I qualified for Long Course Worlds by accident one year ago at the Great Floridian Triathlon. It was an accident because I hadn't known about the possibility ahead of time, and my expectations for GFT had been modest since it was my first year doing triathlon. As it turns out, qualifying for LCW is far easier than for Hawaii. My time of 10:56 was good enough for 10th place age group at GFT, whereas that time wouldn't come close to earning a spot to Hawaii in an M-dot race in 30-34M. Team USA spots often don't fill for LCW, and with a large number of qualifying events, it is a very attainable goal for someone who focuses on it.
So is it worth it? I decided to go to Ibiza, Spain, this year to compete at LCW as part of Team USA. It was a total blast. USA Triathlon, and in particular Tim Yount, do a terrific job of arranging details for US athletes. Although you'll have to pay for everything yourself, there'll be a team hotel, mechanic, masseuse, chiropractor - everything you could ask for and more. In addition, you get to buy discounted Team USA clothing, walk in the parade of nations, and feel something like an Olympic athlete. It's really, really fun. The other Team USA members I met were overwhelmingly friendly, open, and helpful. This was especially in evidence when the airlines lost the bikes of two participants, and everyone rallied to donate the equipment these two needed to compete. Meals, meetings, preparations are all done as a group, contributing to big sense of community that I've never felt at other events. In a nutshell, I found it very rewarding.
It was also humbling. I finished something like 58th out of 74 in my age group, and although my time wasn't completely embarassing (and at faster pace than I had qualified), the level of competition was quite strong. Many Europeans can't get to Hawaii (too few slots, too much money) and focus on this event. It seems to have more prestige there than here. The Europeans dominated most of the age groups, and I felt a bit guilty competing for the US but not finishing in the top half. A friend had warned me that I'd be lucky to finish outside the bottom 10%, and after doing only slightly better than that, I wished I had performed better wearing a USA uniform. But in any case, I wouldn't trade having gone for anything. It helped me set my goals a lot higher, and I hope to return in a year or two when I'm more competitive.
If you're choosing between this and Kona, I can only say that having gone to LCW, I've now set my sights on qualifying for Hawaii. The simple fact that I was an hour too slow in qualifying for LCW to qualify for Kona shows which is the tougher accomplishment. Kona is the big Kahoona. Go for it if it's within reach. But if you want something more attainable, LCW is terrific and provides the closest thing to a country-oriented Olympic experience that you can get in triathlon.
While at LCW, I met a number of people on Team USA who keep coming back year after year. They were motivated by the atmosphere, the European locations, and a sense of continuity. I loved it too, and I highly recommend trying it in addition to, or instead of, Kona.