams Unlimited/The Dis Unplugged just came back from Tokyo and cannot stop talking about how amazing it was.

If you’re into roller coasters and decent customer service, Knott’s is amazing. If you’re really into roller coasters and don’t care at all about customer service, and don’t mind driving in LA traffic for a while, Magic Mountain is great too.

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I’ve been to USH just once on a school trip, but plenty of people enjoy USH, especially with a lot of the additions it has in more recent years. I’ve been wanting to make a trip to it now that Harry Potter is there, but 2/3 kids are not quite tall enough to ride much there & even with their good parent switch program, I haven’t been tempted to put them through waiting around all day for mostly Mom & Dad to ride everything. Be warned though, USH still pales in comparison to USO. Some do enjoy USH enough to do it multiple days, although I hear it’s definitely doable in a single day if that’s all you have/want to dedicate to getting up to LA & through traffic to do it.

As for Knotts, I went to it on on the same school trip that I did USH & I loved it. I am also a roller coaster lover, so that was a large part of it. It’s very close & can also be done in a day.

There some Adventures by Disney tours that are available that include an exclusively Disney itinerary that gives you a bunch of VIP access to the parks, a tour of the studios in Burbank (which as far as I know is the only way the general public has any access to see). But I also seem to remember that someone (on this forum) looked into doing it solo & was going to be charged for double occupancy on the tour which made the price outrageous.

One year, we combined a Disneyland trip with San Diego & used a package we were able to pick up from Costco (wholesale membership warehouse) that got us one day of each Sea World, San Diego Zoo & San Diego Zoo park. The zoo park was my favorite non-Disneyland thing about that trip & with the package we got, it was well worth it. The zoo park is more dedicated to making the animal habitats more natural vs. an enclosure & has an enormous safari area that you can take a train or tram (I forget which exactly) to get a full view of all the animals & the guides are very informative about each of the species & their conservation efforts that are being made to them. I remember marveling & being touched at seeing one of the last 6 white rhino’s left in the world on that safari. I did also enjoy the zoo itself & wished we had more time to do both. There was quite a lot of walking involved in both of those places, and we were at the end of a Disney trip on top of that so we were tired each night by 6-7pm and I do think we slept in a little more too so we missed the park opening time too.

And then in addition to the above, here are some things I’ve meant to add to our itineraries on Disneyland trips that I just haven’t found the time/desire to be away from Disney to do: LaBrea Tar Pitts, Griffith Observatory, Long Beach, an Anaheim Angels baseball game (the stadium is a 5 min. drive from the parks & we love baseball so this is one I’ve really been trying to fit in for 4 yrs but park time wins out), Anaheim Mighty Ducks hockey game (this arena is even closer than the Angels’ stadium to the parks & right off the freeway exit we use to get to Disneyland so even more of a marvel that we haven’t yet fit it in), and my kids are always, always begging for more swim/beach time (both at home & away) so if we have a day where we’re blocked and/or when we stay at a place with a decent pool, we like to give them a bit of pool and/or beach time.

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We stayed 7 days and spent 5 at Disney (which let us take it at a relaxed pace). We also hit hollywood, did the WB studio tour which was surprisingly good and saw a performance at the Hollywood Bowl (amazing). I could have easily added a few more days and gone to Universal/done a split stay with hollywood but couldn’t swing it with work

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