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View Full Version : The New York Times description of DCA in its current state, a WOW! moment



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Darkbeer
02-09-2008, 11:47 AM
I really like the main part of this detailed story that talks about Toy Story Mania! construction, along with some great photos and video that is part of Sunday's New York Times, but I am starting this thread to discuss just the focus on the general description of DCA that was at the beginning of the article...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/business/media/10ride.html




Visit Disney’s California Adventure — a 55-acre theme park next door to the fabled progenitor of the modern amusement Mecca, Disneyland — and you will find a noisy reminder of what happens when a company loses its focus and cuts corners.

The Walt Disney Company built the park on the cheap in 2001, and many rides are copies of familiar carnival workhorses like the Ferris wheel. A lack of landscaping can leave guests sweltering. Outdoor shows were borrowed from other Disney properties. And the theme, built around tributes to California, is modest except for an occasionally unintentional ghost-town atmosphere: The park draws about 6 million visitors a year, a trickle compared with the 15 million who swarm Disneyland.

Now, Disney is embarking on a $1.1 billion, five-year effort to get California Adventure on track. The blueprints call for ripping out ho-hum rides and adding elaborate new ones, rebuilding the park’s entrance — a hodgepodge of turnstiles, a miniature Golden Gate Bridge and pastel tile murals — to shift the focus to Disney iconography.



Just a WOW! comment, just after DCA had its 7th Birthday (I would say celebrated, but Disney did absolutely nothing to let its guests know that Friday was DCA's 7th BD). But it is a pretty good summation of the park in its current state.

FYI, I am going to start another thread to discuss the Toy Story Mania! content in the same article, to keep the two discussions seperate.

lbrackjo
02-09-2008, 02:42 PM
Our extended family has mixed feelings re DCA. The adults mostly like DCA, I think b/c it is less crowded and the attractions are bigger rides. Me, I'm a DL purist who would rarely venture to DCA if not for the pull of the others in our group.

I think the poor feel of DCA comes from the thin--not deep--themeing of DCA. SF area is just stage sets w/ no depth to them to explore. The better part of Hollywood is Animation because there is substance to it. PP is carni, nothing more or less. So it ends up with gobs of space filled with a non-existent water show and is just a walkway to larger rides that are not linked to much. You go to DCA to ride rides. DL is a place with a feel. One exception is Redwood Creek area, mostly bypassed by folks without young kids, but well executed for what it is.

carolinakid
02-10-2008, 05:09 AM
That basically sums up most of my feelings about DCA exactly! Thanks for the link, darkbeer! Going there last December was kinda depressing! Hope the redo does the trick!

haypark mom
02-10-2008, 06:01 AM
I personally love the entrance with the murals and the Golden Gate Bridge. I am not understanding why that has to be replaced. I do think the theming of the Victorians is a waste, as another poster pointed out there is nothing to explore there, just dead space. Hollywood Backlot is a good idea and an ok area and PP can be completely avoided in my opinion (except that DD6 and all the nephews love California Screamin' of course!). That all being said, I think that GRR and Redwood Creek area is a shining example of perfect theming. This is my favorite area of the park (plus Soarin - a family fave ride). Last year when DD3 was too short to ride GRR, we watched the rest of the family go around probably 10 times and we were able to enjoy ourselves in this beautiful area. It may have something to do that I grew up in Northern California and it feels like home, but mostly I just think it is beautiful!

capst
02-10-2008, 06:44 AM
The entire article looks like it was picked up on page 3 of Sunday's L.A. Daily News. You still have to go to the NYT website to see the picture in color.

disneyhound
02-10-2008, 07:55 AM
The summation of DCA is spot on! And Don Rickles as the voice of Mr. Potato Head, that has so much potential; a Potato with an attitude! ;)

MadasaHatter
02-10-2008, 09:27 AM
I for one have always enjoyed DCA but have also been hyper aware that it doesn't hold a candle to Disneyland. It is funny how no one seems to like it but then raves about Soarin', TOT, GRR, Screamin'....arguably four of the best rides in the resort.

All of you that know me on here know that my favorite land in Disneyland is MAIN ST USA....Disney was a pure genius with the turnstiles, hidden curtain to the show and then you walk through and POW you are on Main St.USA a little kid dreamin' of walking through a castle and into fantasy, space, the wild west, adventure......sigh.

