The news about DCA...

[Josiah Harper]

For those of you who live in California, and have already visited DCA, I'm wondering....

I've read three articles from CA newspapers that speak of how disappointing--and disturbing--extremely low attendance since opening day has been. In fact, one newspaper (The Register, I think) said that on Friday, the park was "almost deserted." (That's a direct quote from my online sources.)

Was Saturday a better day for DCA than Thursday and Friday?

All the Internet pix of the park look gorgeous. I would hate to see a less-than-stellar opening for this park.

Joe

 

[TheLionKing]

Well, the weather has been kind of crummy. I was planning on going opening day, but the CM's kind of talked me out of it. They were expecting 20K waiting to get in, but only had about 1 - 2K at the time of opening. So, I think there are multiple factors, but certainly there must be some disappointment among the execs at Disneyland Resort. Remember, this is off season for Disneyland as well.

****************************
Past
DL multiple times
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Future
Disneyana Conv 2001 at GC
DIS Convention 2001 at Y&B
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[Luv2Roam]

Everyone was probably thinking it would be terribly crowded and stayed away. Between that and not so great weather....

AK : Lions, Tiggers & Bears! Oh My!

 

[Michelle]

I agree with LK and luv2roam...weather and dire predictions of crowds no doubt kept the locals away. And it is "off season". Plus MANY of us already went to at least one preview and don't need to go back so soon. Gee, do you think this means they'll start selling two-park APs again?

Michelle
Assistant Webmaster
Cruise & Inspiration Board Co-Host
Disneyland Board Co-Host

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

<font face="Comic Sans MS"><font color=#00009c>I hope so, Michelle!!!

I agree, too. We've been having those storm 2001 reports, and predictions of huge crowds. That alone kept me away on opening day. We did go to DL yesterday, and there was a light crowd. It did rain, but nothing like what has been predicted for our area.

<font face="Comic Sans MS"><font color=#FF0066>Mary Jo

Disneyland Board Co-Moderator

My Disneyland Site
My Sequoia/Yosemite Trip

Dress Up Your Posts

 

[benolathe]

I agree that the official opening day was probably a let-down because it sounded (from reading the boards) that just about anyone could buy a ticket and get in on a special preview day before the official opening anyway. So, everyone who REALLY wanted to see the park (and is close) already HAS!

If they wanted a really big OFFICIAL opening, they probably shouldn't have had so many preview days.

I know that I'm really looking forward to being there next month and if the crowds stay low, then that will be just fine with me!

Sheila
sheila.bennett@home.com
Wilderness Lodge; Dec 1999
Disneyland March 2001!

 

[SteveH]

Seeing news reports of "third of the park for full price" (Fox News as I recall) probably don't help much either. I'm a bit sad to see the low crowds for something as big as DCA. I wonder how the crowds would have been had they stopped the sale of AP's. All in all for the $20 preview fee I had a great time, but with out some value of the AP I'm not sure I'll be up for $43/day.

<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>

 

[Kaseysmom]

In reality DCA has been open for almost a month, I have friends that were at special previews the first week of January. Many, many of the people around the park have already seen it and were dreading the crowds of opening weekend, so stayed away. We didn't get a chance to visit until Feb. 4th, and we enjoyed it so much ( the 85 degrees made it seem like a summer day) I left the park knowing that I was going to upgrade my premium annual pass to include DCA. I was quite disappointed to read in the paper the next day that it had been suspended. So I think the combination of multiple preview days, fear of horrible crowds and the poor weather kept a lot of people away. Maybe Disney will realize that it really is the die hard fans that support their parks during off seasons and bring back the DCA option for AP holders.
Jan

 

[DLVisitor]

Crowds were non-existent today. Arrived at 9:00 AM and by 1:30 if felt like we had seen what we wanted to see and rode on what we wanted to ride. We kept wondering where the crowds were! Soaring over California was good, Superstar limo was lame, Its a Bugs Life was GREAT, Muppet Theater OK (but Muppets aren't too popular anymore), Animation Center was VERY educational. I felt like there as more stores and food places than true rides or Disney magic.

$43 for what we saw today is not something I will repeat any time soon. Disneyland is still the place for me, my $$ and time.

 

[swinginevilmike]

We will see next weekend how the crowds are. It's supposed to keep raining till Wed. And all opening parks are notoriously empty their first week. I went opening week to IOA and we did everything in half a day. The place was completely dead...

Mike

 

[Diva of Dragons]

The news hype about the predicted crowds really scared people away! As others have said, the weather right now is VERY cold! We went to DCA on Fri. night & it was deserted, but so was DL. DL is usually swarming with AP holders on Fri. nights but it's just sooooo cold (for us). We also went today, knowing people would stay away, due to the rain forecast. We put on a lot of layers & went for it! Our plan was to have breakfast in DL then go to DCA for a couple hours. We ended up staying at DCA from 11am-6pm. It was so relaxing! Things will probably pick up next week. It is supposed to warm up & it's a Pres. weekend. One last note......our waitress at Robert Mondavi said that the CM's are not allowed to sign themselves in until Sept., which doesn't help attendance.

<marquee direction="right" align="left" behavior="alternate"><font size=3><font color=#FF0066><font face="Comic Sans MS"><bold>LISA</marquee></font></font></font></bold>
<marquee direction="left" align="right" behavior="alternate"><font size=3><font color=#6600CC><font face="Comic Sans MS"><bold>"Diva of Dragons"</marquee></font></font></font></bold>
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[teri]

I hope the crowds stay low when we come to visit in a couple of weeks. I was quite worried about being there in heavy crowds with my 2 kids.

I just flew back from WDW last night, and during my layover at LAX I saw a group of cheerleaders from San Jose who had just returned from DL and DCA. They were disappointed in DCA because it didn't have lots of thrill rides... when I asked if it was like Great America, they said no (looking disappointed) and then went on about how great the rides are at GA. They did like Disneyland Park, though, and were glad they went. I know GA very well, we have had season passes there for 3 years... it is nothing at all like Disney, but has lots of loopy coasters. So I guess the theming, ambiance, shops and restuarants that were meant to appeal to those of us who are more 'mature', or the features that are supposed to be nostalgic such as the Paradise Pier are not enough to capture the teen crowd's affections.

Not exactly bad news from MY standpoint, as I don't particularly want to hang out with the teen crowd. But I can see how it might be a problem for Disney

"My brain takes a vacation just to give my heart more room..."
teri@iluvdisney.com