Disneyland Resort (DL, DLR, DCA) Discussion Thread

[ECZenith]

I never really cared for the neon Mickey Mouse ears on Screamin's loop,I think it would look a lot better on "Mickey's Fun Wheel" and I absolutely love the new Paradise Pier sign, can't wait to see it added.

 

I've been watching Toy Story Mania's building come up, the workers have been at it nonstop and it just looks better every day. If the rest of the pier is going to look like this, it's going to be absolutely gorgeous.

[HogarthOK]

OK, so I'm in Southern California for a conference.

 

I went to California Adventure...

I enjoyed it quite a bit. Screamin is great. The single rider line is *fantastic*.

I imagine the fact that it was a Wednesday and there were no lines over 15min anyways helped.

 

However, I don't think it needs a "face lift".

It needs more rides. Period. That alone would make it way more fun once you're in there.

 

Ariel whatever. Cars whatever. Less High School Musical.

People want things to *do*.

 

.. and maybe a little less sponsorship.. The "Hand washing tips brought to you by Brawny" was ridiculous -- especially since the paper towels weren't Brawny.

 

.. and what's with the vomit guards on Maliboomer?

 

H

[Wes]

^ They aren't vomit guards, they're "scream shields" to muffle noise to keep the neighbors happy. Also why Screamin' has tunnels over its highest hills.

 

As for the Brawny ads, those are at WDW too, so it's not just a DCA thing.

[kraxleRIDAH]

^^ I have to disagree.

 

Disney parks are about shrouding guests in fantasy-like environments that are much unlike the everyday sights and sounds. It's about escaping reality, in some way.

 

Though I will slightly side with you on the fact that there needs to be more to do at the park, that's not the biggest issue with California Adventure at this point in time.

 

Officials at Disney and the millions of visitors to the park since it opened in 2001 have noted that California Adventure fails to "connect with visitors on an emotional level" like Disneyland does. This is very true. Most of this lack of emotional spark comes from the park being built "on the cheap" and is certainly reflected by the building facades and overall design of the park.

 

The new "facelift" will splash the park all-over with something that was missing before --- Disneyesque quality and attention to detail without budget constraints in the way. The cheap, cartoonish, and campy 2-D thematic props will be replaced by charming facades that have character, depth, and some sort of story to it.

 

And of course, the multitute of "more things to do" that are planned as well.

[Mozart67]

I dunno...is it me or does DCA seem like someone's recasting of the original Disney vision transmuted through 20th-century-colored glasses? It's probably just me. I have had a love/hate relationship with the Disney megacon almost all of my life: my 2nd coaster cred was the opening of Spazz (sorry) Space Mountain, interned at the Florida Mouse the summer after I graduated, etc. The facts are boring, and not DCA, specifically. I think what worries me is the proponderance of franchised theming over genuine wonderland (not Alice) design. Sure, "Cars", "B&TB" and so forth were mega-hits and have milions of fans, but to use them as a showcase of a park-wde renovation seems more of a corporate sellout than tru innovation.

Secondly, the Historical Streets thing, in Disney's hands, could be scary. Can you imagine Hollywood and Vine or Lombard Street or International Boulevard (14th St. in Oakland) done up like the Electric Main Street? It boggles the mind.

To all the Disneyfans, I am not disrespecting the Disney franchise. All of Walt's issues aside, the man did have a vision, and I have fond memories of the original EPCOT back in the early 80's, what may be his masterstroke. It's just..I KNOW Disney, having worked for them and seen what lies beyond the multi-billion dollar facade. ("Pay no attention to the main behind the curtain." Will DCA pull it out? I hope so. It's possible, but I wouldn't lay money on it. The two main Mice have coasters and attractions that rank in the world's best or most popular. Until DCA has attained that, it won't be any more than Anaheim's disbabled little brother.

[speedracer]

^ Thing is, the original DCA concept was so flawed, unless they just bulldozed the whole thing and start from scratch, no amount of fixes will ever be enough to make DCA your typical Disney park experience. Since razing the place would be financially unfeasible, throwing as much Disney into it where they can is all they can really do at this point.

 

The Disney parks were built on the concept of "Here you leave today, and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy" concept. They transport you to exotic places and away from the world of today. Except for DCA, which should have read " Here you leave today and enter the world of today, today and um, today".

 

Since Eisner was going for more of a SF park approach, he should have just gone ahead with theming DCA to the history of CA under the flags of Spain, Mexico, US, etc. At least it would have been easier to now convert to a more Disney-like park. But Eisners approach was to theme it like a hip trendy NorCal-themed LA shopping district with rides, nothing more. The new additions are definitely more Disney-like, but don't hold your breath for DCA to ever be a total Disney park experience because of the flawed foundation and short-sightedness of the parks creator. Best we can hope for is a Disney Seas level third gate sometime in the future.

