Children & DCA

[agamble]

I'll be honest, it was really hard not going to DLR last year. It will be more than two years since our last visit when we go this summer. We did have season passes to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. It's an alright place, but it really made me wish for Disneyland even more. They are just not as efficient when it comes to ride loading. And they do not have rides that babies can ride. The park policy is that children must be able to walk to go on anything but the train. One of the best things about Disneyland is that even small children can ride the majority of the rides/attractions.

The other day I was thinking about how DCA has changed over the years to be a bit more kid friendly. The first big changes were adding Playhouse Disney and then Bugsland. But more changes have come since then. I was considering how appropriate different rides are for the 5 and under crowd. Then I thought about how people have speculated that Bugsland will be removed for more Marvel. I was wondering has the park changed enough to be tot friendly if Bugsland was replaced by Marvel?

What do you think? Would DCA have enough for the 5 and under crowd if Bugsland was gone?

Consider not just age but height and fear. Many 4 year-olds may be tall enough to ride a 40" coaster, but are they brave enough. And of course height varies by kid. And even some kids who are a bit older may be too timid for something like Screamin' or the new Guardian's ride.

 

[Winnowill]

Yeah, I don't know. Golden Zephyr, Little Mermaid, the carousel, Monsters, and Fun Wheel are the only rides that a little kid can go on outside of Bugs Land that might be fun. I mean, they can ride TSMM, but how much fun can they really have on it? Even Jumpin' Jellyfish has a height limit.

 

[Traver Freeman]

I haven't heard anything about Bugs Land being removed or even thought about it? I think they would remove Hollywood Land before they remove Bugs Land. They've got all that space that's virtually unused back there by ToT and since it just got switched to Marvel it would make sense to put stuff back there. They'd have to remove Monsters Inc., but I think that's more likely than Bugs Land.

Cars Land has height requirements, but they're pretty low and our son can ride both LRR and MJJ and enjoys them and he's not even 3 yet.

At the moment the puppet guild is on strike in CA and the Disney JR Live on Stage is getting changed to something else for the time being. I'm not sure when that starts, but probably before peak season hits.

 

[Leopardstars]

I think there's still a decent amount for young kids at DCA even if you exclude Bugsland. More so if you look at the 4 and 5 year olds because they are more likely to want to go on the bigger rides. When I hear "tot-friendly", I think of 2 and 3 year olds and I really don't think there are many theme or amusement parks that I think of as friendly to that group. We didn't even take are daughter to our local amusement park until she was 3. For our upcoming trip we are going to try and avoid Bugsland because we could go on similar (albeit not as well themed) rides elsewhere. Now if I was local or lived in SoCal, I might feel differently.

 

[DDhunter]

I've heard the rumor about Bugsland being taken out for the Marvel expansion. The 2 rides we have current knowledge of are indeed rides for older kids/teens/adults (roller coaster and GoG:MB), however, it would make sense then that they add smaller rides that would accommodate all ages. Carsland has 1 "older" ride and 2 that are pretty much for everyone. Disney isn't Six Flaggs so I'm not sure why people assume "Marvel" equates nothing but thrill rides.

 

[cruisehopeful]

The tram driver said that Hollywood land would be changed to Marvel land. That makes more sense to me than removing the children's rides in Bug's Land. To me, Hollywoodland has always been a walk through, other than a stop to ride Monsters, Inc.

 

[Belle83]

The tram driver said that Hollywood land would be changed to Marvel land. That makes more sense to me than removing the children's rides in Bug's Land. To me, Hollywoodland has always been a walk through, other than a stop to ride Monsters, Inc.

I could see them replacing Hollywoodland with more Marvel stuff, but I don't see them replacing Bug's Land. I really hope Bug's Land stays!

My son is almost 2 and there's still stuff outside of Bug's Land. The two smaller rides in Cars Land (Luigi's, Mater's) have height restrictions but it's really low (he's tall enough and he's in the 5th percentile for his height). Then there's Toy Story Mania, Little Mermaid, the carousel, Monster's Inc., Golden Zephyr. Turtle Talk with Crush, Mickey's Fun Wheel. The Redwood Creek Trail is an awesome play area.

