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View Full Version : I had to laugh at this comment from Pressler about DCA....



Disney Tom
02-11-2002, 09:02 AM
This was taken from a Dow Jones International News article of February 8th:

"We tried to do some new things and push the envelope," Pressler said. "It turned out our guests want what we traditionally have given them."

Gee Paul, have you finally hit upon what it is that we want... a quality guest experience for our $43.00? DCA still has a long way to go to deliver that to me; but it looks like your conciliatory tone is a step in the right direction.... not to say that we told you so but we did.

While TOT is a step in the right direction, the Walt Disney Company can still look forward to two years of Annual Passholders supporting the park, and most of them won't be spending nearly as much as out of state guests who have no compelling reason to visit DCA until 2004. I doubt the Bug's Life Kiddy Fair is going to pack them in. And, there still isn't enough of a hook for me to frequent this sad little park again.... once this past Christmas was more than enough.

In fact, I found the "bag check" at the entrance to be more entertaining than many of the rides in the park, especially Superstar and most of Paradise Pier.

It befuddles me that the design arm of the most amazing theme park producers in the world can create a park that, in many ways, looks like the Glendale High's tenth grade science project.

merlinjones
02-11-2002, 09:29 AM
>>"We tried to do some new things and push the envelope," Pressler said. "It turned out our guests want what we traditionally have given them."<<

Gee, and what kinds of awfult things were said by the same officials about the insane, old-fashioned, out-of-touch, pain-in-the-***, fanboy "purists" in the company who told them all of this and were disdained for saying so... likely even fired if not just ignored. Welcome to the foresight of the Walt Disney Company leadership... the same in every division. Know it all fratboy MBA marketing jerks sitting on anyone who really knows what's going on.

New things and push the envelope indeed... of accounting practices and incresed profitability with less reinvestment! Didn't work - - those peons want Walt quality parks... Trash!

ishkabibble
02-11-2002, 10:25 AM
>> It befuddles me that the design arm of the most amazing
>> theme park producers in the world can create a park that,
>> in many ways, looks like the Glendale High's tenth grade
>> science project.

Hey! I take exception to this last remark. I attended Glendale High and our Science projects were eminently more interesting!

3894
02-11-2002, 10:39 AM
"It turned out our guests want what we traditionally have given them."

I'm going to second MerlinJones and ask at what cost did this blinding realization come?

Answer: Lots of stalled and derailed careers of truth-tellers.

Who in the creative community would want to work for a company like this?

Answer: No one who can avoid it.

coronamouseman
02-12-2002, 06:51 AM
Disney Tom: I think you have it backwards - APs will be the ones not visiting DCA except to hit the few good rides there when DL is crowded ......

Uncle Wilbur and Aunt Edna from Nebraska, when making their once-every-decade visit to California, will have no preconceptions about DCA so they will go and might even like it (because they are unaware of the negative reviews printed in SoCal). Same for any other tourists from outside of California and maybe Arizona who get weekly stories on DLR - DCA will not be seen as the hybrid Knott's Berry Farm/Universal Hollywood "clone-ette" locals see it as because out-of-state tourists may never have seen either Knott's or UH and may perhaps never will. They'll simply take the cab from OC/JW airport, stay at DLR for 3-5 days and then go home.

Also, don't forget that Disney is still a Wall Street Darling of sorts - Pressler was talking to an audience that sees Disney poised to rebound when the recession and/or world crisis relaxes - he can afford to admit some mistakes on one single park when they have TDS and the upcoming DHK to catch the investor's eye......

3894
02-12-2002, 07:10 AM
Originally posted by coronamouseman


Uncle Wilbur and Aunt Edna from Nebraska, when making their once-every-decade visit to California, will have no preconceptions about DCA so they will go and might even like it (because they are unaware of the negative reviews printed in SoCal). Same for any other tourists from outside of California and maybe Arizona who get weekly stories on DLR - DCA will not be seen as the hybrid Knott's Berry Farm/Universal Hollywood "clone-ette" locals see it as because out-of-state tourists may never have seen either Knott's or UH and may perhaps never will. They'll simply take the cab from OC/JW airport, stay at DLR for 3-5 days and then go home.



