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fjhuerta
08-28-2005, 10:16 PM
IMHO, of course. Well, attendance numbers seem to agree with me.

Besides the obvious points (no scenery, no backdrops, no theme, cheap props, and you can see the outside!), there's one thing that makes it the worst Disney park in the US.

Think The Tower of Terror. They made it... what? 9 years after the original? I'd suppose they would create a bigger, better, bolder attraction, just because they've had so much experience with the Florida one.

Nah. Why should they? Give the sheep an inferior version... nobody will know / care! And what an inferior version this one is - everything is inferior. From the queue, to the tower interior, to the exterior, to the drops, to the "5th Dimension"... they could have made something a hell of a lot better... but they didn't.

What about the Rock'nRoller Coaster? Great theme, great queue, amazing experience. Instead, we got a standard "woodie", with no queue, no theme, and, since it's not indoors, no fun. Forget about limos instead of cars - that'd be way too expensive!

The rest of Paradise Pier? I could go on a county fair and find the same attractions (almost)...

The animation building? Florida did it better. The muppet show? A re-hash from MGM. The Hollywood backlot? A copy of, yes, MGM. SUperstar Limo? Kinda like The Great Movie Ride at MGM, but 10000x worse. Who wants to be a millionaire? Florida, anyone?

Flick's Fair? Animal Kingdom, am I thinking of you?

Let's face it. DCA is a third rate park with second to third rate copies of attractions that exist on the east coast.

The only reason it was built is because it has a mighty neighbour, and Eisner thought people would be dumb enough to go to DCA and think it was a Disney Park. He even "stole" Disneyland's dedication speech (he didn't manage to steal any of Walt's charm...).

For people who have been to WDW, it's pretty obvious... DCA is a pale imitation of the MGM / AK parks. A very pale, ugly, inferior one.

I wonder if any amount of money will ever be able to make it a nice, good park. As it is, I don't think it'll ever be considered in the same league as DL. I don't think it'll ever be thought of as the MGM studios, actually.

ILovePoker
08-28-2005, 10:51 PM
That's nice. :rolleyes: I'm going to go listen to a broken record now. :D

leotatoombs
08-29-2005, 02:36 AM
IMHO, of course. Well, attendance numbers seem to agree with me.

Besides the obvious points (no scenery, no backdrops, no theme, cheap props, and you can see the outside!), there's one thing that makes it the worst Disney park in the US.

Think The Tower of Terror. They made it... what? 9 years after the original? I'd suppose they would create a bigger, better, bolder attraction, just because they've had so much experience with the Florida one.

Nah. Why should they? Give the sheep an inferior version... nobody will know / care! And what an inferior version this one is - everything is inferior. From the queue, to the tower interior, to the exterior, to the drops, to the "5th Dimension"... they could have made something a hell of a lot better... but they didn't.

What about the Rock'nRoller Coaster? Great theme, great queue, amazing experience. Instead, we got a standard "woodie", with no queue, no theme, and, since it's not indoors, no fun. Forget about limos instead of cars - that'd be way too expensive!

The rest of Paradise Pier? I could go on a county fair and find the same attractions (almost)...

The animation building? Florida did it better. The muppet show? A re-hash from MGM. The Hollywood backlot? A copy of, yes, MGM. SUperstar Limo? Kinda like The Great Movie Ride at MGM, but 10000x worse. Who wants to be a millionaire? Florida, anyone?

Flick's Fair? Animal Kingdom, am I thinking of you?

Let's face it. DCA is a third rate park with second to third rate copies of attractions that exist on the east coast.

The only reason it was built is because it has a mighty neighbour, and Eisner thought people would be dumb enough to go to DCA and think it was a Disney Park. He even "stole" Disneyland's dedication speech (he didn't manage to steal any of Walt's charm...).

For people who have been to WDW, it's pretty obvious... DCA is a pale imitation of the MGM / AK parks. A very pale, ugly, inferior one.