 

[DL_Forever]

I could see them replacing Hollywoodland with more Marvel stuff, but I don't see them replacing Bug's Land. I really hope Bug's Land stays!

My son is almost 2 and there's still stuff outside of Bug's Land. The two smaller rides in Cars Land (Luigi's, Mater's) have height restrictions but it's really low (he's tall enough and he's in the 5th percentile for his height). Then there's Toy Story Mania, Little Mermaid, the carousel, Monster's Inc., Golden Zephyr. Turtle Talk with Crush, Mickey's Fun Wheel. The Redwood Creek Trail is an awesome play area.

I've heard the rumor about removing Hollywoodland as well. The only thing over there is really the Monster's Inc Ride. My kids would be crushed if that were taken out, its one of their favorites.

 

[Midnightred]

We love Bugs Land the most, my husband loves to take pictures there. I think it's too nice to remove. I will be sad to see Monster's Inc. go and the movie was so popular!

Midnightred

 

[agamble]

Thanks for everyone’s thoughts and ideas.

Considering age

*Infants (less than one) generally don’t walk until close to their birthdays and even when they learn to sit-up it’s a while before they can sit well independently on a moving ride vehicle. They often spend ride time on someone’s lap or being worn in a carrier. Their enjoyment of rides improves as they get older. They tend to like colors and music and really just being with their families. Honestly at this age it’s often about just being able to do it all as a family and not having mom and dad split up and ride separately with older children.

*From 1-2 years of age a child changes a lot. A one year old is likely not frightened by the Tough to be a Bug Attraction, but at two that same child may be absolutely terrified. Sometime during this age most children will hit the 32” and possibly 36” milestones allowing them to ride the lowest height requirement rides at DCA.

*Between 3-5 years most children will hit the 40” milestone and many will hit the 42”. Especially tall children may even reach the 48” milestone. Thrill seekers may enjoy rollercoaster and other more thrilling rides, but lots of children at this age are timid about those kinds of rides.

In general children 5 and younger take more care than older children. They tend to accompany strollers, snacks, and tantrums. The park rules require children younger than 7 to be with an adult 14 or older at all times.

Considering attractions

DCA was not built with small children in mind. When the original park opened attractions younger guests could attend included the following still open attractions: Animation Academy, Golden Zephyr, It’s Tough to be a Bug!, King Triton’s Carousel, Redwood Creek Trail, Mickey’s Fun Wheel, and the Boudin Bakery. The Animation Academy, Redwood Creek Trail, and King Triton’s Carousel are all pretty great places for kids to spend some time. But It’s Tough to be a Bug! is often too scary for small children and the Boudin Bakery tour is not exactly entertaining, though they get a small snack. Golden Zephyr is a decent ride if you’re not afraid of heights and many children may enjoy it, but children may not lap sit on this ride, so it is a no go for infants. The non moving cars on the Fun Wheel would be okay for small children.

According to touringplans.com Bugsland opened in October of 2002, almost two years after the park opened. It added 5 attractions geared toward younger children, four rides and a splash pad. Flik’s Flyers and Heimlich have no height requirements and can be enjoyed by the smallest guests. Ladybug Boogie requires a child to sit on their own, no lap sitting, and it flings you around so they need to be a good sitter. Tuck and Roll’s has a 36” height requirement. This is the only area in DCA specifically designed for kids.

Playhouse Disney (Disney Junior) and Turtle Talk with Crush opened in 2003 and 2005 and are great shows for young children. In 2006 Monster’s Inc. replaced the long closed Superstar Limo ride. It uses the same ride system but is much more kid friendly than the original. It has no height requirements. Toy Story (2008) was a brand new ride that can be ridden by anyone, but it’s probably more fun for those two plus. The little Mermaid (2011) did replace an attraction’s location, but it is a brand new ride system and is definitely built for families to ride together. A handful of new meet and greets have popped up throughout DCA over the years too including Toy Story, Marvel, and Frozen.

