California Adventure: Some people just don't get it!

[Zimbubba]

We read with great interest the posts on this board and others about DCA before our July trip. We were expecting a sub-par poor experience theme park experience. What we had was to the contrary. It was a very good, well themed, thoughfully designed theme park experience. True, the adventure is a one day one. However the "off the rack" rides are delightfully themed, the lands of the park are well put together. Everything in a Disney theme park does not have to be a high speed, blockbuster experience. Some of the best experiences in DCA were the slower paced subtle ones like: the animation experience, tortilla factory, bread factory, the wonderful fountain in the entrance plaza,watching fortune cookies being made, the tongue-in-cheek signs and subtle touches. Some people just don't take the time to get it.:earsboy: :earsboy:

[year2late]

We loved it too. Couldn't understand the anti-hoopla.

[princessKT]

Thanks so much for posting about your *good* experience there. I'm going there this coming Wednesday, and because almost everyone I've known who has been there has been so negative, I wasn't all too thrilled to go. I just have to remember that it's NOT Disneyland, it's a very different experience :)

[tiggeroo42]

I really liked California Adventure, too! I think Soarin' over California is hands-down the best ride I've ever been on.
:sunny:

[Tartan Tigger]

Soarin over California is an excellent ride.

[FairyGodfriend]

I agree 100%, my son and I really loved DCA. The crowds weren't large when we were there in early June and we basically walked on everything. Honestly, I think my son liked DCA better than DL (gasp!).

[Miss Jasmine]

Add my DSS and DSD to the list of people who liked DCA better than DL. Go figure.

Anyway, the whole family loved it. I think people are giving it a bad rap because they had their expectations set WAY too high. I loved all the background music. And the theming is wonderful.

I can't wait to go back some day!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[teri]

I liked it very much. :) It still isn't finished, and there are some rough edges that need work, but I think it is a very nice park... much like Disney MGM studios or Epcot. A different experience. Downtown Disney is quite nice as well, and I love the resorts. :)

[PixieDusting]

We like it a lot as well! Loved the rides and the Animation building! When I hear friends complaining about how small it is, I just remind them that DL (nor WDW) started out huge either!

[madaboutmouse]

All these positive posts have made me even more anxious for our upcoming trip. I was feeling disheartened with all the negative comments about DCA. I want to hold off on an opinion until we can go ourselves but it is really nice to hear good things. I am glad you all had a great time.

Mary

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[princessKT]

It was wonderful!! I loved every minute of it, and it would have been ever better if it wasn't so hot :D

[LARABABE]

I went to CA in March and thoroughly enjoyed it. I even went back the next day with my husband (he was there on business and was jealous). The park is beautiful and a totally different experience from the other parks. I would definitely go back any time!

They don't have many rides but what they do have is fantastic. Soarin' over California is unique and the rollercoaster, California Screamin' is one of the best coasters I have ever been on. I went on again and again. I loved the raft ride too!

Make sure you see the shows because they are worth it! I'm not sure it will be the same shows when you go, but I am sure they will be great!

I didn't have the best meals possible when I was there, but it had only been open a few weeks and I wasn't able to research it as well as I would another time. I had one of those salads in a bread near the pier. It was o.k. Other meals were mediocre. MIght be worth it to check what others have to say about what they have eaten.

Have a great trip!

p.s. Don't expect to fill your autograph book with character signatures...there aren't that many around. The park isn't extremely "Disneyish". But just walk into Animation for a dose of Disney. It is a marvelous building...everywhere you look!

[princessKT]

You're right, it IS a wonderful park, and I can't wait to go back!! The shows were fantastic, and I especially liked the one about the failry godmother and the two brothers...the dancing and arrangements of the music was awesome. I didn't do that animation thing, and now I wish I did. The next time I go, it will be in the winter when it's cool though :)

[TrlyScrumptious]

I enjoyed it, too, and didn't have any particular complaints when I visited. It was uncrowded and pleasant, with a few stand-outs, but with some obvious work to be done as it matures.

That said, we've recently been considering visiting Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. In the course of "working the numbers," I read a comment from someone had visited TDS during a preview of some type. The visitor said he had not been on any of the attractions or rides, but just walked through the park and enjoyed the experience of being completely transported to another place for the day.

I wondered about what kind of transforming experience one could have at DCA if they chose not to visit any attractions or rides, but just walked through the park and soaked up the theming. Would the theming of the park itself be satisfying enough to experience DCA for $43 without visitng any attractions or rides? The answer for me was no....not even on the most spectacular ride at DCA (Soarin') do you get the sense that the entire experience of the attraction is transforming.