Except that out-of-staters have probably been to one of the various Six Flags. The Nebraskans you mention have probably been to Camp Snoopy. Everyone in the boonies has been to traveling carnivals with rides similar to those at DCA.

My point is that everyone has a frame of reference, even hicks from the sticks - like me.

Iceman
02-12-2002, 07:19 AM
Taken from the perspective of the MousePlanet reader who hates DCA, has hated it since it was announced, and will always hate it no matter what, Pressler's comments must be pretty frustrating.

Taken from the perspective of a huge Disney fan and stockholder who went to the park with an open mind and who enjoyed it quite a bit, I can see what he's saying. They tried to include upscale dining in the park, educational experiences interspersed with traditional thrill rides, interactive attractions and pure enjoyment rides... things that you don't really see at Disneyland (as great as it is). I think time will prove out the concept, much like it did to all the naysayers in Paris.

Disney Tom
02-12-2002, 08:28 AM
I certainly hope Disney is poised for a re-bound since they've got to stop cutting jobs around the Walt Disney Company, people have families to support. Regardless of my perceptions on the lackluster quality and listless "wow" factor at DCA; I hope people flock to the parks, and in particular to the troubled DCA. I too would like my stock to increase in price in the aftermath of such Disney blockbusters like "Joe Somebody", "Blast From The Past", and "102 Dalmatians".

I think there is a misconception out there....no true Disney aficianado wanted to see DCA fail. But, it's just such an inferior theme park experience overall, that I personally find only a few redeeming qualities about the park and therefore hardcored Disneyphiles were nothing short of "stunned" to see what a snooze the place really is. It's a hob-glob of ideas and concepts and it get's very few of them right.

Yeah, yeah, sure, sure... it was meant to "compliment" Disneyland, I've heard all of that before. But how can you compliment something unless you make it as good as the thing it will inevitably be compared to?

It's almost like saying, the bride in the wedding party is not as beautiful as her sister, so the sister needs to be given inferior clothing, make-up, hair-style, so as not too conflict with the bride's special day, or else she shouldn't be a part of the wedding party. The Walt Disney Company claims to the critics that they built the park to compliment Disneyland, not to compete with it but they missed the mark and now they're correcting it. O.K., so a few entertainment shows and parades were yanked out, that's fine that's not what I'm talking about, but that's all the company will admit to. The overall attractions, foot-print, etc. of this park is just so inferior that I find very little compelling to me.

The park has high-points but an alarmingly equal amount of low-points. I just can't help it, but when I walk around I think to myself "this park looks like it was built on the cheap with less attractions and attention to detail". So, if that was the objective of Disney then fine, they achieved it. But don't try to white-wash and suggest that they didn't do that when the clearly did.

While people do rave about the theming on the "ginger-bread" at Paradise Pier, I say that's all well and good, but aside from the Ferris Wheel and the Coaster, there's absolutely nothing Rah Rah there that would make me want to stand in line for 45 minutes. I mean the Mulholland Drive Coaster is a mad mouse from a carnival, that's all it is. That's not "Disney", that doesnt' compel me to want to spend a day at the park. If that's how Disney is "now", then o.k., I understand.

I thought, however, a Disney park was supposed to be built for the entire family to enjoy, and everything was a bit extraordinary. Do you think Walt would want to be on the Mad Mouse with his daughters...probably not. But the heck with Walt, I don't come to a Disney park for a Mad Mouse, and if that's the way it is now than I have to take more adventure vacations and travel to exotic lands. Walt stood aside while his daughters rode the carousel at the "kiddie parks" and his boredom inspired him to create Disneyland. Now as I see the Paradise Pier rides, I'm inspired to spend my vacation money elsewhere, and that's to go back to Tokyo Disney Sea. At this park, I can wait in line for an hour and have no idea of the delights that await inside the ride and show building. At the Pier, I opt not to wait for a two-minute ride on the Zeohyr.

DCA has a few things going for it, but aside from Soarin and Animation, what else is really novel or not already in a Disney park? As least the DCA approach to Animation is a bit different from WDW's, but the exterior of the building and the interior looks rather cheap and ceratainly worn and aged in a few places.

