What is CA-adven?

[Cynthia]

No, I am not asking the "what is art" question, more what were they thinking?
I have just moved back to CA after a couple of decades in Albuquerque (yes that means I am a hick) have to say I am a bit confused by the California Adventure. . . what is the intent? To my eyes it was rather –sterile- though some of the deco-eesque buildings were pretty.

[Ghoulish Delight]

First off, welcome! Pull up to the swank bar, grab yourself a :cheers: and get comfy. :cool:

As to your question...how much time ya' got?

The short answer - when California Adventure (aka DCA, aka the parking lot) was built, the man in charge (Paul Pressler) was known more for his ability to run shopping malls than amusement parks. In many ways, look no further than how much more well themed the shop interiors are than the rest of the park to understand where DCA went wrong.

Combine consumerism-centered thinking with radical cost-cutting, and a theme that doesn't inspire much in the way of Disney-esque fantasy and creativity and voila, you've got a recipe for bland.

That said, there is some evidence that the company has recognized those shortcomings and is working to rectify. IF (and I stress the IF) the plans they've presented in the "blue sky" display are executed with the level of imagination and commitment that Disneyland once stood for, they stand a good chance of setting the park on a much better path. But only time will tell.

[RStar]

Welcome Cynthia!

Yes, what GD said. It's a missguided attempt for sure.

But to elaborate a bit as well, the 1 Billion $ makeover is suppose to do something that was missing to that park. When you step into Disneyland you are transported to 1) another time, 2) another place, or 3) another reality. When you step into Magic Mountain you step into a place with rides. No escape from the real world, but fun just the same. It's that escape from reality that sets Disneyland apart. When you step into DCA, you leave California and enter the amazing world of....California! Now, I love California, but the Disney touch of transporting to another place is missing.

Enter the fix- "Walt Disney's California Adventure" (working name in progress). It is suppose to become the California of the 1920's when Walt first stepped off the train to start the Walt Disney Bros studios with his brother Roy. They are also adding a whole new land (the first added to the park for the resort since Toontown), and at least one new E Ticket ride as well.

But as GD said, time will tell if it works.

[Cynthia]

Well that explains everything, they should just mow the thing down and put up a parking lot.
Or better yet send all the rides and attractions that have been pulled over there- call it retroland!

[innerSpaceman]

To judge by the first improvements. No.

Paradise Pier was supposed to evoke the old-time beach-pier amusement zones of bygone days. At night, if often succeeds in looking pretty. But it never bore close examination, because all the buildings and rides were done in a plain-wrap, ugly concrete style of bland-personified.

Now that the buildings have been re-done as Victorian beauties - the result is a much prettier land of total boredom and blandness. And this DESPITE the addition of one of the resorts most improbably fun attractions - Midway Mania.


Fixing up the way California Adventure looks is going to be like putting lipstick on a pig. Taking designed-for-Disneyland attractions like The Little Mermaid Ride and sticking them in DCA will not work either. The entire experience is unappealing. They are not changing the basic theme, just the window dressing.

Even though there will be pretty to look at, and some attractions you might actually enjoy - it will not be a place wonderful to BE AT.



If you don't "get" California Adventure, you're in good company.

[flippyshark]

I was born in Albuquerque, and attended UNM there for a couple of years. Much of my immediate family are still there. I love visiting, especially during balloon season, and I miss access to good New Mexican food so bad it hurts sometimes.

Everything they said about DCA with buttons on.

Welcome to the Lounge!

[Moonliner]

Paradise Pier was supposed to evoke the old-time beach-pier amusement zones of bygone days. At night, if often succeeds in looking pretty. But it never bore close examination, because all the buildings and rides were done in a plain-wrap, ugly concrete style of bland-personified.


I've been to Atlantic City, Ocean City and Bethany recently. "Plain-wrap, ugly concrete style of bland-personified" is a very good description. I guess they copied the boardwalks as-is and forgot to Disneyfi them.

[Morrigoon]

Oh you'll fit in just fine around these parts! LOL

DCA is Disney's attempt to give out-of-state visitors a glimpse of the diversity of CA (so that they stay in the Resort area rather than visit it themselves). Basically, to inspire longer visits from non-locals who are known to spend more per day on a DL visit than local guests, who make up a good 80% of the visitor base.

It's symptomatic of the Florida-centric attitude the company takes toward the theme parks division. Rather than figuring out how best to make money off the guests we get, they're trying to attract more guests like the ones Florida gets. That way they can just take the same approach with both Resorts and won't that make life easier for them. DL guests behave differently/are a diff kind of consumer than WDW guests.

[Not Afraid]

Cynthia, are you stalking me? ;)


Welcome to LoT. The best answer to DCA is "Why?".

[Snowflake]

Welcome to LoT. :cheers:

Well, I enjoyed Tower of Terror. Fun and made for a cool group shot.

Otherwise, I've spent probably less than 2 hours in DCA and felt my visit was overlong. :-(

[innerSpaceman]

Now that they realize the Disneyland Resort customer base is 70% local, they STILL can't get rid of the California theme that everyone local just laughs at - because it doesn't do anything but look so pale and crappy compared to the California we are all intimately familiar with.

Yes, it was a craven attempt to prevent tourists from "escaping" the rest of what this beautiful state has to offer them. But now that the resort is crammed with 70% non-tourists and couldn't take on any more business if it tried, they are stuck with a dog that they are spending Disneyland's billions on to dress up like a dog with wings.

