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View Full Version : DCA - So ToT has opened, what is next? (aka the current status of the park)



Darkbeer
05-12-2004, 11:00 PM
OK, so May 5th has come and gone, and DCA now has a new major attraction, but really what does that mean?

I was at DCA on Sunday May 2nd, and a lot of CM's were saying how quiet it was... well, surprise, the 2 fer ticket offer was over, and it had a major effect on the park, and Disney was hoping for a major pickup with the ToT opening, and so far, even with all the major advertising has not boosted the park numbers that much. (The wait on Mother's Day for ToT was 45 minutes in Stand By at about 12:30 pm). This on a day that the park expanded its hours to close at 10 PM due to "expected" crowds.

Heck, on Thursday, May 6th, at about noon, DCA has NO wait to enter its park, while Disneyland had about a 10 minute wait, as the guests were way past the trees near the entrance gates....

So what has changed, well, we now have an attraction that is well themed, the queues and preshow are are well done (The outdoor queue is not as well done as WDW, but...) but this a good thing/bad thing...as it shows what can be done, and then when you visit other parts of DCA, you notice when they "cheaped" out even more....

As for ToT, I am very happy as to the level of the theming and detail, though I am not that impressed with the actual ride, it was too short, and the special effects were just "OK"... (I like the themeing of the elevator car though!)

But, really what do we have... an attraction that will draw folks directly to the left when entering the park, while the majority of the park is located to the right of the main gate.

So, what do these ToT folks see, well first, a pre-school show (Playhouse Disney), not actually a good match... then the Animation exhibit, and while it is a good exhibit, it does not have a lot of repeatability, in fact, needs to be updated, both in the Drawn to Animation show, and the Animation Screening film.

Then a turn to the left, past Aladdin, which has lost a lot of its audiance, also due to the repeatability issue. On Mother's Day, a day that was scheduled to be "Heavy" at the park, the Balcony remained closed for the 12:45 PM showing. This is also a building that shows its budget cuts. This could have been a great venue, if it had bathrooms, concessions and a true lobby (and even escalators to all upper levels). The building had major problems when they used it for the SpyKids 2 premiere, and a lot of hope for the building was lost. The building was recently used for Cheerleading Compititions, and once again, the issue of restrooms was a problem.

OK, so a visit to ToT, or at least grabbing a FP for it, what to do next... walk forward past the Hyperion and have a meal at Hollywood and Dine, sorry, its closed, but the Between Takes stand is open, and has a total of "3" items on its menu to eat (plus drinks, including one type of beer). In fact, most of the Hollywood and Dine outdoor eating area has been redone for Between Takes, including placing Between Takes Labels on the chairs.

What else is out here, SSL, which remains closed, and even if it reopens, will feature some really out of date "stars".... if it was poorly reviewed when it first opened, what will make it better this time around?

The Backlot Stage, well, at least there is a shade structure, but now we have a show that used to be part of the "streetmosphere", and now just placed up on a stage....

Who Wants to be a Millionaire is only open 3 days a week, and while Super Millionaire is bring some life back to the format, it is still not popular enough to warrant 7 days a week operation....

Then we have the Muppets Movie, and while this has one of the best queues and pre-shows around, the actual movie is really old now and is in dire need of a new movie, especially now since Disney bought the rights to the Muppets!!!!

Heck, here we are on the "Left" side of the park, and so far, it is not the best of places, heck, what are your food choices, Award Wieners or Between Takes, basically both just glorified ODV carts....

OK, so lets go back to Sunshine Plaza, well, we have smelly burnt coffee, plus a nice Ice Cream shop, and gift shops, but not much more....

Lets head over to Condor Flats.... well, a decent Burger Place, a show that has an AWFUL queue (Soarin'), and a movie that could have been done better (plus have had better projection equipment to prevent dust).... Not a bad area, but you can tell in the Soarin' queue that something is missing...

