Who attended the opening of DCA in 2001?

[2boysmom1998]

Just wondering who was there for the 2001 opening of DCA?

Was curious how crazy that was? I'm sure the Cars Land opening will be as busy if not busier that the opening of DCA!

 

[Huff]

Can't help with opening day but but we were there 7 months later, a week after 9/11. I would be surprised if there were more than 100 people in the entire park. It was a ghost town.

I remember when Indiana Jones opened with 4+ hour lines stretching all the way back to Small World. Cars Land could be worse!

 

[Breyean]

We weren't there for opening day, but we did go on one of the preview days.

They sold tickets good only for one specific date so they could control the # of people in the park. It was pretty empty. But then again, a lot of the rides didn't work, also.

I think it was more crowded that day than on some of our subsequent visits the next few years.

 

[bakerudall]

Can't help with opening day but but we were there 7 months later, a week after 9/11. I would be surprised if there were more than 100 people in the entire park. It was a ghost town.

That must have been surreal. I remember our local malls/theaters/stadiums being pretty empty at that time from the media telling us that every crowded building was a potential terrorist target (very high security at the World Series in Phoenix that year). I guess DLR was considered one of the highest-risk targets.

 

[ValpoCory]

That must have been surreal. I remember our local malls/theaters/stadiums being pretty empty at that time from the media telling us that every crowded building was a potential terrorist target (very high security at the World Series in Phoenix that year). I guess DLR was considered one of the highest-risk targets.

So much so that they closed the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough.

 

[fctiger]

Just wondering who was there for the 2001 opening of DCA?

Was curious how crazy that was? I'm sure the Cars Land opening will be as busy if not busier that the opening of DCA!

OP, I was there the first weeked after it opened...which was four days after official opening! It was completely dead!!!!!!!!!!!!

The place was an utter ghost town. Everything was 10 mins or less waits and I rode everything within the first 3 hours. I rode Screamin 7 times in 30 mins to give you an idea how utterly dead the place was. It was open from 8 a.m. to midnight. I had gotten there around 11 a.m. by 3 p.m. I was bored out of my mind! And there were no park hoppers at the time, so I had ONLY DCA to stay in unless I wanted to pay a full price ticket to go to DL! And I was going there the next day anyway! Funny thing was DL was packed the next day! Busy as ever! No one was bothering with the new cheap theme park across the way!

No, DCA 1.0 was an absolute bust! NO ONE went more than a few hours and then headed back to DL! It was dead for years in fact! Which is why we are getting the stuff we are getting now! DCA 1.0 failed on many levels, the worse one, just to attract people into the park!

 

[Tiny Little Seed]

I was there, and it was very quiet. I remember it rained like crazy and this seriously diminished the crowds and excitement. I came away less than impressed.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I remember going there during the AP Preview, and it was so busy. The traffic was the worst I had ever seen at the DL Resort, and the lines were all so long. I think it was 4 hours for Soaring Over California by mid-morning. One day we went and there was no parking. With all of that traffic and lack of parking we just turned around and came home.

 

[fctiger]

I remember going there during the AP Preview, and it was so busy. The traffic was the worst I had ever seen at the DL Resort, and the lines were all so long. I think it was 4 hours for Soaring Over California by mid-morning. One day we went and there was no parking. With all of that traffic and lack of parking we just turned around and came home.

Yeah the AP previews were big! I remember people thought after that DCA was going to be a huge hit...until it opened to the general public and then it was empty from opening day on out for years!

Sometimes I still miss going to DCA when it was the park to go to for complete lack of crowds or lines.

 

[Club33forme]

I was there the day after. We had the run of the park. Empty as can be. I still don't think much of it. But on the positive side, kids that remember that park as their childhood stopping ground now have fond memories, for some of them it's their happy place. To me it's still Disneyland's overflow, I hope my attitude changes someday.

 

[jlmarr]

We went during AP previews and it was very busy, but for the actual Opening Day it was dead. I had to run an errand that night so decided to drive by and check out the crowds, expecting a madhouse. Not busy at all so I parked in the DTD lot and took the Monorail into DL so I could peek into DCA on the return trip. (AP's were blocked for DCA but not DL.) No lines at all at the Monorail station, and in fact I got off and took a ride on the Matterhorn because there was zero line there as well. On the return trip I could see that the crowd in DCA was sparse at best. Someone said ghost town and I'd agree with that.

 

[nana50]

I remember going there during the AP Preview, and it was so busy. The traffic was the worst I had ever seen at the DL Resort, and the lines were all so long. I think it was 4 hours for Soaring Over California by mid-morning. One day we went and there was no parking. With all of that traffic and lack of parking we just turned around and came home.

I went then. It was so hot and so busy I didn't go back for a few years. I love it now.

 

[xsuki000]

I went when I was 12 and didn't like the park at all. There wasn't much to do. I'd have to say they came a long way because sometimes I like the park better than Disneyland itself.

 

[emmysmommy]

We went within 4 weeks after opening and I couldn't believe how wide open and uncrowded the park was compared to DL. They didn't have many of the popular attractions they have now such as ToT or even Bug's Land which was an entire area dedicated (more or less) to the little ones. So much hype is surrounding Cars Land and the fact that there are so many AP holders now that I think it will definitely be crazy crowded.

