:)
Issues like this always brings out the worst in Disney fans. For some odd reason, there is a need to actually either tout "my park is better than the rest" attitude, or the need to bash one park more than others. I've always stated that I'd rather be at a Disney theme park on any given day (yes, even California Adventure) than most anywhere else! So let's get that out of the way first.
There's nothing really one can argue about preferences for one park over the other. It's like arguing about one's favorite color. There are, however, a couple of issues that I don't quite agree with the writer.
It's purely subjective, but I also did not find the "cast members," as Disney likes to call its employees, quite as helpful or friendly in Florida as they were in California.
I do not find this to be true in general based on MY personal experience. I remember being "brushed off" when I asked a cast member at DL about DVC pins. And get this. DL cast members cannot be forced to wear pin lanyards, or participate in pin trading with guests. I was told that that was part of their labor agreement.
This is why it was extremely difficult to find cast members wearing lanyards, and it is extremely difficult to find DL cast lanyard pins. So what does that tell me? It tells me that these cast members prefers NOT to interact with the guests. I mean, think about it. If I am a cast member and I'm doing some menial job, I would CHOOSE to wear a cast lanyard because guests would at least now pay attention to me just to see what I'm wearing and possibly do a trade. I know that when I walk into a WDW theme park, I pay attention to ALL cast members, no matter what their job is, because I know everyone from the cleaning crew to quick service push-cart cast members could be wearing a lanyard full of pins that I want. I would think that these cast members would welcome guests interactions (if they're friendly) that breaks the monotony of the job.
So the fact that the DL labor agree allows them to opt out of wearing one, and the fact that as a result, you don't see them wearing one, tells me that they'd rather not interact with the guests. So who's "friendlier"?
The biggest reason I like Disneyland and California Adventure is that they are smaller. That makes rides and attractions easier to access, a definite bonus when you are spending 12-hour days with younger children. Three days is probably too short a time to spend at Disney World. But a family can see most of what Disneyland and California Adventure have to offer in two days, making the trip more affordable and shorter.
But the fact that it IS big is the very reason why I like it!
The last time I was at DL, I stayed at the Marriot Courtyard on S. Harbor Blvd., just across from DL. It's literally crawling distance from the entrance. So how did I get there? I walked across the street, and BAM! I was there! While this is certainly convenient, even as I walked through the gates into DL, I still can't help thinking that it was just a few minutes ago that I left "real world" where there was someone on the sidewalk peddling some homemade music CD and other stuff. Reality was still lingering with me as I walked down Main Street. There wasn't this "buffer zone" that forced me to think that I'm leaving real world and was now going to some place magical. It was too quick and too abrupt of a transition.
This is not the case with WDW. Getting to the theme parks can be tedious, especially if you stay off-site. But this "travel" forced you to think that you are going to some place "far" away and magical. The roads, boats, monorail, etc. are the buffer zones between reality and fantasy. It isn't across the street, but it is someplace you have to get to, both physically and mentally.
So while this writer thinks that the size is what works against WDW, I'd say that it is the size that works for me and accomplishes what it is supposed to do.
Zz.
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