What should CA do with the Billion Upgrade

[kiwitravel]

Just wondering how people here feel the Billion should be spent at CA, to kick off here are my thoughts:
1. Better theming, perhaps more of a Pixar theme with a Monstroplis area, Toy Story area instead of Hollywood Backdrop and Paradise Pier...
2. A "Cars" Roller Coaster, a Matahorn or BTMRR type coaster maybe with a splash type finish
3. Better Entrance current one is very uninspiring
4. Monorail linked between parks, park hopping would be a lot less hassle.
5. One or two high adrenilin rides such as you find at Knotts, ie a suspended roller coaster
6. Build a new bigger, bigger capacity Peter Pan ride with a decent queing area, there's no room in DL so do it at CA

Any other ideas?

 

[Master Mason]

They need a Big Weenie for one thing, every other disney park has one... and Grizzley rock doesn't stand out enough for me to count that as one. ie the castle, the hat, the tree, the ball....

More rides, and better navigation of the park, you currently have to walk a very long distance to get from one "section" to the next, and if you want to go from screaming to TOT you have to walk a really long distance.

Give several sections a face lift, similar to what they did in Fantasy land at DL getting rid of the cheap looking facades and making them Disneyish. (something they still haven't done in Florida BTW)

Add some more Disney theaming.... to tie it together better.

 

[disneydreamerbelle]

better navigation of the park, you currently have to walk a very long distance to get from one "section" to the next, and if you want to go from screaming to TOT you have to walk a really long distance.

AMEN!

My child loves to play in Bugs Land while the adults ride TOT and CS, but the walks between them for child swap get really long.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

i think a dvc resort would be nice, I think monerail though the parks drop off more places, go though both parks and the dvc hotel
better disney dinning plan

 

[SunDevilDaddy]

Just wondering how people here feel the Billion should be spent at CA, to kick off here are my thoughts:
1. Better theming, perhaps more of a Pixar theme with a Monstroplis area, Toy Story area instead of Hollywood Backdrop and Paradise Pier...

I agree with you that the parks theming is not up to DLR standards. But, they have attemped to theme DCA as a California theme park. I think it would sever that connection to start removing themes from California and replacing them with Disney-only themes.

I can say that we were extremely disappointed with Paradise Pier and felt that it lacked any Disney Magic, both in aesthetics and ride design. I would love to see an overhaul of Paradise Pier.

Also sticking with the California theme I think it is important that they add more rides/attractions which allow you to experience California rather than learn about/observe California. The "history of Cali" shows and past rides such as the departed Superstar Limo leave guests feeling like they have just been observers into the world of California, where Soaring successfully brings California to the guest in a fun and interactive way.

Otherwise more rides and attractions would be great. As noted on these boards over and over, there is not enough at DCA to pull in the crowds. And people constantly question whether to go to DCA or attend one of the other Southern California theme parks instead. Many people also use DCA as an extension of DLR and hop over to ride a single ride or two throughout the day, like it is simply another land attached to the hub at DLR. If DCA surrounded their main attractions with a variety of dark rides, or the like, they could retain some guests in the park versus being utilized as a one trick pony. I think more people would stay to experience these other rides after being lured over by Soarin, ToT, Screamin, etc.

I would also like to see some of the budget go towards offsetting employee costs in order to extend park hours to match DLR hours. Personally I think 8 to midnight would have allowed us to see all the shows we wanted and relax more when riding rides, rather than focusing on the time of the next show and how long we had left until the park closed.

Theres my two cents.

 

[TheZue]

I think they should put a good amount of that money into reworking the quick serve restaurants. They just aren't as good as they are in Disney and they always seem kind of grungy. I can handle pizza port being a bit messy because it's always PACKED but to go into a deserted DCA restaurant and still have that feeling that it's not all that clean when you are one of two families there doesn't work for me. Beyond that they really did the bare minimum on all of them. Most of the restaurants in DL are quite nice to sit and relax in and are finished fairly nicely. In DCA they all seem to have the brushed concrete floors and minimal theming. It's like being in a bad food court...not somewhere I'd want to sit and relax. When we get hungry we tend to leave that park because we've eaten at a few places and never found them as enjoyable as the Disney quick serves. That doesn't help the park stay full.

 

[Albort]

more money for the CMs!

Then work on the rest of the park... make another structure and replace Timon lot with something else.

 

[limace]

I agree that keeping the California theming is important, but it's figuring out how to balance that with also making sure people know they are at a Disney property (and not just Six Flags or something).
-I think it'd be fun to do something like the Rockin' Rollercoaster from MGM-change it around a little to relate it to moviestars, perhaps.
-Pulling in more about the ocean-more water-related rides, perhaps something to do with surfing.
-Would it be in poor taste to have an earthquake ride?
-I think more movie theming would be fun, similar to some of the stuff that they do at MGM, as Hollywood is such an important part of what folks think of re California.
-Add some fun themed restaurants. The Vineyard is a nice choice for DCA; add some other restaurants that serve good quality food at different price ranges that also have fun dining experiences-I like that one at MGM that is TV themed where you eat in mom's kitchen and watch old TV shows.
-A good stunt show, perhaps on the lagoon.

 

[SunDevilDaddy]

-I think it'd be fun to do something like the Rockin' Rollercoaster from MGM-change it around a little to relate it to moviestars, perhaps.

Great idea! Plus there are only a half a billion rock songs that are about California anyways. Here's just a few....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_about_California

-Pulling in more about the ocean-more water-related rides, perhaps something to do with surfing.

