Bill Catherall
10-21-2002, 03:34 PM
After having read this board and MousePlanet for just over a year now, with all the differing opinions, articles, and news about DCA, I have reserved judgment for myself. I wanted to wait to see it for myself before I formed my own opinions.
I did, however, not have the highest of expectation based on the predominant negative feedback about the park.
Saturday, after the potluck meet, I went with my family over to DCA to visit A Bug's Land and eat dinner. After entering the park I felt like a Disney newbie, not knowing where I was or how to get where I wanted to go, relying on the map for directions and CMs when I couldn't find things on the map.
We eventually found our way over to A Bug's Land and watched It's Tough to be a Bug. Then we went into Flik's Fun Fair and rode on Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train and Tuck and Roll’s Drive ‘Em Buggies. Afterwords, we headed to Pacific Wharf to eat at the Pacific Wharf Cafe, followed by a walk through Grizzly Peak Recreation Area over to Condor Flats to ride Soarin' Over California. As we were about to leave the park we came upon the Electrical Parade already in progress so we stopped to watch it go by, bought some toys at the Engine-Ears Toy shop and headed back to the hotel with some very tired kids and adults.
Overall I thought the park (what I saw of it) had a very fun feel to it. It was clean, not crowded (a very welcome break), lots to look at, and what I thought was a very good atmosphere. What do I think of all the naysayers who can only find fault? Well, nothing bad if that's what you're thinking. ;) They certainly are entitled to their opinion, but my first impression is very good. I do want to go back to experience more. Does that mean I'm jumping on board with all the "Pollyannas" who can't see anything wrong with it? Not so fast there... :)
A Bug's Land: It opens up with what looks like a great deal of wasted space. Little garden plots with character statues. Whoopee! Really what's the point of that?
It's Tough to be a Bug: First, the queue. They must have been expecting thousands of people to be lined up for that year round. I must have walked a good 1/2 mile just to get to the theater. I love the immersive theming of the queue, but is that thing ever filled? It was completely empty on Saturday, probably one of the most crowded days.
The show was extremely fun. I loved it! A couple of the kids we were with got very frightened though.I was impressed with how fast the theater filled with smoke! Wow! And I also sat forward the whole time to avoid the rumored painful "sting." So I don't know how it felt.
The 3D effects were very good. When I watch Honey, I Shrunk the Audience my eyes water like crazy because for some reason that movie just gets my eyes bothered. I have a hard time watching it. But ITTBAB was fine. No visual irritation at all.
Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train: Dumb Da-da Dumb! That had to be the biggest waste of time ever. A 30 minute wait in line for a 30 second (?) ride. Ugh! The smells were fun, but it was way too slow and way too short. My 4-year-old daughter thought it was fun when we were on it, but made no comment after we got off. We did overhear a rather intelligent 5-year-old boy (not with us) say "That was the stupidest ride I've ever been on," after he got off. :rolleyes:
Tuck and Roll’s Drive ‘Em Buggies: This was okay. The ride vehicles move way too slow, in my opinion. But it lasted long enough for us to at least make a couple laps. I pity the people who got stuck next to someone that thought it would be a good idea to try to drive backward. Because of the very slow cars you couldn't get away from people who just wanted to bump. And the bumps were so incredibly mild that you didn't even know you hit something.
Pacific Wharf Cafe: You know, it's really weird to drive 6.5 hours down from San Francisco to go visit "San Francisco." :rolleyes: The food was good though, and the sun set just as we were getting our food, making for some really nice night views out toward Paradise Pier. (The cashier did screw up the order though. I ordered a cream puff and he rang it up, I paid, then he told me they were all out of cream puffs and I could choose from any other dessert item that I really wasn't interested in. I wouldn't have even ordered dessert if I didn't see "Chocolate Cream Puff" on the menu. :mad: )
Grizzly Peak Recreation Area: Oh, I loved this area! :D I could spend all day there just hanging out. I love the mountains and the trees in the redwood forests of California and they captured them pretty good. The trees aren't nearly big enough, but that was okay. It was close enough. Of course, living here I don't really have to go very far to see the real thing. But in a cement park, it's a nice attraction.
Soarin' Over California: What an awesome ride! Sure it's "just a flight simulator," but this was much more immersive. What other flight simulator makes it feel like your feet are actually going to take a dip into the ocean or the rapids of a river. I actually felt like I was flying. My favorite part...Yosemite. Man, just thinking about it makes the hair stand up on my neck and my eyes well with tears. No other ride has ever given me such an emotional response. After riding it twice, my daughter said to me (while holding up all ten of her fingers) "I could ride that this many times." That pretty much sums it up for me too. :D
Electrical Parade: It was really nice to see it again! And my kids were able to see it for the first time. When we went into the Engine-Ears Toy shop my daughter bought an Elliot (the dragon) plush toy that plays the parade music and has a light up lantern on his tail. She passed up all other dolls and plushes for that one.
