Happy Birthday DCA!

[€uroMeinke]

Yup, the park officially opend 5 years ago today. Oddly enough, I have a meeting nearby this morning so I may actually stop by for a cup of coffee should it's off season hours accomodate me (10AM - 6PM). To bad I have an afternoon meeting in Irwindale or I might even stay the day - as it'll be closed by the time I'd get there after work.

So it goes.

[MickeyLumbo]

5 years old. wow. i remember when you were just a parking lot.

http://www.davidgagne.net/images/funny/bart_moon.jpg

[SacTown Chronic]

:cheers: Happy Birthday!:cheers:

[Ghoulish Delight]

Happy Birthday. Wishing you all the best, and a day filled with the aroma of burnt coffee, short lines, and as few guest complaints as you can hope for.

[Not Afraid]

Chris just called from DCA.

They're having a HUGE party and giving away LOADS of free swag. All of the characters are out on the Sun Plaza and there's a giant Birthday Cake! There is going to be a HUGE presentation in a 1/2 hour with lots of dignataries and they're going to be giving a way away a car! I can't believe they are doing so much! I'm going to head over there now.





Oh? That's not what he said when he called? :evil:

[Alex]

You had me hating there for a moment. We'd been hounding P&P for information on if anything noteworthy would be done with little response.

[Not Afraid]

Actually.....

what he said was, "all the rides are walk-ons - at least the ones that are open. And the carnival booths are all closed."


Sounds almost too exciting.

[innerSpaceman]

Too bad there are none of the schumcks here on the LoT who insisted that DCA was just as barren of fun in its infancy as Disneyland was in its own, and who would brook no argument about zero-theme-park-industry 1955 being far different from Disney-dominated-theme-park-Earth 2001.


Well, here we are at DCA's fifth anniversary, and let's ponder for a moment the state of improvement at far-too-nearby Disneyland during its first half-decade. Has DCA improved a tenth as much?

I must say that Monsters, Inc. is perhaps my favorite ride in the park ... but if the surrounding "Campus" look improvements in that area are indicative of how they plan to revitalize the look of DCA, and if the C-Ticket dark ride Monsters, Inc. is the best they now have to offer ... then the place is as dismally doomed as I've been insisting for the past five, long, uneventful, unimproved-upon years.


Happy Birthday, Disney's California Adventure Park!

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Aww, I forgot! I wanted to plan a DCA birthday meet, with a big group of us stomping around DCA in a tour of crap. It would have been the most sarcastic day EVER.

[innerSpaceman]

Let's do it this coming weekend!


It's never too late for a sarcastic crap-tour! Bring the riding crop.

[Not Afraid]

But I don't wanna go to DCA!

[SacTown Chronic]

I have special memories of DCA. I was there when MickeyLumbo lost his GRR cherry.


(Not to be confused with losing his cherry on GRR. I'm pretty sure that notable event happened on the Matterhorn....rumor has it there was a third man on the mountain that day.)

[Alex]

I actually like DCA. Not as much as Disneyland but to not like something as much as Disneyland is not the same thing as hating something.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I actually like DCA. Not as much as Disneyland but to not like something as much as Disneyland is not the same thing as hating something.
My view is in comparison to The Phantom Menace. There are some things in there that I love (podracing sequence, Darth Maul battles, Qui-Gon Jinn, Ewan as Obi-Wan) but on the whole it's crap and a damned shame that Lucas couldn't do better. Same with DCA.

[Alex]

That's fine. I'm not trying to convince anybody to like DCA, just stating my opinion. In my opinion, DCA is the third best park (behind DL and Sea World) in Southern California and that isn't bad.

But people who disagree can make a compelling case.

As for Phantom Menace (or any of the other prequels), I can't even think of a single thing I liked in them so I'll agree with you on those.

[scaeagles]

I've always liked DCA. But as I've thought about it, there's only one reason....it isn't ever crowded.

One very family trip we've taken over there, we play at DL until it is too crowded for us, then we go to DCA, where there are wide open walkways and limited lines for the things we want to do.

