Disneyland and GCA attendance difference?

[bcrook]

I spent 5 fun filled and relaxing days at the Grand California Resort wandering in and out of both parks and Downtown Disney.

I had a hopper.
I probably spent equal time in each park.
I think I entered Disneyland first 2 times and Disney California Adventure first three times.

I wanted to get in to DCA because of the Radiator Springs and TSMM (that may just be because I am a WDW regular and can't get over the short waits for this attraction). But I would also say I enjoyed the peaceful feeling in DCA in the morning and the breakfast options.

Disneyland had an annual attendance of 16.8 million for 2014 and DCA had 8.8 million.

That is hard to fathom why two parks so close together would have such a difference in attendance. I understand in the past that DCA was a bummer or incomplete or not worth second park price or whatever, but now it is fantastic.

I was thinking about a few explanations:

1. The attendance is almost the same - but people enter Disneyland first and hop over to DCA later at a rate of 2:1.
2. People spend three days at DLR and spend 2 at DL vs. 1 at DCA (I find that difficult to believe).
3. The locals don't buy hoppers and just go to DL and scoff at DCA.

Or I guess some combination. If I spent 100 days on site - I would think I would continue to skew towards DCA, and hop over to DL everyday to ride the Pirates. Dead Men Tell No Tales!

What do the DLR regulars think about this?

I had such a great time in DCA. I think it might have the best all around theming out of the 6 parks I have been to. It celebrates the state of California well. Epcot used to be the best with its Worlds Fair concept... until the demise of Future World. DAK could have - but I don't get Avatar Land. Disneyland is a MishMash of wonderfulness. MK - same thing. DHS - lost its identity, and a new one is on the way.

 

[DizMe]

I like DCA. I LOVE dl. I just will never find DCA on par with Disneyland, but that's probably for a number of reasons that wouldn't necessarily apply to others. First, I feel it has more of Walt's touch. I like Buena Vista Street now, but overall I just can't feel Walt's spirit in DCA the way I can at DL. Second, I grew up at DL. It holds the most memories for me, all of them special and wonderful. It's an integral part of my growing up years, the growing up years of my kids, and memories linked to my parents, kids, and grandkids. Third, I find the vast majority of DCA of no interest to me. I'm not fond of the carnival atmosphere and find most of the rides on the far side of the park to be lackluster and unappealing. I love the front half of DCA, including Soarin, Buena Vista St and Hollywood areas, Aladdin show, ToT, and Grizzly. I know I'm in the minority, but Carsland is very cute but not on my must-do list. All in all, I prefer Disneyland because it is full of the movies and characters I loved growing up, pre-Pixar. I think there are probably many, like myself, that associate DL with happy nostalgia. That may very well change as the new generations come along and relate more to the DCA characters and establish their memories there.

 

[Angrose]

DizMe, I think you hit the nail on the head when you mention the nostalgia factor that DL has over DCA. I get tears in my eyes when I walk into Town Square, it just means so much to me. I don't have that feeling at all when I go to DCA. I do however, LOVE Carsland, but that's partly because my son has grown up with those characters and we know the movies so well, plus it's so immersive and RSR is AWESOME. Other than that though, I find very little to pull me over there vs. DL. I do have to say though, as much as my DS7 loves Carsland, I think he honestly loves DL a little more. We spent the vast majority of our time in DL on our last trip and only went to DCA when DL felt too crowded. I have created a DL lover and that's fine with me!!

 

[bcrook]

So does that mean that you spend your time at Disneyland compared to DCA about a 2:1 ratio. I completely understand about liking Disneyland better... But does that mean you make trips specifically to DL and then skip DCA? Do people buy DL specific tickets only?

That is why I am wondering if people go to DL first spend the day, and then go over to DCA later? Both parks in one day but DL is getting all the attendance counts because people have to go walk down mainstreet first?

We wandered back and forth all day everyday. It was closer from Buena Vista Street to Fantasyland than it is from the USA Pavilion at Epcot to the Spaceship Earth. So distance isn't a problem.

I loved Disneyland. It took me back to 1973 at the Magic Kingdom. Those dark rides at DL keep me entertained still. Peter Pan was closed while I was there. That was a crushing blow!!!

 

[sgrap]

I spent 5 fun filled and relaxing days at the Grand California Resort wandering in and out of both parks and Downtown Disney.

I had a hopper.
I probably spent equal time in each park.
I think I entered Disneyland first 2 times and Disney California Adventure first three times.

I wanted to get in to DCA because of the Radiator Springs and TSMM (that may just be because I am a WDW regular and can't get over the short waits for this attraction). But I would also say I enjoyed the peaceful feeling in DCA in the morning and the breakfast options.

Disneyland had an annual attendance of 16.8 million for 2014 and DCA had 8.8 million.

