Disneyland Resort (DL, DLR, DCA) Discussion Thread

[Sir Clinksalot]

I'm not taking credit for this post, but this is just too good not to share (from a poster at MiceChat):

 

We're going to gradually get rid of that awful name one letter at a time. The next letter to be pulled will be the "v" from Adventure. A dentist will do the pulling.

[fatdaddy]

First of all the name change won't mean diddly to attendance or anything else related to the park. Secondly the cars land relates to california because of the whole route 66 theme of radiator springs. Thirdly nobody complains about it being Walt Disney World and not Walt Disney's World.

 

I think the original concept was aimed at tourist, especially foreign tourists, who for whatever reason, maybe how its portrayed in movies, think California is some mystical place. I mean just in the little traveling i've done here in the U.S. you tell people your from Cali and they expect you to break out a surf board and say "dude" every other word. I remember a friend of Arnold Schwarzenegger saying that in his village in Italy they used to say "go to California" instead of "go to hell", because california was like a fictional place. I think the idea was, instead of them heading all over California, lets keep them captive at Disney resort and therefore keep all the money for Mickey Mouse.

 

P.S. Why not Disney California Studios, I could see if it was outside California using Hollywood, but being as it's in Cali and nowhere near Hollywood and Disney probably doesn't want to inspire people to go to Hollywood and spend Mickeys rent money. Plus they could still leave whatever California themed stuff in the park.

[lissie]

The park is just way too awkward and jumbled to be re/named anything at the current moment, and maybe not for a long time. It needs serious shaping up - and I think even more than what they are doing at the moment - before it can call itself a great park. I think the greatest thing it could do, is stop trying to embody California when it's IN California. If people wanted to see California, they wouldn't stop at this park and call it a day. To believe that would be absolutely ridiculous. People go because it's a DISNEY park. That's all it has going for it right now.

[SuperMikeo]

I mean, they recently opened Toy Story Mania, refurbed the swings to a classic cartoon, they are opening World of Color this year based on a TV show, next up is Little Mermaid and then Cars. Why couldn't they just call it "Disney's Hollywood Studios?"

 

I really think that would have fit just fine.

 

Everything new they are building has absoultely nothing to do with the original "California" theme. So why bother keeping it?

 

Absolutely agree. Not sure if they are holding on to it because they're stubborn, but I think they would be brilliant to rename the entire park when Cars Land opens.

 

DCA has got to be the only Disney property that the GP, as a whole, seems to openly dislike. I have tons of friends who haven't been since the early 2000's because there "wasn't much to do." If they rename the park when this refurb is complete, it might fool all of the early attenders into thinking that enough has changed to justify returning. But seriously, who even goes to DCA for more than 2 hours? For almost everyone I know, DCA is just the appetizer to the main course across the street.

 

I still personally can't believe that with the crazy success of Epcot, Disney didn't follow through with the original Westcot idea. Seems like that would have made a ton of sense.

[fatdaddy]

If people wanted to see California, they wouldn't stop at this park and call it a day. To believe that would be absolutely ridiculous. People go because it's a DISNEY park. That's all it has going for it right now.

 

People don't always have time or money to explore an entire state or even just the L.A. area, it's California, there's a huge amount of crap to do year round. A family coming here on vacation for the weekend might see nothing more than the Disney Resort and go home.

 

I think something we are missing here is that, yes DCA kinda sucks for being a Disney park, but its still number 11 in the world for attendance. Theres a lot of parks who would love to suck if it meant that kind of attendance. So, apparently just being a Disney park is enough to get people through the turnstile. I think Disney realizes that if it gets this kind of attendance just cause its there, imagine the attendance if it was actually good.

 

I'm actually looking forward to visiting after all the current projects are complete. Ok, really i just want wild bleu yonder burger from that place over by Soaring.

[robbalvey]

I'm actually probably one of DCA's bigger supporters as I do actually like the park, I would like to just see Disney figure out what "brand" they want this park to be, and stick with it...that's all.

[J man]

I'm just going to echo everyone else by saying that "Disney California Adventure" does sound weird.

 

But there is one other thing I would like to touch on. Since the park opened I've heard people complain about opening a park themed to California in California. I don't see why that's so ridiculous. Imagine if they opened a park themed to California in Wyoming or some other random state. That makes even less sense.

 

That said I love the park. Not as much as Disneyland across the way, but enough that I wouldn't mind spending a whole day there. The park has been getting better slowly over time. It'll be great once they get World of Color open and all the other new attractions built.

[Jew]

I don't think the concept was flawed, but the execution was awful. The idea was to capture the best of everything California has to offer, and since Disney has so many tourist visitors, that actually makes sense.

 

The problem is the execution. Nobody walked away from Paradise Pier thinking "now I don't have to see the Santa Monica Pier." Nobody walked away from Grizzly Peak thinking they got a true California National Park experience. Nobody walked away from the Winery area thinking that it compares to a real winery. Nobody left the "Hollywood Studios" and thought "Screw USH!," and so on...

 

If they had been able to offer much more immersive/E-ticket experiences from the beginning, nobody would be thinking "what a stupid idea this park was!"

[fatdaddy]

I honestly think that the retro Disney theming is whats really out of place. They should have left the classic Disney for Disneyland and the modern Disney and Pixar for DCA. Of course, i think they added the retro stuff to go with the Walt's Hollywood stuff, only its on the other side of the park. But really they could have done the studio area with a modern feel and used Pixar and some of their live action Disney stuff. I could see that little stage by Monsters used for a High School Musical or Hannah Montana show. Playhouse Disney and Monsters Inc. would have fit well with that too. Even that Toy Story musical if they ever put that in.