[borisdag]

ECZenith, TOT in Orlando is stellar. The outside queue is perfectly realized, the lobby is amazingly detailed and the ride itself is long and creepy and unruly.

 

TOT at DCA is like lighting a firecracker only to have the fuse extinguish for no reason. There is no forward motion of the cars, no horizontal movement, no starfield... nothing. The rider goes up, down, down again and then it's over.

 

Even Michael Eisner got off of it and said it was too short.

 

Like everything at DCA, it's just underwhelming. Shame on Disney for doing it on the cheap. I will gladly throw my money to the mouse each year, but I expect Disney standards from yester year.

 

Sigh.

[RIP Psyclone]

As much as people like to rip on DCA's ToT, it should be noted that all versions post Disney MGM are essentially the same as DCA's. Even at DisneySea where budget is obviously not an issue, the ride system is the same as DCA's. They had a bigger budget, which just went into the building details and the preshow. So, the reason DCA's ToT is "abbreviated" is not solely due to budget cutbacks, but also reliability issues. I believe it also has a higher rider capacity, since it has 3 drop shafts and WDW only has 2. The longer ride in FL also negatively impacts riders per hour.

[Wes]

^ But WDW's has FOUR up shafts that merge into two drop shafts.. Believe me, WDW's line moves way faster than DCA's.

[DATman]

^Upstairs boiler room line = absolute nightmare.

[Axman]

^ No kidding. We had a 0 mins Fast Pass that took 30 mins from the entrance to the ride itsel. All we had to wait in was the boiler room.

[America Sings Freak]

I wish Disney would have let the whole cat out of the bag instead of only giving us bits and pieces of what the money will be used for. Does any one have any info on what else might be coming from this $1.1 billion?

[speedracer]

^ just rumors at this point, nothing confirmed. There's this whole backstory theory for the timing of these announcements, and for Disney's reasons for only revealing pieces at a time:

 

Yesterday's announcement was meant as just the first big splash, and having a separate Billion dollar budget to work with helps. While the genesis of these projects and funding predate the mess caused by the Anaheim City Council over proposed housing in the Resort District, that sticky issue now has to be thrown into the equation when Disney goes about picking a time to announce these projects.

 

There will be several more DCA announcements to come between now and next summer. The message is going to be made very clear that Disney is investing heavily in Anaheim, to the tune of well over a Billion in just the next five years, and they have no plans to back down from an aggressive schedule of expansion and unprecedented growth. The mood at the Town Hall Meeting was clearly giddy, and that should continue with each successive announcement yet to come.

 

http://www.miceage.com/allutz/al101807b.htm

 

And guess what, it's working!

 

Group withdraws request for initiative

 

The developer-funded coalition will collect signatures, instead of

asking the City Council to place a measure on the ballot to fight a

Disney project.

By SARAH TULLY

The Orange County Register

Comments 6 | Recommend 4

 

Anaheim A developer-funded group withdrew its request for the City Council to put an initiative on the ballot to require voter approval of a Disney project.

 

Instead, the group plans to collect signatures to get the measure on the ballot.

 

The majority of the council supported the initiative and city staff had started preparing paperwork. By asking the council to place the measure on the ballot, the Defend and Protect Anaheim group would have avoided the signature-gathering process.

 

But the group, funded by developer SunCal, decided the debate was getting too "nasty," said chair Diane Singer. Today, the group filed a letter to withdraw its request for the council to take action. A Disney-led group is vigorously fighting the plan.

 

"It's just so vitriolic," Singer said. "We just can't operate that way. It's not good for the city."

 

Singer said she believes all three council members continue to support the group's initiative, which would force Disney to take any development plans, like a theme park, on the company's 52.9-acre plot before voters. SunCal wants to build about 1,500 homes across the street from the plot.

 

Councilwoman Lorri Galloway, who backs the SunCal-funded initiative, said she continues to back the measure. Council members Lucille Kring and Bob Hernandez, who also supported the initiative, could not be reached for comment.

 

"I'll just tell you honestly, as much as I know, that was a decision they made on their own," Galloway said about the group.

 

A Disney-funded group, Save Our Anaheim Resort, collected enough signatures to qualify two other ballot measures, both meant to fight SunCal's plans. SOAR disapproves of the council's support of the SunCal-led initiative, saying that group should also be required to gather signatures for a ballot initiative.

