I haven't been to Disneyland in 10 years...what will surprise me the most?

[Creaking Crypt Door]

I'm going to DL for the first time in 10 years this summer (I can't wait!) and I've been reading so much about renovations and changes, especially at DCA. DCA in particular, I feel like will look almost too different to me.

For fun, I thought it'd be interesting to ask you all what you think might surprise me most about what's changed since 2005. I've been 4-5 times now, so I'm anxious to see how different things might be.

So what do you think might surprise me the most?

 

[Aladora]

Carland for sure!

 

[gottalovepluto]

How exciting!! Cars Land. I feel like I'm walking onto the set of the movie every time I see it, it's incredible what the Imagineers have brought to life there.

And since you look to have recently joined the boards here...

 

[gerilyne]

I'd have to agree... Carsland is simply breathtaking to just walk through (be sure to see it at night all lit up). It feels like you're in the movie itself. Most impressive!

 

[Dizzy4DL]

CarsLand, no doubt. I agree with the previous poster who said it's like walking onto a movie set.
Sometimes we just sit there and soak it all in, it's a wonderfully themed land.

But I think a close second would be DCA's new entrance and the esplanade.

 

[jammyjam25]

I think pretty much all of DCA will wow you for sure!

In DL I'd say the improvements to Big Thunder!

 

[figment_jii]

If I had to pick one thing, I agree that the most positive new thing will Carsland. A close second will be the general re-design of DCA's entrance (Buena Vista Street). I do also think that there are a number of other changes that you'll notice (hopefully they're for the better).

• Almost all of the entertainment offerings will be "new" (as in the debuted in the last ten years). There are the daytime parades: Soundsational (2011) and Pixar Play Parade (2008). There will be a new nighttime parade (Paint the Night) fireworks show (Disneyland Forever) and World of Color this summer. Come to think of it, WoC debuted in the last ten years, so that will be something new as well.
• The parks will be done up for the 60th anniversary (which means lots of diamond-themed decor and silver coloring).
• The Mickey and Magical Map show is also new (since 2013).
• I highly recommend checking out Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe on Main Street.
• They've added Arandelle to Storybook Canal (if you like Frozen, that's a plus)
• They updated Star Tours (3D and based on the "new" movies)
• A fair number of other things, but those are the ones that come to mind at this point.

On the flip side, I do also think that folks returning to DLR for the first time after an extended absence are somewhat surprised by the increase in crowds throughout the year. While not necessarily a positive or a negative, another "big" change is that they now enforce return times for FPs.

 

[Creaking Crypt Door]

Yes, I can't wait to see Carsland! I seem to be one of very few who loved Cars to a whole land dedicated to it sounds amazing to me. I've seen pictures at night and can't wait to experience it!

Amazingly in all my times going to Disneyland, I had never been on Storybook Canal-I'm finally going to ride and my fiancee will love seeing Arandelle!

I'm slightly worried about crowds since we'll be there in late June, but we'll have 4 day parkhoppers and are staying at DGC, so we don't have to sweat it too much.

I'm so excited to see all the changes!

 

[Creaking Crypt Door]

How exciting!! Cars Land. I feel like I'm walking onto the set of the movie every time I see it, it's incredible what the Imagineers have brought to life there.

And since you look to have recently joined the boards here...

And thank you for the welcome!

 

[Sherry E]

I think that DCA, in general, will be the most surprising to you. I'm not even singling out one thing or another thing (several new rides and attractions have been added over the years to both parks), because there are lots of new things. But, in the past, even though I had grown to really like the previous version of DCA, it was lacking a lot of little (what I call) 'kisses of magic' here and there. It didn't feel tremendously in line with Disney in some areas of the park, and it just seemed to be missing something. It didn't have a heartbeat to it, really. It didn't particularly evoke any specific feeling or memory or emotion. It didn't tug at the heartstrings, with perhaps an exception made for Soarin's majestic scenery footage. DCA didn't even feel particularly creative or imaginative.

Somehow, with the inclusion of Cars Land and Buena Vista Street -- both of which are incredibly themed and detailed lands in their own ways -- DCA now feels like a more cohesive, imaginative park. Those two new lands somehow managed to make all of the other lands in DCA feel more like Disney! They helped to connect the dots. For example, Buena Vista Street (which is now the emotional, nostalgic epicenter of DCA, like what Main Street is to DL) and Hollywood Land complement each other well. Kooky Cars Land seems to make sense being so close to whimsical A Bug's Land -- I don't know why, but it does. Grizzly Peak is now getting more involved too. Toy Story Midway Mania seems to fit perfectly in Paradise Pier. Pacific Wharf even seems to have more relevance and personality now, and no longer feels like a complete waste of space.

I don't know how it happened, but the whole layout and make-up of DCA makes more sense now, ever since those two lands were added in 2012, and feels as though it is a Disney park through and through. There is still a lot of potential, and a lot of work that should be done to build up DCA even more. But before 2012, it was a park that people didn't know if they should visit or not. It was an option only if DL got too crowded. And now DCA is a destination in its own right.