Carsland opened in 2012 and it is definitely a kid friendly place. Radiator Springs Racers, the headline attraction has a 40” requirement, but it’s not scary so it should appeal to younger guests. The other two rides have small requirements of 32”. There’s also the meet and greets in the land and the DJ Dance ‘N Drive show.

My original thought was that they should definitely not remove Bugsland, kids need that space. And I still feel they do. However, I was surprised to realize just how much there is for little kids to do compared to when DCA opened 16 years ago. Our family really enjoys DCA and we have no trouble spending several days there over a long trip.

Considering location

The new Guardian’s ride is right next to Bugsland. And behind Bugsland is backstage area. It has been speculated that that could all be used for Marvel expanding the park that way and leaving the area from the Hyperion over alone. Of course that seems strange since there is so much blank space in the backlot. I would much prefer they used that area rather than tear down Bugsland, but I could see Bugsland being on the list of possible sites given it’s location near the existing Marvel attraction and the backstage area.

 

[agamble]

Considering Thrills

Screamin’ and the new Mission Breakout are the most thrilling rides in the park. But there are several other attractions with height requirements that may be appropriate for some young children.

40” requirements: Soarin’ is a fun attraction, not particularly scary. Jumpin’ Jellyfish is a relatively tame ride, and is probably most appropriate for young children. The swings have tandem seats that allow children 40” or taller to sit next to an adult. This is nice because the ride may be intimidating for smaller children, but since they can ride with their adult they may be willing to try it out. Radiator Springs Racers as mentioned above is a fairly tame, yet fun ride.

42” requirements: Goofy’s Sky School may be a bit much for some kids as they can see the entire attraction as it’s not blocked by themeing as Big Thunder is, but if they’re a bit more daring they may enjoy it. Grizzly River Run is not too intense. It has two drops, but they’re much smaller than Splash Mountain’s final drop.



Anything else I failed to consider in regards to young kids at DCA?
Anyone really think Bugsland is a waste of space and unnecessary? (Say it ain't so!)

 

[lcp9]

My oldest kids are 5 and 3, and they're more sad about losing ToT than they would be about Bugs land. ha. I'm not so much as sentimental about Bugs land as I am mildly irritated that Marvel seems to be the new focus and I could not care less about it (or Star Wars for that matter.) I do think in general it harder to have kids at DCA that do not meet the height requirements than it is at DL. There isn't as much...ambience? Before we had 40 inchers, DCA was 1.5 days out of a 4 day trip. Even now, DCA for us is primarily riding and reriding RSR, and meeting Anna and Elsa. The kids like TSMM, Monsters and little mermaid but they aren't rides they really ask to go on, if we walk by they'll want to go on it. I think though for many families with young kids, removing Monsters and/or Bugs Land would be significant.

 

[agamble]

I think though for many families with young kids, removing Monsters and/or Bugs Land would be significant.

Yeah. And I wonder what is worse. Monster's is a great ride. It's an actual dark ride and DCA is really lacking in those. But it is just one ride. Bugsland doesn't have any dark rides, and all the rides are short with only one of them being creative (Chew Chew) rather than a typical theme park ride with Bugs decor. But there are four of them, and the land is well themed. Monster's is just stuck over in the backlot where there isn't any themeing really. But we're looking at Marvel either taking over the entire backlot, which also means the Hyperion, or Marvel being crammed into the Bugsland and backstage space.

So which is the better choice?

 

[azdisneylover]

Perhaps they could keep most of Bugs Land by adding Ant Man into the mix?

 

[cyclenut]

Just took my 2 year old granddaughter for the first time. There was a lot to do in DCA for a day. We went on three of the four bugs land rides since one was over her height. Definitely a winner and while I hope they don't take it out, there isn't much foot traffic in the area and the queues tend to be slow moving. She also enjoyed Monsters Inc and Little Mermaid. Toy Story movies and characters are her absolute favorite but TSMM is not geared for that age. She could not appreciate or really even see what was going on. I think the 3D glasses were more of a fascination for her the whole ride.

