Al Lutz Updates on Cars Land

[HydroGuy]

I think that the Disney folks boxed themselves in too much with the original California concept - and now everything they add in has to somehow tie into that concept, even if it is grasping and kind of awkward.

I have mixed feelings on this. And this has been debated a million times over the last 10 years as you know. Having seen what they can do with the California theme it is not an automatically bad idea to my mind. California has so much to draw from and is a cultural icon to the whole Western world.

There is much about the California theme that works IMO. To me Condor Flats is the best themed area of the whole park as it relates to the overall California theme. It just oozes California and the aviation history.

GRR and the National Park motif works. Hollywood Pictures Backlot (soon to be HollywoodLand) in principle works but they could have done a better job (I like the feel of DHS in Florida much better). Paradise Pier does not work and everything they are doing now is just taking a bad idea and putting a huge band-aid on it. Bugs Land was developed after my kids were too old for it and we have never been on any rides there unless you count ITTBAB. This summer was the first time we actually explored it a little. Even so Bugs Land is neutral IMO. It is not great but it does work for what it is. Golden State is OK - more potential there.

What really my attention about DCA though was Tokyo DisneySea. That park blows DCA away. Its theme would fit great in California. If DLR ever gets serious about a third gate that would be a fabulous direction to go.

 

[Sherry E]

I have mixed feelings on this. And this has been debated a million times over the last 10 years as you know. Having seen what they can do with the California theme it is not an automatically bad idea to my mind. California has so much to draw from and is a cultural icon to the whole Western world.

There is much about the California theme that works IMO. To me Condor Flats is the best themed area of the whole park as it relates to the overall California theme. It just oozes California and the aviation history.

GRR and the National Park motif works. Hollywood Pictures Backlot (soon to be HollywoodLand) in principle works but they could have done a better job (I like the feel of DHS in Florida much better). Paradise Pier does not work and everything they are doing now is just taking a bad idea and putting a huge band-aid on it. Bugs Land was developed after my kids were too old for it and we have never been on any rides there unless you count ITTBAB. This summer was the first time we actually explored it a little. Even so Bugs Land is neutral IMO. It is not great but it does work for what it is. Golden State is OK - more potential there.

What really my attention about DCA though was Tokyo DisneySea. That park blows DCA away. Its theme would fit great in California. If DLR ever gets serious about a third gate that would be a fabulous direction to go.

I agree with a lot of what you said. The Hollywood Pictures Backlot area is good in theory - clearly, the entertainment industry is huge in California so it would have been ridiculous to ignore it. But like you said, they could have done it better. Somehow, even though there are good things in that area - Aladdin and the Animation building being the best examples (and I also like the Monsters, Inc. ride), the execution of the whole land falls a bit flat. There's a piece missing to the puzzle somewhere in that vicinity. I'm hoping that with the work they are doing on DCA now, that will change.

I have not been so lucky to see Tokyo DisneySea (yet), but I have loved the concept of it since when I first heard about it and thought it would be perfect for California. If there were space to build it in SoCal (how big is Disney Sea? Is it massive?), I think it would be extremely popular because people do love the sea and ocean-related things!!

 

[DahliaRW]

Paradise Pier does not work and everything they are doing now is just taking a bad idea and putting a huge band-aid on it.

ITA. They heard "it doesn't feel disney enough" so they're "fixing it" by putting in disney icons, etc. But, for us it didn't feel "Disney" enough because they just didn't go far enough with the Disney theming feel. The queues for the rides, especially screamin', are just generic and boring. Nothing like waiting for Indy or things like that in DL or even Soarin', where the wait is part of the experience. I do like the water there, but I don't know if PP is "fixable" so to speak.

 

[PinkBudgie]

ITA. They heard "it doesn't feel disney enough" so they're "fixing it" by putting in disney icons, etc. But, for us it didn't feel "Disney" enough because they just didn't go far enough with the Disney theming feel. The queues for the rides, especially screamin', are just generic and boring. Nothing like waiting for Indy or things like that in DL or even Soarin', where the wait is part of the experience. I do like the water there, but I don't know if PP is "fixable" so to speak.