Ambience wise and over all attraction wise....eh, some things I like. Much of it I don't care for at all. The only part I really don't like at all is the Paradise Pier area around the circle over to Golden Dreams. Kind of ugly. But an uncrowded ugly.

[innerSpaceman]

Whether you like the place or not, I think the question pertinent to this occasion is whether you like it better than you did five years ago. In other words, has the place improved during it's important infancy? Has it improved to your satisfaction? Was it just fine "as is" with no improvement needed?



****

Imo, the place is actually WORSE than it was five years ago. Back then, I very much enjoyed a couple of the entertainment offerings - namely, Eureka and Blast! Nowadays, zilch. Back then, I couldn't get enough of Soarin' Over California. Nowadays, once a year is enough for that tired, old film. Tower of Terror provided a solid month of fun ... and now I can't be bothered to walk all the way back there for that 10 second thrill.

They have removed the comfy sofas from the park's most amazing environment - the lobby of the Animation Building. Bah. The food quality and availability at this park have gone steadily downhill from its original superiority to a level on lowly par with, well, Disneyland.

OMG, the place is suckier than the suckfest is was when it opened. My God! It's like a tumor on Disneyland's neck.

[scaeagles]

Well, you speak as a local. I speak as someone who goes over to Anaheim with the family two or three times a year.

From a two or three times/year standpoint, I think it has improved drastically. Adding the ToT, Monsters Inc (haven't had a chance yet to ride it, of course), changes in the Animation building make it always different than the last trip for us, Soarin' hasn't become old to us, etc, etc, etc.

Granted, I think the food offerings there stink. But I'm no fan of the majority of food offerings at DLR, either. With small children we don't do things like sit down meals in the Blue Bayou or any place at DCA.

So, for me, the curve of improvement is fine. I see things I'd like to change, of course, as does everyone. I just come from a non-local perspective.

[DisneyDaniel]

Happy 5th Birthday, Disney's California Adventure!
Thanks for five years of great fun in the countless hours spent there, and special memories created there with friends and family. Best wishes for you to make it to your own 50 magical years celebration 45 years from now!

http://files.photojerk.com/bulleckert/DCABDay2006sepia.jpg

[Alex]

So it is a suckfest if you visit every week. Most people only visit every few years or even longer.

If I watched the same episodes of Firefly every weekend, it would start to suck as well.

This is why I don't really go on rides, for the most part, none of them have repeatability for me. Even my favorites (PotC) I'm fine with riding every couple years. Most visits to the park involve no rides unless I'm following other people.

Most of the people I know who visit a lot don't really care for DCA, most of the people I know who visit once a decade enjoy it quite a bit (they're the ones who come back and ask me if I knew Disney'd built a new park and that Country Bear Jamboree is gone). For the way I experience the parks, DCA is just fine.

And no, DCA isn't better than five years ago for one simple reason: It has the most annoying parade of all time (and I'm not talking about Block Party Bash).

[€uroMeinke]

Yup managed to get there for rope drop - with about a hundred other guests. At opening there was a PA announcement which among other things mostly made mention of Disneyland's 50th anniversary celebration.

The park opened and most of the guestes headed into the Hollywood backlot for Monsters Inc. and Tower. I walked the desolate park taking note of the areas I seldom travel to, like Paradise Pier. I watch a train of 8 people take off on screamin' and two people ride the Maliboomer. The CMs looked bored hunkered down in from of Jumping Jelly fish and the Golden Zephyre.

Still, the Hollywood backlot looked active, like it might even be a fun park adn I had to aknowledge that, that is usually as far as I ever travel in DCA these days.

I didn't check to see if there was any special park merchandise for the occasion, as I had to return to my office.

I did get a call from CP on my way to work, so she might have an afternoon update of the festivities. AS for myself - I got to work as my boss was leaving and got a page that my afternoon Meeting might get cancelled - so who knows maybe I should ahve stayed and indulged in the 5 years of Magic? uh Marketting? uh what exactly does DCA have 5 years of anyway?

I may have some pictures for later.