I was a manager at WDW for 7 years, and a fan for years before that. Working for Disney was my dream and goal in life; and I achieved it. But of late, except for Disney Sea, there is nothing they've done in the Disney parks that really stretches the caliber in my book. Even Rock'n Roller Coaster at WDW MGM stales when compared to DL Paris' Space Mountain, who's effects are incredible. Would it have killed them to make the icons in this MGM ride a little more exciting?

If Disney wants to settle on less than top of the line quality for the Amercian parks, that's fine. I began to experience it with WDW MGM, WDW AK, and finally realized the third time is a charm with DCA. Honestly folks, is this DCA or AK a full day experience? No, it's not and as a result, I'm not going back until the park is built out. Oh "eventually" the park will be cool, it will have to be out of necessity. But at what level of disgust from long-term fans? By opening shoddy products, they're doing two things. They're telling hard-core fans, "Hey Disney opened a new park, I guess I'll go see it in 5 years because it'll be worth it".

hbquikcomjamesl
02-12-2002, 09:10 AM
"Disney Tom" asked the burning question:


Honestly folks, is this DCA or AK a full day experience?


and "Iceman" noted that


They tried to include upscale dining in the park, educational experiences interspersed with traditional thrill rides, . . .


No, DCA is not a "full day experience." At least, not yet. Neither was AK, unless you are the sort who can go to any zoo, and stand around an hour or more watching some animal, waiting for it to do something interesting, knowing it eventually will, or who can ride the Wgasa Bush Line two or more times in a single visit to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. But even 15 months ago, when I was in Florida, AK was at least a good half-day, and showing promise of becoming a "full day experience."

But on the other hand, DCA already has a couple of attractions that are worth the full price of admission by themselves, namely Blast and Soarin'. How often can you go to, say, Davies Hall, (San Francisco), or Benaroya Hall (Seattle), or Segerstrom Hall (Costa Mesa), or the Cerritos Center, or the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (Los Angeles), or Disney Hall (under construction in Los Angeles), and get a decent seat for ONLY $43.00. True, this is only a "Reader's Digest Condensed" version of Blast, but you can keep coming back, again and again.

Disneyland already has dining that's as "upscale" as theme park food ought to be; it's called the Blue Bayou. So does DCA; there, it's called the Soap Opera Bistro. The dining problem with DCA when it opened was that it had a huge vacuum between upscale fast food and upscale table service.

In just one year, DCA has already managed to accomplish quite a bit of growth. It just needs some more time.

Morrigoon
02-12-2002, 11:07 PM
make all the guesses you want about the out-of-towners, but the truth is, anyone, in any part of the country, who knows someone that's been to DCA, knows it's not up to scratch. Okay, I shouldn't say anyone, since a couple of you actually like the place, BUT, most of the people I've spoken to in other states have heard bad things about DCA... it isn't just a locals thing. If it's not entertaining, no amount of marketing will make it so. DCA has a couple good elements, I grant you. Not $43 worth, but a couple good things. They would be fools not to turn it into Disney's America.

coronamouseman
02-13-2002, 05:04 PM
Disney Tom - I agree with you wholeheartedly on the damages caused by DCA to the Disney brand name. Many amusement park fans such as those of us who frequent these chat groups felt a great letdown when DCA opened because it did seem so underdone. And with the rave opening of Islands of Adventure preceeding it and the rave opening of Tokyo DisneySea following it, DCA had to be very good and very good it was not. However, given a few years of steady improvement it will probably prove to be a popular 2nd gate for Disney at DLR since many people who stay at DLR or WDW no nothing of any of the information printed in newspapers or talked about in chat groups regarding the Disney parks.

But for those of us who discuss things Disney, I think there is a definite sentiment that Disney messed things up at DCA ........

zapppop
02-13-2002, 07:04 PM
I think they should just change DCA to Walt Disney Studios instead.

GoldenGriff
02-13-2002, 09:38 PM
DCA sould be caled DDOA Disnesy Dead On Arrival. I expected so much and got so little from that park.