PDA

View Full Version : DCA Concerts - Crowds?



RideMax Mark
07-13-2002, 04:58 PM
Did anyone stop by DCA for the Beach Boys today? Any effect on the crowds for the other attractions?

Thanks...

tabacco
07-13-2002, 05:08 PM
Didn't seem to be much more crowded that usual at the entrance. Disney didn't do much in the way of advertising these concerts. Every guest I told about it today was shocked to hear that the Beach Boys were playing.

AVP
07-14-2002, 08:19 AM
We caught the 3:30 show, and the show itself was crowded, but the rest of DCA seemed unaffected. (I'll write all this up for my column tomorrow, but here's your "MousePad Preview")

There are essentially three seating options for the show. If you want to do the Priority Seating / dinner package, you are admitted into the show 30 minutes before the concert, and you get to sit on one of the approx 270 white folding chairs that have been installed on the floor of the amphitheater.

There is also a "standby line" for the amphitheater. The first 144 or so will get seats on the concrete risers. The next 100 or so will stand at the back of the amphitheater. Everyone else who will fit stands behind the railing of the little terrace behind the amphitheater. After that, they are allowing guests into the grassy planter area to each side of the terrace. If you are given a choice between standing on the lower level at the back of the amphitheater, and standing on the upper terrace, pick the terrace.

They were couting guests at both shows yesterday, and the estimate is that about 1200 people were able to fit into these 5 areas.

If you don't make it in to see the first show, you become the standby line for the 2nd show. The first people in line for the 3:30 show on Saturday got there at 10:00 a.m. By 4:30, the line for the 2nd show was all the way back to Bountiful Valley Farm.

There is a rope across the back of the terrace, and anyone is allowed to stand there for the concert. The spots right against the rope were taken by about 12:00 yesterday. Of course, this was for the Beach Boys - I don't know what other concerts will look like. We also saw people lined up along the bridge, and sitting across the bay.

Photos tomorrow!

AVP

fredc
07-14-2002, 09:15 AM
I went to both shows on Saturdayarriving about 10 minutes before showtime. I did not wait in either line but stood near the entrance for the "standby" line near the bridge. After the line was let in anybody in the area could follow.

At the first show I got down to the terrace level and took a seat at the back bench (hot concrete). Before the show started they enforced a "no standing on the benchs" After the show started the opened the grass area behind the terrace. I stood up and moved behind the little fence. I stood there for the full 45 minute set. The grassy area was pretty full and the terrace benches also had people standing on them. I could see everything from this location.

For the second show I just sat on the bench along the path down to the terrace (the standby line was longer and the terrace was fuller). For this show they allowed standing on the terrace benchs but did not allow anyone on the grass even though they had added safety cones around the grass. I left the longer (about 55 minutes) show with an encore to get to Avalon cove for dinner. I could hear the show all the way to the bar.

dsnyredhead
07-14-2002, 10:42 AM
Question (especially for AVP or anyone else in my situation) ...how is the disabled seating? Do they have a wheelchair section? I hope to be able to get into today's show, depending on the crowds.

ahecht
07-14-2002, 10:03 PM
There was a handicapped seating area up on the terrace, but only one wheelchair was there when the show started, and about five minutes into the show they started letting non handicapped people stand there.

Pooh
07-14-2002, 10:13 PM
I just returned from DCA and the concert set-up was HORRIBLE! The music was great and you could hear it clearly, but you couldn't see! We had this R-U-D-E woman in front of us sitting on the lamp post/decoration thing with her feet resting on the bench, effectively blocking anyone behind her who was less than 7 feet tall (Maybe Shaq could have seen past her.) We asked her nicely to get down, but she refused. I couldn't find a CM for anything! She could have seen just as well if she stood on the ground since she was in the front of the group standing on the walkway.
I tried putting my 5 year old niece on my shoulders, but she got too heavy. There was an announcement about not video-taping. I put my camera away until I saw many others taping with no one saying anything. Mainly, I held the camera up, zoomed in, and tipped the view-screen so my family could see something. This didn't work for long since I couldn't hold my arms straight above my head for long.

This whole problem would be moot if Disney had just set the stage up higher. RAISE THE STAGE!!!!!!! This concert series is going to be a bust unless they make the viewing more accessible.
Also, be warned, standing in the heat with little to no shade and people squished together is a surefire way to cause heat illnesses.

I wish DCA or Disneyland had a venue like the one for Fantasmic in Orlando. It's wonderful. No pushing, standing, or impossible views. So the seats are hard bleachers? At least you can sit and see clearly without having to go hours early to save a section of ground. Plus, they had a great pre-show to keep the kids entertained.