[DisneyDaniel]

I actually like DCA. Not as much as Disneyland but to not like something as much as Disneyland is not the same thing as hating something.

Very well said. Even though I absolutely adore Disney's California Adventure in its current state, there is always room for growth and improvement. On Disney boards--and with Disney's biggest fans and critics, I sometimes feel like the black-sheep DCA fan, but that's OK. People can hate the place, love the place or fall somewhere in between--it doesn't really matter what most people think. As long as Disney's California Adventure continues to be open, it will add to the Disney magic of the Disneyland Resort.

During the last five years, I think Disney's California Adventure has improved with several additions, including the following highlights:
--Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Resuce!
--Turtle Talk with Crush
--Animation Academy
--The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
--Block Party Bash
--Disney's Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular
--Electrical Parade
--Flik's Fun Fair
--D.U.H. - Department of Untapped Hilarity (improv comedy show)

As a side note or question, would there have been the magnificent Disney's Grand Californian Hotel with its lobby, Heartstone Lounge, White Water Snacks, Storytellers Cafe, and Napa Rose without California Adventure being built?

[innerSpaceman]

Non-repeatability of attractions would be fine for Disney World, but won't cut it for Disneyland. The Anaheim Park sitting in the midst of one of the world's greatest metropolises gets a guest mix that is heavily tilted toward the local, repeat visitor.

Personal taste aside, immersive environments like Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion still pump along entertainingly after 30 years, while films of any kind get old too fast to even bother featuring them at a theme park. Ditto for thrill rides with no themeing.

DCA might work well for someone visiting twice in its five-year history, but I don't believe that makes for a successful theme park in the L.A. basin.


And while everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I don't have to argue mine when attendance records back up my view that the park is a dismal failure and that nothing they've done to purportedly improve the place has actually done so.

[Alex]

I'm not arguing that the park has failed at what it was supposed to do. Just that I like it.

I wasn't arguing, just pointing out that the basis on which DCA seems to most fail for you (non repeatability of attractions) is, for me, a basis on which Disneyland fails as well.

My preference would be that the Esplanade be gated off at the entry point and that it all be turned into one giant park with DCA as a separate land.

[tracilicious]

Eh. We go a couple times a year and it has a few good things. We love Playhouse Disney Live on Stage. Alladin is ok. ToT is fun. Soarin is still fantastic for me. Screamin is great, but the only thing on the pier that we do, as once was enough for the other rides there. I'm excited to ride MI next time we go.

It does have the best soft serve Ice Cream ever. It's an ok place to spend half a day if I'm already at DL, but I would never make the six hour drive just to go there.

[Prudence]

I actually quite like certain portions of DCA. Where it fails for me personally is the cohesion. For example, BT *loves* the GRR area. I actually think that's a fun ride. And that one small area with the hotel behind and all the trees and the distinctive guitar music is really kind of cool. It's probably our favorite spot in that park. (I think it's his favorite spot in any park. Mine, in case you care, is the Mansion fastpass area.)

But head out one end and it's kind of a big blah with a plane in the corner before reaching another kind of cool area right by Soarin'. Head the other way and it's this weird San Fran-esque area with nothing. On the other side of GRR is the winery area - also pretty cool. And across from the winery? Blah. Corner of Paradise Pier with the Screamin'? Pretty cool. You hear and see the coaster, the water, the screams at take off, etc. Sitting under the coaster by the chicken strip place? Seedy has-been carnival.

And that is the problem for me. There are individual little chunks that I really like and would seek out. But in between are far too many bits of blah.

I do think there's hope. I don't want to petulantly compare DCA to DL's infancy. DCA was thrown together by people who wanted the resort feel of WDW but without the expense and, not surprisingly, the result doesn't live up to its potential. However, because a large part of what *I* think is wrong is "feel," I think there's significant potential for improvement.

[innerSpaceman]

Heheh, yeah a place that can hardly get worse has, by definition, significant potential for improvement. TeeHee.

[Prudence]

Not necessarily. Some places are beyond redemption and thus lack potential.

[Capt Jack]

hmm....5 years huh? guess I should go check it out.

