Disneyland Resort (DL, DLR, DCA) Discussion Thread

[SuperShawn]

^ After experiencing an extremely quick line twice this past Saturday I highly doubt come spring break or "busy" days that the line to get into DCA would take any longer than before the construction. It will just look more intimidating as its one giant line feeding 6 turnstiles rather than 6 short to medium lines feeding 1 turnstile each. In fact it seemed faster, better organized and more efficient with not having people confused and struggling to pick which of the many short lines to get into.

[BelizeIt]

^I don't know, I've been at the park on it's super busy days when they have 9+ lines open to let people into the park (Never mind only 5/6) and there backed wayyyyyy up past the letters and people grow impatient. Now with the new entry they will have one ridiculously long snaking line to who knows where to enter this park.

 

But we will see, I'm at the park 4/5 times a month, so I'll see what happens. (And post it on TPR )

[COASTER FREAK 11]

^ After experiencing an extremely quick line twice this past Saturday I highly doubt come spring break or "busy" days that the line to get into DCA would take any longer than before the construction. It will just look more intimidating as its one giant line feeding 6 turnstiles rather than 6 short to medium lines feeding 1 turnstile each. In fact it seemed faster, better organized and more efficient with not having people confused and struggling to pick which of the many short lines to get into.

 

I totally agree. It really should take any longer to get into the park. All the people with strollers go to the first two turnstiles, getting them out of the way for everyone else cause of the way its all laid out. Thats alone speeds up the line for most people! And the CMs at the turnstile taking your ticket or pass understand the sense of what people are seeing and I think have done a great job keeping that line moving. In fact, when I was there this past Saturday, they had two Cast Members standing by the turnstiles to direct traffic as well as answer questions from people who would normally be holding up the line at the turnstile.

 

They know the whole entrance area (from turnstiles, Buena Vista Street, and the circle) is a mess, they wont drag their feet on any of it. The entrance as it stands now looks closed, that equals lot revenue. The closing of the stores to change them over is lost revenue, and the closing of the food and other store locations in the hub is lost revenue. They are working every day and night on these projects (Ive been told 24 hours a day, but I have no real proof of that). They are moving faster then Ive ever seen any Disney project move.

[WFChris]

I don't understand why they are re-theming the entrance to look like the toll booths in Irvine on the 73.

[COASTER FREAK 11]

^LOL. They don't look like that at all except they share a similar shape.

[jray21]

^^They just need a green color and a few horizontal lines and you have it!

[COASTER FREAK 11]

It needs a bit more then that, and were going about this all wrong. The toll booth and the park entrance were both modeled after the Pan Pacific Theater, lol.

[BelizeIt]

I was at Disney 'Construction' Adventure today.

 

It was a quite day (10 minute wait for Soarin' etc..) But there were more construction walls up today. The area where Maliboomer was located was completely closed and under major renovation. (perhaps they're building the new meet and greet area). But now when you pass Mickey's Fun Wheel it dead ends. To ride the Silly Symphony Swings you have to loop all the way around the back side. (When I rode the swings there was nobody on it, so they said you could ride it again as many times as you like) A Hugh Plus for all those swingers out there!

 

Anyhow, the off-season has begun. So bring on the repair crews, and keep improving this park.

[Sunfire]

^Sounds like a fun day at DCA, even though the construction is getting crazier. Since my family only has time to visit Disney in the summer, it's always crowded when I go. However, I learned that when World of Color starts, the lines for other rides get way shorter. Back in August, I walked on to Mulholland Madness whereas in the day it was a 45 minute wait.

[SharkTums]

^^Oh man, I hate when parks close off a path turning a circle into a giant U. Remember at SFMM when the back of the mountain was closed due to Tatsu construction? No fun! Hopefully that won't be a long term closure.

[DJeXeL]

Yea it was annoying walking all the way around via Bug's Land to TOT and Aladdin.

[COASTER FREAK 11]

Here are two pictures of what walls currently look like at DCA (They are not 100% accurate)

Hub and Entrance Walls. Blue line shows how you enter and exit.

Pier and Carsland walls. Note you can not make a full circle around the Pier for the time being. The Blue line roughly shows how you access the rides at that end of the pier by taking the side path behind Jumpin' Jellyfish.

[Sunfire]

Wow, all these construction walls, and they're still managing to pull off WOC? That sounds like an even tighter situation for crowd control than the summer crowds.

[wados]

yeah WOC is still going was there Monday night and was all good, but the walls and restrictions on which way you can walk is very annoying and messy

[LoopLover]

^^ Only Disney can pull off miracles!

[BelizeIt]

^^^Your maps are very accurate. The California letters are gone, and Sunshine plaza is now a hugh dirt pile.(They have torn up all of the concrete, to make way for a better tomorrow.) Bring on the renovations, because the future looks bright. I can't wait until 2012, because Disney will make this rejuvenated park into masterpiece it should have been when it originally opened.

 

The imaginers are trying to improve upon an earlier disappointment, so I'm willing to give them some leeway to make things better for the future. DCA will rock by the end of 2012!

[MagicMountainMan]

^It's definitely going to be an improved park once all is said and done with phase 1, but not sure if it will really be a masterpiece. That's why I'm hoping that there will be a phase 2.

 

Put it this way, if Disney finally gets it right with California Adventure, they can then focus their time and effort into expanding the resort as a whole and maybe even a 3rd gate. Let's just hope that's sooner than later.

