DCA Feels Different

[HydroGuy]

After just completing 5 days at DLR last Saturday I am still collecting my thoughts and forming some kind of a mini-trip report. This is not it. But one thing that did strike me was how different DCA felt.

My first experience with DCA was in 2003. On that trip we rode Soarin Over California and California Screamin and that was it. We ventured into DCA twice for short durations. Soarin Over California and Condor Flats gave me a glimpse of how a California-themed park could "work". I loved Condor Flats. But not much else. Paradise Pier did not work although Screamin was fun and my kids' first experience with a looped coaster.

It was clear at the time that Disney wanted DCA to target an older crowd and have an edgier feel. They hosted X-games type bicycling events and had loud and (IMO) obnoxious rock bands on parade-like trailers circling thru DCA.

In 2005 we had four full days at DLR and spent a lot more time at DCA. By that time DCA had ToT and TTwC. We got to see Aladdin. And ride GRR for the first time. The obnoxious and loud rock bands were gone.

Fast forward to our trip last week. With TSMM and World of Color and Glow Fest, and Mickey's Fun Wheel and Silly Symphony Swings, plus visible construction for LM and CarsLand (CL), and trolley tracks in the ground, I could feel a shift at DCA. It just feels so much more cool and family friendly and fun. Still a little edgy and for a slightly older crowd than DL, but much closer to the sweet spot for Disney's audience. I think DCA's future is bright and that Disney's new investment will pay off big time starting now but by 2012 for sure when CL debuts. I like what it is becoming.

I am excited.

 

[DmaxHawk]

Very glad to hear that you had a great time Trey. Last time we went was in March and I still didn't like the feel of it but there was still a lot of contruction going on. Did you notice a difference in cleanliness?

 

[lyonking3]

Thought you were talking about DCA the airport. Oops, never mind

 

[benolathe]

Good to hear that there are definite improvements at DCA. Thanks for the positive report.

 

[mrswh]

HG, SHHHHHH!!!!!

Our first visit to DCA was in 2007 and we have always loved it! If you keep spreading the word, it will get crowded!!

To everyone else: it is terrible just like everyone else says. Don't go.

 

[DmaxHawk]

HG, SHHHHHH!!!!!

Our first visit to DCA was in 2007 and we have always loved it! If you keep spreading the word, it will get crowded!!

To everyone else: it is terrible just like everyone else says. Don't go.

 

[disneydreamer74]

I am excited about the changes in DCA too!! I think they are definitely headed in the right direction. I like this park for its differences, and will be jubilant when Cars Land is finished.

 

[Sherry E]

HG, SHHHHHH!!!!!

Our first visit to DCA was in 2007 and we have always loved it! If you keep spreading the word, it will get crowded!!

To everyone else: it is terrible just like everyone else says. Don't go.

I agree. DCA is terrible and everyone must stay far, far away! Oh, and also, the holiday season at DLR is pretty awful so you may want to cross that off the list as well!

 

[DisneyStitch626]

October is awful too, especially the first week. Stay far, far away during that time!

Good to know though, that I will be seeing DCA for the first time when it has been improved. I won't know the difference from what it was like before, so I am curious what my first feelings about it will be.

 

[Jrsy Boy]

HG, SHHHHHH!!!!!

Our first visit to DCA was in 2007 and we have always loved it! If you keep spreading the word, it will get crowded!!

To everyone else: it is terrible just like everyone else says. Don't go.

We use the same tactic to keep people out of NJ and off of the beautiful beaches. Maybe they can film a reality show in DCA full of overly-tanned drunken idiots who fight all the time and are completely full of themselves and people will assume that people like that live there and stay away.

 

[skiingfast]

I think the biggest change will be the retheming of the entrance and the pier area(which is almost done).

As I see it evolve the more I think the only mistake was making it about California. Still it operates just as well as the Animal Kingdom and that was an exceptionally done park, just small.

 

[bumbershoot]

We finally went to DCA in sept '07 and fell madly in love with it. I have never felt an edgy or adult vibe to it, quite the opposite in fact. The music is fun and young (even if WE know the Beach Boys were baby boomers doesn't mean our kids don't appreciate the music), the High School Musical stuff might grate MY nerves but my son LOVES it (and, frankly, I'm starting to miss it myself!), there are some great, not-scary rides in there (apart from TOT) that DS loves or yearns to ride....

I'm sad if the feel that we loved so much is being watered down.

 

[DisneyStitch626]

Even though I haven't been there yet, I have seen tons of pictures over the years. I didn't really like what they were doing at first, it just seemed weird. But now I love it.

I love the big Mickey head on the wheel and how it looks with the lights at night. Now when I see pictures of the Orange Stinger, I always thought that it was kind of an eye sore. (Sorry to the people that liked it).

I am looking forward to seeing the Red Car Trolley when it's done, I think that will add a lot of character to the park.

The only thing I was really sad to see go, was the Mickey head on Screamin'. And of course the Electrical Parade.

 

[LavenderPeach]

If you keep spreading the word, it will get crowded!!

Too late! It's already getting crowded. We were there yesterday and my sister and i were just talking about how much more crowded it is. It was almost impossible to get through the trail that goes around GRR with a stroller (don't worry all you stroller haters, i made sure i didn't run into anyone, even when they stepped right in front of me). It was so crowded I thought maybe I had been transported to Adventureland! The pier area in front of TSMM wasn't much better.

But I'm looking forward to all the changes - even if it is getting kind of crazy over there.

 

[JaxsonsMom]

(don't worry all you stroller haters, i made sure i didn't run into anyone, even when they stepped right in front of me).

You are too nice....

I am not as tolerant...

 

[LavenderPeach]

You are too nice....

I am not as tolerant...

I was tempted!

 

[JaxsonsMom]

I was tempted!

good!

 

[Sherry E]

I was tempted!

I understand tempted too. We all get tempted when at DLR. You can imagine how tempted I was to break into very un-Disney language and snap into a very un-Disney mood when an evil, spawn-of-satan child on my IASW Holiday boat last year decided to pick up two large handfuls of canal water and hurl them in my face. I had to go to a very zen place at that moment as I wiped up my glasses, my hair, my shirt, etc., and try to enjoy the ride. Let's just say...that devil child is lucky he didn't end up overboard.

Anyway, about DCA - despite my early feelings about it and thinking that it was a silly concept when they could have done so many other things instead, it has grown on me tremendously. Until this year, it was a very nice place to escape from the DL madness without having to deal with big crowds. While I think some of the changes are exciting (I cannot wait for the Little Mermaid ride - that's the thing I am most excited about, along with the new restaurants!) and will most definitely give DCA more charm and character (which it needs), it will also mean bigger crowds more consistently. Just the mere thought of Adventureland-type crowds in DCA is something that never seemed possible a few years ago.

 

[23bw]

Well said.

Our family started visiting DL resort regularly in 2006 and have only stepped into DCA a few times for Alladin and AG. Always felt a bit of resentment towards DLR for making us hop over to DCA just for a few attractions. Well that sentiment is gone after our last trip in July. We actually spent almost a whole day in DCA and enjoyed every bit of it as much as a day in DL. It was the first time we experienced TSMM, Soar'n, Mosters Inc, Bug's Land, Bug's Theater, Mickey Wheel, Zephyr, Tortilla factory, and of course WOC. My kids are looking forward to the upcoming Little Mernaid ride and Carsland.

 

[nunzia]

I have gotten to where I just love DCA...never will anything match the DL love, but DCA is certainly number 2. The changes are going to really make this place shine...