California Adventure's Missing....

[CaliforniaAdventurer]

What is Disney's California Adventure missing most?

[SCUBAbe]

I like it the way it is, but if they are going to add on I hope it's more thirll rides and less kiddy rides. Keep the kiddos in DL...

[Hakuna Makarla]

Nothing from the above, I love it the way it is

[Soarin]

I think it needs more WOW inducing rides, like things that WOW you like at DL, not necessarilly make you want to yell or scream. In short, more ToT; less Maliboomer. GRR has falls for a rapids ride, very cool, but why the bare caverns and lift hill, why not killer AA's (like Jurassic Park at USH)?

[Disney50]

Even though DCA rules, the rides are too tame, the only real thrill ride is TOT. California Screamin' used to be more thrilling (And more fun) before they slowed it down during the refurbishment.

[pineapplewhipaddict]

Atmosphere. It's the TLC that Walt prided himself in, and what the DCA heads failed to recognize in designing the place. Sure, the place is somewhat representing, but it has to be to the point where it's...timeless, I guess you could say. Some romance.

[quasimodo1384]

I'd say rides and atmosphere. There are very few rides I like in DCA, and once I've seen the shows they rarley hold my attention a second time (IE- Aladdin, I LOVED it the first time, but the second a year later time I almost fell asleep). There are a few rides that make it worth while, and all in all I really don't dislike the park as much as some other people, I just think it could be much better.

[eyes_of_mara]

DCA has plenty of atmosphere; the problem is that they didn't use it correctly, or it just takes some time to grow on you. I can say with confidence that The Golden State (GRR area) looks much better now than it did when the park opened in 2001.

[Aladdin]

San Francisco section needs to be expanded. First of all,
it needs to utilize the large empty building in San Francisco,
sitting in across the way from the San Francisco Bathrooms.

Imagine a brand new show themed to one of SF's trademarks,
entertainment, fun, and a little food to eat and drink during the
show. Think of it as "The Golden Horseshoe" of the Golden
District!

YES! A little sass, a little song, and a lotta drag queens!
Of course the show would be tamed down to a PG rating so the
whole family can enjoy the show and the show tunes.

[dsnyfnatic]

San Francisco section needs to be expanded. First of all,
it needs to utilize the large empty building in San Francisco,
sitting in across the way from the San Francisco Bathrooms.

Imagine a brand new show themed to one of SF's trademarks,
entertainment, fun, and a little food to eat and drink during the
show. Think of it as "The Golden Horseshoe" of the Golden
District!

YES! A little sass, a little song, and a lotta drag queens!
Of course the show would be tamed down to a PG rating so the
whole family can enjoy the show and the show tunes.

I was thinking Disney needs to partner up with the company who makes Beach Blanket Babylon. For those of you non SF-ers, BBB is a play they do in a small theater in the city. Basically, its just a lot of people wearing outrageous outfits (like the entire SF skyline all put onto one gigantic hat). They spoof celebrities, politicians, etc, break out into musical numbers. It is really a great taste of SF culture (not the stereotypical one that outsiders think about, but the real stuff that SF-ers are exposed to every day). The show is perfect because it is easily adaptable to spoof current celebrities, so the show can change even monthly with very little cost, and makes for great repeatability. A show like this would be perfect in the SF area at DCA. you could even use Disney characters instead of celebrities, if you so desired. to better understand the show, check out http://www.beachblanketbabylon.com/


o yea, and they also put together a great christmas show each year, which would add to the season festivities at DCA. what do you guys think?

[Loomis]

Great to see I'm not the only one who really enjoyed DCA as it is.

DCA has plenty of atmosphere; the problem is that they didn't use it correctly, or it just takes some time to grow on you. I can say with confidence that The Golden State (GRR area) looks much better now than it did when the park opened in 2001

Exactly. I love the amount of space and some of the areas there are just beautiful. Being a brand new park, some of the areas are very 'sterile' in a sense, and I guess 'Atmosphere' would be the best way of describing what DCA needs (best way according to that list, anyway). I think the Blue Bayou comparison is a good one, as restaurants such as this would greatly enhance the ambiance of DCA.

California is definitely represented in terms of space and diversity. Almost all of the rides are winners, with ToT and Soarin' being up there with the best.

I disagree with the assertion that there is little for the toddlers to do: between Bug's Land; the backlot shows; the newly installed Monster Inc and some of the kiddie rides on the Pier, kids are well represented. However, there isn't a lot of middle ground as far as the rides go: they are either adult/big kid rides (ToT; Screamin'; Soarin'; Maliboomer) or very kiddie (all of Bug's Land, for example).