Grizzly Peak has a nice Play area for the kids, and some interesting paths... alas I wish the main ride had some Disney touches, and that they built a tunnel over the lift hill to prevent the "outside" from coming in....Where are the AA's, the themeing that the old MGM Las Vegas Park did in its raft ride... GRR is not bad, but it is lacking the "extras" that make something "Disney"..

Next we have "Bathroom row", aka San Francisco, what they heck happened here????

Then we come up to Golden Dreams, a basic movie.... why is it inside DCA, when it should be a DVD sold by PBS? A nice building, but even the Golden Vine movie has better themeing in the building than Golden Dreams....

And the Amphitheater across the way has had so many issues, the original version was poorly designed, stages add to the lake, seating built on the grass, trees cut down to the trunk, but still no shade, and poor viewing lines.... Somebody needs to find the budget to totally redesign the area, build out into the lake, make a perminent stage, better tiered seating and some shade! But so far, it looks like this area will not be used this summer....

Route 66 is another area that has failed to hit its mark. The major ride, Mulholland Madness is just a Wild Mouse, and could have been a lot more.... the one ride "built" for DCA, Golden Zepher has had major changes, and still can't run in even moderate winds.... As for McDonald's... enough said....

Then off to Paradise Pier, one of the major parts of the park visible to the outside, and many folks see the park as something similar to Six Flags (And I am talking about those who drive by, but have not entered the park). Is Disney sending the right message with these "tall" rides being visable?

Many of these rides have a similar version that can be found at County Fairs, or other nearby parks. Maliboomer is a small version of Supreme Scream at Knott's, and the roller coaster (California Screamin') is just that.. a roller coaster (and while a nice smooth roller coaster), you can find better coasters at Knott's and Six Flags Magic Mountain.

And of course closed eateries, and lack of a good classic dark ride (or two.)

Next is the Pacific Wharf, where are the rides??? We have two factory tours, and a chance to eat and drink, though the largest eatery has been closed (Lucky Chinese). Another area that could have been a lot more...

Then we have the Farm area, or what USED to be the Farm area, as many of the actual Farm has been removed for flowers and a few statues. Another area that could have been a LOT more...

Then we have the new land, Flik's Fun Fair, a nicely themed area designed for young kids, so why do they feature Bumper Cars that have a minimum 48" height requirement to drive (42" to ride as a passenger). And Francis' Ladybug Boogie remainss closed due to major mechanical prblems. Plus Heimlich's Chew-Chew Train, which takes longer to load, than to ride the ride.... which could have been a nice dark ride with a building and more track.....

And on the way out, It's Tough to be a Bug, not a bad attraction, but not much repeatability, in fact, Disney has recently discontinued issuing FastPasses to both ITTBAB and Muppets due to the lack of a need for them....

The only other that is left is the Golden Vine Winery, and while I think the Tratorria offfers good food at a good price, it is off to the side, and lost its sponsorship.

So has DCA been saved by TOT? No Way, there are still a lot of problems with the park....And will face a lot of competition this summer, both in price, and new attractions....

Universal Studios Hollywood has just opened the Van Helsing Fortress Dracula maza, and the Revenge of the Mummy is coming, and should create at lot of woerd-of-mouth... Knott's has a new flat ride for Memorial Day, and then a new Roller Coaster at the end of the year, but with a new price of $12.95 for kids 3 to 11, and adult SoCal specials, will draw families looking for a fun day at a decent price..... SeaWorld San Diego has Journey to Atlantis opening up, which I think will Wow folks more than you might think.... Magic Mountain is currently offering a Ralphs supermarket special, an Adult and a kid get in for just $24.95 (Buy an Adult, get a kid free).

DCA does not live in vacumn, and more than likely have to once again offer discounted admission to bring back the crowds.... alas, ToT just kept DCA up with the competition, and will have to do a lot more in the future... or accept the fact that the park is in the same league as Knott's, USH, SeaWorld and SFMM.

SJSman
05-13-2004, 12:09 AM
One thing to remember is that no park is perfect when it opens. Give DCA a few more years to "fix" things and I think not as many people will have quite as many problems with it. The rumors for the park look great, so hopefully they will become reality and start to bring DCA to Disney standards.

