DCA is 7 years old today

[ChrisFL]

best memory is when it was a parking lot

[Mac Daddy]

Happy birthday to you...you...you...you...

Happy birthday to you...you...you...you...

Happy biiiirthday DCA....dca.....dca....dca....





HELLO?....Hello?....hello?...


Can anyone hear me?....hear me?...hear me?...


ECHO!....Echo!...Echo...



(I enjoy the space and lack of crowds. )

[dsnylndmom]

Best Memories-
Riding Screamin' with my oldest the first time and him yelling "I DID IT" as we went through the loop
Watching my youngest when he's in the Animation building or at Redwood Creek Challenge, he'll stay at either all day
Watching the Electrical Parade with both my kids summer of 2006, we got so much character interaction!!
Riding ToT during MC's 2nd Anniversary Still makes me laugh
DMCA meet GayDays 2006 at the Cove Bar
Riding Maliboomer for the first time with All Aglow & G4 last year, making fun of ourselves(AA & I) for being chickens
DMCA lunches at Trattoria. Every single time has been GREAT. Even when we were soaked and freezing!

It's a birthday, I'm not posting any bad memories!

[aashee]

best memory is when it was a parking lot

Ah yes. The good old days when you parked your car and came back trying to find it 12 hours later. And the 2fer passes back then. We would spend the first day in the parking lot and be so bummed the next day that we had to spend it at Disneyland.

[Aladdin]

Best memory: Celebrating NYE with MC'ers 2007

Worst memory: AP Preview day, it sucked. The coaster was not running most of the day we were there, it was crowded, yucky rides, and worst of all - waiting 1+ hour for Superstar Limo.

Lisa, which day were you there, I went on Sunday. OMG, It was SO HOT,
and crowded that day! and in FEBRUARY! No Shade, those ugly colored blob shaped sacks, DeVine the moving piece of shrubbery, 3 hour and 50 minute wait for Soarin', eating at Chips Strips and Dips, and Hollywood and
Dine (neither which are there anymore) becoming stupified on Superstar Limo. and those happened on a GOOD TRIP!

So many good memories and so many bad ones for me. Best memory would have to be watching the Dedication Ceremony on Opening day after spending all night at Disneyland and being the first guest to use one of the turnstyles on opening day. Another memberable moment would be becoming the 3rd Million point winner at Millionaire.

Worst: Where to begin......

GH, I was in that group of people too! About #20 something in line.
It was so cold that night outside, down into the thirties. And I'm sure
most of us ended up getting sick, for staying out in the cold. And then
the park was NO-WHERE near capacity on Opening Day!!!!! With all the
speculation by Disney planning for upwards of 30,000 to be in the parking
structure the night before! and only about 1,100 were in the group,that stayed in line overnight, with a lot returning to their hotel rooms, for how cold it was. I remember Buddy Ebson was there for the grand opening,
as well as Roy Disney and Eisner. I even got Michael Eisner's signature
on an opening day map of DCA on opening day! That ought to be worth
$5 in about 20 years.


HOWEVER my first time in DCA was on a special event day on 1-19-01,
Bill Clinton's last full day in office. It was a fine day to celebrate his
never being president again. I entered DCA through Grand California
entrance about 4pm. Looking at the National Park type setting, a river
with Geysers, Rainbows shinning through them and Grizzly Peak as it's background. My initial 1st view inside DCA was quite beautiful.

I was on an event challenge to answer questions
about certain attractions in the park. I got a chance to do pretty much
all the attractions in DCA, (with the exception of Soarin')

and also saw the Panel discussion by the "Dr Frankensteins of DCA",

seeing the "ORIGINAL" Steps in Time with Four adult singers (instead of the craptastic two brothers storyline) I was amazed By it's opening Snow White numbers! Absolutely the best show stopping numbers I've seen in the Hyperion Theater, and was never even performed in DCA after that day. Really sad that No one got to see those songs when DCA actually opened. And It would have been a perfect salute to the recent 70th anniversary celebration of Snow White.

Also, I was amazed by "Eureka!" DL resorts first parade without any Disney characters. It was a Night viewing of this parade, amazing lighting, one of the most colorful, and each of the floats did have it's own soundtrack that blended perfectly from one section of the parade, to the next. Catch fun original music. This was one of the very best parades ever at the DLR.

The main entry area was beneath underwhelming, however the Hollywood
section certainly had potential, although the current state was definitely too small. I was overwhelmed by the animation lobby ~ absolutely astounding!
(too bad they have recently ruined that big open feeling with an exhibit. It ruins that area completely!) But, reliable rumors of a Tower of Terror from the Imagineer Panel, was good news for the future!

Then as I approached the last area of this NEWEST part of the Disney Empire, Paradise Pier came in to view. Without a doubt the most unimaginative, lame-assed excuse for a NEW section of a DISNEY park!!! I wanted to thoroughly explore this area completely~ to make sure I wasn't missing anything. BUT with the "so-called "PARADISE" Pier it's not possible to miss a thing 'cuz it just ain't THAT DEEP!

After exploring the entire area, I came to LOATH Paradise Pier Pier,
and I DESPISED it even MORE when Tokoyo Disney Sea's opened just a few
short months later! DCA became noted for being a dumpground of off the shelf rides ~ and image that overshadowed it's amazing Soarin' over Californina and amazing Animation Building. "IT", (Paradise Pier) even overshadowed much of the beauty surrounding the Grizzly Peak and Condor Flats area.

