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siamese1975
05-24-2004, 09:47 AM
:confused: Hi,
I have heard some mixed reactions about DCA.....is it worth my time to use my park hopper for the day there? What are some of the attractions and places to eat that you could recommend? Thank you all for your input.

Kim

MNhockeyman
05-24-2004, 10:13 AM
Just a few questions to ask yourself to help decide. Don't let others opinion influence your decision it should be what you want...

How many days will you be at DL? - If you have a park hopper it may be worth your time to go for a half day. Just to see the major attractions (ToT, Soarin, River run, bugs, muppets, etc if you haven't seen them before).

Will you be back in the future?

Have you been there before?

Assuming all the answers are no, I suggest to go and see it for yourself. Worst case is you leave and walk over to DL. If you have never been and are not sure if you are going to make it back then by all means go. Form your own opinion of the park. It is worth the experience.

stan4d_steph
05-24-2004, 10:14 AM
How many days is your hopper good for? I would definitely give it a look. If you have a hopper, you may not need to spend the whole day there if you find you have had enough.

aztectodd
05-24-2004, 10:37 AM
Though some people will disagree with me on this one, in my opinion DCA is definitely worth it. You can get just about a full day out of the park, and there will be many different attractions for you to take in. My favorites are Soarin over California, California Screamin, Grizzly River Run, the Aladdin Show,Muppets, and Tower of Terror. As far as eating goes, I dont have any suggestions that are overly great, but I haven't had anything bad either.

Pat-n-Eil
05-24-2004, 10:44 AM
Heck yes, It's totally worth it.
We wouldn't dream of not going there.

The beauty part is, if you don't like it, you are just a short walk back to Disneyland.

Don't let the jaded comments of a few purists keep you from trying it out. We love the place.

JeffG
05-24-2004, 11:28 AM
If you have a park hopper, I honestly don't see any reason why you wouldn't want to at least go into the park and see if it has anything to offer that interests you. You have, after all, already paid for the admission. If you find that you don't care for the park, you would always be free to head back over to Disneyland.

-Jeff

merlinjones
05-24-2004, 11:31 AM
It's worth checking out for free if your aesthetic sensibilites aren't too sensitive...

Try Soarin' Over California anyway, maybe Aladdin show and Tower - - then run for the exit!

Not Afraid
05-24-2004, 11:36 AM
Don't let the jaded comments of a few purists keep you from trying it out. We love the place.
There are a few who really love it. You might be one of theose few. You probably need to find out.

The food is good, Tower, Soarin', and Screamin' are worth a ride.

After those things, I'm about spent at DCA. You may find it more enjoyable......or you may not.

Darkbeer
05-24-2004, 12:10 PM
Is it worth it... well if you have more than a 2 day ParkHopper (and the 5 day Parkhopper is on sale for the price of 3 if you buy it in advance), or have an AP, then you should go check it out...

IMHO, DCA is not worth the current full price single day ticket of $49.75, where you don't have the option of going to Disneyland. DCA is more in the price range of Knott's, which summer special (with a specially marked Pepsi can) is $27 for Adults, $12.95 for kids 3 thru 11). The 5 day ParkHoppers makes the price about equal.....

millionairegirl
05-24-2004, 12:19 PM
Not knowing your tastes or the ages of your family, I will let you know my favorites at DCA:

Millionaire (lots of fun, but only available Fri-Sun)
Animation Building
TOT
Muppets for first timers
It's Tough to be a Bug
Soarin
GRR
The Winery (they have tastings for a nominal fee, and you can also stop and have a a glass of wine and some cheese)
Of course Screamin and Mulholland Madness

Oh, I also like Golden Dreams and the Redwood Ropes Course.

You can really find a fulls day worth of stuff to do at DCA. Definitely check it out. What a lot of people do is get to DL at opening and then when it gets really crowded and hot jump over to DCA.

