I got to visit the new Disney's California Adventure park over the weekend & thought I'd share my impressions: The park is still obviously being worked on, you can tell that there are areas that will be improved as things go on, but over all, I found it very enjoyable. The E-Ticket ride for the park will almost certainly be Soarin' over California in the Condor Flats area. This is the first new ride technology I've seen since Indiana Jones. There is literally nothing like it. The ride lifts passengers up over an IMAX screen & then mimics movement over scenes of California, but that hardly describes it. I saw people lifting their feet up to get them out of the way of a rock or a baloon & the entire group broke out into spontanious applause at the end. The rest of Condor Flats needs work, but I enjoyed the detail in the construction, and the allustions to the history of Flight in CA. There's a lot of detail & I think a lot of it will be overlooked, which is a shame. Paradise Pier is nowhere as bad as I had heard it made out to be & is actually very pretty at night. I'm not crazy about the carny games, but they are a part of the experience and there are only 8 of them. The California Screamin' coaster is an absolute rush. It's very smooth & never slows down once they launch you. I could have done it several times in a row, time permitting. I didn't get a chance to try the Muholland Madness coaster, but my friends say it's pretty jerky, but fun. The carousel is a carousel, and I don't much like the ferris wheel - most of its cars are on a seperate track within the big wheel, so that they slide as the main wheel turns. It also seems to have loading & unloading issues. The Hollywood section is small, but entertaining. I'm in love with the new Animation exhibit - I could probably kill two hours in there alone. The main room is set like Fantasia 2000, with multiple screens of various sizes on all of the walls. From there, you can catch the Robin Williams/Walter Cronkite film about how animation is put together. Or you can fill in to the 'Animator's Office' and watch a live presentation on how characters evolve (co-starring Mushu). There's a bonus in this section, right now they're showing a longer trailer of Atlantis & I'd imagine that they'll start showing something else once Atlantis is released. There's also the Beast's Library, which will tell you what animated character you'd be if you were a toon, and Ursula's grotto which allows you do voice over your own little scene (which can be pretty funny if you mix voices - my boyfriend & I did one where he was Belle & I was the Beast). The rest of the Hollywood section is much like Disney/MGM - there's a big theatre, a Muppet Vision 3-D, a stunt show, and the Superstar Limo - which is probably the lamest ride I've seen Disney put out. It's a dark ride, like the fantasy land rides but with a Hollywood theme. I was not impressed. The Redwood trail & Grizzly Rapids were lovely, but not terribly special. Be warned that there is no dry well on the rapid ride, but there are lockers (free for 2 hrs) to put stuff in before you get in line. There's a lot of stuff I didn't get to see (the California Dreams show, the parade, a lot of the smaller rides), and I know I'll be back because I had a really good time. My guess is that the park will be really crowded for the first couple of months & during the summer. It might be better to wait for the crowds to die down a little bit, or you might just want to brave them & see what all the fuss is about for yourself. SarangelP V
Great report, thanks for sharing Sarangel! Michelle Assistant Webmaster Cruise & Inspiration Board Co-Host Disneyland Board Co-Host
Sarangel, thanks for the report, but it leaves me with a yucky feeling for some reason. Sounds like the park didn't do much for you. Feel free to send me an email If you need help with your Disney problem click here:Calbay's 12 Steps of Disneyholics Anonymouse My recent trip to the Disneyland Resort Calbay's Holiday 2000 Disneyland Trip Report
Thanks for the report. I will get to go in May, and had not really seen any details before. Disneydiane
Don't get me wrong, I loved the park, but (as with any personal opinion) there were things I wasn't impressed with. I was just trying to show both sides of it. I'm sure that if you went, there would be different things you liked and disliked. SarangelÃÂ V
My friend is a trainer at DCA and he is really not looking forward for the park's opening for a couple reasons as hes told me. 1)Most of the rides are Low Capacity other than Muppets whose hourly capacity is 2100 (3 shows per hour 700 people per show) other rides barely have capacity to break 1000 people per hour and a park that you know will fill to a 30,000 capcity (recently reduced from 50,000 i might add)it will be impossible to do everything in a day. The price will be 43.00 for a park you can't do in an entire day. 2) Soaring over California was a ride that Disney thought no one will go on but from what he said they are seriously scared that people will be waiting all day for this one ride. They have 2 "domes" (screens)but by judging from the preview days they feel they should have built 3 maybe even 4. 3)Short staffing.. most employees are working 7 days a week at both parks including double shifts. This is before DCA is even open. Just imagine when summer hits. 4) Problems with parking. That new parking structure they built is filling up to capacity on just the preview days. They didn't estimate enough space for both parks AND Downtown Disney and this is a concern they are going to have to deal with pretty soon. On a positive note technical delays are at a minimum and the restaurants are doing great. With the advertising and buzz about the park it is attracting lots of people and will be very successful for Disney. Tho the crowds will be a double edged sword for them. Expanding DCA will be a Priority for Disney with the Ground breaking for Tower of Terror taking place soon as well as taking over most of Timon and Pumba Parking lot to accomadate new attractions at DCA. Mike
DCA, although impressive, is rather lacking from other Disney parks. Soarin' is great as is Grizzly Rapids but, I was dissapointed with the lack of theming on the rides themselves. It just shows you what parks are going to be like under Pressler's leadership (No animatronics at all. It's the RIDES that bring the people back Paul, not the shops and restaurants). Don't get me wrong, it has it's high points (Grizzly rapids and Soarin' to be specific). I didn't find Screamin' to be that impressive, it kinda reminded me of the Jaguar at Knotts with a loop... The launch is great though. Superstar Limo, Don't get me started... Very dissapointing. The restaurants and shops are have lovely theming. It would have been nice to see the rides as detailed and themed as well as other Disney parks. I expect that it will be packed until the hype dies down, then I would expect declining attendance (ala Animal Kingdom). Oh yeah... and pricing. It would be nice if Disney did some sort of package like Universal has with Escape- Like a 2 day flex pass for 80 bucks that lets you hop from both parks or 100 for 3 days or something... This park, as it is, isn't worth 43 bucks IMHO. Nice thing is, if you go down for MK, the crowds shouldn't be as bad at the Magic Kingdom. Just my 2 cents... -Bishdom 99- OFFSITE (LBV Comfort Inn) 00- All Star Sports Disneyland 2 times a year since 91.
LOL, Superstar Limo, even our Jungle Cruise Cpt. was poking fun at the Superstar Limo ride. <font face="Tahoma"> SteveH <font color="#000080">Co-Moderator:</font> <font color="#000080"> Resorts Board <font color="#008080">Webmaster:</font> <font color="#008080"> Coronado Springs Photo & Info Site</font> <font color="#CC0099">Bound for the Grand Californian at Disneyland