The Imagineers stated several times over that their challenge was to create something that complimented DL. Unfortunately the contrast between paradise Pier and any part of DL (with the exception of Tomorrowland, which was in deplorable condition less than three
years after it's own "PRESSLER"ization) was too huge to be ignored!
Where were the attractions that brought our imaginations to REALITY,
like the Haunted Mansion, or Pirates?!?!?!?!?! WHERE could we travel on bobsleds through the Matterhorn, or into the vast reaches of outer Space,
WHERE could we have a Country Band of Bears entertain us for 15 to 20 minutes. Where was that Hawaiian shack that came to life? There was but ONE, count that high if you can, ONE!!!!!! ONE SINGLE DARK RIDE with Superstar Limo on opening day. and Soarin' which was a semi dark ride.
That's a pretty darn short list to try and attract 30 thousand more a day.

SEVEN LONG YEARS LATER, Paradise Pier is FINALLY starting to see it's very
first addition, AND it STILL encompasses the Pathetic Carnival THEME!!!!!
Is it any wonder why DCA still struggles when the head honchos haven't had the cohones to eliminate this horrible themed area, and bring us ANYTHING
that resembles ANYTHING similar to imagination?!?!?!?!?!?!?! WHY oh WHY
oh WHY couldn't even Lasseter say "Tear Down This Pier"!!!! Anything, Any area of TDS has MORE imagination than the crapfest in PP!!!!! That is, was and always will be my worst memory/nightmare for DCA.

Of course, I've had some fun times at DCA, with Halloween treat, and
me being Cruella DeVil's long lost brother, and of course NYE with the
Mice Chat gang, But admittedly that is self made fun, with little or no
inspiration from Disney Imagination in DCA, because of the lack of it, in
DCA. I can have fun in spite of it, but I'd rather it be something that
could be inspiration. THAT is my dream for the Conversion of DCA.

[aashee]

Nice Post Aladdin. Sometimes you forget all the cool things things that have happened at DCA. Thanks for the memories.

[Grumpy4]

DMCA meet GayDays 2006 at the Cove Bar
Riding Maliboomer for the first time with All Aglow & G4 last year, making fun of ourselves(AA & I) for being chickens

Best couple of times I've had there.

I have a few fun memories:
-Many a "board meeting" at Cove Bar.
-Acquiring our "thing" with Dmom.
-The waitress thinking we were all sisters at Trattoria.
-Watching the Electrical Parade with great friends Memorial Day 2007....Passamaquody!
-Finally establishing being Evil Twins with Onut at Corn Dog Castle.
-The first trip there with SusieP, when we didn't really go.

[dsnylndmom]

I can't believe I forgot about Trattoria lunches ! Must edit!!

[Lore]

Happy 7th DCA! I sorta miss the parking lot!

Best Memory of DCA

Dining at Wolfgang Pucks late at night and watching the waves and seeing the lights over the water. Riding Soaring Over California for the first time.

Worst Memory

Running out of things to do after a few hours. Riding Superstar Limo (although it was better than Pooh).

[Coasterfan]

OK best and worst memory are the same memory. We waited in line for the 50th anniversary on July 16th. We got in line at around 11:30 pm near the tram loading/unloading zone. I think it was around 2:00 am that they moved the line into DCA? (Someone correct me if I'm wrong) But we were moved into DCA and we ended up being right at the end of the Hollywood backlot I think roughly behind 1500 people. Anyway stayed up all night caught about 20 minutes of sleep on the cold concrete and then the next morning they shuffled the line into Disneyland at 7:00 am. Looking back it's a great memory and I wouldn't trade it for anything but I was dog tired the entire next day.

[filmfreak11]

happy birthday. you'll get to that certain age when people stop pushing you around and you get into that phase in your life where you will be appreciated more. Need to wash the acne off your pimples... (aka, wash the mismanagement off that causes such imperfections as Orange Stinger, Maliboomer, Mullohand Madness...)

[thrax]

I won't bring up bad things on a birthday

good point

the best memory i had was going on tower for the first time. that first drop what a rush

also happy birthday

[Rocknroltkover]

we got free bbq for Tower and Hyperion castmembers. and also Rootbeer floats! hhappy late bday DCA haha.

[ministrychick77]

well happy birthday DCA! i also have a friend who is turning 7 this year too.. (but he was born on leap year day, so that kinda doesn't count)

my memories:
- going on soarin' the first time... still love it
- not getting sick on orange stinger.. and being quite proud of myself.
- riding heimlich's chew chew train. it's just so cute..

and hopefully by it's 10th birthday it'll be better than now!

[Radiobarry]

Happy Birthday DCA!!

My best memory is probably upon my first visit to DCA ever in 2006 and getting to see the original Electrical Light Parade for the first time since I was a little kid. It made me pretty emotional. Pete's Dragon always gets me because when I was young, that was always my favorite float. Still is.

No bad memories.

How interesting, that so many best memories of DCA have nothing to do with the park's own merits, but the bringing back of the Disneyland Main Street Electrical Parade.

I have few bad memories, just ones of general disappointment.

And since I'm not much of a drinker, I can't really take advantage of the chance to forget that the park offers.

Oh, well. They had to put the AP lounge someplace.