Does Anyone Else Miss the Old California Adventure?

Oh my goodness! That was a rant? That was a well balanced post about what you liked and didn't like about the old park. If you consider it a rant, you're way too mellow! :laughing:

Good post. :thumbsup2

-Bob

hehe I thought this too about Little_Birdie. Methinks Little_birdie is a sweetheart :goodvibes

I will super duper miss the beach boys playing through each area differently. It was so much fun. :guilty:
 
I miss the Soap Opera Bistro (or whatever it was called!). It was replaced by Disney Playhouse.

Very good food at affordable prices. The wait staff created impromptu scenes and acted out their parts while serving your food. In our case the waitress was hitting on me and telling my wife to go away. That ended when a waiter came over (supposedly her BF) and the two got into it and left. It was fun and food was great.

Huff -

I didn't go to DCA for the first time until after they closed the Soap Opera Bistro, but given the shortage of dining options in both parks, I wish they had kept it open - especally now that you say the food was good and the prices were affordable! I wish I'd been able to try it!

When seeing segments about the Soap Opera Bistro on the news or wherever, I remember thinking that the soap opera theme of the restaurant seemed risky, and it could potentially turn some people off. But I figured that, based on what I'd read about the menu, it was a restaurant that could easily and seamlessly be turned into another type of 'diner theme' if the soap opera thing didn't work. I wish it hadn't been removed altogether.
 
I'm looking forward to the changes. I love that now they can add more of the Disney rides like Little Mermaid and cars land. I guess I just love the Disney Feel to the park. I do have to admit I did love hearing the beach boys music when you entered the park and the CALIFORNIA letters.

Do you guys remember when they had the who wants to be a millionaire? I thought is was pretty fun! I don't think it last long though.

I do hate the muppets 3D...
 
There were two things about DCA we liked - Soarin Over California (WOW!) and California Screamin - which BTW is a very weak Disney coaster with almost zero theming. It is fun. But fun in more of a Six Flags kind of way than a Disney way. Give me Rock 'n' Rollercoaster any day with a strong theme.

IMO the Condor Flats area has always worked perfectly for what DCA should be. The GRR area works pretty well. The Hollywood area could have been much more (look at DHS). Paradise Pier was a mistake from the beginning and all Disney can do now is make the best of a bad thing.

As the years progressed DCA has made improvements. But it did lack a Disney feel - although it was getting better.

I have always thought the basic concept of a California theme park in California is an idea that works. Probably no other state could get away with it. But California has that mystique about it.

I do not know how all the current changes are going to turn out but I suspect we will look back and see how it was all for the good. If the attendance numbers go up that will be the bottom line indicator of success.

I grew up with Six Flags Magic Mountain, and I still feel like CA Screamin' is one of the best coasters I've ever ridden...it always reminded me of going to the Santa Cruz Boarwalk with my parents when I was a kid and riding the Dipper...only it's better because it's not as rough. I felt like the music playing on the ride made it VERY Disney-ish. Not "Mickey-Disney", but IMO, that was a good thing.

I agree that the Hollywood area has always been kind of wasted...sitting there, waiting to have something done with it. But I loved the Paradise Pier area, personally. Again - Disney-ish because it was done to the hilt, but not Mickey-Disney, which personally I get really sick of. Sometimes having Mickey's face plastered everywhere is a little like walking through a SoCal swap meet, IMO.

I know not everyone appreciated DCA the way I did....personally, I really LIKE to get away from the mouse sometimes, lol. DCA felt authentic to me (despite the areas that areas seemed to sit there waiting for some direction)...but I know numbers are the bottom line, and that Disney is going to do whatever it has to do (like allowing drunks to meander through the park all Summer...) to bring in more revenue. Sigh. That change REALLY negatively affected our visit last Summer...people walking through with their 2 foot tall fluorescent cups of alcohol, stumbling and sloshing as they went. UGH!

LOL, yes, I miss the old DCA.
 

Just a warning beforehand: I am so sorry if I complain too much in this post!!
Ok, I agree that I got more of a California vibe from the old park. Many people disliked the theme because they thought it was strange that there was a park about California inside California! Personally, I thought it was an ingenious idea because California has so much diversity that you can really step into different worlds by going to the different corners of the state! So why not create a park based on it? It really had great potential!!

