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.

 

[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.

 

[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!

 

[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

 

[princessKT]

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

 

[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.