Let's Do Something about that DCA Problem

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

Originally Posted by CoasterMatt

They're just gonna build a giant Mickey arm and wand on the side of CA Screamin' = Instant Disney Magic!

I miss the giant blow up Chicken Little...... NOT!

[Disneyphile]

Originally Posted by Bornieo: Fully Loaded

I miss the giant blow up Chicken Little...... NOT!

I'll never forget the horror of that StayPuft Chicken Man.

[lashbear]

Every time I read this thread and threads like it, I get sad, and think the same thing I do every time.

....At least you guys HAVE a theme park in your city.

Send DCA to Sydney, we'll look after it for you.

[innerSpaceman]

All the talk from the likes of Lassiter to Moonliner about revamped attractions neglects the fact that the park is UGLY.

The Farm area? Anyone's idea of attractive? How 'bout Cannery Row? They didn't even have the wisdom to downsize it into cuteness. Paradise Pier? Pretty? Pretty gross, if you ask me.

Condor Flats? Is that anyone's idea of attractive? How 'bout that beautiful entrance and the gorgeous Sun Plaza?


The only areas of beauty in the park are the small Hollywood street and the Grizzly Mountain areas (incl. Redwood land). Oh, Bugs Land is kinda cute, too.


That's simply not enough pleasant place. Which is why I don't care how many rides they put in. Bulldozer use is the only viable option, because so much of the park has to be completely rethought in concept and re-imagineered in beauty.

[Alex]

I find Hollywood to be the least attractive part of the park.

So apparently tastes differ.

[innerSpaceman]

Oh certainly. And I'd rather like to hear what parts of DCA people find attractive.

Grizzy Peak and its environs are usually cited. The view across to Paradise Pier at night is very popular.


But what else? Let's hear it, swankers. What's ugly, what's not? What has to go, and what can stay for the eventual freebie that I predict Baxter will prevail with (probably after Lassiter's half billion fails to do the trick)?

[€uroMeinke]

I think they just need to retheme the paradise pier in a Carnival of Souls overlay

[Alex]

The only part I find visually bad are Hollywood and Sunshine Plaza.

Everything else I find reasonably pleasing from purely visual perspective. Sunshine Plaza, Condor Flats, and the Bountiful Valley Farm area can all be discarded for being completely pointless.

But if Fantasyland or Adventureland (the walkway areas, there's a worhty ride in Adventureland) were rebuilt in DCA I think most people would find them lame as well. The patina of nostalgia is powerful stuff.

[eighteenth street]

Honestly... I don't think DCA is that bad. No, it's not Disneyland, but to be fair ANYTHING in the space across from Disneyland would be a disappointment. I admit that there were (quite a few) design choices made in the park's construction, but it's nothing that can't be fixed. I don't think "tear it all down" is even partially an option, so the Imagineers have to work with what's there, either by removing small parts (e.g. Midway Madness' location) or overlaying and changing existing parts of the park.

I'm kind of biased because I've been an AP holder since DCA has been open, and as such I use it as a way to get out of DL's crowds during the middle of the day. There are a number of things I really like about DCA. TOT, Soarin', California Screamin', Aladdin, the Ferris Wheel, and Grizzly River Run are all amazing attractions, and with Midway Madness opening eventually that list will most likely be +1. Grizzly River area is beautiful, and I kind of like Paradise Pier as well. Hollywood is well-themed (though small) and so is A Bug's Land. There are definitely theme problems, though, but it's nothing that couldn't be fixed.

A big problem is the lack of dark rides. Monster's Inc. was severely disappointing, and it's still the park's only traditional dark ride. I still haven't been on a few of the rides at Paradise Pier because they're not interesting in the least, and a Bug's Land, while pretty, is almost entirely for little kids. A good start would be a ride like Pirates or the Haunted Mansion, a slow E-ticket with maybe a drop or two, but an emphasis on story. California's history would make a covered wagon cowboy type ride possible, but I'm afraid they've all but given up on the California theme at this point.

Really, I don't know where DCA is headed. I don't believe they'll ever make it "free," but it certainly does need more than an E-ticket every 3 years to get up to speed. A complete re-theme seems, unfortunately, like the best chance the park has, but I feel like cheaper and less effective alternatives will be tried over and over without much result.

Just don't close the tortilla factory.

[Not Afraid]

The ONLY area I find appealing in DCA is the area around Grizzly and the GC. Paradise Pier is cheap and nasty and Hollywood seems really barren and dead. I actually find Bugs Land to be cute if I only visit there once a year.