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View Full Version : DCA wasn't hurting for business today / Innoventions



justagrrl
03-17-2002, 05:44 PM
DCA wasn't hurting for business today - that's for sure. We arrived at about 10:45 or so and were amazed at the enormous line out front...backed up farther then I'd ever seen it before...way way way (waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay) past the letters. We ended up going to disneyland instead because the line was so much shorter.

Just stayed for a little bit and visited Innoventions for the first time. Very cool. I was sorry I hadn't gone in earlier and do plan on going back when I can browse a bit more without being rushed around by my 3 year old (who also really liked it.)

Why does everyone bag on it so much?

Lani
03-17-2002, 06:13 PM
I wonder if having three E-ticket rides down in DL had anything to do with that?

Polar33
03-18-2002, 12:04 AM
I was in both parks last Friday. DCA seamed to be quite crowded when I was there. When I went to Disneyland the crowd seamed to be a bit thinner. At the time I just assumed that DCA just looked more crowded than it was because I am not used to seing so many people over there. Now, thinking it over a bit I wonder if it felt more crowded due to DCAs lower capacity. If you put 25,000 people in DCA on any given day it would be like Disneyland on a Saturday in July, move those same 25,000 to Disneyland and it would be more like if you came on Wednesday of last week. It's something to wonder about...plus (as lani said) DL has three E-tickets (and half of Fantasyland) shuttered...perhaps people are heading over to DCA for something to do. :eek: (never expected to say that in a million years) :)

cstephens
03-18-2002, 12:57 AM
Maybe DCA is more crowded now just because more people are going. I figure most people aren't Disney nuts and don't plan their lives around the opening of a new Disney park. DCA has been open for a year now, and I know I usually wait a while after a new park opens before going because there are bound to be kinks to be worked out and changes made. (In my case, a new Disney park practically in my back yard is definitely an exception.) It's spring break time, and maybe people are coming out now. It was definitely very crowded on Sunday.




/cs

Ghoulish Delight
03-18-2002, 07:59 AM
Hrmm, why do people trash Innoventions. Here are my main reasons.

1) It's Tomorrowland, and all Innoventions does is tout todays technology as amazing advances for the future. "Ooooh, touch screens." "Ooooh, voice control." "Oooooh, video games." 99% of stuff in there I can go down to Fry's and see, buy, and use TODAY, not tomorrow. And of the 1% that I can't, half of if I can get at Sharper Image or Brookstone

2) It's little more than a big, walkthrough billboard. I don't go to Disneyland to be advertised at (except, of course, by Disney ;) )

That's the long and short of it.

justagrrl
03-18-2002, 01:03 PM
Okay - I can see your points there...I honestly hadn't considered it from that point of view.

From my experience yesterday, I can say that we enjoyed the time spent. The kids liked all the video games, and I liked exploring an area of Disneyland I hadn't seen before. But considering the name of it, it does imply a certain futuristic expectation. Never the less, we had fun and that counts for a lot. ;)

malin
03-18-2002, 02:45 PM
Thats great news about DCA.

Perhaps poeple are finally coming to accept this park for what it is.I hope so because I will be heading to DCA in November and was begining to have fears.

I have never seen Innoventions but will do so in November.

Uncle Dick
03-18-2002, 11:57 PM
Originally posted by Ghoulish Delight
Hrmm, why do people trash Innoventions. Here are my main reasons.

1) It's Tomorrowland, and all Innoventions does is tout todays technology as amazing advances for the future. "Ooooh, touch screens." "Ooooh, voice control." "Oooooh, video games." 99% of stuff in there I can go down to Fry's and see, buy, and use TODAY, not tomorrow. And of the 1% that I can't, half of if I can get at Sharper Image or Brookstone
You could go down to the electronics store, lay down 100 grand and get all the stuff in Innoventions.... but why would you want to when you can play with it at Innoventions? I'm pretty sure most people visiting Disneyland either can't afford or have never seen that kind of technology before. (I hadn't seen the touch screen stuff.) Granted, the video game exhibit is pure exploitation but it beats pumpin' the quarters into the Starcade. ;) And you can't buy that GM car anywhere.

I don't have a problem with the lack of "tomorrow" in Innoventions, simply because Tomorrowland isn't about "tomorrow" any longer. Even if the concept is flawed, I still have lots of fun in Innoventions.


2) It's little more than a big, walkthrough billboard. I don't go to Disneyland to be advertised at (except, of course, by Disney ;) )
Then you'd better avoid Space Mountain, Star Tours, the Enchanted Tiki Room, Indiana Jones Adventure, and the Autopia, all of which have prominent corporate advertising.

Ghoulish Delight
03-19-2002, 07:13 AM
There's a difference between corporate sponsored rides, and out and out advertising. The corporate sponsorship says, "Hey, we support Disney, so next time you're out buying whatever it is we sell, think about buying our brand." I don't really mind that. The advertising is there to support the ride, so it makes sense for Disney to give them something small in return. Innovention's says, "Buy our stuff!! Buy it. You neeeed it! I don't care if you didn't think you need it before. You neeed it now!! Buy buy buy. Here, look, try it! You know you want it now!!." etc. It exists only to advertise, not as compensation for support of something worthwhile.

That being said, I DO find the FedEx bot in the loading room of SM annoying, and the Chevron sponsorship of Autopia even more so. But at least those are not the main point of the attraction. I can still go on those rides, ignore the advertisements as much as possible, and enjoy them as rides. Innoventions, however, has nothing to do but be advertised at.