So all of the unnecessary reskins changed your perception of the park that much? I agree that DCA was its best in 2015… actually early 2016 was the sweet spot as Condor Flats had already been replaced by Grizzly Peak Airfield but you still had TOT and Soarin Over California.
100%, yes.
It's not a secret that there have always been problems with the park. People have been harping on Hollywood for as long as I've been following this, Goofy's Sky School is still there, etc. There
are clear things that, to me, would be incredibly easy to fix or replace with something else, or are at least extremely obvious as things to fix or fine-tune in the future. The trouble is that Disney invariably will let those things sit there and then mess with things that were perfectly fine.
It's the death by a thousand cuts for me. Nothing permanent in the Hyperion (and I wasn't crazy about Rogers either). Diminished Animation without the full Sorcerer's Workshop (and now getting worse) or zoetrope. Changing Paradise Pier and Screamin' into Pixar Pier and Incredicoaster. Replacing an area that was at least charming with a dull, industrial wasteland of a theming area with a ride that's essentially a glorified redo of a ride that's already in the park. Replace the magnificent, iconic Soarin' over California with Soarin' over CGI With Animals Throwing Sand In My Face. Monsters and Mermaid were never strictly my thing, but they're now harder to do because they've been unnecessarily added to Genie. Unnecessary food court makeovers. TOT to Guardians (a ride I actually like better, but can't argue is an aesthetic or thematic upgrade). The loss of other entertainment options (remember Goofy conducting the ugly WOC fountains during the day? The Red Car Trolley show? And so on).
And for what? Certainly not a better experience or better attractions in the majority of cases. Just more IP at the expense of the park feeling like a place, or having any cohesion at all. I'm sure glad Disney spent a billion to fix the park, let it be good for three years or so, and then spend a billion more to ruin the careful work they did to make it better. I can't help but wonder if all of these pointless changes that don't really add anything but more often subtract eventually catch up to the place.
IMO if 2023 DCA was owned by Cedar Fair and wasn’t 100 feet away from Disneyland, very few theme park enthusiasts would rank USH over DCA. If you want to talk attraction roster head to head then perhaps there may be something to debate but park to park it’s not even close.
Strongly disagree, and here's why.
Park enthusiasts are looking for one of two things: coasters or theming, with some consideration given to overall park trajectory.
To most enthusiasts, DCA's coasters are mediocre and not even that highly themed. At USH, Mummy is better themed and FATF is coming.
Theming-wise, DCA has some nice areas, but also a number of areas that aren't that great and a number of areas that are worse than they used to be, along with several offerings that either no longer exist or are also worse. That wouldn't be a reason for people to visit regardless of who owned the park.
USH has lost a few things that are nice, but none of them in recent years were things that most people really loved or felt were essential to the park's identity. Additionally, people hold Disney to a higher standard, in large part because Disney of old asked them to. That may not be fair, but it does mean that imperfections at USH are more likely to be excused because USH never promised them that level of standard in the first place. But with Disney, those high standards are a much bigger component of their entire brand and image than with Universal.