Whoopie!

[keith - SuPeR K!]

DCA is getting better over time, but when I first visited the park the two main thoughts running through my head were "Wow there's a lot of cement here" and "I don't get it... This isn't really fun." While some of the attractions are really cool and a ton of fun, most of the park is missing any semblance of charm, something which Disneyland itself is full of. While I agree that some of the plussing of the scenery will only marginally improve the experience, I believe the new entrance and some of the other improvements will really change the way many feel about the park. Contrary to popular belief, as much of the new improvements are marketed as improvements to the California theme, I really believe the park is moving away from that. Sure they have been able to loosely tie most of the new improvements back to California, but only in a Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon kind of way. The new rides and lands are much more transport-you-to-a-new-Disneyified-utopian-world than transport-you-to-reality-of-the-past.

Unfortunately, you'll likely never get to Catch-a-Flave which used to be one of my favorite things to do while in DCA... *moment of silence for Catch-a-Flave's flave-filled menu*

[flippyshark]

Cynthia, I don't know if Disney Daniel will chime in here, but he is famous in these parts as the guy who names DCA as his favorite park. De gustibus non disputandem est, to be sure.

[Cynthia]

Well now I don't feel like quite such a slappy squirrel for thinking CA-Adv is corporate idiocy - I was sad the other day to not be able to take my husband in the sky buckets, Monsanto and caravel of progress :p

Flippyshark, I have moments of acceptable new Mexican cooking, it is not like we can't get green chili here (yeah!) perhaps a housewarming with green chili is in order

Not Afraid - yes I am stalking you, it was all B & I could do not to show up at Edison last night :evil:

[Ghoulish Delight]

Flippyshark, I have moments of acceptable new Mexican cooking, it is not like we can't get green chili here (yeah!) perhaps a housewarming with green chili is in order

He's in Florida, little hope of him finding decent southwest cooking any time soon. Though methinks he has us beat on the Cuban food front.

[innerSpaceman]

I have to agree about many of the new attractions getting far away from the California theme, but the park itself is not. Disneyland is not charming primarily because of its rides, but because of its exterior design and the mood you get from just being there.


And now, a moment of silence for Catch-a-Flave ...





















sigh. Back to the Cone Shop, I guess.

[alphabassettgrrl]

I don't know, I rather like DCA. I wouldn't say it's my favorite theme park, especially since I seem incapable of choosing a single "favorite" anything, but I do like it. It's a good half-day park.

I don't mind the open concrete; I like the openness, and what else are they going to use? Needs to be hardscape to handle the crowds. I like Soarin' and Screamin' (though I deplore the names, dropping the "g" like they do); Grizzly River Rapids is a fun water ride; and a Bug's land is awesome. The rides there are for little kids, but I love the theming and the atmosphere.

I love Paradise Pier at night and I wish they would keep it open after dark. I love the Tower of Terror. I love the theme of 30's Hollywood and I really hope they do the improvements properly.

I think the main way they went wrong is trying to essentially cover the entire state of California, instead of focusing. They seem to be getting a little bit of focus with the new work, and I have a lot of hope that they will keep what is good and fix what could be made better.

[SzczerbiakManiac]

My biggest beef with DCA has been the lack of greenery/shade. It's gets frelling hot over there.

[JWBear]

I miss Golden Dreams...

[Snowflake]

I miss the Eyore section of the parking lot! ;)

[Gemini Cricket]

The best part about DCA is that they serve alcohol.

[RStar]

The best part about DCA is that they serve alcohol.I'll second that!

My biggest beef with DCA has been the lack of greenery/shade. It's gets frelling hot over there.
I may be wrong, but it seems like they are putting more trees in when they work on the construction. It will take a while to get much shade out of them, however.
The best answer to DCA is "Why?".

But......"WHY" is a question, not an answer. ;)

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I miss the Eyore section of the parking lot! ;)I prefer Indy :)

[Kevy Baby]

I'm with ABG: DCA isn't nearly as good as DL and isn't a very good park by Disney standards. But it isn't a bad place and it sure beats most other theme parks IMO.

I can have fun at DCA. I don't go in there as much as I do DL, but I do go there. It is not AS immersive as DL, but it is still immersive.

[CoasterMatt]

I prefer Knott's to DCA. Hell, I prefer the church carnival with rides that nearly knock me unconscious to DCA.

Welcome Cynthia :)

[innerSpaceman]

Let's compare apples to apples, huh? There's only one Disney park out of the 11 on the planet that's more pathetic than DCA.

I suppose it's nice that there's one worse, but really, that's a craptastic fact.

[bewitched]

I actually like DCA, except for the inability to escape the heat. But then again, I'm not from CA and I'm a total WDW geek (I grew up visiting WDW and didn't visit DL until I was 38).

Welcome to LoT, btw! :cheers:

[Morrigoon]

iSm: Are you talking about Paris' Studios park?

Can we take a vote on worst land within a park next? Because I nominate AK's "Chester & Hester's Dinorama" (or all of dinoland if you wanna call it one thing). I mean, seriously, in the middle of the gorgeous environment of Animal Kingdom, they plopped a land themed to look like a parking lot carnival (complete with broken asphalt and chipped parking space lines! Not kidding here kids...)