After I read that comment, I went to look at the pictures of Tokyo DisneySea...and THAT'S when I got what people are complaining about at DCA. You really could visit this park without going on any attractions. It's amazing, and transforming, even without rides. That is the kind of experience that people were looking for at DCA, and have been disappointed not to find. *I* will go back to DCA, but I will carry with me the images of "what might have been" and what hopefully, someday, will be.

Click around here. I think you'll see what I mean:
http://www.jtcent.com/disneysea/index.html

[LARABABE]

One thing I should also mention about DCA is that it is not for young kids. The rides are oriented for an older child....10 and up. If you have little kids I recommend Disneyland until they are old enough to appreciate the more mature California Adventure. I hear they are thinking of building another park next to the Ramada just up the street...should be interesting to see.

[Miss Jasmine]

Don't give all the credit to Disney for Tokyo Disney Seas, remember that the Orient Land Development Company (or whatever it is called) did most of the financing. If Disney had an underwriter here, maybe we'd get a park like this too. But instead Disney has many businesses that it has to worry about, not just two parks and a couple of resort hotels.

Comparing TDS to DCA is like comparing Apples to Oranges. They were not built or developed by the same company, even though they both bear the Disney name.

[TrlyScrumptious]

Well...to be honest, the bottom line at Disney is not my problem. Having a great vacation experience is, so that's the perspective from which I looked.

And, it *is* Disney Imagineering that designed both parks.

[Kelsie]

I also loved DCA and Soarin is my now my favorite Disney ride :) . My only complaint was always that there are very few rides for small children and when you have a small child, that is important. I can't wait to go back when she is older and can fully enjoy the park.

[Miss Jasmine]

I meant development from a construction point of view, not the design of the actual attractions. Again though, its easier to spend someone elses money.

[TrlyScrumptious]

There is not any way that you can convince me that Disney could get the same level of project funded at the Disneyland Resort that is taking place at Tokyo DisneySea. Given that the talent is there, and that they *chose* not to spend the money on DCA, I understand the disappointment that some people have when they see what might have been. I think this is a relevant explanation for why some people might just not "get" DCA.

I don't want to completely hijack this thread, so this is my last comment about TDS.

[jlproffitt]

We just got back from DCA and thoroughly loved it! It has aspects of Epcot and Disney/MGM Studios that we love. My favorite "non-attraction" aspects were the tables and chairs outside the "train" (looks like a train...has an ice cream shop, coffee shop, and toy store) just to the right of the main entry way), listening to the music in the foutain area (particularly Natalie Cole's rendition of "Avalon"), hearing the music playing in Hollywood Backlot (instrumental "People").

We spent 2 full days there and still have things to see (Muppets 3-D, Steps in Time, Grizzly Rapids, Winery) so for us it isn't a one day park.

Soarin' Over California is a unique experience and one of the best ever. We did that twice.

Another thing we did twice was eat at Soap Opera Bistro! It's not much to look at from the outside but the theming inside and the food are both fantastic. There are dining rooms inside that are individually themed to the various ABC soaps. We didn't realize this until we were seated on our first time. For our second time, we scheduled our visit for an off-time (2:30 pm) and we requested, and were granted, seating in a particular room. So if you have a favorite ABC soap (as we do!) you can arrange to sit where you'd like. They were very nice about it. Even if you aren't into ABC Soaps, you can appreciate the improv humor of the actors that perform in each of the dining rooms. And both of our meals were great. It's not diner food like I thought it would be. It's rather upscale and delicious! The desserts are great too.

The Animation area is our favorite. We could pull a mattress into the lobby and just live there. They play scenes from Disney animated features all around you. Some screens show actual movie scenes while others display backgrounds, sketches and other artwork from the same film. All of the clips are coordinated for one movie and when the song clip ends, another movie takes over all of the screens. Magic!

When you walk in the main entrance, they have photographers ready to take your picture. In the early part of the day, they are positioned so that they will take your picture with your back to the main entrance. What you'll see in the picture behind you in Disneyland. Since we already had a Disneyland pic, we requested that we turn around so that the background of our pic would be the sunburst/waterfall. It turned out great! We weren't squinting in the sun and we got a pic with a little DCA in the background. :p

And, believe it or not, this was our first time to see the Electrical Parade! We always seemed to be in the wrong park at the wrong time in the past. But this time we were in the right spot and we loved it!

When we go again, we will definitely arrange to have our admission tickets in hand in advance. With the way the ticket booths are now, they are arranged in between DL and DCA. The lines were long, even on Monday.

One thing we were surprised to see is that, although the monorail goes right through the Golden Gate Bridge which spans the entrance to DCA and it also goes right through the Grand Californian hotel...there is no monorail station in either DCA or the hotel. Wouldn't it have been cool to hop on the monorail in DL and get off in DCA? Anyone know why they skipped putting in a station there? And they sell a toy monorail set that has the Golden Gate Bridge also! Weird.