That is hard to fathom why two parks so close together would have such a difference in attendance. I understand in the past that DCA was a bummer or incomplete or not worth second park price or whatever, but now it is fantastic.

I was thinking about a few explanations:

1. The attendance is almost the same - but people enter Disneyland first and hop over to DCA later at a rate of 2:1.
2. People spend three days at DLR and spend 2 at DL vs. 1 at DCA (I find that difficult to believe).
3. The locals don't buy hoppers and just go to DL and scoff at DCA.

Or I guess some combination. If I spent 100 days on site - I would think I would continue to skew towards DCA, and hop over to DL everyday to ride the Pirates. Dead Men Tell No Tales!

What do the DLR regulars think about this?

I had such a great time in DCA. I think it might have the best all around theming out of the 6 parks I have been to. It celebrates the state of California well. Epcot used to be the best with its Worlds Fair concept... until the demise of Future World. DAK could have - but I don't get Avatar Land. Disneyland is a MishMash of wonderfulness. MK - same thing. DHS - lost its identity, and a new one is on the way.

Our family loves DCA as well, always have. We went on our first family DLR trips just a few months after DCA opened, and loved it then! I agree that DL has the nostalgia factor, but DCA has an incredible 'feel' of its own. I wouldn't call us regulars, but we have been 7-8 times since DCA opened. But maybe we shouldn't spread the word on how wonderful it is . . shhhhh !

 

[Winnowill]

We're getting five-day park hoppers. Of the five days, we intend this:
Day 1, Saturday - 100% at DCA
Day 2, Sunday - 90% at DL with a quick run over first thing by someone to get FPs for RSR and Anna and Elsa.
Day 3, Monday - 50% DL, 50% DCA
Day 4, Tuesday - 100% DL (with Magic Morning)
Day 5, Wednesday (till around 2:00 pm) - probably about 80% or more DL.

So of the four and a half park days, we've definitely got less than half DCA. I wouldn't say we're 2:1 (though we could be if we don't spend any of day 5 at DCA), but maybe 3:2.

 

[GatorChris]

If I spend an odd number of days at DL, I always spend the extra day at DL. That's just the way it is. It has so much more than DCA, plus it's just more magical.

 

[sheetz]

Disney doesn't really want them to have equal attendance. DL has longer operating hours, more attractions, more nighttime spectaculars, and more holiday offerings. DCA works as a release valve for when DL is too crowded.

 

[RemainSeatedPlease]

I do think there is something to your theory about more people starting at DL for the day. However I, like many it seems, just plain spend more days/time in DL. I typically go for three days and of those days I spend the first entirely in DL, the second I start in DCA and then hop back to DL for the evening, and then usually spend the third day entirely in DL unless there is something I really want to reride in DCA. It just doesn't have as much to do. A lot of the rides I skip entirely because I could ride them at the local fair, like the swings or the kiddie rides in Bugsland.

 

[minnie mum]

As someone who is not a DLR regular ( we go to WDW more often) but as someone who has visited several times, I'll jump in with my 2¢. We usually only visit for 3 or 4 days at a time. And we don't bother with hoppers. DCA is still barely a single full day for us.

First of all is the fact that DCA has fewer attractions to start with. Many of these attractions just don't appeal to us. We can get our fill of what we want to see in that day. OTOH, there are very, very few attractions in DL that we don't like, and we want to ride many of our favourites multiple times per visit.

 

[bcrook]

Wow, that is amazing that so many of you are reporting staying in one park for a day. Very interesting. My group really just looked at the place as one big park. It was common for me to stop in at Starbucks at DCA and find out that part of my group had ran over to DL for another go at IASW or Matterhorn or something. Then buzz back over. Since we stayed right there at the Grand Californian with its own entrance that could have affected our touring plans.

I'm still in shock a little at the size of that castle in DisneyLand.

I loved the New Orleans Area.

 

[bluebirdie]

I agree with DizMe! We like DCA and enjoy spending some time there, but it just doesn't compare to the nostalgia and happy feeling we get at DL. We are in northern California, but we make it down at least twice a year (or more if we splurge on an AP that year). Initially we would always start at DL and then hop over to DCA at some point in the day, but now it's pretty much an even split. It really just depends on what our party wants to get done. DCA has never been an all-day park for us. My nieces and nephew have certain rides they have to get on there, but we don't do as much strolling around at DCA as we do at DL. We almost always get hoppers, unless we are making a rare one-day-only trip; in that case we usually just stick to DL.