She enjoyed meeting Buzz and Woody in the character area but I have no idea why they are stationed where they are, away from everything. She slept through most of the fun wheel having fallen asleep while in line. In Carsland she loved the Luigis square dancing cars and Tow Mater's junkyard jamboree. There is also the Redwood Creek challenge trail. She was amazed by WOC too.

I like Bugs Land but it takes about 2 hours max to do everything you'd want to do there. I don't know what the plans are for Marvel but it would make much more sense to replace Hollywood Backlot. The community showcase stage, theater, sound stages, etc. They could leave the street with Disney Jr., Annimation Studio and ending with the Hyperion theater and it really wouldn't take much away from the Marvel theme even with Guardians of the Galaxy being at the far end. I just don't know if that is enough space to really do the Marvel universe much justice. The size and scope of Star Wars makes more sense. That would require removing both Hollywood Backlot AND Bugs Land.

Honestly, I don't see them doing much with the Marvel theme for the time being, at least on any scale.

 

[agamble]

I like Bugs Land but it takes about 2 hours max to do everything you'd want to do there. I don't know what the plans are for Marvel but it would make much more sense to replace Hollywood Backlot. The community showcase stage, theater, sound stages, etc. They could leave the street with Disney Jr., Annimation Studio and ending with the Hyperion theater and it really wouldn't take much away from the Marvel theme even with Guardians of the Galaxy being at the far end. I just don't know if that is enough space to really do the Marvel universe much justice. The size and scope of Star Wars makes more sense. That would require removing both Hollywood Backlot AND Bugs Land.

Honestly, I don't see them doing much with the Marvel theme for the time being, at least on any scale.

Apparently once they build that massive new parking structure and bridge they could potentially expand DCA into the area that is currently the Disney bus drop off. That would give them ample room to do something if that rumor is true. If not, then I don't see how they could do much with Marvel without removing Bugsland and/or Monster's Inc. Hopefully at least one of them can survive.

 

[cyclenut]

It is funny how rumors go. I'm guessing Disney is looking at all options, but they have a lot of projects right now. Avatar will be opening soon in Animal Kingdom (or is it open now) and they just finished fixing River of Dreams to extend the hours of Animal Kingdom into the evenings. They are working on Star Wars on both coasts and it will be extensive.

They are obviously going to do something, but I really don't think they would take out Bugs Land. When you look at a satellite view via Google Maps you will notice that Bugs Land isn't very big at all. However, there is a large backlot area behind what will become Guardians. I don't know what it is and I'm sure it is being put to good use now, but it includes a small parking lot and several buildings. They've taken backlot area before with Toon Town and now Star Wars. They could figure out a way to do it again and just use that space (or a portion of it). My guess is no, but anything is possible I suppose.

 

[seacruise]

I would be fine with them getting rid of A Bugs Land. The rides there are all just "themed" carnival rides that you could do at any county fair for a few bucks. I don't think anyone is really paying Disney prices just for the Bugs Land experience. My youngest is 6 now so I am hoping I never have to sit through Heimlich's Chew Chew again, ugh! There are so many things for little kids to to at DL, I am fine if they go for more "older kid" rides with any potential Marvel themed land at DCA. Monsters Inc can go as well. Love the movies, but the ride itself isn't particularly fun or entertaining compared to the dark rides at DL.

I'm not really a Marvel fan either though, hate at least the idea of what they are doing to ToT! I am sure it will still be fun to ride though.

 

[cyclenut]

While I'll agree that the bugs land rides are not terribly unique or innovative, the theming is excellent and the rides fit the theme well. The area is quite popular during summer months because of the water features and to create the feeling of living as a bug, there is quite a bit of shade, something lacking throughout much of DCA.

I'm afraid Monster's Inc. will be on the chopping block too. It's a classic style dark ride that they were able to put together to replace Superstar Limo. The problem with DCA is that a lot of the rides don't fit the theme of the area. Ariel's Undersea Adventure and Monster's Inc are just lost. Cars Land is amazing and while Bugs Land is a much smaller scale, it has that same attention to detail and overall theme.

 

[VandVsmama]

It is all rumor and conjecture at this point. I'll believe it when I see a formal announcement from Disney Corp. I don't think that anybody has anything to worry about.