Also a good idea... Sea World San Diego has Journey to Atlantis which could easily be changed to a Pacific Ocean theme. *Although personally I thought the ride needed work, the concept is really cool - part rollercoaster part flume*

-I think more movie theming would be fun, similar to some of the stuff that they do at MGM, as Hollywood is such an important part of what folks think of re California.

Again I agree. Embrace the Tinseltown persona of Southern California

There really is a lot that can be done with DCA to combine the magic of Disney and the allure of California...

Here's another idea off the top of my head. How about an escape from Alcatraz ride?

 

[JohnZ46]

I'd like to see Condor Flats developed a little more. Maybe a Space Shuttle themed attraction.

The agriculture/Pacific wharf areas are a little too "school field trip" educational. (Tortilla and Sourdough Bread factories?) How about redoing that area into something more fun. Chinatown/Mulan themed attraction?

It'd be nice to see more Disney forest creatures and theming incorporated into the forest areas.

The Route 66/car culture aspect of CA seems to be under represented though the Cars themed Test Track should help with that.

In any case, it'll be interesting to see what the Imagineers come up with.

 

[limace]

I'd like to see Condor Flats developed a little more. Maybe a Space Shuttle themed attraction.

The agriculture/Pacific wharf areas are a little too "school field trip" educational. (Tortilla and Sourdough Bread factories?) How about redoing that area into something more fun. Chinatown/Mulan themed attraction?

It'd be nice to see more Disney forest creatures and theming incorporated into the forest areas.

The Route 66/car culture aspect of CA seems to be under represented though the Cars themed Test Track should help with that.

In any case, it'll be interesting to see what the Imagineers come up with.

Love those ideas, especially the chinatown/Mulan theming!

 

[limace]

Oooh more thoughts.
-Something recognizing the Mexican heritage in California. A new, improved Rio de Tempo? Who knows?
-California has so many amazing aspects. Redwoods. Beach scene. Hollywood. Immigrants. Native Americans. Man, there's a lot of material with-Disney could really do some creative things here.

 

[cryssi]

The agriculture/Pacific wharf areas are a little too "school field trip" educational. (Tortilla and Sourdough Bread factories?) How about redoing that area into something more fun. Chinatown/Mulan themed attraction?

Hey! I LIKE that area and the "school field trip" feel! LOL "maseca" we always go get our tortilla...and they give you a whole bag for your birthday.

Perhaps I am biased towards that area because I grew up on the central coast...

Maybe they can do more with the cannery row/wharf thing.

 

[queenarmadillo]

To me, CA seemed like 2 different parks. It was like a generic california themed park on one side with no disney connection, then on the other side it was a mini MGM. I can see why all these things are California, but to me it just didnt work. The GRR was the only thing that stood out to me as a unique disney-ish ride rather than random themepark ride or MGM rehash.

I think they need to pick a direction. Either make it a disney park and allow some disney characters / themed rides to infiltrate the California side, or go the other way and make it Disneyland's big brother with a couple of big name rollercoasters etc. I think at the moment they have no idea who the target audience is. Also, whilst the California theming is interesting, I do slightly question the logic of taking it any further when you are already in California. Most people visiting Disneyland either live in CA or make the hollywood area part of the trip, so not really sure that needs brining to Disney.

 

[4bugzinarug]

Just off the top of my head …

The Toy Story & Cars themes need to be expanded on. I can see some kind of combination indoor/outdoor ride that re-enacts various adventures in the Toy Story movies. Love the Chinatown/Mulan idea. Would like to something done with the Little Mermaid story, maybe a boat type ride similar to the Storybook boats in Fantasyland (but a bit faster, bigger/brighter – think Small World-ish on a smaller scale).

How about a giant playground with water play (think Sea World San Diego/Legoland). They already have water play areas, they could expand that with a huge playground/climbing structure. Make it “Bug’s Life” themed in appeareance, very whimsical.

Unite the different areas of the park somehow. It seems kind of choppy (but we love it!).

Add better signange pointing people to the fixed cars on the ferris wheel.

Make a smaller kid-friendly coaster.

Linking different ends of the park together with a sky-bucket type ride (DH calls them “buckets of death” as he is terrified of heights ). Or some other people-moving ride (monorail station not a bad idea at all!).

Hasn’t Aladdin been playing for a while now? How about a new show that alternates with or replaces the Aladdin show.

It just occurred to me how much FUN it must be to be part of the design/planning team at Disneyland or CA!!

 

[fairycat]

Better Restaurants, while I like The Wine Tratoria, and the Vineyard Room (though the quality really has dropped in the past few years), I would love another nice TS place in DCA, maybe Asian or Mexican food depending on park location.

I would love another TS like the Soap Opera cafe I don't like or watch Soaps but still had a fantastic time eating there. I think a sitcom or classic movie themed one would be fantastic!

#1 dump the stupid carnival rides and games, they were never good. Move one or two to the kids area and then junk the rest.

Theme the Mulholand Drive ride up better. The ride is fun but the design makes the ride look half finished and disappointing.

Open a path to TOT from the side, it seems weird the placement.

Bring back a game show, any game show. Millionare was a blast! It was set up to feel like a taping (something they should play up so people could feel like they were at a real taping) and it was fun!

Personally I would like them to make DCA like a MGM meets Epcot and not a copy of DL I wouldn't like a ton of Disney themeing (in the charector sense) because then it will seem like a knock off and make it always seem a weaker copy. But I would like them to make the current themes stronger and more soild. And do something with some of the spots that feel empty and useless.

I like the talk of mixing different periods of California, California has a fantastic history play it up! I don't want to see knock offs or the "clean" version of the pier or Hollywood I want to see the "Old Hollywood".