We also ate at Wolfgang Puck's Avalon Cove. We still prefer the food at the Soap Opera Bistro, but the food was good as well at Avalon Cove. The service was a little less than we expected and we thought it seemed evident that the restaurant is not Disney-operated. Not bad or rude...just less than Disney.

We loved DCA and can't wait to go back. We want to stay at the Grand Californian.

But first we have a WDW trip in November....:bounce:

busy busy busy.

:smooth:

[kaeoboy]

I like DCA, it a very different experience from DL. I enjoyed Avalon Cove, it's operated by Wolfgang Puck. I had a great experience there, my our waitress was very attentive. I even had other waiters stopping by to tempt me with the desserts (bread pudding ... or the chocolate bombe ). It helps to have an 2 park AP, since you can just stop by to eat. I also did the winery and the fixed price dinner, that was good as well.

I had the same question too about the monorail, I stopped to talk to a CM about her lanyard and pins and started chatting about a lot of things. As for the monorail, it was decided by the powers that be, that it is a Tomorrowland attraction only. It was not going to be used as a source of transportation to get from one park to another.

BTW, did you see the family of ducklings at the wharf? They've really grown up in the past couple months. They were just a few inches long when I first saw them.

DCA countdown 15 days.

[scroot]

While waiting for Honey I Shrunk the kids to start we had a discussion about DCA with our neighbor. There is nothing to do over there she said. Have you seen Tought to be a Bug? No. Have you seen Muppets? No. Did you do the animation tour? No. On and On it went. She hadn't been to the park others I know who have skipped some of the attractions we enjoy the most. My opinion is that many people believed the bad press and just haven't gone. Another friend just returned. He went straight to paradise pier did Malaboomer and Screamin' then went over to DL. His report was that there didn's seem to be much there.

Generally we loved it. I can't wait because in ten years when it is jam packed I will be able to say, "remember that day in the first year when we were able to walk on every attaraction in the park?" I am so glad that I didn't listen to the negative folk and judged for myself.

[LARABABE]

I spent 2 days at California Adventure and I certainly wasn't bored! I even went to some of the shows twice because they were so good. The dancing was fantastic!

There is plenty to do there and because there weren't many line-ups we were able to do our favorite rides several times.

Another thing everyone should do is walk through the Disney Hotel there...OH MY! The Grand Californian. Just the lobby is worth the visit, but the courtyard is beautiful too. I am sure wedding pictures will look amazing on the grounds. You can view some of the rides at DCA from the courtyard. We had dinner at one of the restaurants (Storyteller Café) there and had a fantastic all-you-can-eat buffet (you can order à la carte too) in a gorgeous setting. Yum!

Enjoy!

[jlima]

2 weeks ago my husband took our 7 yr old son to LA for several nights. They spent a full day at DCA, including over an hour in the Redwoods play area, an hour in the aqueduct area, and almost as long on the boat play area in Paradise Pier, just letting him have a good time. They also went on Soarin' over CA, saw the California movie, and saw the Steps in Time show. They also walked through the tortilla factory and ate at the winery restaurant (Napa Valley?). And they saw the Electric Light Parade!! And the Tough to be a Bug show. They had a great Daddy/Son day and a wonderful time.

IT ISN'T DISNEYLAND!! So don't expect it to be; it's a totally different experience.

[Scotch]

Thank you all for posting your positive experiences! My spouse and I, like many others, have not seriously considered going to DCA because of all the negative reviews we've read/heard. (And we live only about an hour away.) In fact, your comments are the first positive ones that I've read. I guess if we know not to expect a DL-like park, we should not be disappointed. This is similar to what we must do for our upcoming first time visit to WDW -- we know that Epcot, Animal Kingdom and MGM are totally different types of parks/experiences and we won't expect them to have the "magic" of MK.

[c&m]

We were at CA last week, and loved it!!! Our 2 DDs ( 6 and 2.5 yrs.) enjoyed it equally, if not more, than DL. Favourites were the Rapid River Raft ride and the forest playground, with the rope climbing, rock climbing and swinging bridges. We spent ages in there! The raft ride was particularly wonderful at night--no lineups and kinda spooky! Regardless of what negative comments we read about it, we truly enjoyed it and would go back.

[DVC95-BW]

I thought it was good as a long weekend experience twinned with Disneyland - the ability to hop back and forth between parks (like WDW) counters the limited size of DCA.

Soaring Over California is outstanding. I also found the Animation Experience a terrific escape. California Screamin' is also a very good roller coaster.

Solvable problem - too many restaurants... I suspect some will disappear to be replaced by attractions over time.

[raidermatt]

Another DCA endorsement here.

Its different than DL, as many have said, but still a great addition. I look forward to seeing it develop in the coming months/years.