Darkbeer
05-13-2004, 12:15 AM
One thing to remember is that no park is perfect when it opens. Give DCA a few more years to "fix" things and I think not as many people will have quite as many problems with it. The rumors for the park look great, so hopefully they will become reality and start to bring DCA to Disney standards.
What rumors, the only things I have heard is that SSL might reopen in the next few weeks, but with no changes...

And the announced replacement parade for Eureka as part of the 50th celebration...

I know they are trying to fix Francis' Ladybug Boogie....

But what else is scheduled for DCA...

The removal of the DEP to Hong Kong????

Maybe they will keep the Cove Bar open 7 days a week year around, that would be an improvement....:fez:

SJSman
05-13-2004, 12:22 AM
Ive heard rumors about a big E ticket "Pirates" type ride going in where the X-Games were held. This would connect HBL with PP, making a complete circuit in DCA.

Also other smaller dark rides themed as Monsters Inc. and Little Mermaid.

Oh.. heard about putting a ride in or around WWTBAMPI.


Sure would be nice...

Tigertail777
05-13-2004, 03:34 AM
ummm what the heck is WWTBAMPI???

As for DCA, while Darkbeer's post is a bit harsh, really for the most part I cant help but agree. We keep getting the answer to wait... ok well how long would be too long? Its been what? 3 years now? How long is a reasonable amount of time to expect some MAJOR additions to the park? As I have said before, TOT is a good START but ONLY a START. Now with TOT having a more immersive amount of theming than the rest of the park, realistically they need to look at revamping the entire park up to the same standards.

OH COME ON PEOPLE WAKE UP! If Disneyland itself has been getting the shaft moneywise what in the holy heck makes you think DCA is suddenly going to get a windfall to make everything all better? I will only beleive that DCA will get even a fraction of what it needs to really fix it, the minute Disneyland gets the money to fix ALL (not a small portion or section, ALL) of Tomorrowland (that means every portion filled with WORKING NEW ATTRACTIONS, as well as the entire land rethemed somehow).

I am very happy that Universal and Seaworld will soon be opening a major ride each, Disneyland AND DCA have been left just a little too complacent, I got a feeling these two new rides are really gonna shake things up. Both the Mummy coaster at Universal, and the Atlantis(?) ride at Seaworld I think are gonna really draw a lot more crowds than TOT. Its time for Disney to realize that unless a ride is a FULL and BRAND NEW experience (such as Indy was) with very little corner cutting its not going to prop up an entire park (which is why while I think the new ride will help seaworld, because its a copy of one thats already been open, mummy will beat it out). One of the very reasons that TOT COULD prop up MGM was because the entire ride concept, the entire show concept was a brand new never before heard of experience. "Rod Serling's Twilight Zone as a ride??? NO WAYYY!!! I wonder how in the heck they are gonna pull that off???"
People will travel quite a ways to see something entirely different and new especially if its quality. DCA TOT may be good, I dont know I havnt ridden it, but it already suffers from the stigma of being a "been there done that copy" even if its slightly different. DCA's TOT could be the best ride copy in the world, but it still wouldnt draw the number of paying customers that a brand new from the ground up attraction would if it was conceived and built right with the intricate detail we have come to expect from Disney.

Other parks are beginning to add what are essentially Disney quality rides, its time for Disney to step up to the plate and hit a homer with something new again, or they are going to be left in the dust. They used to be so far ahead of the game they invented the rules, but now they are becoming a second rate team through their own fault. (You know something is wrong when people who dreamed all of their lives of working for Disney, and get actually hired on to work for them, either quit or are fired and go on to do very Disney quality stuff for other places BESIDES Disney.) Yet most of those people say they would jump at the chance of coming back to work for Disney if budgets were done better for projects, if they actually got to see some of their dreams reach fruition instead of being scrapped halfway along the way after they have been supposedly greenlighted. Imagineers were given carte blanche and practically an unlimited budget on the Disney Seas project for Tokyo, and the care and attention to craft they showed in that project is highly evident. Even the "sin" of being given so much freedom of budget that often dooms projects didnt kill that dream, and though its almost exactly as old as DCA they already have major additions planned even though the park is major popular and really doesnt need them yet. Tokyo is MAKING their future, not REACTING to the PRESENT.