:P

[Cadaverous Pallor]

If people that visit on a yearly basis love it, then why isn't there great word of mouth from them? Why isn't DCA pulling in the attendance? WDW doesn't have a huge local fan base, it relies more on tourism, and its attendance numbers are humongous.

Oh, like € said, I was at the resort today, and I didn't look twice in DCA's direction...

[Motorboat Cruiser]

We usually go over there for one of three reasons:

1) We want a better long island iced tea than the GC or Uva offer.

2) To ride the roller coaster, which we really enjoy.

3) To see the Walt film (which no longer plays there)

OK, make that two reasons.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

We usually go over there for one of three reasons:

1) We want a better long island iced tea than the GC or Uva offer.

2) To ride the roller coaster, which we really enjoy.

3) To see the Walt film (which no longer plays there)

OK, make that two reasons.
Heehee, when you see a Disney geek refer to an attraction as "the roller coaster", you know they're not fond of the place!

[€uroMeinke]

For those of you that missed it - here are what the festivities were like at DCA today:

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_IMG_5585.JPG
Paradise Pier

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_IMG_5588.JPG
From another angle

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_IMG_5587.JPG
The Maliboomer

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_IMG_5586.JPG
The Midway Games

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_IMG_5589.JPG
The Shops

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_IMG_5592.JPG
The Wide Walkways

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_IMG_5595.JPG
Hollywood Backlot

[orbitalpunk]

man, what a mob scene. look at that old guy on the right, OMG, he's getting crushed my the stroller on the left.. oh the humanity...

hey, im just glad DCA is there to take in the attractions that dont fit too well with disneyland.

[scaeagles]

For those of you that missed it - here are what the festivities were like at DCA today

Wow.

[CoasterMatt]

Where's the freeway road rage ride?

Or the interactive virtual lap dances? (If they can make a turtle talk with kids, they can make a simulated snatch for the grownups)

[mousepod]

what scaeagles said.
amazing.
i would love to know what is being whispered into john lasseter's ear right now.

[Not Afraid]

I bet it starts with an "F"

[€uroMeinke]

Bare in mind that there were almost twice as many people as pictured, but since I was taking the pictures I couldn't get myself into the frame.

[MickeyLumbo]

i went to the resort hoping to meet up with seamonkey, but, i think he had overloaded on too much fun and festivities and had already left for something more exciting: his job.

luckily, Cadaverous Pallor was in Disneyland and my mother and i met up with her in the queue for Space Mountain... there was no line...it was a virtual walk on. what a blast...it has been years since mom has experienced SM and we got the front seats. she was terrified but had a great time...

next, the three of us had a nice chat in the hub when i noticed something unusual going on inside the castle. there was a rope across the draw bridge and a security CM standing there to prevent guests from entering. so we went around to see what was up... to our delight, a full film crew was set up filming a charming scene with an absolutely flawless Cinderella having a one-on-one chat with a sweet little girl maybe age 6. CP and i agreed that this little girl was most likely a guest, chosen at random, to star in this film...perhaps an upcomming scene in a commercial. what a magical moment for this little girl and her family - a magical memory of a lifetime to be sure.

after a brief stroll though Fantasyland, we headed to Rancho Zacollo... CP had to leave for a previous engagement and we said our goodbyes. it was SO nice to spend that time with CP today...and damn she is a hottie.

i was in such a sad mood before i got to the Park, because i had scene "Brokeback Mountain" the night before and it had torn my heart out. but those hours with CP and mom and seeing Mickey and being at my favorite place in the world made me feel incredibly happy once again.

after a wonderful lunch, i took mom to see Billy Hill and she had a great time...then i had a big surprise in store for her.

i asked her if she would like to take a nice, peaceful and quiet ride around the RoA on the Mark Twain. she agreed. what she didn't know was that i had made arrangements for her to be invited up into the wheelhouse to Captain the Twain.