I wonder if any amount of money will ever be able to make it a nice, good park. As it is, I don't think it'll ever be considered in the same league as DL. I don't think it'll ever be thought of as the MGM studios, actually. And there isn't anything bad you would like to say about how star tours was done over at mgm or potc at wdw magic kingdom or that awful tiki room under new management, or how about that crappy version of fantasmic! flying aladdin carpets!? whatever! I still love disney parks!!! & disneyland/dca recycles a lot of those cheep props, & they really have a lot of history at disneyland resorts such as old props from parades shows & disney archives I can name quite a few that have been reused for many things and the parades themes they were used for !!!
:p

animagusurreal
08-29-2005, 03:03 AM
What about the Rock'nRoller Coaster? Great theme, great queue, amazing experience. Instead, we got a standard "woodie", with no queue, no theme, and, since it's not indoors, no fun. Forget about limos instead of cars - that'd be way too expensive!

The rest of Paradise Pier? I could go on a county fair and find the same attractions (almost)...


I haven't been Rockin' Roller Coaster (I would love to, hope they build it here), but I really like Screamin'. IMHO, it's got a theme - it's a modern steel coaster themed to be a wooden coaster. That's a pretty thin theme by Disney standards, but it works for me. Also, I like the outdoorsyness.

I would like to see more themed coasters like Big Thunder and Space.

I do agree with you on the rest of Paradise Pair, even though the rides are a lot more visually attractive (especially from across Paradise Bay) they don't seem much more inventive. The one that really gets me perturbed is Mulholland Madness. I haven't been on it, but I've seen the video (I know, not the same, but I think its enough to get an idea of the theming) and I wish that they would have built a ride that actually resembled a busy freeway, maybe an indoor ride. Driving down some of those canyon freeways already seems like a roller coaster sometimes. What I saw on that video looked like the Rescue Rangers Raceway overlay from the Disney Afternoon Live! promotion.

disney jones
08-29-2005, 04:00 AM
i don't think the problem has anything to do with copy cat rides either. we don't go to Florida, and we don't care what's there or not, so we pretty much enjoy what's here at DCA. and we do. ToT, GRR, Soarin' and most of the rides on PP are fun! BPB, MSEP, Muppets and Aladddin are fun! Kids shows and Bug's land are fun for them too.

the problem is that there just isn't much to do there, especially things you want to do or see every trip. We always go there each trip, we have fun, and it only lasts about 6 hours or so, then we head back to Disneyland.

MyBeast
08-29-2005, 05:31 AM
Gee doesn't this sound familiar... Give DCA a break, just for a week maybe, just one itty bitty little week where bad stuff is not said about the park....

ILoveChurros
08-29-2005, 08:16 AM
Besides the obvious points (no scenery, no backdrops, no theme, cheap props, and you can see the outside!), there's one thing that makes it the worst Disney park in the US.

.

For the record, the reason why you can see outside the park into California is because its DCA...its part of the scenery. How can you make rides like Maliboomer and ToT and now allow people to see beyond the resort?

DisneyDustin22
08-29-2005, 09:28 AM
For the record, the reason why you can see outside the park into California is because its DCA...its part of the scenery. How can you make rides like Maliboomer and ToT and now allow people to see beyond the resort?

Can you imagine having to house and hide show building for Maliboomer? "Gee, I never knew that the giant red woods grew out on the piers of california." ;)

dlandnut
08-29-2005, 09:33 AM
Gee doesn't this sound familiar... Give DCA a break, just for a week maybe, just one itty bitty little week where bad stuff is not said about the park....


I totally agree, but I betcha it can't be done... :crying:

DisneyDustin22
08-29-2005, 09:37 AM
This is the song that never ends...

Yes it goes on and on my friend...

:D

The Genii
08-29-2005, 09:52 AM
The only really annoying thing I've found about Disney's California Adventure is listening to people bitch about it.

I enjoy the park! So do lots of other people.

If you hate DCA why don't you post over at MiceAge with Al Putz and his friends where everyone will agree with you and you can have a bash-DCA circle jerk for the 365th time this year (that would be EVERY day).

newportbeachbumz
08-29-2005, 10:12 AM
I really enjoy both parks.

I go to Disneyland for the nostalgia of my childhood and the magic I can now see through my children's eyes.

We enjoy DCA as well - Soarin' is like therapy for me :) I like the fact that it is less crowded and offers different types of rides. When DCA first opened my teen loved it, but there was not enough for my son to do...eventually they put in shows, and rides that the younger ones can enjoy. Also, on a hot summer day it's nice to be able to take a break and enjoy a margarita :eek:

I recently went to both Disneyland and DCA on two different days with a neighbor - And at the end of our day at DCA.......drum roll please...............

She said she LOVED it!!!!