My favorite restaurant there is the Pacific Wharf Bakery (soups and salads in bread bowls). Also the beer truck is right nearby ;>

siamese1975
05-24-2004, 01:16 PM
thanks everyone!!!

I have the 5-day park hopper and I am going to spend one day there checking things out......is the electrical parade at DCA now?

:D

Darkbeer
05-24-2004, 01:29 PM
thanks everyone!!!

I have the 5-day park hopper and I am going to spend one day there checking things out......is the electrical parade at DCA now?

:D
Right now, the Electrical Parade is being offered at DCA on weekends only, it is scheduled to go to 7 day a week operation from June 18th thru August 29th.

And if you decided after a few hours that you have seen enough of DCA, you could also go back to Disneyland, or explore Downtown Disney, or grab a bite to eat at one the hotel restaurants......

I would probably do it on day 3, Spend the first two days at Disneyland, and enjoy it.... You might find one or two things you like at DCA, and could pop over for an hour or two on Day 4 or 5.

mrs_toad
05-24-2004, 01:33 PM
Not knowing your tastes or the ages of your family, I will let you know my favorites at DCA:
Animation Building


Don't miss the Animation Building. I saw it for the first time on my last visit, thanks to the Padders. Prior to the mentions on this board I had never heard much about it. It is absolutely awesome. My sister and nephews (ages 6 and 10) all loved it too. It is a definite "must see"!

sediment
05-24-2004, 01:55 PM
TAN:
The Animation building is another great opportunity for CM Matt to give disgruntled AP guests a reason to drop into DCA: change the fricken' animation every once in a while! Change the "shows" every so often! Change the displays every so often!
(Haven't been in a while, so if this is entirely off-base, then please ignore.)

Darkbeer
05-24-2004, 01:57 PM
TAN:
The Animation building is another great opportunity for CM Matt to give disgruntled AP guests a reason to drop into DCA: change the fricken' animation every once in a while! Change the "shows" every so often! Change the displays every so often!
(Haven't been in a while, so if this is entirely off-base, then please ignore.)
Nope, no changes (Drawn to Animation really needs an update to a new movie, but there are no hand drawn stuff to plug...)

So what was TDA's answer, to offer a street show to help draw folks into the building, without updating the actual attraction.....

sediment
05-24-2004, 02:00 PM
IIRC, TDA's answer was to put a turnstile at the front, to slow down the entrance process, so there's the appearance of a line into the thing.

tod
05-24-2004, 02:09 PM
:confused: is it worth my time to use my park hopper for the day [at DCA]?

There's no extra charge for DCA on your Park Hopper, so by all means check it out. Don't miss It's Tough To Be A Bug, or anything on millionaregirl's itinerary up there. Go first thing in the day so you won't have to wait in a lot of lines, and if you like the place, stick around, and if you don't, it'll take you one whole minute to walk to Disneyland (your elapsed time may vary, but it's quite close).

Go, check it out, by all means.

--t

HoRiZoNs
05-24-2004, 02:11 PM
I've only been to DCA once, and this was in... January of 2003, I believe. Anyway, we were going one day to DL and one day to DCA. I was so excited because DCA was something new to me with new attractions that I didn't care what anyone else said or did to make me feel otherwise.

Since I had gone with my second cousin (who lives in Long Beach), she wanted us to meet her boyfriend later on his boat or whatever so we had to leave early. With that in mind, we just started walking around and riding stuff (not to mention that my first ever DCA ride I've ever been on, Grizzly River Run, broke down while I was on it. They had to evacuate us, the only time I've actually been evacuated.) Back to my story: we rode on everything with time to spare, and it was a blast. I could imagine why people don't like it (poorly themed overall, etc.) but I think it's just as worth it as any other theme park. Now, with you guys getting a ToT (which, I don't want to get into a headted debate into wheteher ours or yours is better - it's been established that you have to make your own decision about it), I believe that it's even more worth it.