Given that the park is only 5 years old, it is going to take time before it builds an audience and has that same familiar feel that Disneyland has. Reading over many of the posts in this forum, I gather most of you frequent Disneyland at least several times a year. Any place that does that is going to feel like a second home eventually, and DCA simply hasn't had the time to win over generations of guests. So with a little of all those things - a few more rides; the odd restaurant and most importantly, a loyal fan base - DCA will eventually be considered to be as worthy of you devotion as Disneyland.

[Mission Seagull]

Atmosphere. It's the TLC that Walt prided himself in, and what the DCA heads failed to recognize in designing the place. Sure, the place is somewhat representing, but it has to be to the point where it's...timeless, I guess you could say. Some romance.

I will hold my tongue for the moment on the choice of theme, and here I think 'addict has a good point. Walt took the essence of his own boyhood town in Missouri and turned that into Main Street. Now, who amongst us will say that Main Street lacks atmosphere and entertainment? What the designers did was add romance, as 'addict says. Its like they found the most pretty and colorful characteristics of the scene and overembellished all of their dynamic qualities. California is a very eclectic and storied state, if it can be done for Missouri I think that California should be no problem.

Another thing about atmosphere, proximities. When they layed out DCA, they made these really big walkways to accomodate the parades. I have always felt these walkways took up too much park space. Also, the largest main corridor from the plaza to the wharf has an atrocious view of the outside world (power lines and all). If they were to have placed some appealing buildings, trees, mountains, etc along the walk ways sides, then these monster truck driveways wouldnt make the park wouldn't feel like a big open empty fairground.

[pixie chick]

i voted for size because it had the "all of the above" option. i really don't think DCA needs to be any bigger, they just need to use the space more efficiently.

while i appreciate the larger walkways, it seems like there is too much empty space. empty space isn't always a bad thing, but when you're walking around a theme park looking for something to do, it is. the biggest thing that comes to mind is the lagoon. it sure makes for a pretty picture with the lights from paradise pier at night, but it's more than just a little wasted space.

[MasterGracey]

i voted for size because it had the "all of the above" option. i really don't think DCA needs to be any bigger, they just need to use the space more efficiently.

while i appreciate the larger walkways, it seems like there is too much empty space. empty space isn't always a bad thing, but when you're walking around a theme park looking for something to do, it is. the biggest thing that comes to mind is the lagoon. it sure makes for a pretty picture with the lights from paradise pier at night, but it's more than just a little wasted space.

Ditto ditto ditto.

I notice the extraordinarily accomidating walkways everytime I pass through the section of the "performance corridor" between Sunshine Plaza and the entryway to Paradise Peir. It's enormous, although wide walkways are nice, its hard to not notice how much wasted space is there. Not to mention the HUGE Fortune Cookery building as well as the under-utilized space of the Pacific Wharfarea that can be seen from this path.. that building could be wiped out for some new space for a new attraction.

A huge problem with DCA is the layout of everything... it feels and looks like it was layed out so haphazzardly and its so blatantly obvious that poor planning equaled so much mis-used space.

I do appreciate the small pieces atmosphere throughout the park - theres not enough of it, but what is there is really great. I love the grape vines going up the side of the mountain next to the Golden Vine Winery entrance, the beautiful Grizzly Peak waterfalls across from the entrance to A Bug's Land, the clever themeing of A Bug's Land (even if the attractions themselves are deplorable), the air-strip themeing of Condor Flats (which I find to be one of the most evocative, romantic settings in the park), and the incredibly photogenic view of Paradise Pier from across the bay (despite the Pier being very obviously underthemed when viewed upclose).

[Jspider]

it's hard for me to hammer it down to one thing I suppose

I really had fun in DCA durring my visit last year and actualy in the relm of theme parks it's pretty good (try visiting one of the many parks in america that don't stay open year round and you'd be amazed)

It's also difficult for me to say since Disney is making strides to repair many of these things as we speak

atmosphere is actualy pretty good now but it's bound to get better as more placemaking projects are put into effect

the layout is a bit funny but I don't find it all that confusing and I've recently heard rumor of there being a path built between A Bugs Land and ToT (from a reputable source) this would make for much better trafflic flow I think

Increadibles is rumored to take over the massive empty buildings around the farm area so I can at least see that along with mosnters Inc they're at least looking at filling in the empty areas before they add more


I suppose I find the poll selection a bit tricky too, seems like I'd have to choose between thrills and the kiddy rides

I really think what DCA needs most of all are rides that are reridable with massive capacity and are fun for the whole family

yeah i'm talking about the HM/PotC equivilants that people ask for all the time

put in two rides like that and I think alot of people would stay in the park for much longer (I would)

and of course I've already written up long suggestions for em
Goldrush: http://www.micechat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12885
Mermaid: http://www.micechat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=773

then again I'm sure Disney could think of many other ideas themselves