In addition in Tokyo, one park doesnt have the money siphoned off for the other. They just opened a New better Buzz ride than wdw, and all of the park's original attractions are still sparkling.

I really hate to say it, because I LOVE Disneyland, but if I had the money or means to go to Tokyo for the 50th I would go there in a heartbeat over Disneyland. That's a pity because Disneyland is practically in my backyard in comparison, and yet I still dont feel much inclination to go see any of the new offerings at either Disneyland or DCA. Lately I have been calculating how many years it will take to save up to go to Tokyo instead... for how rarely I get to go to Disneyland I figure it will be worth it to save a few more years for Tokyo. Last time I went to Disneyland parts of the park made me feel like I was visiting a dying friend in a hospital intensive care unit. I dont want to feel that depressed on vacation again.

The major Irony? I BADLY BADLY BADLY want to see the Tokyo TOT sight unseen, just because I have seen how well they continiously have been pulling off new projects over there and I AM EXCITED TO SEE THAT TOT!!! Why? Whats the difference? I got a feeling they are going to turn the idea on its head its going to be in many ways a clean slate, and I cant wait to see what they come up with, when they have a BIG BIG budget to work with!!!! I am not sure that Japan even HAS the Twilight Zone Tv show (several countries dont you know) so its gonna be reaaaallly interesting to see how they deal with just working with the premise!!!

DCA's I am not very excited to see it, nor was I when I heard they were building it simply because of how DCA was pulled off. The park didn't impress me much at all, pictures of the park didnt make me want to go see it the same way that just tidbits of photos do of Disneysea.

Darkbeer
05-13-2004, 03:42 AM
ummm what the heck is WWTBAMPI???

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Play It!

cstephens
05-13-2004, 09:18 AM
ummm what the heck is WWTBAMPI???

This is definitely one of those cases where I think the acronym is more cumbersome and difficult than just the shortened version: Millionaire.

sediment
05-13-2004, 10:41 AM
DarkBeer was not harsh on DCA. He discussed it, which is more than I ever want to do.
Anyone who walks the park as DB did would notice the same things. Especially when DL is within walking distance. (I think that's the main reason for the comparisons versus the dearth of comparisons of WDW's four theme parks, DTD, Boardwalk, Pleasure Island, two water-themed parks, various and sundry hotels, etc.)

Universal Studios has several advantages in creating new attractions:
1. The studio is right there. You want Dracula's Lair? Get the same workers who made the sets involved. Use some of the same sets.
2. It has created several flexible platforms (stages) on which many shows and attractions can be overlaid. Start off right in the first place.
3. Movies and USH attractions are made simultaneously. Synergy is necessary, not an added value, not a "Can I squeeze any more out of this brand/product?" When a movie is being made, USH is in there, trying to exploit the awareness (bring more people to the park) while increasing movie revenues (getting more people to go to the movie). Oh, and the movie theaters are out on CityWalk.
4. It does cut out the permanence of attractions. There is an expiration date, and that's a big difference from DLR, which builds something for forever. It's a difference in philosophy, but the Fantasyland Theater could be used for a "Moo Revue" or a "Finding Nemo" show while the movies are still playing. USH has lots of stages and sound stages. That Toy Story maze was supposed to have been excellent.

Pat-n-Eil
05-13-2004, 12:41 PM
Darkbeer, by all accounts Disneyland itself was very quiet on Mother's Day as well. Perhaps that isn't the best day to guage the success of ticket sales at DCA. So in fairness to DCA, it reflected what happened at the whole resort.