Well, that's my two cents. Now, if we were talking about Animal Kingdom down here in WDW, that's a whole different story... :rolleyes:

sediment
05-24-2004, 02:26 PM
...and if you like the place, stick around, and if you don't, it'll take you one whole minute to walk to Disneyland (your elapsed time may vary, but it's quite close).
--t
Yes, by far this is the best thing about DCA.

BarbD
05-24-2004, 03:57 PM
I am one of those people who love DCA. Not the same way as Disneyland. They are two unique different parks. A lot of the attractions are in Florida too so to me that gives us a little bit more on the West coast thats similar.

My favorite includes all of the pier rides, especially the Roller coaster. Then I really love the uniquely California attractions such as Soarin over California and GOlden Dreams. I still get choked up when I watch that show.

My best advice is to go with no pre-concieved opinion. Do not expect it to be Disneyland but go expecting it to be its own park. You will be surprised to see a lot of worthwhile attractions. I sure wish they would add more characters. To me that would make it the best. Oh the electrical parade is waonderful to watch. It seems to be a shorter version the last time I was there but I still loved it the same.

With a park hopper its really a no brainer to go because it cost you nothing unless you had planned a down day in lieu of the park. The two parks are litterly minutes apart so you can hop back and forth all you want.

Barb

happyhaunts999
05-24-2004, 06:19 PM
I love the park, I say spend lots of time there we spent about 40% of our time there when we were there last week and we loved it. ToT,Soaring Screamin,Grizzly alot of fun. Plus it closes early and you can head back over to Disneyland

tink1234
05-25-2004, 08:14 AM
I happen to like DCA. I would not plan my vacation there, but I do plan to visit when I go to DLR. If I ONLY had one day then I would plan to hit only the rides I HAD to ride at DCA then spend most of my day at DL. But if I had 2, 3 or more days to go I would spend 1 whole day at DCA. It's definately worth checking out once. It's tough to be a Bug is awesome!! I also like Millionaire. I haven't been to ToT, but I know it will be a favorite. The theme to A Bug's Land is worth looking at, but I found it to be overcrowded and the waits not worth the rides. Heimlech's ride is not even a minute long and the wait for us was an hour.

blondiemouse
05-25-2004, 08:34 AM
5 day pass-I bet you end up going back and spending more time there ,no matter what the negative nellys on here say

Not Afraid
05-25-2004, 09:14 AM
5 day pass-I bet you end up going back and spending more time there ,no matter what the negative nellys on here say
Or, maybe one day will be enough and the best times will be had at DL.

DCA is a hit or moss. Some people really like it. Others find it dull, boring, lacking magic, hot, and just not leaving a good lasting impressing.

It's great to see once. Knotts is great to see once - like Knotts or Magic Mountain. But, I don't care to go to any of these parks regularly.

I guess everyone needs for form their own opinion.

iwannabeanimagineer
05-25-2004, 10:08 AM
For my family and me, it was and still is worth it to spend the better part of at least on day at DCA. Our reasons were and are:

-We want our children (ages 3-17) to experience it while they are still young and easily impressed.:)
-When queues, sidewalks, shops and restaurants are full at DL, DCA is a great break from the bigger crowds.
-Soarin' Over California. No comment necessary.
-The Disney Animation Building; awesome the first time and cool every time after that.
-We loved Disney/MGM Studios in Florida so much, we were sure this similarly-sized, similarly-themed, similarly-equipped park would be nearly as good.
-We wanted our children to see the Electrical Parade.
-We love the seaside amusement theme at Paradise Pier.
-We love good imagineering and were extremely curious to experience it in its first-opened state.
-The theming takes us back to a lot of great memories of trips throughout California without having to travel for weeks to stir up the memories.
-We love: every show we've seen at the Hyperion (and sad we missed Blast!), It's A Bug's Land, It's Tough To Be A Bug, California Screamin', the Maliboomer, King Triton's Carousel, the Sunwheel and Grizzly River Run
-We loved our stay at GCH, including the "theme park in the back yard", the service and the architecture.

Your mileage may vary.