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View Full Version : Burnt popcorn scent at DCA?



Mickeyslittlehelper
02-27-2003, 04:35 PM
Do you ever notice the smell of burnt popcorn in front of the bathrooms at the entrance of DCA? Am I just thinking things?

Thanks,
John

Darkbeer
02-27-2003, 04:46 PM
Actually, it is supposed to be roasting coffee beans, but to most folks, it smells like burnt coffee beans. And it can be a VERY strong smell.

I wish DCA could figure out a way to make the smell a bit milder, or improve the scent to smell more like fresh brewed coffee....

YellowMan
02-27-2003, 08:18 PM
I have noticed a scent, but it never bothered me. Roasted coffee beans? I'm confused as to what this scent has to do with anything.

Techie7
02-27-2003, 09:00 PM
Well they roast coffee at Bakersfield Bakery. Thus the roasted coffee smell.

refurbmike
02-28-2003, 10:14 AM
Yea, but they also have Disney smells pumping that odor into the main entrance area. If you get too close to the bakery, it can be quite nausiating (sp?).

Andrew
02-28-2003, 11:03 AM
I don't know about DCA, but my office today smells like burnt popcorn. And I HATE that smell. Yuk!

mad4mky
02-28-2003, 11:05 AM
Originally posted by Andrew
I don't know about DCA, but my office today smells like burnt popcorn. And I HATE that smell. Yuk!

I agree. Even the burnt coffee smell at DCA is not as bad as burnt popcorn...:rolleyes:

(worse part is...two of my girls actually like their popcorn slightly burnt...:( . I have to shut my bedroom door...or leave when they pop it...).

ae's mom
02-28-2003, 11:14 AM
My cubicle is just off the break room where the occasional smell of burnt popcorn makes its way over.....you would think after burning it once you might be able to figure out how long to microwave the stuff:D

gn2dlnd
02-28-2003, 11:52 AM
Originally posted by refurbmike
Yea, but they also have Disney smells pumping that odor into the main entrance area. If you get too close to the bakery, it can be quite nausiating (sp?).

I don't think they're "pumping" the smell of roasting coffee anywhere. They really are roasting coffee, and it really does smell like that. During the first few weeks of DCA being open, I thought maybe they were burning tortillas over at the Mission Tortilla demo, and cast members had no idea what the smell was either. In fact, if you ask random cast members about the smell now, quite a few of them don't know or will misidentify it. I think it's kind of a neat thing, once you know what it is. Not very many guests know about this little detail, at least Eisner doesn't try to pawn it off as an attraction. :rolleyes:

P.S. If you're in L.A., at the corner of Crescent Heights and Wilshire is a small restaurant that roasts coffee in the afternoon. I used to smell it on my lunch break from an office building a block away. I wonder what caveman decided, "Boy this stinks like hell when I throw it in the fire. Let's see what happens when I add water, cream, and sugar!"

refurbmike
02-28-2003, 12:15 PM
Yes, I understand they are roasting coffee, but they are also pumping the smell into the open area, just like they do over at Main Street. You can even see the open vents to the East of the "Train Car."

gn2dlnd
02-28-2003, 12:48 PM
Do you think they're pumping the smell, or do you know they're pumping it? I don't understand the point of pumping stink. On Main Street, you can see the vent screens under the display window at the candy shop. If you put your hand against one of the screens you used to be able to feel the breeze of the vanilla smell being pumped out. No matter what was being made. I haven't felt that breeze from those vents in years now. Now, the smell of the waffle cones being made accomplishes the same thing, which is to trigger those salivary glands and entice you to buy something. You can see the same little fan and vent setup at the top of the windows of the popcorn carts. You can certainly smell all kinds of smells in the Parks, but, other than "Soarin'," I don't know of any other places in the Parks where smell is "directed." I suspect the burnt coffe smell isn't being directed at guests, as much as it's just being vented away from the interior of DCA.

Incidental irony, most of the coffee sold in the Parks is instant style Nescafe.

Time for a cuppa joe.

RStar
02-28-2003, 03:52 PM
I have heard two versions of this. Don't know which one is right.

1) The do roast the beans, and they must have ventilation requiring a blowermotor that vents the smell outside. Thus the air movement and the vent. That it drifts to the entrance of DCA (and sometimes DL) depends on the breeze and is completely accidental.

