Disneyland Resort (DL, DLR, DCA) Discussion Thread

[Jew]

Flying Tires was nostalgia gone wrong.

[DJeXeL]

Well at least we don't have to worry about that ride system being resurrected again.

[KingRCT3]

Flying Saucer was a really interesting attraction:

 

[KBrylczyk]

Well at least we don't have to worry about that ride system being resurrected again.

 

I wouldn't say that, not as long as Lasseter has any pull with the company.

[cfc]

My brother Ward remembers riding the Flying Saucers with my Mom back in the early 1960s. They both found the ride perplexing.

[Jew]

Well at least we don't have to worry about that ride system being resurrected again.

 

I wouldn't say that, not as long as Lasseter has any pull with the company.

 

Bringing it back on paper wasn't a bad idea...it fit the theme and gave everyone a nostalgia boner. Just too bad no one realized the ride system was left in the 60's for a reason.

[MagicMountainMan]

I was always under the impression that the original Flying Saucers were doomed because it was always breaking down and had a ton of mechanical issues not because it was a crap ride. The new version had much better tech so WDI thought that they could successfully bring back the ride, but then I guess nobody (initially) realized it just wasn't that fun (or efficient).

 

So basically the original ride system was left in the 60s and replaced with something "better" but then the ride still sucked anyway. I bet that in 10 years time there will be websites dedicated to bringing back the saucers again.

[Brad Bishop]

As far as what was wrong with Flying Tires, it never preformed as well as it did when they tested at WDI. It was slow, and boring (to most guests)and had a low hourly capacity.

 

In other words, the same problems the original Flying Saucers attraction had.

 

It seems like a better version of this would have been well-themed bumper boats.

[jray21]

I enjoyed them, but they were way too slow and took a while to maneuver. I'm looking forward to see the new ride.

[coasternate]

I went to the park yesterday with some friends. I had a park hopper pass and we were at the park for under 12 hours. It turned out to be a great day though, as even though it was somewhat crowded and our time was limited, we were very strategic and planned stuff out so we got to ride a ton of things. We did the majority of the rides in Disney, and got the big rides down in California Adventure as well. Overall it was a great day!

[BelizeIt]

Visited Disneyland on Thursday and had a great time.

Wanted to mention to anyone planning a visit to head over to New Orleans Square train station. They have a train parked there and have installed a wooden bridge across the train tracks so you can check out the buildings on the other side. They also have multiple Train conductors who are around telling stories and giving informative history lessons about the park.

Don't miss it!

[DJeXeL]

Visited Disneyland on Thursday and had a great time.

Wanted to mention to anyone planning a visit to head over to New Orleans Square train station. They have a train parked there and have installed a wooden bridge across the train tracks so you can check out the buildings on the other side. They also have multiple Train conductors who are around telling stories and giving informative history lessons about the park.

Don't miss it!

 

Agreed. They're doing this to still give the guests some sort of Steam Train experience even thought the railroad is closed for a year and some change. Main St. train station has a similar experience. I think it's a nice touch.

[Nrthwnd]

^ It actually may be a great future idea to continue, when there's the need for track maintenance, etc.

Park a train at each station, and make the area accessible, including the train and 'backdrop'.

 

Great idea.

[cfc]

^^Agreed--that's a very good idea. It would be a nice diversion on a busy, crowded day.

[Nrthwnd]

^ It'd be kind of funny, if they figured out how to reverse the train, after all the safety and engineering concerns have been taken care of, from Main St. Station. Then, they could reverse train thru the Dinosaurs era, and then Grand Canyon Diorama.

 

Stop. Go forward. Unload, reload and repeat. With a specially-written announcer thing, too!

 

 

Sort of a Disney "Backwards to A Disneyland Future" Attraction? Which could also hold a third tunnel, built

beyond the Diorama, that showcases what's coming up with Star Wars land, etc? (3D Model?) Then...

 

Stop. Go forward. Unload, reload and repeat.You could even have a Disney Engine at the other end, to pull everybody

backwards to the Star Wars Land tunnel. Then the front train takes over, pulling it back to the station.

 

Which reminds me. This could somehow, also include the Rivers of America changes, with the model of that beautiful section of the

revamped train tracks, including the trestle and landscaping and water effects!

 

Hmmm. Pulled backwards to uh... 2020? (I forget, sorry) The Very Future?

Then forwards to....1958, with The Diorama Past? And continuing on to....1966, The Very Dinosaurs Past?

 

(Pardon the armchair imagineering.)

[DBJ]

Attended the park this last Saturday for AP days. I did visit both of the parked trains. We were able to see the Lilly Belle caboose for the first time at the Main Street station. Very nice interior! You can't enter though, but can get a very good view. It is kind of fun to be able to walk around the train at the New Orleans station. If you are an AP, I would recommend going for AP days. They offer free water and popcorn in the Opera House for the presentations, and also on Stage 17 in DCA. It was a nice touch.