 

[coaches24]

I'm going to DL for the first time in 10 years this summer (I can't wait!) and I've been reading so much about renovations and changes, especially at DCA. DCA in particular, I feel like will look almost too different to me.

For fun, I thought it'd be interesting to ask you all what you think might surprise me most about what's changed since 2005. I've been 4-5 times now, so I'm anxious to see how different things might be.

So what do you think might surprise me the most?

DCA will surprise as a whole IMO. I was there 10 years ago and it was my first time seeing DCA and I was not impressed at all. Half a day and I felt like I didn't want to go back there. Now there are several attractions/ rides I enjoy there and I usually spend about 60/40 (DL/ DCA) split between the two parks on a given trip. It is far better now than it was back in 05.

 

[Sevenfifty]

The crowds!

 

[NannyBeBe]

The crowds and the prices.

 

[ldarcy]

A few weeks ago, I visited DL for the 1st time in about 15 years & I didn't have very high hopes. I hadn't been impressed the 1st time because I am used to WDW which is just sensory overload. I was most surprised by both the body-to-body crowds, but simultaneously how quickly they were managed. To be fair, I was there for over 10 hours that day, so I got to see everything I wanted to, except what was closed for refurb, but I never felt overwhelmed by wait times. The worst was perhaps 40 minutes. I was surprised by how few rides used FastPass or single-rider tickets. That bit could be improved. I was surprised by how much more I liked it this 2nd time around, but can't put my finger on why exactly. Any day at DL is better than any day at work.

HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME!!

 

[Canuck16]

All of California Adventure and the World of Colour show is amazing!!

 

[whjensen]

Agree with all above. We took our kids in 2004 for the first time and California Adventure was an afterthought. It just didn't work. Went again in 2009 (I believe?) and same. Went this last year (twice for various reasons) and now California Adventure is a full-fledged attraction on its own. It's got 4 mountains (counting Tower as a mountain here) and, unlike Disneyland, was designed for crowds from the ground up. I disagree with Sherry's opinion of Bug's Land. It still just doesn't work for me. It feels like the playground in the middle of the mall more than a true land. I'd love for them to do something with their new properties there.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

Besides the ticket price and crowds? Carsland is absolutely beautiful, especially at sundown. The entire ambiance at DCA is so different than it was when it first opened. It was nothing special back then, but now it's truly beautiful and has some of the most fun rides (I'm a HUGE fan of Monster's Inc. and Little Mermaid). At Disneyland itself I feel not much has changed. The nighttime entertainment should be exciting once it debuts, but otherwise, I don't think anything will surprise you there.

 

[Sherry E]

Agree with all above. We took our kids in 2004 for the first time and California Adventure was an afterthought. It just didn't work. Went again in 2009 (I believe?) and same. Went this last year (twice for various reasons) and now California Adventure is a full-fledged attraction on its own. It's got 4 mountains (counting Tower as a mountain here) and, unlike Disneyland, was designed for crowds from the ground up. I disagree with Sherry's opinion of Bug's Land. It still just doesn't work for me. It feels like the playground in the middle of the mall more than a true land. I'd love for them to do something with their new properties there.

I didn't really give my opinion of A Bug's Land, specifically, other than to say it is whimsical -- which anyone can agree on, even if they don't like the land. I mainly said that the close proximity of kooky Cars Land to whimsical A Bug's Land seems to make sense. They kind of flow into each other in one spot, where you see the sign advertising A Bug's Land. Normally I would have thought that a land about Cars and a land about Bugs would not seem to mesh side by side, but the transition from one land to the other is not as jarring as I would have expected.

 

[whjensen]

I didn't really give my opinion of A Bug's Land, specifically, other than to say it is whimsical -- which anyone can agree on, even if they don't like the land. I mainly said that the close proximity of kooky Cars Land to whimsical A Bug's Land seems to make sense. They kind of flow into each other in one spot, where you see the sign advertising A Bug's Land. Normally I would have thought that a land about Cars and a land about Bugs would not seem to mesh side by side, but the transition from one land to the other is not as jarring as I would have expected.

Aha. Apologies. The two times we've gone in the last year, it was a cut through to Tower of Terror from the main area of the park, even for our 4 yo daughter. And, for myself, I'd never subject myself to the It's Tough To Be A Bug show again. I know others may like it, but I put it right down there with the Stitch ride.

 

[Sherry E]

Aha. Apologies. The two times we've gone in the last year, it was a cut through to Tower of Terror from the main area of the park, even for our 4 yo daughter. And, for myself, I'd never subject myself to the It's Tough To Be A Bug show again. I know others may like it, but I put it right down there with the Stitch ride.

Oh, no problem at all!

I totally agree about the ITTBAB show -- it is one of those things that is great for some people, but it is disturbing for others. I am one of the ones who was disturbed by it.