2) Same as above, only the venting was intentional. The old train stations use to brew coffee, and the entrance of DCA has one of the old trains that use to bring people to CA. So by having the smell there it helps the ambiance. But do people really remember that the train stations smelled of coffee? And did they smell like burnt coffee?

cujosr
02-28-2003, 09:21 PM
Originally posted by refurbmike
Yes, I understand they are roasting coffee, but they are also pumping the smell into the open area, just like they do over at Main Street. You can even see the open vents to the East of the "Train Car." Being that I used to work at The BakersField Bakery I will set the record straight. The thing you smell is roasting coffee beans. It is NOT, I repeat not pumped out to allure you, or make you want coffee. Coffee beacns are roasted at about 475 Degrees and create alot of smoke inside the oven. When the beans are taken out of the oven the smoke is all let out at once and is sucked out by a fan. hence the strong smell outside the shop. Contrary to popular belief the smoke is vented out the top of the building, not out the side by Engine-ears Toys. If you thing the smell is bad outside, you should be there when the fan breaks down and all the smoke stays inside. :cough: :cough:

Now what you should be disussing is the lovely smell of waffles coming from Burr-Bank Ice Cream. Stand near the door and you are in heaven!!! Or go inside and try just the waffle cone for .80 cents!!! It's the best (and cheapest) snack in the park!!!

gn2dlnd
02-28-2003, 10:51 PM
Chocolate dipped waffle cone and coffee, mmm. :Homer drool:

cujosr
02-28-2003, 10:59 PM
Originally posted by cujosr
Now what you should be disussing is the lovely smell of waffles coming from Burr-Bank Ice Cream. Stand near the door and you are in heaven!!! Or go inside and try just the waffle cone for .80 cents!!! It's the best (and cheapest) snack in the park!!! By the way the smell of the waffle cones? Not pumped out either it just so happens that the waffle irons have no fans to remove any smoke or steam from the cooking process. (This reeks havoc on the clocks above them.) and the air conditioning systems like at most places keeps a positve atmoshere inside the building. this means that air is always flowing out, hence the smell. live it up boys and girls!!

tiggerandtink
03-02-2003, 11:25 AM
Personally I love the smell of roasting coffee. The Costco up here roast their beans in the store and you buy them fresh from the roaster. Best coffee in Seattle, cheapest too (who'da thunk).

Christiii
03-02-2003, 11:36 AM
oh how funny!! I really smell it, but I alwasy thought it was a strong sourdough bread baking smell...too funny!! I really dont like sourdough bread, and I really dont likethat smell!! On another popcorn note...I was watching a documentary on Paris Disney, and they said that the popcorn sold in the little carts like Disneyland, put SUGAR on the popcorn instead of salt..now that would really throw me if I didnt know ahead of time..I really dont know why, but I thought that was really interesting!!
:-)

ArthurBang
03-02-2003, 06:52 PM
Does the smell really not come out of the side of Engin-Ears? .. I thought at one time it did, because something sure comes out of that vent. I work there quite a bit (and all the time when the park opened) and you used to be able to see clouds of stuff being emitted from the vents to the left of EngToys entrance.

In fact, Michael Eisner walked through a big hazy cloud of it on opening day. They later changed the roasting schedule so that they no longer do it as many times as they used to. I think it used to be an almost hourly thing.

cujosr
03-02-2003, 07:14 PM
I'm not sure what you had seen coming out of vents at engine-ears but I am sure that the vent leads straight up and out the top. There was a problem with the venting system a year back or so and I was actually able to see all the way out the top while they were working on it. As for scehduling the roasts We roast as the demand requires it. Many days it will run countinusly all moring and afternoon. somedays not at all. It just depends on what the need is for that day. when running continusly we dump a roast every 12-14 min's. i'm not sure where you get your info.

RStar
03-03-2003, 09:06 AM
That's cool. Thanks for setting the record straight cujosr!

Mickeyslittlehelper
03-03-2003, 09:34 PM
Thank you everyone for your interest on this topic. The only reason I thought it was burnt popcorn because it was my first time visiting this summer, and it was 100 degrees outside.

RStar
03-04-2003, 03:19 PM
So that smell was really your own popcorn burning then!;)

jslivinski
03-17-2003, 03:34 PM
Last weekend as we were walking from the tram to DCA hubby asked about the smell, you could smell it outside of the park. Strange duck that he is he loved the smell, reminded him of Folger's roasting coffee in San Francisco.

cujosr
03-17-2003, 03:40 PM
Originally posted by jslivinski
Last weekend as we were walking from the tram to DCA hubby asked about the smell, you could smell it outside of the park. Strange duck that he is he loved the smell, reminded him of Folger's roasting coffee in San Francisco.
If the wind is right you can smell it all the way to harbor point waiting for the cast shuttles.