Another reason why I think I liked the old DCA better was because I was young when it first opened. I was only 6 at the time! haha :cutie: As a child, I absolutely loved it!! I grew up with it and all of its "imperfections!" However, I admit that I never really criticized it, and I just accepted how it was. Therefore, I will keep a sharper eye on the new improvements and probably judge them harsher than I did with the old park. This is because I have a higher expectation of the new park! The improvements are supposed to improve what was pre-existing! They should build upon what was there! I am just hoping that they are not going in the wrong direction with everything!

I agree with this. The idea had/has so much potential. When Epcot opened it was so different than anything Disney had done previous. I was amazed the first time I saw it, partially because it was so different. DCA could have been that counterbalance to Disneyland. It makes sense too to try and not just create another Magic Kingdom across from THE Magic Kingdom.

There are so many ideas you can run with in this state. I always wonder what WDI could have done if given the budget from day 1. There are splashes of it here and there like the GRR area and Sorin. Instead, the budget was slashed and we got a park that opened with very few attractions and many of those done on the cheap. On the whole, the public saw through the cheapness and here we are.

Now that they are "fixing" it, management is going safe by adding distinctly Disney character based attractions. I have enjoyed the additions thus far and excited about seeing the completed product, but when I think of DCA I will always think of what could have been.
 
I'm really going to miss the old DCA. Unlike Hydro-Guy, I actually liked the blaring rock bands and the skateboarding shows and the like. It was all part of the California experience.

However, I understand why Disney is making these changes. When people come to Disney, they expect things to be a certain way. DCA was different. It was more "California", which was the point. Unfortunately, that didn't draw guests.

The park should be renamed to Pixar Park or something like that with the direction they are taking things. I'm afraid that things are not going to feel right with an authentic look and feel to the Paradise Pier area sitting right next to a cartoonish Monument Valley.

I'm just not sure there is enough space between them to have a good visual transition. That is part of why the hub and spoke idea worked so well. Sort of like cleansing the pallate before tasting another glass. With the original DCA theme being all about different areas (and eras) of a very real place, the park did flow better visually, even if navigation was a challenge.
 
god no.............:upsidedow....

why they didn't build an MGM Studios copy there is beyond me...now they are finally getting it and doing that exact thing. The park when it started was cheap looking and not Disney quality...never imho....

I think all the improvements now and the new Cars land opening really give it a feel of a family oriented DISNEY park....not a carnival.

why they ever went with a Calif theme in Calif was beyond me too.

I guess after 14 trips to WDW I think that a copy of MGM studios would be completely awesome
;)
 
/
I was at the park within months of its opening...and many times over the years

yes the Soap Opera Bistro was cool...why didn't they change this into Sci Fi Diner is beyond me.
Why they don't have a Brown Derby or Prime Time Cafe is also beyond me.
I just don't get why they didn't do any of the WDW themed restaurants when they had the chance.
These are places that are "do not miss" on every trip to WDW...it could have been that way for DCA too.

I rode the Limo superstar ride...omg...it was bad. cardboard cutouts...bad bad bad. I can't believe Yesterland has it on there. but then I guess some say the same about losing Mr Toad at WDW....but it wasn't very "disneyish" to see Whoopi goldberg in a ride...and a cardboard cutout at that.

I know you all may think I am crazy...but I agree with Hydroguy...that the area around Soarin was the only true Disney feeling area of the park.

I was also disappointed when Tower of Terror opened...why they didn't do all the cool landscaping and exterior facade of WDW is again a mystery....

I have always thought that DCA lacked trees and landscaping.

ok...off my rant now...

ps...I love Epcot and all the parks of WDW for their distinctive qualities...and DCA just doesn't compare yet.
 
I guess after 14 trips to WDW I think that a copy of MGM studios would be completely awesome;)

I think a copy of Disney's worst park, would be a bad idea. I'm fine that a section of DCA is about Hollywood but making the whole park like MGM/DHS would of been an aweful mistake.

DCA was built as a cheap alternative to a grand plan to make another Epcot in the same location. As my second favorite Disney Park after DL I would of been fine with that.
 
i miss the soap opera bistro (or whatever it was called!). It was replaced by disney playhouse.

Very good food at affordable prices. The wait staff created impromptu scenes and acted out their parts while serving your food. In our case the waitress was hitting on me and telling my wife to go away. That ended when a waiter came over (supposedly her bf) and the two got into it and left. It was fun and food was great.

ditto!!!!!!!!
 