[BelizeIt]

^The third gate, that is the question? What will the third gate involve? I pray that it isn't some 'waterpark', because LA has plenty of those.(Raging Waters / Knotts/ Wild Rivers) I hope that a 3rd gate would mean some type of massive new theme park, like the classic Disneyland.

 

I assume that the imaginers will come up with something that will blow all of us away. (Assuming they have learned from past DCA mistakes) So bring forth an amazing new experience, and I'll look forward to the future. Disney can deliver a quality product, and I hope they will do so. Innovation is what Disney is all about, so the years to come should be amazing.

Edited January 16, 2011 by BelizeIt

[MagicMountainMan]

That is indeed the question, but as of now it's so far off I wouldn't even begin to guess what it might be. I'm too anxious to see the final product at DCA that I don't even have time to worry about a 3rd gate.

 

To add a little fuel to the fire, supposedly the resort's "master plan" has been recently revised (I really don't know if that's common or not) so there's definitely something in the works. But for all we know, their might just be cloning Pooh and demoing Tomorrowland, who knows.

[A-kid]

Bit of an update.

 

http://www.westcoaster.net/updates.php?updateCD=011711

[Fat-G]

WOW! You have to give credit to the workers, they are really coming along with this. Of course its starting to feel more and more like Hollywood Studios though.

[A.J.]

I have to ask - what about the "old" California Adventure was "wrong" or "bad"? I really liked the fact that the Disney company made a park with more outdoor-based rides than indoor-based ones.

[djbrcace1234]

I have to ask - what about the "old" California Adventure was "wrong" or "bad"? I really liked the fact that the Disney company made a park with more outdoor-based rides than indoor-based ones.

 

I actually didn't mind the "old" California Adventure, but the main thing lacking was rides. I swear there were more places to eat then actual rides when the park first open. Theming, for Disney, that is, was lacking a lot. But I felt that came with the Ideas that were on paper.

 

The only thing I don't understand with this "new" park is it's just slapped together more then the first one. The first park had the right idea, but the execution lacked IMO. They had the ideas to convey the themes of California, but to locals, this theme is lost. Who cares?

 

But, I fear this park is just never going to be a true Disney park. It's more like the Bastard child of the parks.

Sure, It's going to have Some uniqueness to the park, but it's not all in the best of ways, though.

 

 

--Derek "You might as well go to Knotts to learn about California" Baker

[COASTER FREAK 11]

^The new idea for the park is different parts of California through different periods in time, the golden period of that area. Hollywood and Los Angeles hit their prime in the 20s and 30s, so thats what time the re-theme will be for Hollywoodland and Buena Vista Street. National parks were in the 50s, so thats their time period (Condor flats and Grizzly Peak areas will be absorbed into the National Parks theme). Paradise Pier represents the "Classic" Sea Side pier of the past covering several decades with different styles of architecture and theming. Cars Land (though not in California, the idea still works) is set in the 60s, or rather trapped in the 60s cause the movie takes place in present day but the town never changed. Bugs land...well that one you have to just let it be. It doesn't fit, unless you like to pretend that A Bugs Land is actually on the "front lawn" of the Tower of Terror, haha.

 

The new direction of the park is an interesting take showing the golden ages of different parts of California, and I think its a great way to go. The original idea for the park was similar but didn't take us to a time and place that we could no longer visit. DCA opened with attractions that we could see now if we traveled to those places and thats why it was a bad park...It didn't tell any story or take us anywhere that we couldn't just go visit ourselves.

[djbrcace1234]

^The new idea for the park is different parts of California through different periods in time, the golden period of that area. Hollywood and Los Angeles hit their prime in the 20s and 30s, so thats what time the re-theme will be for Hollywoodland and Buena Vista Street. National parks were in the 50s, so thats their time period (Condor flats and Grizzly Peak areas will be absorbed into the National Parks theme). Paradise Pier represents the "Classic" Sea Side pier of the past covering several decades with different styles of architecture and theming. Cars Land (though not in California, the idea still works) is set in the 60s, or rather trapped in the 60s cause the movie takes place in present day but the town never changed. Bugs land...well that one you have to just let it be. It doesn't fit, unless you like to pretend that A Bugs Land is actually on the "front lawn" of the Tower of Terror, haha.

 

The new direction of the park is an interesting take showing the golden ages of different parts of California, and I think its a great way to go. The original idea for the park was similar but didn't take us to a time and place that we could no longer visit. DCA opened with attractions that we could see now if we traveled to those places and thats why it was a bad park...It didn't tell any story or take us anywhere that we couldn't just go visit ourselves.

 

Well, Route 66 does go into California, as well as Interstate 40 as portrayed in the film.

 

I completely understand the concept, but what I meant by Disney just slapping this together is the fact that they're relying too much on their movies to make this a better fit, and that's what I don't like about it. Granted, it's what Disney does, but that's what I thought made the "old" California Adventure Unique. It wasn't filled with much Disney intellectual property as in movies/ franchises. Yes, I also understand this is the main demise of the project, but other parks in the Disney chain didn't start this way as well. (EPCOT and Animal Kingdom comes to mind.)

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy that Disney is trying to make DCA a better park, but with so much Disney Related stuff to make this new concept work, I feel as though DCA is becoming the Dump Place for rides that can't fit into Disneyland.