A few DCA Rumors....

[Werner Weiss]

Disney sold at least three full-price 1-day tickets to Disney's California Adventure last month. Yep. I spent 3 times $45 ($135 plus parking and food) to take my two "Disney adult" (10- and 13-year-old) daughters to DCA.

Some of you may remember my post on this board earlier in the summer when I said DCA was not part of our plans for our nine days in Southern California. It bothered me that Disney admitted that the park was not worth anywhere near $45 by offering huge discounts to locals -- but Disney wasn't doing anything to give us a compelling reason to make DCA part of our plans. And my wife and kids had no desire to go from what they knew about DCA. I said we go to the Getty Museum, "The Lion King" at the Pantages, Legoland and Laguna Beach instead. (And we did go to all those places.)

But as an amateur Disney park historian, I wanted to experience DCA myself. One morning, I mentioned this to my family. My wife suggested I take our daughters and that she would stay in the condo and take it easy. A few minutes later, the girls and I were on our way.

I could write about the park for hours. But for now, let me offer a few thoughts:

• Yes, DCA is deeply flawed. It's not just the lack of "E" Ticket attractions. It's the lack of immersive themed areas, an awkward layout, and a failure to deliver on the promise "Where Disney Magic Meets California Fun."

• But yes, we had a fun day anyway. We were there from 11:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., and we didn't run out of things to do. But that included things like the Tortilla Tour and the Bread Tour (which we enjoyed).

• Golden Dreams was very well done, but the theater was empty. Does anybody see this attraction more than once?

• The Eureka Parade was a pleasant surprise. There were some very clever, creative elements -- even if the overall parade lacked cohesiveness. I guess the theme was "various themes about California."

• Paradise Pier was a much bigger disappointment than I expected. I thought it would be prettier and more enchanting than a real traditional amusement park. For the most part, it wasn't.

• My biggest complaint? DCA lacks "magic." I've been to eight of the world's ten Disney parks -- all except the Paris Studios and DisneySea. The other parks all sweep you away to other places and times. In comparison, DCA -- with its "a little bit of this and a little bit of that" California theme -- feels somehow pedestrian.

• I don't think the California theme is fundamentally bad. California is an amazing state with a combination of natural beauty, diverse cultures, colorful history, and entertainment traditions unrivaled by any other state in the USA. It's just that DCA falls short in how it uses the California theme.

• Having written the bullets above, I have to acknowledge that there are a lot of nice details throughout the park. The park's problems are at the "macro level," not the "micro level".

 

[Peter Pirate]

The parks problems are at the "macro" level, not the "micro" level.

This very astute statement I can agree with...

 

[YoHo]

But the Micro Level is nothing but Academic. the Macro is reality.

 

[Planogirl]

I don't think the California theme is fundamentally bad. California is an amazing state with a combination of natural beauty, diverse cultures, colorful history, and entertainment traditions unrivaled by any other state in the USA. It's just that DCA falls short in how it uses the California theme.

This is perfect IMO! We were all completely blown away by Disneyland and California itself too. I personally want to see so much more in California and hope to next year. I'm thinking in terms of two days at Disneyland (by purchasing single day passes) and the rest of the time spent seeing California. That lovely state is so diverse and beautiful and definitely should be able to theme a theme park (so to speak) if done properly.

But then the question becomes: with California right outside, why see a copy?

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by Planogirl
But then the question becomes: with California right outside, why see a copy?

Because a "copy" could take you back to the Mother Lode Country during the Gold Rush, to Los Angeles in the 1930s, to San Francisco just before the Great Earthquake of 1906, even to Anaheim in the 1950s/1960s (complete with "space age" Googie architecture such as used to be around Disneyland). A "copy" could idealize an entire city onto a single street. A "copy" could take you back to when California was a Spanish colony.

In other words, a "copy" could take you not just to any place in California, but to any time as well.

Unfortunately, what DCA could do and what DCA actually does are two different things.