Again, I'm looking forward to another visit there sometime. As much as I love Disneyland, I'm thinking I'm a little more willing to spend some time at DCA for a little more exploring. It really isn't all that bad.
I did, however, not have the highest of expectation based on the predominant negative feedback about the park.
Saturday, after the potluck meet, I went with my family over to DCA to visit A Bug's Land and eat dinner. After entering the park I felt like a Disney newbie, not knowing where I was or how to get where I wanted to go, relying on the map for directions and CMs when I couldn't find things on the map.
We eventually found our way over to A Bug's Land and watched It's Tough to be a Bug. Then we went into Flik's Fun Fair and rode on Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train and Tuck and Roll’s Drive ‘Em Buggies. Afterwords, we headed to Pacific Wharf to eat at the Pacific Wharf Cafe, followed by a walk through Grizzly Peak Recreation Area over to Condor Flats to ride Soarin' Over California. As we were about to leave the park we came upon the Electrical Parade already in progress so we stopped to watch it go by, bought some toys at the Engine-Ears Toy shop and headed back to the hotel with some very tired kids and adults.
Overall I thought the park (what I saw of it) had a very fun feel to it. It was clean, not crowded (a very welcome break), lots to look at, and what I thought was a very good atmosphere. What do I think of all the naysayers who can only find fault? Well, nothing bad if that's what you're thinking. ;) They certainly are entitled to their opinion, but my first impression is very good. I do want to go back to experience more. Does that mean I'm jumping on board with all the "Pollyannas" who can't see anything wrong with it? Not so fast there... :)
A Bug's Land: It opens up with what looks like a great deal of wasted space. Little garden plots with character statues. Whoopee! Really what's the point of that?
It's Tough to be a Bug: First, the queue. They must have been expecting thousands of people to be lined up for that year round. I must have walked a good 1/2 mile just to get to the theater. I love the immersive theming of the queue, but is that thing ever filled? It was completely empty on Saturday, probably one of the most crowded days.
The show was extremely fun. I loved it! A couple of the kids we were with got very frightened though.I was impressed with how fast the theater filled with smoke! Wow! And I also sat forward the whole time to avoid the rumored painful "sting." So I don't know how it felt.
The 3D effects were very good. When I watch Honey, I Shrunk the Audience my eyes water like crazy because for some reason that movie just gets my eyes bothered. I have a hard time watching it. But ITTBAB was fine. No visual irritation at all.
Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train: Dumb Da-da Dumb! That had to be the biggest waste of time ever. A 30 minute wait in line for a 30 second (?) ride. Ugh! The smells were fun, but it was way too slow and way too short. My 4-year-old daughter thought it was fun when we were on it, but made no comment after we got off. We did overhear a rather intelligent 5-year-old boy (not with us) say "That was the stupidest ride I've ever been on," after he got off. :rolleyes:
Tuck and Roll’s Drive ‘Em Buggies: This was okay. The ride vehicles move way too slow, in my opinion. But it lasted long enough for us to at least make a couple laps. I pity the people who got stuck next to someone that thought it would be a good idea to try to drive backward. Because of the very slow cars you couldn't get away from people who just wanted to bump. And the bumps were so incredibly mild that you didn't even know you hit something.
Pacific Wharf Cafe: You know, it's really weird to drive 6.5 hours down from San Francisco to go visit "San Francisco." :rolleyes: The food was good though, and the sun set just as we were getting our food, making for some really nice night views out toward Paradise Pier. (The cashier did screw up the order though. I ordered a cream puff and he rang it up, I paid, then he told me they were all out of cream puffs and I could choose from any other dessert item that I really wasn't interested in. I wouldn't have even ordered dessert if I didn't see "Chocolate Cream Puff" on the menu. :mad: )
Grizzly Peak Recreation Area: Oh, I loved this area! :D I could spend all day there just hanging out. I love the mountains and the trees in the redwood forests of California and they captured them pretty good. The trees aren't nearly big enough, but that was okay. It was close enough. Of course, living here I don't really have to go very far to see the real thing. But in a cement park, it's a nice attraction.
Soarin' Over California: What an awesome ride! Sure it's "just a flight simulator," but this was much more immersive. What other flight simulator makes it feel like your feet are actually going to take a dip into the ocean or the rapids of a river. I actually felt like I was flying. My favorite part...Yosemite. Man, just thinking about it makes the hair stand up on my neck and my eyes well with tears. No other ride has ever given me such an emotional response. After riding it twice, my daughter said to me (while holding up all ten of her fingers) "I could ride that this many times." That pretty much sums it up for me too. :D
Electrical Parade: It was really nice to see it again! And my kids were able to see it for the first time. When we went into the Engine-Ears Toy shop my daughter bought an Elliot (the dragon) plush toy that plays the parade music and has a light up lantern on his tail. She passed up all other dolls and plushes for that one.
Again, I'm looking forward to another visit there sometime. As much as I love Disneyland, I'm thinking I'm a little more willing to spend some time at DCA for a little more exploring. It really isn't all that bad.