Tiggertail777, I'd say 3 years with a fresh major attraction in the 3rd year is pretty respectable. How long to wait for improvements? I think DCA has shown a reasonable approach. New parks need to see what works, see what doesn't work and take a measured approach to improvement. ToT is definitely a START as you say, but don't gloss over it as ONLY a start. It is indeed a major new E-Ticket attraction that was done well.

I personally don't care for Universal at all and wouldn't care to compare the two for the sake of any argument. It is apples and oranges.. And DCA isn't Disneyland either.. like apples and pomegranites. But unlike many of you, I certainly wouldn't characterize DCA as a lemon.

DisneyDustin22
05-13-2004, 01:16 PM
I do agree with Darkbeer on his summary. I mean how can you have a themed land in a theme park without theme? Or rides for that matter? Beats me. Only time will tell. Like we havent heard this one before. For myself, I have given up on the "find the answer to DCA" question. Honestly, it causes me more of a headache trying to figure it out. Its like trying to watch a David Lynch film. Sometimes you're just not supposed to get it. But anyway, I will continue to pass through the gates of DCA, only with my PAP, and try to find a way to enjoy my day without seeing the negative. Even if that means enjoying a nice brew, or two, before entering to help take the edge off while I walk around.

As for USH, I am glad they are opening a new thrill ride for us. Shrek 4-D was a lot of fun, but it lacked that thrill most of us want. Its just another version of Star Tours, Tough To Be A Bug, and so on. There are only so many things you can do with motion ride-movies like that. Yet, it passed in my book. Hopefully Mummy will do the same. The only think I dont want to see in Mummy is a first few week opening with spectacular special effects and then within a month, see these effects not working. How many times have you ridden Jurrasic Park and not seen the Dinosaurs moving? It seems like Mummy is going to need constant attention to maintenence and I just dont want to see another Indy where it sits for periods of time with key effects not working.

sediment
05-13-2004, 02:04 PM
But anyway, I will continue to pass through the gates of DCA, only with my PAP, and try to find a way to enjoy my day without seeing the negative. Even if that means enjoying a nice brew, or two, before entering to help take the edge off while I walk around.
Just remember what you paid for entrance. And remember not to worry about DIS's loss of expected revenue and the cutbacls required elsewhere to make up for it.


How many times have you ridden Jurrasic Park and not seen the Dinosaurs moving?
I'll let the "Earthplanet" (or "WoodyPlanet"?) discussion boards complain about that.

jtracy
05-14-2004, 09:51 AM
As for USH, I am glad they are opening a new thrill ride for us. Shrek 4-D was a lot of fun, but it lacked that thrill most of us want. Its just another version of Star Tours, Tough To Be A Bug, and so on. There are only so many things you can do with motion ride-movies like that. Yet, it passed in my book. Hopefully Mummy will do the same. The only think I dont want to see in Mummy is a first few week opening with spectacular special effects and then within a month, see these effects not working. How many times have you ridden Jurrasic Park and not seen the Dinosaurs moving? This last question is a very good point. And one of the dinosaurs (the one that comes out from under the water just before the car seen) has been surrounded by a maintenance gate for over 8 months now.

What I like about the Mummy coaster is it should come off like Space Mountain - a ride you never get tired of no matter how many times you ride it. Repeatability factor is essential to the building of a permanent ride.

The problem with DCA is that it took the opposite approach of the beliefs of Disney founder Walt Disney. Walt Disney emphasized people and the experience over money whereas Eisner emphasizes money over the people and experience. And people can see when that happens. Changing DCA won't begin with a new ride, but rather with a corporate attitude change. John Lasseter should be running Disney.

DBJ
05-14-2004, 01:09 PM
Imo, DCA should head in the direction of Universal's IOA which more or less is a well themed "thrill" park, but not forgetting the key attractions that have proven to be major hits for DL as well.