DCA, take note! Build something like it in the old parking lot. You could shoot the fireworks from there, do Fantasmic!, and not have to worry about so much crowd control. Toontown could remain open longer, the walkway in New Orleans Square would be clear, and more people would be tempted to go to DCA.

We ditched the concert early and caught the last show of BLAST! which was also a disappointment. We didn't recognize any of the performers and 3 dancers dropped their props. Maybe because it was the last show of the night, but the enthusiasm just didn't seem to be there. However, I have to compliment the 2 performers that were in our section of the audience. They mugged for my video camera and gave my niece a high five. She loved the attention!

ahecht
07-14-2002, 10:15 PM
I'm surprised they let you tape. I saw several people taping during they show, but they were all approached by security and asked to stop.

Pooh
07-14-2002, 10:16 PM
We were so far back, they probably figured I wouldn't get much anyway. Plus, I only taped for a few minutes before we got too disgusted and left.

Uncle Dick
07-15-2002, 02:23 AM
The MuppetVision theater was full for the second time I've ever seen. There still wasn't any line for it though. Two people in front of me for Maliboomer Single Rider. So the park was more crowded than usual, but not unpleasantly so.

WDWalways
07-15-2002, 06:51 AM
When the list of performers at DCA was posted (and also in the review of the Beach Boys by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix) the list of performers was called no better than who plays the county fair circuit. Everytime I read this description it got me annoyed and now reading it yet again I just had to say that you people have got to be kidding!!!! Do you think the top-name acts that sell out 20,000 plus seat arenas are gonna do DCA or any other theme park??? Please people -- that's not how it works!! Just another excuse to say something negative about DCA.

Lani
07-15-2002, 09:28 AM
WDWalways -- Yes, I agree that I think it may be difficult for Disney to justify paying megabucks for a Paul McCartney or Britney Spears concert, that's true. However the issue, in my opinion, is not that Disney doesn't want to fork over the big bucks for a big name, but that this is yet another Band-Aid solution for a bigger problem at DCA. That is, if the park wasn't in such dire need for attendance, it wouldn't need to run a special summer concert series.

As far as I know, Disneyland (or even Epcot, MGM Studios, or Animal Kingdom) has never had to do a summer concert series with acts that are (for want of a different phrase) "no longer filling 20,000-capacity arenas" / "in the twilight of their careers" / "have been profiled on a VH-1 'Behind the Music' episode".

It's like this: Let's pretend that I am a famous restauranteur. I have a very wonderful restaurant called "Wolfgang Lani's." I make incredible dishes and people flock the world over, and I am making good money. I decide I want to build a second restaurant across the street from my flagship restaurant, but this new one will just serve snacks and desserts. That way, people will stay longer at my restaurants! Since I'm already so famous, I don't need to spend a lot of money making this new place nice, because people will come anyway. My new place ends up looking like a fast food joint, but my gosh! It's a "Wolfgang Lani's Sweets" restaurant so people should flock to it, right? Well apparently people don't really like the soft-serve ice cream, plastic seats, or the fluorescent lighting. Darn. Let me try to get more people to show up by giving a SUMMER CONCERT SERIES! I can hire Hall and Oates to sing in the corner of my dessert restaurant! Now everybody will show up! Please folks, don't just go to my main restaurant, go to my dessert restaurant, too!

You see, the problem is not so much that I hired Hall & Oates (although people may complain about that anyway), but that I am ignoring my fundamental problem (my dessert shop was cheaply made and unattractive) and trying to come up with temporary Band-Aid solutions. What I NEED to do is to remove the fluorescent lighting, offer a smorgasbord of amazing desserts, and strip out the cheap furniture.

By the way, I am not really anti-DCA. I think it's a fine half-day park, and it's a nice date place at night when you can watch the twinkling lights from Paradise Pier. And as an APer, it doesn't cost me extra to go to DCA, so I visit it regularly.

WDWalways
07-15-2002, 09:53 AM
Lani - I totally understand what you're saying but if you read the early posts when the concert series was first announced ALOT of people were saying that the line-up sucked (for lack of a better word but that sums it up.) Now, I do agree that the lineup is not filled with acts that can sell out the Staples Center but who would even think bigger name acts would play DCA or any theme park?? If someone read the line-up and thought "C'mon they couldn't get better acts than this?" they obviously think Disney should have gotten better acts and could have gotten better acts but they are seriously wrong! Who they got is exactly the kind of acts that agree to these theme park/county fair/outdoor/summer/low budget shows. After I read the review by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix and it was mentioned again how this DCA line-up ain't much better than the county fair, well, it just irritated me enough to write my post that those who thought the line-up would be A-list acts is just kidding themselves AND MY POINT is that it is NOT the fault of Disney, especially DCA.