DisneyDustin22
08-29-2005, 10:17 AM
I agree as well. DCA can be a lot of fun. I really enjoy it. I agree with some of the other posts in the past on here that if DCA had a weekly concert series or some sort in the park during the summer, they could really attract more guests. I'm not talking big shows with A-list names. But what they do over in Tomorrowland. I remember a few years back seeing the Monkey's, well at least Davey and Mickey, playing at the DCA lagoon and the place was packed! They need more things like that.

Skunker
08-29-2005, 11:14 AM
...Also, on a hot summer day it's nice to be able to take a break and enjoy a margarita :eek:

Margaritas?!? No one told me about the margaritas! Where can I get one when I visit this controversial park?

Andrew
08-29-2005, 11:17 AM
Margaritas?!? No one told me about the margaritas! Where can I get one when I visit this controversial park?
Rita's Baja Blenders, in the Pacific Wharf area near Cucina Cucamonga.

sand20go
08-29-2005, 11:32 AM
Scary that the best part of DCA is that it is uncrowded. If one were doing market research it would be important to know how many of those liking that attribute own an annual pass and how many would be willing to embrace a "split" system of paying a premium to have a "2 park pass".

But I digress.

Rather than unproductively bash DCA it is far more important to think about what is working, what is not, and what could be done to help the park on the off chance that decision makers in Burbank lurk and occassionaly read these sorts of boards to pick up impressions from the paying public.....

IMHO, the addition of darkrides can only help. As I noted earlier, there is just too much visual "spill" from outside the park and from one themed area to another to allow for the kind of immersion that almost all other Disney Parks are famous for. Getting guests inwardedly focused helps that.

I also would hope that disney would honestly do an analysis of merchandise sales at DCA and whether they could take back some space currently allocated to retail. If all they are doing is being predatory on customers that would buy stuff in DtD or across at DL then it is actually costing them money in operating expenses to keep all that retail open.

and finally STORIES. We got to have STORIES at a Disney park. One of the real challenges in DCA is other than "Golden Dreams", TOT, Aladin, and Muppets there really isn't a story-line that drives these attractions. Compare that to almost EVERY ride at DL which has a definative story line. Even some parks have stories when they shouldnt (see the safari ride at DAK). One of the reasons that I think that many people are unhappy with Paradise Pier is that it lacks that kind of story telling experience. Hopefully Monsters ride will help and the next investments they make.

PirateSmile
08-29-2005, 01:21 PM
I like DCA. It's just not as fun as Disneyland, imho. I don't think it ever will be. But it's only a few years old, I'm sure it will get better.

jrad32
08-29-2005, 01:48 PM
The only really annoying thing I've found about Disney's California Adventure is listening to people bitch about it.

I enjoy the park! So do lots of other people.

If you hate DCA why don't you post over at MiceAge with Al Putz and his friends where everyone will agree with you and you can have a bash-DCA circle jerk for the 365th time this year (that would be EVERY day).

I dislike DCA, but I think I'll post right here thank you very much. :mad: Good for you that you like it. I've seen plenty of threads talking about what a great place DCA is, so there are room for threads about how bad it is to.

Don't forget the attendance figures clearly point to a park that the majority of people just don't like. :~D

ILovePoker
08-29-2005, 02:01 PM
I dislike DCA, but I think I'll post right here thank you very much. :mad: Good for you that you like it. I've seen plenty of threads talking about what a great place DCA is, so there are room for threads about how bad it is to.

Don't forget the attendance figures clearly point to a park that the majority of people just don't like. :~D

Atleast you didn't make a new thread about you hating it, which everyone else does.

DCA is still one of the most visited parks in the USA. It's beaten out many others and I believe was in the top 10.

Just because you happen to visit the park and you find it empty doesn't automatically mean that it is always empty. And please do not say that a majority of people hate the park because you have no proof of that. In February, we visited DCA on a regular (off season) Saturday and that park was busy! 30 minutes for Maliboomer, 25 for Mulholland Madness, 60 minutes for Tower of Terror, 45 minutes for California Screamin. I have proof that the park was busy because of the wait times and people I visually SAW in the park, also the Electrical parade was around 5 people deep as well. Plus, DCA also beats out many other parks in attendance, which their is PROOF of that. Saying you hate DCA is fine but making false statements isn't fine.

DisneyDustin22
08-29-2005, 02:02 PM
*First of all, this post is in no way directed at anyone in particular. So before you anybody fires back with a post saying I'm am standing them out, I am not.*

And now the post...