For example, take the major hits of DL, and then fit them into DCA albeit modified for the "theme." Space Mountain - at it's core, a indoor roller coaster - clone it for DCA - any variety of roller coaster type (inverted, floorless, flyer, launch), but indoors. Splash MT., a well done log flume ride, so far DCA - a dual track log flume ride themed differently, taller, faster. Big Thunder- family coaster, so for DCA- any number of family coasters exist that can be modified to fit say A Bug's Land. Etc. They near perfect examples of rides that work for the Disney consumer, yet couldn't figure out a good attraction mix out? They even have dozens of examples or rides around the world that work well for the "thrill seeker" consumer, yet look at what happened.

Notice that IOA virtually mirrors Disneyland's major thrill rides, but then put their own twist on the formula. Hulk, Deuling Dragons - three thrill coasters compared to the three thrill coasters of DL, Spider-Man - a new way of presenting a "ride film" like Star Tours, Dudley Do-Rights Rip Saw Falls a twist on the Splash Mountain. IOA mirrors DL more closely than DCA!

I have a feeling though Disney wastes an incredible amount of time & money sitting in committee meetings with six figure execs and that the parks are gridlocked in corporate indecision. That's the only way I can figure that they were able to spend 30 million on Winnie The Pooh (IOA's Dueling Dragons cost 25 million and puts through 3,000 people per hour roughly), and leave entire sections of Disneyland & DCA struggling.

jrad32
05-14-2004, 02:32 PM
The thing about IOA is that the themeing is incredible, something that DCA comes up short on. It should be a sign to the people at Disney when a non disney theme park can beat Disney at it's own game -- themeing :eek: .

Compare Dueling Dragons and Hulk to California Screamin. All three are coasters, but Dueling Dragons is in a land (island) that is themed to the hilt as a fantasy world, while Hulk is in a land that is a Marvel comic come alive. Screamin is set in a seaside amusement park. So which is the better theme :confused:

Well a fantasy world where wizards, knights and dragons roam and a comic book come alive are two places I can't find anywhere else, but a beach side amusement park is pretty easy to find. IOA wins hands down. If Disney would have built IOA across from Disneyland they'd have a runaway hit on their hands, not the runaway disapointment that is DCA :crying:

Anthony
05-14-2004, 05:34 PM
Hi, just out of curiosity, do you guys ever just feel that it doesn't matter what our theories or wishes are for DCA, DLR etc? I say that out of curiosity and respect, as I really like reading all these different thoughts and ideas, but I cannot help but wonder what our point is sometimes. I guess if people at DLR were reading and responding to these posts, that would be great, but I don't think the government does as much research and analysis regarding the Middle East Crisis. Otherwise I get the feeling that some of the stuff we write about is as logical as two bald guys fighting over a comb.

Please understand I post this with zero sarcasm or negativity, but I was really thinking about this as I was viewing the posts. The logical part of me says, "No matter what people write here, DLR, etc. will do whatever they want, and we will live with it." People talk a good game, but when it comes down to it, most people here will still plunk down a fortune to stay at a DLR hotel, or eat over-priced cheesecake while watching a show they could have seen for free. What an interesting little sub-culture we have here. This would make a great Doctoral Dissertation.

Anyway, keep up the good work, you guys can always be counted on to provoke thought, and provide great information. I know that I am not alone when I say thank you for that.

DefyingGravity
05-14-2004, 06:31 PM
Well, I've heard rumors about Rock'n'Rollercoaster coming to DCA replacing Millionare, possibly with a different group (not Aerosmith), something more Californian- like the Beach Boys.

As for me, I think they could add a nice little coaster into "a bug's land", something like Gadget's Go Coaster. Maybe it's themed like the bird Flik and Co. make in the movie- you're sitting in cars "made of" leaves and twigs, with the overall train of cars resembling the bird, and you go for a little "flight." The whole coaster could look like it was made of twigs and sticks, bound together with grass.

Also, I think they should expand the Bay Area section into the "Route 66" area, demolish Dinosaur Jack, enclose Mulholland Madness, and retheme it as a "wild cable-car ride down the crazy streets of San Francisco." It would fit perfectly. The section where you make the hairpin turns could easily be Lombard St. (that's the "crookedest street in the world"), and the dips could be the sharp hills of SF. The walls of the enclosure could be painted with the skyline and more. There could also be some San Franciscan and Tourist AA's.