[Lameformer]

So my dad's friend goes to Disneyland with his kids today and sees this.

 

[DoubleDown]

Aw man! How come there's no Budweiser in his hand?!

[KBrylczyk]

^ No alcohol has ever been served in Disneyland. At DCA, though, that's a different story.

[DJeXeL]

^ No alcohol has ever been served in Disneyland. At DCA, though, that's a different story.

 

With exception of Club 33.

[Jew]

Or for those who are invited to park buyout events...must be nice to have that kind of cash!

 

On another note, remember all the bitching about annual passes? Parks and Resorts had every measurable number go up in the 4th quarter...10% increase in attendance, 7% rise in per-capita spending on food, drinks, admission and merchandise,

Per-room spending at theme park hotels rose 9% for the period, while occupancy rose by 3%, to 92%.

[MagicMountainMan]

Wow those numbers are pretty crazy, it shows that they definitely haven't hit their price ceiling yet. Any company or any executive would be stupid to not continue raising prices after seeing those results otherwise they'd be leaving money on the table. Crazy...

 

I honestly want to know other people's thoughts on the matter, exactly how has Disneyland become sort of this transcendent Southern California cultural phenomenon in this last half-decade? The resort's attendance has been steadily growing even while prices are increased and it gets more and more crowded. On social media (granted I'm a 20 something "millennial" with lots of 20 something "millennial" friends) I see so many people post about their various Disneyland trips all the time. SoCal cannot get enough Disneyland, it's insane (in a good way I guess).

 

I'm genuinely curious to know other people's thoughts on how Disney has done it. In LA, Disneyland now occupies rarefied air (like Apple does) where people just gobble it up no matter what the product, no matter what the cost. Maybe I just have an extreme bias simply because I am that age where every college student and post-grad obsesses over it, or maybe not, I don't really know.

[DoubleDown]

^ No alcohol has ever been served in Disneyland. At DCA, though, that's a different story.

 

Dude. Take a freakin' joke. F**k, some of you can be so annoying!

 

Moving on, Disneyland continues in popularity and rises in numbers despite the rise of ticket prices because the people who were young about 20-30-40 years ago now have good jobs and money to be able to afford to buy annual passes or visit the park regularly. Not only that, they have kids that they want to bring to the park like they did when they were young. Throw Star Wars and Frozen and other popular movies into the mix, and it's really not a mystery.

 

People can bitch about DLR's ticket prices all they want, but the fact is can you imagine what crowds would be like if it was $75 a ticket? It would be downright insanely crowded! I'm a capitalist, and as far as I'm concerned DLR should keep raising admission prices until they see a drop. I'm guessing right now in 2016 they would peak/start to see a decline at a $150 DL or CalAdv single ticket, or a $200 park hopper for the day.

 

Disneyland is consistently known for its fine customer service, quality attractions, and enjoyable atmosphere. People in Orange County and LA have NO PROBLEM paying a higher price to enjoy entertainment, food, and attractions- especially if what they get is worth what they pay.

 

Me and the girl had a premium pass for a couple years and I can honestly say not only did we never regret the very affordable monthly payment, we never regretted taking a night out to visit the park and spend some money in the parks on either dinner, alcohol, entertainment, or treats, as well. Sure some days/nights were busier than others, but just getting out to get on a ride or 2 and watch some fireworks or shows was very nice, and we both enjoyed it tremendously.

[DirkFunk]

I honestly want to know other people's thoughts on the matter, exactly how has Disneyland become sort of this transcendent Southern California cultural phenomenon in this last half-decade?

 

TL;DR - Country club style business model for locals.

 

Back in the 80s and 90s, before there was a second gate, the urban expanse of LA and Orange County had fully enveloped the area surrounding Disney, but company was, frankly, a much more amateurish looking organization. The gulf of offerings between Disney and the other regional theme parks just wasn't as great as it is now; you still had a big surface parking lot with cheap looking trams, there was still a campground, there was no Downtown Disney, and the surrounding area on Katella and Harbor looked, well, like what the surroundings of Knott's resemble today. A ton of money was invested by the city, Disney, and the surrounding properties to change that, and one of the reasons for doing so was to justify the kind of price increases you see today to the more affluent sectors the company wanted to target. Simply increasing the price without those offerings would have gone over like a wet fart. The people complaining only now about the price increases? They were fine with pricing out the "riff raff" until they became the "riff raff" themselves.

[coasterfreak101]

The people complaining only now about the price increases? They were fine with pricing out the "riff raff" until they became the "riff raff" themselves.

Favorite thing I've ever read.