What I don't understand are the people who openly state their dislike for DCA, yet, continue to go there? Everyone is entitled to their opinions and may state them freely. It doesn't make sense if you don't like something, to continue to go and find thigns wrong with it. It's the people who have been to DCA and list all the things they hate about the park, then come back and post about how they went back and spent a whole day in DCA and hate everything again. By going there, you are negating the reasons you have for telling everyone you hate it. If you say, oh ill never give them my money again, and then turn around and go there and come back saying how much you hate it, well then, you arent really proving anything are you?

It's like all those people who said they hated the fact that Mel Gibson made Passion of the Christ and said it was an awful thing to do and all that. Then theyre the ones who stood in lines for hours to see it. And what did they say when they were asked why theye were there if they knew they would hate it? They say, oh well I had to be able to say that I saw to hate it. OKay, but they still got your $10, so was your point case clearly proven? Don't think so.

Now I'm not caling for a boycott of DCA for those of you who dont like it. I'm simply saying, if you know ahead of time you aren't going to like it. Then you go, and have a bad time. Don't come back saying how awful it was.

ILovePoker
08-29-2005, 02:03 PM
*First of all, this post is in no way directed at anyone in particular. So before you anybody fires back with a post saying I'm am standing them out, I am not.*

And now the post...

What I don't understand are the people who openly state their dislike for DCA, yet, continue to go there? Everyone is entitled to their opinions and may state them freely. It doesn't make sense if you don't like something, to continue to go and find thigns wrong with it. It's the people who have been to DCA and list all the things they hate about the park, then come back and post about how they went back and spent a whole day in DCA and hate everything again. By going there, you are negating the reasons you have for telling everyone you hate it. If you say, oh ill never give them my money again, and then turn around and go there and come back saying how much you hate it, well then, you arent really proving anything are you?

It's like all those people who said they hated the fact that Mel Gibson made Passion of the Christ and said it was an awful thing to do and all that. Then theyre the ones who stood in lines for hours to see it. And what did they say when they were asked why theye were there if they knew they would hate it? They say, oh well I had to be able to say that I saw to hate it. OKay, but they still got your $10, so was your point case clearly proven? Don't think so.

Now I'm not caling for a boycott of DCA for those of you who dont like it. I'm simply saying, if you know ahead of time you aren't going to like it. Then you go, and have a bad time. Don't come back saying how awful it was.
Well said. :fez:

kinglouie1967
08-29-2005, 02:16 PM
I won't let the fact that I've never been to DCA prevent me from posting a comment here.

From what I've read here, the park appeals mostly to teenagers. That's cool. Disney should embrace that and add more thrill rides, more roller coasters and things like that.

DianeM
08-29-2005, 02:28 PM
The attendance figures don't show that a majority don't like DCA. All they show is that people don't like it as much as DL, and choose to spend most of their time at the other park. Whenever I've been in DCA there were a lot of people there, so somebody must like it. I've stood in line for an hour to see Soarin - during the quiet season.


I dislike DCA, but I think I'll post right here thank you very much. :mad: Good for you that you like it. I've seen plenty of threads talking about what a great place DCA is, so there are room for threads about how bad it is to.

Don't forget the attendance figures clearly point to a park that the majority of people just don't like. :~D

Skunker
08-29-2005, 02:38 PM
Ok, I've never jumped into one of these threads, but here goes. The only thing I don't like about DCA is that it seems to have made the cost of a multi day pass go up quite a bit. And since there are no DL only multi day passes for half the price, it irritates me a *little* bit. Other than that, I am looking forward to our trip and exploring DCA more since it's already included in the price of admission. Then I can come back and rant with the best of you! (just kidding, don't throw anything!!)

ILoveChurros
08-29-2005, 03:13 PM
I like DCA, sure its not Disneyland, but guess what? NOTHING WILL EVER COMPARE TO DISNEYLAND!!! I like the ambiance of DCA, the Beach Boys playing in the background, the smell of food, the screams from screamin'. I'm a local too, very local, Fullerton is only 10 minutes away and still I enjoy DCA.

People can find 1000 things wrong with the place. But it takes a certain type of person to just enjoy what is there and have a good time despite the "lack of magic" or what have you. Just have fun, eat a churro, and scream your butt off on TOT, stop worrying about the details!!!