I would go to DW since it's closer, but I think the talk of DL being too small is a little overstated. It is much smaller than DW, but: 1) California adventure is literally next door, which essentially doubles the size of the park; and 2) with small children, you're lucky to get through 12 rides in a day anyhow. You can easily spend 3 days at DL/CA without getting through all the rides. The major plus of DW, aside from the distance, is that it has some types of stuff DL does, e.g. Epcot and the big outdoor parks. But you're not going to run out of things to do unless you spend a full week at either place (which is way too long in my opinion).

To me this but draw of DL is I can spend 1-3 days there and then the rest of a weeklong vacation in LA. I can't personally deal with a full week in Orlando.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think disney world offers more and seems nicer.

If you are going to CA for other reasons, Disneyland is good. DW is much bigger and better. Flights are cheaper as is car rental and other thing. If you have been to DW, DL s a big let down as its very small. For a 4 year old, either is good. I have always gone to DW, but we went to DL to visit my husband's family. After a day, I finally asked my husband where the rest of it was as I thought we were missing something. He had never been to DW and realized it was so much bigger.

+ a million!!!

I took my toddler to Disneyland the week after MLK. Stayed at the Grand Californian, which has its own entrance to DCA, and is not too far from the Disneyland entrance. The property is smaller, so much easier to do everything in a shorter amount of time (we did two-day park hoppers), and you're not waiting for buses, monorail, etc.

Disney World may be better for older kids, or if you are taking a family with young kids and grandparents. There's a broader range of activities to do there. And you can easily do four or five days there.

In terms of weather, Anaheim will always win. The climate is just more temperate and they don't get the humidity that central Florida does. I've been to Orlando in November, January, and February, and it does get chilly.

The downside of going in the true "off" season is that some elements are taken offline for renovation, in-depth inspection, re-themeing, etc. for example, when we went in January, Worlds of Color was down (which is my favorite of all the Disney nighttime shows at either park). This does not apply to visiting in November or December.

Anonymous wrote:I think disney world offers more and seems nicer.

If you are going to CA for other reasons, Disneyland is good. DW is much bigger and better. Flights are cheaper as is car rental and other thing. If you have been to DW, DL s a big let down as its very small. For a 4 year old, either is good. I have always gone to DW, but we went to DL to visit my husband's family. After a day, I finally asked my husband where the rest of it was as I thought we were missing something. He had never been to DW and realized it was so much bigger.

I think disney world offers more and seems nicer.

With a 4 year old Disneyland is great.

We went to Disneyland once in July and it was so hot and so crowded. Made me never want to go again.

I prefer DL. It's not nearly as big and you can do everything in 3 days.

Anonymous wrote:How many days? How old are you kids?

My 5 yo dd loved California Adventure apart more than Disney.

One kid. He's 4 now. -OP

How many days? How old are you kids?

My 5 yo dd loved California Adventure apart more than Disney.

WDW> disneyland

Is there any way you could do both? It would seem sad to deprive your kids of both mouse-based entertainment centers...

There's a lot less to do in Disneyland.

I've been to both. I pulled my kid from school (that's right) to go to 'land on an off-season time. Early December. Totally worth it. We were actually cold (wore long-sleeve shirts and sweatshirts).

I wouldn't go at all in the summer. Hot = cranky tantrums.

We are thinking about doing a Disney trip in the next year or so. The problem is that the times I'm off work are the very popular times to go. Would it make sense to consider Disneyland instead of Disney World? I know it gets hot there too, but there isn't the humidity factor. Has anyone sucked up the extra flight time and chosen Disneyland over Disney World?