 

I think that as they blend the Disney theming with the California theming the park will really come together. Only problem is that it will then be packed like Disney and i won't have anywhere to escape the crowds at Disneyland.

 

Nobody walked away from the Winery area thinking that it compares to a real winery. "

 

If you drink enough wine you can walk away from the winery thinking your Julie Andrews.

[SuperMikeo]

If you drink enough wine you can walk away from the winery thinking your Julie Andrews.

 

Hahahahaha!

 

There is no doubt that DCA in 2012 will be a very nice place and will feature plenty to do. Like others though, I think that in terms of a "second park" at the CA resort, DCA falls totally short.

 

Florida's parks have very consistent themes. If I want to see animals, I know where to go. If I want to see Hollywood, I know where to go. If I want to celebrate worldly cultures, I know where to go.

 

But as a GP, I have no idea what DCA is "supposed to be." It isn't a world fair, or a wild safari, or a tribute to films and hollywood. It's this kind of mish mash of attractions that, in the end, feel mostly out of place. Throw in the golden gate bridge, a winery and a main street and all of a sudden it's California themed?

 

I think that they should just embrace the Pixar theme full force. In fact, doesn't DCA have the most Pixar themed attractions out of all the Disney parks? Given that anything Pixar touches becomes family gold, I can't see why "Pixar's World of Animation" or something like that wouldn't just be the perfect thing to call DCA.

[testtrack321]

"Westsider" on MiceChat posted a through review (one of the first) for the WoC show.

 

http://micechat.com/forums/disneyland-resort/136942-world-color-news-reviews-30.html#post1056028074

[Sir Clinksalot]

I'm actually probably one of DCA's bigger supporters as I do actually like the park, I would like to just see Disney figure out what "brand" they want this park to be, and stick with it...that's all.

 

I like DCA too, I think a big reason for the parks apparent "failure" is the way Disney has run/promoted the park over the past 9 1/2 years.

 

The high-up's at Disney had such high hopes for the parks that they didn't even allow AP's to add DCA to their passes at first. There was no 2-park AP's. That didn't last long and after a few months they ended up essentially giving the park away.

 

Since that initial marketing campaign, nothing that has opened at DCA has had any major marketing blitz. Sure there were TOT commercials, and TSMM commercials, but they were mostly tagged with "At the DIsneyland Resort" or something like that and not really promoting DCA as it's own park. I think this has hurt the perception of the park, even if just subconsciously.

 

The other thing that has always bugged me are the DCA park hours. It's always opened later than Disneyland and always closes earlier, even on busy nights such as New Years Eve. Sometimes the park even closes at 6pm when Disneyland is open until 10pm.

 

Anybody who has been to DCA knows that the park looks WAY better at night than it does during the day. If they only wanted to keep the park open for 8 hours a day, they should have opened it later in the afternoon and had it be a "Pleasure Island" type of park giving people a place to hang out at night, have dinner and a drink and ride some rides.

[Top Thrill Dragster]

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http://micechat.com/forums/blogs/dateline-disneyland/1507-california-ch-ch-changes-dca-gets-new-logo-swings-open-shops-re-open-more.html

[Sir Clinksalot]

I have to say, I really do like the job they did on the swings. I wish they wouldn't have gone all half-assed on the Fun Wheel and they would have given it the same treatment.

[Vigil]

Why they would want to I have no idea, but if they wanted to, they could take the Illuminations music and program a WOC show for it too. That would be fun.

[ahecht]

Well, it sounds like they're basically doing a World-of-Color-with-Fantasmic-Music for Tokyo Disney Sea.

[BelizeIt]

I visited the parks on Memorial Day, it was busy but not crazy busy.

 

I rode the Orange Stin.....Uhh Silly Symphony Swings, and I definitely like the new outdoor format. The redesign of the overall structure looks impressive, including some nice little architectural details. They must have been rushing to complete it by this weekend, because there was a strong odor of paint.

 

Overall, a nice redo of this attraction, and yet another piece in the DCA puzzle has been placed.

[jedimaster1227]

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2010/06/glow-fest-joins-the-summer-nightastic-line-up/

 

Last month we shared details of the popular shows and after-dark entertainment that are returning for Summer Nightastic! Today, we have more exciting news. A new, high-energy experience called Glow Fest joins that line-up to light up summer nights at Disney California Adventure park.

While “World of Color” brings a whole lot of color to the Paradise Pier section of the Park, you will find bright lights and beams of color in Sunshine Plaza and the Hollywood Backlot at this summer’s Glow Fest.

 

Glow Fest begins with the sound of drums and powerful rhythms that will draw you to Sunshine Plaza. An electric energy fills the evening air. As the sun goes down, colors burst to life and music starts to play from a brightly-lit stage that seems to glow. Dancers and world music performers create a fun vibe that you will only find at Disney California Adventure park.

 

During Summer Nightastic! the daily experience takes center stage in Sun Plaza from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and continues in the Hollywood Backlot until Park closing, so it’s the perfect thing to check out with your family, or if you’re just looking for a fun way to cap your night.

[Vigil]

So much color...

[UberBeavis]

That reminds me of Videopolis.

[ahecht]

Oh god, that looks horrid.

[socalMAN123]

Those colors look like they belong on a pair of MC Hammer's pants, not in a theme park.

---Brent

[Wes]

SATURATION

0--------------------------I-100

[BeemerBoy]

- Summer "Nightastic!"

- The 'S is dropped off of the park's name.

- Glow Fest.

 

Have the Imagineeers' offices ever been checked for asbestos? Or crack? Or "stupid"?

 

I'm concerned that this epidemic is spreading.

[Mechanic]

A rave at DCA... Too weird.