 

[DHSbutcher]

I absolutely love DCA. WDW is my home, and I appreciate the larger sidewalks, cleanliness, and more modern features of DCA and its rides. It reminds me a lot of WDW. DCA in my eyes is a much better California version of Hollywood studios, I love it. I love DL as well, but it gets so crowded, it is so worn out, and our first visit was only 2 years ago, so you could say were not as attached as others. Also, I am sure there are a lot of people who don't get park hoppers. If you had one day to spend, you'd probably choose disneyland over DCA. Even i would, just because of the history.

 

[ImDMous]

We have passes, so I'm not sure how our attendance is counted. We go about once a month, sometimes just for a day and sometimes for several. We most often just meander back and forth but we have been known to spend the whole day in one or the other. We loved DCA in it's original form and still love it now and we have spent all day of a 1 day visit there and never entered DL. I guess I don't have a favorite. I have favorite areas of each and can easily spend my time in one or the other.

I think there are a lot of people who can only afford a single-day single-park ticket and those people would obviously choose DL over DCA if that's the only day they get that year.

 

[disneymom0104]

I love both- and DCA is my 3rd favorite park out of all of them (DL is #1, MK is #2). My kids like both, but I feel a slight lean toward DCA for them. We were there for 5 busy days in May with park hoppers. Day 1 we started in DL and stayed until about 2pm and went to DCA for the rest of the evening. Day 2 we started at DL and went to DCA at 12pm. Day 3 we started at DCA and stayed almost all day. We went over to DL late in the evening. Day 4 we started in DL- it was pouring rain and many rides were down. We stayed until lunch, took a break, and went to DCA for the rest of the evening. Day 5 we started at DCA, took a mid day break and went to DL until the midnight closing for our last night. I think overall we spent more time at DCA than DL for this trip. The resort in general was much more crowded than anyone was anticipating and DCA was just easier to manage. I love the nostalgia and everything about DL, but I love DCA, too. We are people that drive 2 days to get there and can only go every 1.5 years or so. We get park hoppers for as long as we can- and we try to spend equal time in both parks, although DL is more my favorite <3

I had a family member go with their family for the first time ever earlier in the year. They had a 3 day non hopper. They spent 2 full days in DL and 1 in DCA.

 

[sweethannah]

We are obviously in the minority but our family loves DCA. I like the open feel of it, the walkways are bigger and feels less claustrophobic. I feel like I'm in a beachy town and hey beer!

 

[mgmgbook]

We love DCA as much as DL. TSMM is one of our favorite rides of all the rides in both parks. The crowds in DL get a little too busy for us at times. We like the more relaxed atmosphere in DCA.

 

[disneycat321]

We were local AP holders for a few years, so we basically treated it all as one park - back and forth constantly. If I have to choose, I choose DL. We went at Christmas and only had a day, so we opted to get DL one park tickets. However, now I haven't been to DCA in a year, and I miss it SO much. We absolutely love both parks. DL will always be closer to my heart because it's just...I don't know...more magical, I guess? When we are there, I think we do spend more time at DL, but we do repeat lots of the rides at DCA - some of our absolute favorites are there. We love Screamin, Soarin, TOT, Toy Story, RSR, and Goofy's Sky School! Oh, and The Little Mermaid. Plus, DCA has WOC, which we love.

I do think that people who are going for just a day may opt to get single park tickets to DL. I think there may be more one day visitors than people realize - we've had out of town relatives come for just a day a couple of times. People often just stop by DLR as part of a larger So Cal trip.

I've often wondered how they count the number of people visiting each park - each entry? Each person? - especially when you take passes into account.

 

[DizMe]

OP, I forgot to answer your question about why the attendance numbers might be so different. I agree with you about hopping. We hop back and forth a lot, but almost always start at DL. Part of the reason for that is because DL often opens earlier! If we start at DL, we will often hop over the DCA at some point but we almost always hop back to DL. I think that, as sheetz mentioned, the fact that there is the parade and fireworks and the later closing time is just bound to affect the attendance numbers in a way that may skew the numbers. Ever see the people pouring into DL when DCA closes?

 

[bcrook]

OP, I forgot to answer your question about why the attendance numbers might be so different. I agree with you about hopping. We hop back and forth a lot, but almost always start at DL. Part of the reason for that is because DL often opens earlier! If we start at DL, we will often hop over the DCA at some point but we almost always hop back to DL. I think that, as sheetz mentioned, the fact that there is the parade and fireworks and the later closing time is just bound to affect the attendance numbers in a way that may skew the numbers. Ever see the people pouring into DL when DCA closes?

Yes I did notice it as I was flooding over with them! Disney only counts the first park that the ticket is scanned for the day. So I think DLR gets a bump from always being first. But based on this very small sample size it does like that DLR gets more "hits" per day than DCA.

I wish I knew how to change the title of this thread. I put GCA combining the Resort and the Park DCA and Disney's Grand Californian duh. I just noticed that.