THAT is what DCA lacks and THAT is what they are going to try and recreate with the entrance.....I think it sounds cool. I too think the murals are fantastic but seeing them and then a fake GG BRIDGE....I have the real thing to look at....and then a big giant plaza with a giant sun???? Just not the same feeling at all. Recreating a CALIFORNIA ST. in the 20s is awesome. I am not so sure how well it will go over and it WILL compete with with DL but I am pyched.....

Oh and I so agree with GRR area is the best theming. Really beautiful....but I also like looking across the water at the sun wheel (more than riding it) and Screamin' and the nostalgia of the old waterside parks that were all up and down the coast. With TOY STORY MANIA and maybe some other smaller but cooler theming/shows/ it will really harken the VICTORIAN theme parks.....and you all KNOW HOW I THINK THEY NEED TO RECREATE SF GOLD RUSH.....don't get me started.......of course I am mad....

Mickeygirlforever
02-10-2008, 09:30 AM
It's got a lot of potential. My family doesn't hate the park...we have fun, but we just can't spend days and days there like we can in Disneyland. Basically, we go over for TOT, Screamin, and Monsters Inc. Sometimes GRR. Anyway, I'm excited for the refurb. I think it can only be good.

vfire
02-10-2008, 09:37 PM
GRR could be a great ride if it had more compelling theming. It's current theme is really weak so it's just a good rapids ride like one you could find in other amusement parks.
The parks needs a soul, and giving it a 20's California theme might be the way to do it.

MadasaHatter
02-11-2008, 08:19 AM
Again, I guess I must be a Pollyanna here but I LIKE the GRR setting with no animatronics (which would be hard with all that water) YES, it stinks to ride when it is cold!!! I have never seen kids have so much fun as on that ride including all the kids I have brought to DLResort....

The whole DCA thing is strange. To my understanding, the original concept was to make it DIFFERENT than DL so as not to compete. We all know that didn't work. So now they are going to make it MORE like DL. If they get it right it could be great if they get it wrong.....I hate to think of what these posts are going to be like!!!!! Anyway....I am mad....

mistofviolets
02-11-2008, 10:52 AM
DH and I were talking about DCA, and our overall disappointment. We felt the front half is pretty decent. Its the back half that falls flat. The charm in DL is the dark rides. Not just the dark rides but the real feel that goes into all the rides.

Riding the SunWheel is not an immersive experience. The Jellyfish are kinda cool, but again, its not an immersive experience. Big Thunder is a roller coaster. With theming and nice scenery. I hate roller coasters, but I wanted to ride to look around. Mulholland madness has a good idea...but once you're in a car, you aren't really IN the experience, kwim? I don't need to be in midair on a roller coaster rink for the experience of sitting in a car on a crazy freeway.


Dh and DD love Soarin. But thats the only real attraction in the area, unless we walk (walk, walk) on up to GRR and the challenge trail (which has been closed when we go, without warning) The walking gets old, without a lot in between. At DL, there's a lot in between.

I love the detail in Bugs Land, even if the rides are kiddy, and totally cheesy. Hollywood was fun to walk around (though it could use an extra ride or experience or attraction. Talking walk of fame stones would be a nice touch. :) Maybe other toon town type touches.)

Dh mentioned a lot of shows that could make cool dark rides somewhere, esp since they seemed to be incorporating Pixar there. Kim Possible seems the most likely, and intriguing idea he had :) I don't watch it much...but what I've seen might incorporate into CA. :)



Instead of recreating carnival rides in Paradise Pier, why don't they make a dark ride where you go in and through and around carnival rides? Pop into a tunnel of love, soar over a ferris wheel, dip down a wooden roller coaster, feel the spray of the ocean along the pier...That's a CA carnival atmosphere. And could make an awesome *family friendly* all-ages ride. (with no one playing ro-sham-bo on who gets stuck taking the daring kid)

And they need transportation. There's a railroad around DL.

danyoung
02-11-2008, 12:59 PM
To my understanding, the original concept was to make it DIFFERENT than DL so as not to compete. We all know that didn't work. So now they are going to make it MORE like DL....