 

[mrzero]

My wife, a friend & I traveled from Pa. for opening day. We had already toured DL for 2 days and the buzz on the local tv was huge. Predictions for large crowds so much so that they allowed guests to spend the night 'queing' in DL to help manage the crowds. My wife was amazed that we didn't do it but we were not prepared, as hotel guests from the East, to spend a Feb. night on the concrete of DL.

We woke up early, caught a shuttle bus from the Harbor Blvd. side over to the M&F parking structure where we were put on the tram to DTD. At this time, around 6 am, we walked up an empty Main St. & around the left side of the castle where we caught up to the overnight crowd between the castle & Matterhorn. The front of that crowd was held in that corridor but not quite into the hub.

Before the opening ceremonies of DCA we herded down through Main St. where we waited until the ceremonies were over (saw the fireworks go off, that's all). It was like a reverse rope drop on Main St. facing the opposite way. We then proceeded out through the DL turnstiles, across the Esplanade and through the DCA gates.

Our first stop was the gift shop just across the bridge entering PP where we waited 1 1/2 hrs. to purchase opening day items. By FAR the longest wait of the day. Walked onto Soarin' several times that day, 5 min. wait tops. CM's telling us it was 2-3 hours during AP previews but truth is nobody was in the park. We thought they must be keeping people out to manage the masses, um, not quite.

I don't recall rain at all as a previous post stated so I don't believe that had any effect on the lack of patrons. I believe some of it had to do with the hype from the media and just like the Magic Kingdom in DW opening day fears of huge crowds kept many from attending. Of course with a heavy AP base many had already seen the park & perhaps were disappointed.

Glad we experienced it, really glad we didn't spend all night at DL under the conditions given our situation (would have LOVED to if we were prepared). I don't think June 15, 2012 will in any way resemble Feb. 8, 2001. Remember also, it's not just Carsland opening, it's a rebranding of the park. I never felt cheated on any of my visits to DCA, then or subsequent trips like some folks seem to feel but it did seem odd to market it as 'look what California has' to people who were mostly from Ca.. Sure they were trying to make it a multi day stay for people from outside the area but that's still only going to be a small number in comparison.

What they've done & the story they're trying to tell I believe are the right direction. And when I get there on July 28 (last visit 12/10) I feel I'll be extremely pleased.

 

[mrzero]

My wife, a friend & I traveled from Pa. for opening day. We had already toured DL for 2 days and the buzz on the local tv was huge. Predictions for large crowds so much so that they allowed guests to spend the night 'queing' in DL to help manage the crowds. My wife was amazed that we didn't do it but we were not prepared, as hotel guests from the East, to spend a Feb. night on the concrete of DL.

We woke up early, caught a shuttle bus from the Harbor Blvd. side over to the M&F parking structure where we were put on the tram to DTD. At this time, around 6 am, we walked up an empty Main St. & around the left side of the castle where we caught up to the overnight crowd between the castle & Matterhorn. The front of that crowd was held in that corridor but not quite into the hub.

Before the opening ceremonies of DCA we herded down through Main St. where we waited until the ceremonies were over (saw the fireworks go off, that's all). It was like a reverse rope drop on Main St. facing the opposite way. We then proceeded out through the DL turnstiles, across the Esplanade and through the DCA gates.

Our first stop was the gift shop just across the bridge entering PP where we waited 1 1/2 hrs. to purchase opening day items. By FAR the longest wait of the day. Walked onto Soarin' several times that day, 5 min. wait tops. CM's telling us it was 2-3 hours during AP previews but truth is nobody was in the park. We thought they must be keeping people out to manage the masses, um, not quite.

I don't recall rain at all as a previous post stated so I don't believe that had any effect on the lack of patrons. I believe some of it had to do with the hype from the media and just like the Magic Kingdom in DW opening day fears of huge crowds kept many from attending. Of course with a heavy AP base many had already seen the park & perhaps were disappointed.

Glad we experienced it, really glad we didn't spend all night at DL under the conditions given our situation (would have LOVED to if we were prepared). I don't think June 15, 2012 will in any way resemble Feb. 8, 2001. Remember also, it's not just Carsland opening, it's a rebranding of the park. I never felt cheated on any of my visits to DCA, then or subsequent trips like some folks seem to feel but it did seem odd to market it as 'look what California has' to people who were mostly from Ca.. Sure they were trying to make it a multi day stay for people from outside the area but that's still only going to be a small number in comparison.

What they've done & the story they're trying to tell I believe are the right direction. And when I get there on July 28 (last visit 12/10) I feel I'll be extremely pleased.

 

[mystic_path]

I am very excited to hear any before & now opinions after BVS and CL open from any person who has watched DCA grow over the years. It has changed so much already over the years with other new additions and renovations that I can only imagine what the excitement level will be this time. They sure needed the WOC and the Little Mermaid Ride. But they also made the park look different with upgrades to the Mickey's fun wheel, removing the giant peach from down by the pier, the dinosaur sunglasses hut etc. This is a completely different park they are about to unveil in ONLY A MATTER OF DAY!!!! WOOOOOO!