You are exactly right about the queues. When I saw pictures of what they did for the TSMM line in WDW I was very disappointed. Here that line is so long and boring! And I've always been disappointed in the Screamin line. It is like standing in line at any other theme park.

As for Bugs Land, I love the theme too but I wish they would add a few more things of interest to older kids and adults. (I don't know where, just wishing! ) Leave in the little rides because I know they are great for the little kids to have something to do in DCA, but I'd like to see more there. I usually don't go over there because there is nothing to do there.

 

[skiingfast]

I have not been so lucky to see Tokyo DisneySea (yet), but I have loved the concept of it since when I first heard about it and thought it would be perfect for California. If there were space to build it in SoCal (how big is Disney Sea? Is it massive?), I think it would be extremely popular because people do love the sea and ocean-related things!!

To an extent DCA was the replacement idea for Tokyo Disney Seas (TDS)going on the DL parking lot. Of course the plan for the parking lot was Westcot which got shelved and revived as a basis to TDS. DCA became a more feasible (cheaper) alternative to buidling Westcot.

TDS isn't huge, a big part of it is a integrated hotel, more integrated than GCH and without checking probably 2 or 3 times larger than GCH. But it was expensive and the Oriental Land Company owners paid for it not Disney.

The big thing is TDS includes a lot of original ideas which could come to the US. Of course our DCA had new ideas that spread out of Anaheim.

 

[HydroGuy]

I have not been so lucky to see Tokyo DisneySea (yet), but I have loved the concept of it since when I first heard about it and thought it would be perfect for California. If there were space to build it in SoCal (how big is Disney Sea? Is it massive?), I think it would be extremely popular because people do love the sea and ocean-related things!!

TDS is pretty big and I doubt they have enough room for a hypothetical TDS clone around DLR. It was built at the same time as DCA (they both opened in 2001) but cost 3-4 times as much. I agree it would be very successful in California.

 

[tinkermell]

I think why Cars is so popular, is that it is something for boys to collect and love. So much of Disney are the princesses. (Meets, character meals, makeovers, dresses and tiaras galore, dolls...) Toy Story is great, and so are the pirates. But there is just something about boys(men) and their car toys, engines, the horsepower, trucks, tractors, racing, and so on. You can never have too many cars and trucks in your collection. Disney finally found something that really attracts the boys.....be it young or old.

I for one am looking forward to the new land and rides. Route 66....so nostalgic. Something that will be fun for the young and old. And even for this 54 older, I personally can't wait to ride the racers!! Woo hoo!

 

[Capt Silly]

IMO, Car Land (although I would prefer Radiator Springs) does fit with the California theme. Although the area it is based on really is more Arizona/Utah, the desert mountains are part of California as well. And the community of cars has a multicultural dimension that is part of the California Spirit. While I don't like the idea of lands based on a single movie, I think this one will work because it seems to be more about the culture than the movie.

Paradise Pier definitely fit with the California theme, beach boardwalks were the amusement parks of California before DL. I think there are many things wrong with PP, and I think changing it to essentially a "Disney" boardwalk will help. But I think there is too much space there, and not enough theme. I would love for them to find some way to make a ride on the water, or even something like radio controlled boats. As for TSMM, it fits the Midway games theme, but something needs to be done with the queue, both better theming and a fastpass.

As for a bugs land, I agree that it's a stretch to make it related to California, especially without the farm. If they were to redo the area between ITTBAB and Flik's Fun Fair to be a farm motif, then it might work better. As to the rides, FFF is a nice area for smaller children. There isn't a lot in DCA for the toddler crowd other than this and Disney's Playhouse. There are not many dark rides, so having this area is a good thing.

What I would like to see them add to DCA is areas for some of the other cultures that are prevalent in California. I would love to see a Chinatown area and a Hispanic themed area. Although as my wife says, it would be had to do this without having people left out or stereotyped. However, these are all big parts of the California culture.