I've had pretty extensive experience with both, actually.
Thusfar, and despite CF's claims to the contrary, I've found that CFML consistantly takes noticeably more coding to achieve the same results as PHP, especially in complex applications, though the same issue applies to even trivial one-page scripts.
CFML also uses what I consider to be counter-intuitive operators; for instance, CFML uses IS NOT in place of PHP's !=; while language substitutes such as AND instead of && are also available in PHP, CFML uses these to the exclusion of more commonly used methods.
CFML encapsulates its code within tags, as the original purpose of the language was to allow non-technical designers the chance to use their basic HTML skills in a programmatic setting. Thus, CFML has:
<cfoutput> text #var# text </cfoutput>
instead of :
echo "text".$var."text";
as in PHP.
I find that the tag system can be cumbersome, esp. as most tags need end tags, which just adds to the amount of code you need. Also, by having the language tag-based, it makes it near impossible to separate functionality from layout/content. Such a separation is much easier to facilitate in PHP.
CFML starts arrays at the number 1, instead of 0, which just screams "this is a language for designers, not programmers", much like the operators.
I think its nice that Macromedia (MM) is trying to bind CFML to Java. However, much the same functionality is available via PHP.
The key difference between PHP and CFML in my opinion is the impact it has on your overall skillset.
PHP is essentially a web-specific descendant of C. If you've studied and used PHP, and it is the only programming language you've had experience with, PHP's syntax at least prepares you for using C/C++ and/or Java, due to various similarities between the languages. Also, in that same sense, Perl and Python are at least readable to you - if not even immediately available to you for use - if you've had experience with PHP. If sometime in your career there is a need for you to make a switch to one of the aforementioned languages, you stand a much, much better chance of picking up on key concepts of programming in those languages - from objects, functions, arrays, database interaction - because of PHP's similarity to other C-like languages.
ColdFusion is related to nothing, and is based on no prior programming language - and therefore cannot prepare you for working in other languages. There are no other programming languages that are similar in syntax to CFML. If your boss asks you to work with Java, or if you decide to make a career change and learn Perl, or C, you are going to have a much more difficult time, if CFML is the only "programming" language you know.