I was there last week, and it might have been because the whole middle of the park is blocked off for construction. But I felt ZERO Disney Magic. I was there just to get on the rides I wanted to go on. & shows. Walking around was just not happening because it didn't even feel like a Disney park.

It was very disappointing.
Hopefully the magic will return when the construction is finished.
 
I grew up with Six Flags Magic Mountain, and I still feel like CA Screamin' is one of the best coasters I've ever ridden...it always reminded me of going to the Santa Cruz Boarwalk with my parents when I was a kid and riding the Dipper...only it's better because it's not as rough. I felt like the music playing on the ride made it VERY Disney-ish. Not "Mickey-Disney", but IMO, that was a good thing.
Of course one of the criticisms of Paradise Pier is that it is exactly what Walt Disney was trying to avoid when he built Disneyland - a carnie type environment. Puuulease, would someone burn down those carnie games! :rolleyes1
 
I think a copy of Disney's worst park, would be a bad idea.

Everyone has their favorate or lease favorate park. My least favorate is Epcot. We love going there to dine or watch Illuminations but the rides are lacking IMHO. Test Track, Soar'n and Mission are good but our kids get bored with them. The rest are mostly dark kids rides which are ok but not enought to hold teens and adults attention in my group. We love DS's TOT, RRC, TSM, and the shows there. I find Epcot a high priced shopping and dining mall. That said, while its my least favorate its still Disney and a great place to go especially to dine. IOW's, the worst at Disney is still great!!
 
Of course one of the criticisms of Paradise Pier is that it is exactly what Walt Disney was trying to avoid when he built Disneyland - a carnie type environment. Puuulease, would someone burn down those carnie games! :rolleyes1


I agree. Disney also has such games at Animal Kingdom. They really distract from the Disney experience at both parks.
 
I am really, really going to miss the old CALIFORNIA letters. The kids always used to take pictures by the letter of their first name. It definetly was a tradition for us when visiting. By looking at the pictures throughout the years, you can see how much the kids have changed. Oh the memories. It just won't be the same...:sad1:

On another, happier note, I am really looking forward to all of the other changes. I really like the retheming of Paradise Pier and the addition of Carsland. Another reason to beg DH to go back! :lmao:
 
Of course one of the criticisms of Paradise Pier is that it is exactly what Walt Disney was trying to avoid when he built Disneyland - a carnie type environment. Puuulease, would someone burn down those carnie games! :rolleyes1

Ha! I love those carnival games! What's the harm in them if you don't like them? They are tucked away way in the back and you can easily pretend they don't exist if you like. But leave them for the rest of us who like to spend $40 on a stuffed Dumbo! ;)

P.S. I still think it's a non-carnival environment. It's clean and there's no vomit on the ground, so I think Walt succeeded. ;)
 
The letters! I wish they could have stayed. Those were so unique. I loved the way they changed them up for seasons, etc.
I've got lots of cool pictures of many different incarnations. It's going to be weird in September when I see that plaza without them for the first time.

Excited to see all the new stuff, but those letters were stinkin' cool.
 
Ha! I love those carnival games! What's the harm in them if you don't like them? They are tucked away way in the back and you can easily pretend they don't exist if you like. But leave them for the rest of us who like to spend $40 on a stuffed Dumbo! ;)

P.S. I still think it's a non-carnival environment. It's clean and there's no vomit on the ground, so I think Walt succeeded. ;)

I don't thing they qualify as carnie games because they aren't rigged, evidence by the fact I have won so many times! :)
 
Of course one of the criticisms of Paradise Pier is that it is exactly what Walt Disney was trying to avoid when he built Disneyland - a carnie type environment. Puuulease, would someone burn down those carnie games! :rolleyes1

Maybe what some of us enjoyed a lot about DCA was that it seemed to have areas that effectively celebrated the spirit and experience of true California natives? I loved the Paradise Pier area because it reminded me of the boardwalk at Santa Cruz...the GRR reminds me of Yosemite, the area across from it reminds me of the Redwoods, the Condor Flats area because it celebrates the huge role CA played in early aviation, etc. Maybe Walt Disney loved California (or maybe he didn't?..IDK), but he was no native...his childhood memories were not completely intertwined with the features and landscapes and monuments of CA....so while maybe DCA became something that Walt buffs would say Walt Disney was trying to "avoid"....I think many of us really appreciated the park's focus on the elements that we love most about this state.

Lol, but obviously that wasn't bringin' in the bucks, so out it goes! :rotfl:
 

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