Why I Chose Disneyland Over Disney World

Let me start off by stating my biases. I love Disneyland. I have never once been to Disney World. My mom is a teacher, so traveling in the summer was the only option for us when I was a kid. Throw in her debilitating asthma, and that makes for a bad Florida vacation. Florida is incredibly humid, especially in the summer months. California, while very hot, is a dry climate. So, that's just where we always went when I was growing up. I spent a short time looking up Florida as an option for Justin an I, but was ultimately deterred by the prices. It was considerably more expensive travelling to the East Coast than the West Coast. Keeping in mind, we flew WestJet, which as far as I'm concerned is the only airline I want to fly with, and their prices are always cheaper going west.

I've heard mixed reviews about Disney World. I chose to take these with a grain of salt. But letting the rumors fly anyway, I've heard it's almost too big. There's too much to do and not enough time to do it all. There's about a billion hotels to pick from, and it just seems kind of overwhelming to me. That being said, I've heard wonderful things about Universal Studios in Florida (not Disney, but still great!). From my understanding, you never really have to leave Orlando during your stay in Florida. California is a little bit different, where you'll end up taking a shuttle to see attractions like Lego Land, Sea World, and Universal Studios Hollywood. Depending on what company you chose, you're looking at around $30.00 for an adult during the low season both ways when travelling to Hollywood/San Diego. Both of those are about an hour drive as well. Most of the hotels in Orlando will offer free or cheap shuttle services to the attractions in the area. We only left Anaheim twice during our stay last year, as we were content with staying in Disney parks.


I have nothing against giving Disney World a shot, but at this point in my life, I'm going to stick to California strictly based on price.


Cheers,

Christine

Introduction

If there were a support group for the "Disney Obsessed", I would likely be the Prime Minister.

Oh, did you notice I said the Prime Minister and not President? Well, that's because I'm from Canada. Yup. Right in the middle of it. You know that province that looks like a rectangle? That's where I'm from! 

Saskatchewan: Hard to spell, easy to draw.

Saskatchewan. Going on the assumption that nobody from anywhere in the world knows anything about it, #PastExperience, Saskatchewan is flat, some areas are very remote, and it's cold in the winter. Pretty much sums it up. 

Being a Disney lover is bad news for me. Distance does NOT make the heart grow fonder, Walt. If only there was a Disneyland a little bit closer to me. Given the fact that my hometown is 2755.5km away from Anaheim (thanks, Google!) I don't get out there a lot. There are no direct flights, and driving 25 hours would not work for me. No thank you. And I'm not about to walk. Not to mention our sad dollar right now.

But, I still want to go. Like, all the time. I'm planning my next trip in my head the moment I get back on the plane to come home. I've been there 7 times I think, but only because my parents are huge Disney nerds too. In April 2015, I went to Anaheim with my lovely boyfriend, Justin on our own money straight out of university. It was SO expensive, but so worth it. 

I am a huge planner. I was even an event planner for a brief time in my life, but that's another story. I need an itinerary, and I need to be in charge to make sure that everything gets done right. #Boss. My boyfriend was definitely forced into the trip in 2015, but he ended up saving a ton of money by going with me. I know everything about Disneyland. The secrets, the best days to go, the best ways to save money.

Justin and I began planning in early December of 2014. I spent a lot of time on Pinterest reading others' blogs about Disney and their money saving tricks to ensure I had all the information I needed for my first Disney trip without the 'rents. The only problem was, a lot of their great ideas were only applicable if you lived in the states. No kidding that driving would be cheaper than flying (if you lived 5 hours away). Disney also gives a lot of military discounts that most people mentioned in their posts. These do not apply to my Canadian-ness whatsoever.

I really didn't find a lot of information about vacation planning to Disneyland when you lived in Canada. So here I am. I'm currently in the midst of planning another vacation with my two girlfriends in April again (more on why I chose that month later!), so follow me along for the ride.

Greetings from California!

Cheers, 

Christine