I'm not so sure this was the case, MH. I don't think a Disney park can actually compete with another Disney park - they should both have their advantages, both complement each other. Where they went wrong is in misunderstanding the typical Disney visitor. Sure, we like to eat, and we like to shop, but those aren't the primary reasons to visit a Disney park. We want RIDES! OK, attractions. And the balance of this park was woefully off from day one. And what have they been doing since then? Adding attractions and shuttering dining locations! It's taken them this long to admit (however indirectly) that they were wrong with ther initial design assumptions. And I think making the park more like DL, albeit with unique attractions, will be a great thing.

MommyTo3Boys1Girl
02-11-2008, 02:05 PM
I couldn't have described DCA any better myself...
"a noisy reminder of what happens when a company loses its focus and cuts corners."

bsegel
02-11-2008, 02:50 PM
Personally I've always hated the idea of there being 2 different parks. I'd much rather they connect the two and just have one Disneyland.

MermaidHair
02-12-2008, 07:06 AM
I couldn't have described DCA any better myself...
"a noisy reminder of what happens when a company loses its focus and cuts corners."

I agree with this. I also wanted to say that to me DCA does not really seem finished. I have not spent much time there and I do like the E-tickets there but I kept thinking that there was so much space and so many buildings that were not used. I hope when they open the new entry street that the buildings are chock full of stores and establishments like on Main Street.

MadasaHatter
02-12-2008, 09:07 AM
I'm not so sure this was the case, MH. I don't think a Disney park can actually compete with another Disney park - they should both have their advantages, both complement each other..

Again, when I went to DCA for the first time I felt like it was clearly built by Disney but didn't have the cohesivness of DL (I am sure DL originally in 1955 wasn't as cohesive as now) Originally in DCA there were no characters, the parade was CA themed only, many of areas were sponsored by CA institiutions (OR NOT....I have heard that the SF AREA was supposed to be designed by Levi Strauss and they pulled out so now we have the wonderful SF bathrooms....ick) I have been to Disney World and all the parks have that DL feel of cool theming and DCA was the worst at that. I actually agree with about ALL of these posts....some parts of DCA are better than others but there is a lot of dead space. I think the TOY STORY MANIA ride will cement the Paradise pier as an E TICKET destination. My IDEA there is to contain it within the boundaries of the SCREAMIN' COASTER. That includes the carousel (beautiful and a nod to all the parks that inspired Paradise Pier) TOY STORY of course the SUN WHELL (prettier to look at than to ride except the views are great!!!) and that MALI BOOMER (kinda cheesey but also cool to check out the view..) Then when you leave that area it should delightfully theme into the SF tribute.....YOu ALL know I want me some GOLD RUSH FEEL!!!!!! of course you also all know that I am quite mad....

Darkbeer
02-12-2008, 09:22 AM
The New York Times story got picked up by a wire service and edited (shortened), and the editing is interesting....

http://www.sbsun.com/breakingnews/ci_8229410 (http://www.sbsun.com/breakingnews/ci_8229410)




The Walt Disney Co. is poised to spend $1.1 billion to improve Disney's California Adventure, the long-awaited "second gate" at its Anaheim resort that has been derided as "second-rate" since it opened in 2001, it was reported today.
The five-year effort will incorporate much more Disney-esque elements, and will include ripping out boring rides, company officials told The New York Times.....


The Times reported that Disney officials are confronted with an amusement park that was built on the cheap, with cut corners and money-saving features such as a lack of landscaping that often leaves park-goers sweltering in the sun.
California Adventure reportedly draws only 6 million people a year, compared to 15 million annually happily paying to visit and revisit the "Happiest Place on Earth" next door.

The old man
02-12-2008, 09:29 AM
Again, when I went to DCA for the first time I felt like it was clearly built by Disney but didn't have the cohesivness of DL (I am sure DL originally in 1955 wasn't as cohesive as now) Originally in DCA there were no characters, the parade was CA themed only, many of areas were sponsored by CA institiutions (OR NOT....I have heard that the SF AREA was supposed to be designed by Levi Strauss and they pulled out so now we have the wonderful SF bathrooms....ick) I have been to Disney World and all the parks have that DL feel of cool theming and DCA was the worst at that. I actually agree with about ALL of these posts....some parts of DCA are better than others but there is a lot of dead space. I think the TOY STORY MANIA ride will cement the Paradise pier as an E TICKET destination. My IDEA there is to contain it within the boundaries of the SCREAMIN' COASTER. That includes the carousel (beautiful and a nod to all the parks that inspired Paradise Pier) TOY STORY of course the SUN WHELL (prettier to look at than to ride except the views are great!!!) and that MALI BOOMER (kinda cheesey but also cool to check out the view..) Then when you leave that area it should delightfully theme into the SF tribute.....YOu ALL know I want me some GOLD RUSH FEEL!!!!!! of course you also all know that I am quite mad....
I find this steam of conscious, one neverending sentence, very hard to read.