 

At the Oct. 9 council meeting, some SOAR members criticized the three council members, with one calling Hernandez a "moron."

 

"We're happy that they have to go through the same process we had to go through," said Annette McCluskey, the SOAR spokeswoman.

 

http://www.ocregister.com/news/group-council-initiative-1899868-suncal-ballot

[DarkMeasures]

Don't large subdivisions by theme parks always equal BIG TROUBLE?

 

 

I don't know the details of this, but look at Alton Towers. The place has been around for a hundred years and yet there is that family that fights against anything the park does.

 

1500 homes means 1500 families complaining about bad traffic and the parks being "too loud" Sure in America, they would have a lot less power in their complaints compared to Britain, but still, the whole thing would be a pain to everybody.

[mcjaco]

chicagotribune.com

AMUSEMENT PARKS

'Small World' rehab will keep the big kids afloat

The park's upgrade of its 41-year-old attraction will include deepening the waterway and making its boats more buoyant.

By Kimi Yoshino

 

Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

 

November 9, 2007

 

The annoyingly catchy song at Disneyland's "It's a Small World" attraction reminds riders that "the oceans are wide."

 

Whether they're deep enough is another story.

 

Forty-one years after the whimsical ride debuted at the Anaheim park,Disneyland plans to shutter the attraction in January to give it a much-needed face-lift -- and deal with the delicate problem of bottoming-out boats.

 

Heavier-than-anticipated loads have been causing the boats to come to a standstill in two different spots, allowing for an extra-long gander at the Canadian Mounties and the Scandinavian geese, said Al Lutz, whose website MiceAge first reported the refurbishment plans.

 

"If these boats get stuck . . . they have to send someone back in there to lighten the load on the boat," said Lutz, who has been on the ride when a guest or two was asked to disembark.

 

"They've even built a platform next to that [Mounties] curve because they've had so many problems."

 

Disneyland plans to add an inch of depth to the water channel and design more-buoyant boats, Lutz said.

 

Perhaps in an effort to protect visitors' egos, the park insists that fat tourists aren't to blame.

 

The boats get stuck because "layers and layers" of fiberglass have built up where maintenance teams have patched and re-patched problem areas, said Disneyland Resort spokesman Bob Tucker.

 

"The only thing that's true is that we are going down in January and it's for 10 months and it's to replace the flumes," Tucker said.

 

But Disneyland is well aware of America's expanding waistlines.

 

In recent years, the park has redesigned many of its costumes and started stocking them in larger sizes to accommodate ever-expanding waistlines. Adult men and women are about 25 pounds heavier than they were in 1960, and 65% are considered overweight, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The average weight for men jumped from 166 pounds in 1960 to 191 pounds in 2002; women average 164 pounds instead of 140.

 

Of course, this is a world of fantasy and the perfect place to forget about that diet for a few hours. So when somebody gets booted from the boat, Lutz said, Disneyland ride operators make sure the guests don't leave disappointed: They hand them a food ticket.

 

Churro, anyone?

 

Yes, I like the chocolate churros. Thankyouverymuch.

[SharkTums]

I still think 10 months is a LONG time to replace a simple flume.

 

Oh and yeah, too many turkey legs!

[cfc]

One Duff for me!

One Duff for you!

I'll have a Duff!

You have one too!

[BeemerBoy]

Is this the real reason Robb's trying to lose weight?

[cfc]

^It would be a better excuse for gaining weight.

[BeemerBoy]

^ Good point.

 

I must say, with the endless comic possibilities, I'm disappointed with the headline for this story.

[mcjaco]

It's the Chicago Tribune. Don't expect much, Scott.

[Carnage]

They might want to do the same refurb on Pirates.

 

Wouldn't want those boats bottoming out on drops.

[jackskellington101]

I must say, with the endless comic possibilities, I'm disappointed with the headline for this story.

 

What do you suggest as a better headline? I'm leaning towards "it's a large world after all" or "It's a world of fatsos, a world of beers".

[TheRapidsNerd]

Curious. In either ride's case, it's all about the booty.

[raptorcrew2002]

Isn’t Pirates much deeper if I remember correctly? And sometimes even more deep when the basement floods.

 

Just wait for when Dumbo goes down for bigger hydraulics, it’s pretty bad when you can’t get it up anymore, the elephant that is.

 

Oh well. They should just get it over with and turn it into a shooter ride like buzz where you can shoot all the annoying kids for points.

 

I say take away the electric lazy people carts, make them walk (unless they can't then thats different) and stop fixing things for people who are way over weight. You have to have some responsibility in life.

 

If your that big and your whole family is big enough to sink a boat, well that seems pretty bad.