Create a lagoon show- anybody else heard rumors about "OdysSea"?- that's possibly Little Mermaid themed. After all, with Triton's Carousel, Ariel's Cove (or whatever that restaurant is called), and the rumored Little Mermaid dark ride, they could possibly split Paradise Pier (which, with more theming, could be great) into a "Under the Sea" land. After all, I feel the whole coastal aspect of California is not represented.

Lastly, give GRR more of a story! Add bear AA's!

Just my 2 cents!

CoasterMatt
05-14-2004, 09:24 PM
This last question is a very good point. And one of the dinosaurs (the one that comes out from under the water just before the car seen) has been surrounded by a maintenance gate for over 8 months now.


Funny, I have plenty of video and photos over the last 8 months that show it operational...

DefyingGravity
05-15-2004, 11:44 AM
The major Irony? I BADLY BADLY BADLY want to see the Tokyo TOT sight unseen, just because I have seen how well they continiously have been pulling off new projects over there and I AM EXCITED TO SEE THAT TOT!!! Why? Whats the difference? I got a feeling they are going to turn the idea on its head its going to be in many ways a clean slate, and I cant wait to see what they come up with, when they have a BIG BIG budget to work with!!!! I am not sure that Japan even HAS the Twilight Zone Tv show (several countries dont you know) so its gonna be reaaaallly interesting to see how they deal with just working with the premise!!!


I read that Tokyo's version is going to have a new storyline that involves a sunken cruise ship's passengers haunting the hotel, just named "The Tower Hotel," this time.

nightdesigns
05-15-2004, 03:36 PM
My big gripe about DCA is that nothing looks like it should fit. Take for instance indy at DL. they shoehorned a fairly large sized ride in there, and were able to theme it with the other surrounding rides (jungle cruise and tree house). To me it looks like it's always been there. Pooh is the same way (even though in a way the building has always been there).

TOT on the other hand sticks out like a sore thumb. Don't ge me wrong, it looks cool, but on the other hand it's really a multi-story advertisement.

DCA in general to me seems more like an Amusement park, with all it's tall rides and rollercoasters. DL is a theme park, where each new element co-exists with the previous elements.

On a final note, I don't know how to explain it, but Knotts has better theming than DCA and some better rides. And how in the world do they keep adding "E" ticket attractions one after another (much faster than DL and DCA combined) when the admission is half the cost, and they have to demolish old rides to fit in new ones?

DefyingGravity
05-15-2004, 04:30 PM
My big gripe about DCA is that nothing looks like it should fit. Take for instance indy at DL. they shoehorned a fairly large sized ride in there, and were able to theme it with the other surrounding rides (jungle cruise and tree house). To me it looks like it's always been there. Pooh is the same way (even though in a way the building has always been there).

TOT on the other hand sticks out like a sore thumb. Don't ge me wrong, it looks cool, but on the other hand it's really a multi-story advertisement.


That is a good point, DCA does not have the typical "isolation" of each area. You can basically see the entire park from the Sun Wheel. It is a problem.
However, one thing to keep in mind is that part of the reason big rides like Indy are able to fit into existing areas is that all the trees and foliage cover up the areas that the imagineers don't wan't you to see. I mean, if you could see the building where Indy actually takes place, it wouldn't look too good. Since DCA is only three years old, you can't have tons of full-grown trees already. I read an article that said that when Disneyland opened, it had tons less trees than it does now. Over time, when the foliage get's thicker, it should help blocking some of the views.

All that being said, they could have done a better job in planning things out so the theming isn't messed up by a giant icon. I mean, ToT is in total view from "a bug's land," and that totally messes up the whole "bug's eye view" perspective of the area. Maybe they could add more clovers and grass, and even some giant tree stumps to block the view of ToT. That is, unless they decide to call ToT a giant roach motel. "It's terrifying! Roaches go in, and they never come out!"
;)