Klutch
02-12-2008, 10:27 AM
I think the DCA story should be taught at every business school in America; perhaps the world. It's a textbook example of what happens when a consumer product is designed and executed via spreadsheet.

I don't know how many here remember how DCA was hyped during construction. I haven't been able to find any online examples, but I specifically recall the glowing predictions being put forth by Pressler and his staff. I consistently read such articles when I lived in Virginia. They predicted DCA would be absolutely mobbed from day one and would continue to stay mobbed. When I saw the plans, I wrote to Disney expressing my dismay at creating a Disney park with a ferris wheel and a midway. They actually wrote me back to assure me it would be a smashing success. I have an aunt who works at Disneyland. As I recall:

- When DCA opened, Disneyland APs weren't valid for admission
- CMs were told the sign-in priviledges they got for Disneyland would not be permitted at DCA. The park was going to be just too popular and crowded to allow this
- CMs were also told to prepare for Disneyland to serve as an overflow park for DCA and (oh, the irony!) to get ready to deal with numerous guests disappointed they could not get into an already full DCA.

I guess it takes a true business mindset to believe guests would rush to pay a hefty admission fee so they could shop at expensive stores, buy expensive, gourmet meals, and oh, maybe catch an amusing ride or two while they were at it.

I also recall Disney scrapped a very cool "WESTCOT" concept in favor of DCA. Bad idea.

doublewide77
02-12-2008, 09:44 PM
I agree that it's the entire 'back" of DCA that's the worse, it's like where the money ran out and so obviously just a carnival area. I would take out Sun Wheel and Maliboomer, mostly cause when on them you can see the parking lot, killing the magic. Disney's best rides seem to be indoors where they can control everything in the experience, as Toy Story will be. Personally I don't see anything wrong with the DCA entrance I enjoy the mini Golden Gate and then hearing the surf music.

what would I do with a billion? I'd love a subway (or people mover) around the rim of an expanded DCA. each stop themed to the area, in-between lots of stuff on the walls and humorous themed mini shows and cutting in and out of the indoor rides like the train does. DCA needs some kind of transport system just for fun.

MadasaHatter
02-13-2008, 08:00 AM
I find this steam of conscious, one neverending sentence, very hard to read.

I wasn't angry. I didn't blow off any steam. If you have a hard time reading my thoughts, you should try TALKING with me!!!! Three sentences all ready. Of course, I may be mad. (I think the last one was an incomplete sentence.)

MommyTo3Boys1Girl
02-13-2008, 03:39 PM
I agree with this. I also wanted to say that to me DCA does not really seem finished. I have not spent much time there and I do like the E-tickets there but I kept thinking that there was so much space and so many buildings that were not used. I hope when they open the new entry street that the buildings are chock full of stores and establishments like on Main Street.


I agree, DCA does not seem finished. Which is what Walt wanted, a park that would never be done. But as with DL, I feel like the park is completed and they just add things. DCA seems like there is so much space that could be used and isn't. I don't feel that way about Disneyland.

LCExpress
02-19-2008, 09:18 AM
. . . and it lacks, well, actual grizzlies. . .

That would an exciting ride.:D "Watch out for wild bears running loose!!":~D

Another Dimension
02-19-2008, 10:31 AM
My guests had an AWESOME time at DCA yesterday... if no one at the NYT is bright enough to simply have a good time there... they really shouldn't go.

:p

MrsPooh
02-19-2008, 02:07 PM
The summation of DCA is spot on! And Don Rickles as the voice of Mr. Potato Head, that has so much potential; a Potato with an attitude! ;)

Okay, are you joking and I just didn't get it?

You knew Rickles did the voice of Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story movies, right?

Or are my blonde roots showing? ;)