she was completely surprised when we arrived at the top deck and the Captain was waiting for her and invited her into the wheelhouse. what a thrill she had... she signed her name into the leather bound book, and was asked to ring the bell four times and then pull the whistle for two long blasts. she was perfect on the bell, but do to arthritis, she had some difficulty pulling the whistle's rope and quickly asked me to help... so i took over the duties.

what a sense of power to be making that harmonious whistle announce that the Twain is a commin'.

i had her convinced that the wheel actually was steering the boat and instructed her to be careful not to run over a raft or canoe. this made her a bit nervous and she asked me to take over as we neared Hungry Bear... i made her more nervous as i "cut it real close" to the restaurant before quickly turning the wheel several times to make a hard right, barely escaping a certain collision with three canoes tied up near the bottom level. her eyes were wide open as she watched her son somehow incredibly navigate that river as if i had done it a hundred times before.

just then, here comes the steam train... whoo-hoo, i thought. i'm now in charge of the whistle and i know the drill...as the CM was about to ask me...she realized the smile on my face meant i knew what to do.

i pulled that rope in perfect rhythm: "toot-toot-ta-toot-toot" and the train replied: "tweet-tweet"! then the train answered with "tweet-tweet-ta-tweet-tweet" and i responded with a perfect "TOOT-TOOT"!

what a thrill.

we safely arrived at the landing and mom was amazed at how close i pulled up next to the dock without a hitch...all this while i was clanging that glorious bell and announcing our arrival with that beautiful whistle.

mom was delighted to receive her Pilot's Certificate and i know it will be her magical memory of the day we celebrated DCA's 5th birthday at Disneyland.

[DisneyDaniel]

MickeyLumbo, Wow! What a sweet, heartfelt and descriptive story about your day with mom at Disneyland :) You're such a great guy ... even though your "what I did for DCA's birthday" story was at Disneyland. ;)

[innerSpaceman]

Even though? Um, the absolute irony of that wonderful tale about DCA's birthday taking place entirely at Disneyland just tickles me.

Perhaps even moreso than €'s post-apocalyptic photo tour of the actual birthday-celebrating park. (Although, to be fair, the shadows in €'s photographs have yet to be analyzed by the apologists over at MiceChat ... and it may yet turn out they have been doctored to hide the fact that DCA is a smash hit.)

[blueerica]

Like a few others have mentioned here, there are parts of DCA that I'm in love with. Like the music they play around GRR/Hotel, walking around at dusk in EITHER park. I like sitting by the docks with a soup or some salad... My favorite things about Disneyland fall into those catagories: moments that sort of flash by in the hopes of capturing them again. Often my best memories aren't on a ride, haven't been a parade, or even the fireworks (although my first and a few subsequent viewings of the 50th fireworks completely defy this). They're usually tied in with being with friends, or alone, at the right moment, enjoying something.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Aww, ML, that was a wonderful thing you did for your mom. Awesome that you got to do some whistling yourself! :cheers:

Like ML said, DL was "empty", meaning there were actually people there, but nearly everything was a walk on, even Space and Splash. It was a hot day, sun streaming down, and I stood looking at the Splash "5 min wait" sign in disbelief. The smaller walkways make it seem like there are much more than DCA, but looking at those photos, there's no comparison. Disneyland must've had 15 times as many people in it than DCA did. Yup, that's my uneducated estimate.

If only all of us could go on Wednesdays in February (but then it'd be full, wouldn't it?)

[Gemini Cricket]

What a great story, ML! That was such a sweet thing you did for your mom.
:)

[€uroMeinke]

Often my best memories aren't on a ride, haven't been a parade, or even the fireworks (although my first and a few subsequent viewings of the 50th fireworks completely defy this). They're usually tied in with being with friends, or alone, at the right moment, enjoying something.

My sentiments exactly - and I think part of the reason we put this site together. The Disney may have brought us together, but it's the people that made us stay.

[MickeyLumbo]

Even though? Um, the absolute irony of that wonderful tale about DCA's birthday taking place entirely at Disneyland just tickles me.


irony intentional;)

[orbitalpunk]

That story was terrific. I could visualize the whole thing in my mind. Thank you for sharing your day with us.