 

[Planogirl]

In other words, a "copy" could take you not just to any place in California, but to any time as well

Good point and an interesting concept. I was already working on some of this by planning to visit missions and the ghost town Bodie among others but the logistics of these items alone are overwhelming. I would prefer to see some actual remnants of these times but a good overview would certainly be enlightening.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

http://www.mouseplanet.com/al/docs/update.htm

I don't know if this new DIG has been discussed yet but I found it very interesting and even likely to happen. I think a San Francisco themed area would be great and the the cable car idea is different. The only real blemish I see is more restaurants and more gift shops. How much does the average American eat and shop anyway? I don't care how well you theme a restaurant, its not going to magically make me want to sit down and have a 2nd lunch.

Demolish the carney crapola! Now that would be one ceremony I would attend with bells on.

The more I see of a Bug's Land the more jealous I become. Oh, how I despise Dino-Rama. It looks like Disney raided a Six Flags park while it was on hiatus.

Seems every which way Disney turns they run into yet another nightmare. Where's a dreamcatcher when you need one?

 

[Mr D]

And now there is another rumor from MP that the Paradise Pier area may be gutted and turned into a San Fransisco theme including a cable car ride possibly an E-ticket.
Eisner and his carnival fixations will no doubt have a strong influence in some manner.

 

[roymccoy]

it's actually kind of pitiful because this theme park thing was Disney's to lose. If they played their cards right with their new parks, there wouldn't even be any competition to worry about. If DCA had been built with Disney quality we wouldn't be sitting here discussing how we wouldn't pay $45 to get in...we'd be whining about the $55 they were charging us for there great new successful park!

I have a perfect example of what is going on at Disney. My family and I have been going to the same Donut shop for years. The man who owned it really took pride in his work and would always make sure that the donuts were fresh and tasty. He worked hard and he was rewarded with a booming business, good word of mouth and many customers who considered him a friend. He retired a year ago and sold the donut shop to...well...ya know....people who buy donut shops. ;-)
They immediately raised prices and gave you less for your money. Smaller donuts, less icing, just a speck of cream filling that tasted like Crisco, etc. Business really started dropping off. They eventually were reduced to offering discounts and free donuts if you bought a dozen but the damage had been done and the shop closed up a year after they bought it. It looked like the same donut shop, smelled like the same donut shop but it wasn't the same donut shop. My point? DCA has the Disney name on it, it looks a little like Disney, smells a little like Disney, but it's not the same Disney, well...at least it's not the way it was when people talked about Disney as almost a religion. Walt had a successful business and it just isn't the same without him.

Disney was up by 36 points in the fourth quarter...all they had to do was hold the ball and no one else would have had a chance. The only way they could have lost it was to send in the "B" team (or "F" team) and have them totally screw it up. Well, the scores tied and we're in overtime....who's going to win this theme park game?

Roy

 

[YoHo]

Sounds like its time for a New Quarterback (it must be football season.)

 

[Bob O]

To me a theme park based on CA isnt a great idea when the park is to be populated by mainly locals, unlike FLA where you have alot more tourists. I know i wouldnt want to see a theme park in my state(if we hade one) based on Wisc when i can see the real thing and not a replica. And then once they decided on the idea they did it on the cheap and created a lousy product which furthur upset their local fan base, a disaster that should have been foreseen.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

Except that they were hoping to change that fan base. They thought the new park, and other developments, would bring in more people from farther away, who would stay onsite for an extended time, and the percentage of locals who make up their visitors would decrease.

 

[raidermatt]

Baron-

I like the idea of the SF themed area IF, and its a big IF, its themed to a past era (as Horace suggested).

SF is just too close to have something that celebrates the current era.

But if a past era is the theme, then it could work, since even San Franciscans can't see this today.

Peter/Werner- For the most part, I agree. We spent a day at DCA and had fun. But that's just not enough for Disney, which you both correctly pointed out.

Even one of the park's biggest strengths, Soarin', can be pointed to as an example of the problem. Its a GREAT ride, and its FUN. But, where's the story? Where's the theme even? I thought the ride was so great, I didn't even really stop to ask these questions at first. But about the only thing I remember other than the ride itself was that there was an amusing little video of Puddy shown before we went inside.

So sure, I want to ride Soarin' again, but if done the "Disney way", it could have been so much better.