Pooh
07-15-2002, 10:20 AM
Enough bashing of the groups coming this summer! I am so excited to see some of the bands (if only a few original members) that I've listened to my parents play for years! In fact, I was quite upset that I'll be out of town for a few of them. The crowds were bad enough at the concert. Bigger names aren't necessary.

Also, it reminds us of when music was fun and you could understand the lyrics! If Disney brought in some of the big names today like B.Spears, I think I'd boycott. Disney is for the family. B. Spears is for...well, let's just say, not the family.

As a person who was born in the 70s, I think the line-up is great and before dealing with the rude people yesterday and the horrible set-up for viewing, I was very excited about the coming weeks. (See my post earlier in this thread about the viewing conditions.)

Lani
07-15-2002, 10:31 AM
Pooh -- hopefully the park will be able to make fixes and tweaks based on the experience from this weekend. Since they are running a series, I hope by the end that everything will be as smooth as a baby's bottom. :)

WDWalways -- You're right in that it's kind of cheesy to keep referring to these bands as "county fair" material, but I looked at the tour schedule for many of them, and it's quite true. The problem is that people are equating "poor quality" or "over the hill" with the description... I think there is nothing wrong with playing county fairs. Alex and I saw Tony Danza in a surpringly good show at a fair a few years ago. He sang and entertained the crowd in a way we didn't know he was capable. I'm sure fairs are the bread and butter for many bands, and it allows folks to see them without having to shell out $100 a ticket to see them.

Better yet, it's great that these bands are playing at DCA, because it means I can go watch for "free" since I have an AP. I'm sure that's what Disney wants folks to do; go and spend a day at the park and keep them in the park so they can watch a concert.

Again, the bottom line is that for some folks, the complaints happen because "if DCA was built right in the first place, they wouldn't have to add concerts like this to draw in the guests." and for many folks, having this concert series at DCA makes DCA look like an alternative to county fairs, and I suspect that is not what Disney meant it to be.

Sheila
07-15-2002, 10:36 AM
It was my impression that the DCA line-up was modeled after the very successful Epcot summer series in Florida that's being going on for several years.

At the American Pavilion there, lots of groups from the '60s and '70s play every summer. Groups like the Turtles and the Association. I think it's called "Summer of Love" (I hope some Florida local will confirm/deny this title).

I personally think there's a place for bringing in nostalgia bands. I certainly enjoyed hearing the Beach Boys on Saturday. Whether or not it will help to boost DCA attendance is, of course, another matter. ;)

YMMV,
Sheila

Rallymonkey23
07-15-2002, 10:48 AM
Originally posted by WDWalways
Do you think the top-name acts that sell out 20,000 plus seat arenas are gonna do DCA or any other theme park???

I'm sorry WDWalways. But just 3 months ago Destiny's Child performed at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Also, there is a park in Ohio called Paramounts Kings Island that has top notch performers there this summer. Sure these events require a seperate ticket, but they are there.

WDWalways
07-15-2002, 12:02 PM
Originally posted by Rallymonkey23


I'm sorry WDWalways. But just 3 months ago Destiny's Child performed at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Also, there is a park in Ohio called Paramounts Kings Island that has top notch performers there this summer. Sure these events require a seperate ticket, but they are there.

Hershey Park also has top-name acts BUT they do NOT perform at the park itself -- Hershey has an arena for the winter and a stadium for the summer. I'm sure Destiny's Child was in an arena or amphitheater type facility -- not out in the park itself -- and the seperate admission ticket is proof of this. Acts that play in the park and is included with park admission are not usually A-list acts BUT I am not knocking the acts -- I know what a huge, loyal following alot of these groups have -- I'm just saying that those who were disappointed with the line-up should have known better. I am NOT knocking Disney, DCA or the bands -- I just think it's silly to expect a concert in a theme park included with the regular admission price to be a huge name act.

merlinjones
07-15-2002, 03:33 PM
I think the line up is fine, albeit too heavily slanted to generic oldies... gearing toward surf or related California pop may have been a better idea.... but I just think it's good they are doing it at all. The Beach Boys, The Monkees and The Bangles are all great names. It's equivalent to the types of acts they used to get on a regular basis at DL (where I'd like to see some concerts too!).

But from the photos (I was busy this weekend and didn't get out there), it looks like the amphitheatre set up was a disaster for a hot summer day... and even worse, each and every photo of the stage posted here reveal the "gorgeous backdrop" of the concert... no, not Paradise Pier.... those beautiful Disneyesque California power lines... prominent in every shot. That's what would go out to TV too if they were there... great sell!

The dismal planning and design of this park never ceases to amaze me.

ahecht
07-15-2002, 09:08 PM
I just wanted to link to my two reviews in this (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=117347) thread.