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Would you rather pay less for an “Only Disneyland Park” annual pass?
- Thread starter MK-fan
- Start date
chadwpalm
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
I think most people know that based on several reasons already given in this thread. I think OP was just suggesting a hypothetical situation out of curiosity wondering if anyone would actually buy such a pass if it did exist.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
This sounds like my youngest sister. Her family has MK’s and they split their time 60/40 DCA. She once said she likes DCA more than DL in passing. She’s always had the tendency to root for the underdog. She prefers NOS’s Christmas decorations to Main Street’s Christmas decorations as Main Street is “too on the nose.” I think she just gets a kick out of going against the majority.
Too Many Hats
Well-Known Member
Tell me about it. I live 30 miles away and have a Magic Key so it’s no big deal, but whenever I take people from out of town or locals who don’t go very often, they want to divide the day 50/50 between the parks. Cars Land is a huge draw for them (rightfully so), but so is (less rightfully so, IMO) Pixar Pier, the Pixar Pal-A-Round, the Little Mermaid, and Avengers Campus. I’ve pleaded with people that Web Slingers is a poor use of our time lol.
I will concede that the availability of alcohol is a big plus for a group of friends/family enjoying a day of fun. DCA also has a lot more breathing room than the very congested Disneyland.
PiratesMansion
Well-Known Member
So many people just can't get beyond "oh I/my kids love Pixar" or "oh I/my kids love Marvel". It's like people have completely forgotten that Disneyland used to be something other than just a straight Disney commercial and stood for something much more for 50 years and instead it's become "oh Disney's for kids, I want to go to the grown up park/the parks with the brands I like."
I have been in the position on Reddit in particular many times, having to justify why people should go to the park that's actually good rather than the one with the IPs That Are Somewhat Stereotypically Less For Children and it's infuriating, and, yes, having to explain that just because you like Marvel doesn't mean the Spider-Man ride is good or that just because your kids like Pixar doesn't mean Pixar Pier is a must-see.
I hope Disney's happy that they finally got what they wanted to achieve in 2001; it just took the dumbing down of society and the flooding of Disney-owned IPs at the expense of all else to get people there.
MarvelCharacterNerd
Well-Known Member
Was walking through DCA last week and a couple of teenage girls passed behind me. One said to the other "this park has way better rides than Disneyland" and the other girl vehemently agreed. Actually shocked me to hear it but demographic, I guess.
DLR92
Well-Known Member
I still find DCA has lack of roster of attractions still. That made my decision to just stay in Disneyland when my friend couldn’t make time for my second week of use of the park hopper ticket. I could go DCA by my self. But the problem is lack of attractions to go on by myself. Theres plenty of attractions to go on by myself inside Disneyland.
coffeefan
Well-Known Member
I have a group of friends that prefers DCA as well. They're not Disney or theme park super fans, but more the GP crowd with annual passes. If I had to guess I think it's the focus on newer IPs at DCA. I also think the QS restaurants setup is more convenient for groups there.
Professortango1
Well-Known Member
If people want a Knott's/Six Flags experience with thrill rides and carnival rides over anything immersive, DCA does satisfy that.
I just don't understand why you'd pay Disney prices when you could just go to Knott's or six Flags and get more thrill for less money. It's why I always wished DCA would be priced appropriately rather than at the same price as Disneyland despite not delivering anywhere close to Disneyland's value.
Mr. Sullivan
Well-Known Member
Well I mean I think the easy answer to this is that they desire the Knott's style attraction roster but with the Disney offerings on top of it (the nighttime show, the characters, the IP, the parade when it's happening). They can't get that at Knott's. It's not that they want just one half of that equation, they want the marriage of both which is what DCA is.
SuddenStorm
Well-Known Member
I'm constantly amused whenever we suggest ways to make DCA better and it's distills down to 'make it more like Disneyland'.
Building a theme park next to Disneyland and expecting it to hold up is an impossible task. At least it had alcohol going for it- but now that Disneyland has ended its prohibition, DCA doesn't even have that.
So now it's just the sourdough bread keeping it relevant. And it does have the best water ride at the resort now.
Building a theme park next to Disneyland and expecting it to hold up is an impossible task. At least it had alcohol going for it- but now that Disneyland has ended its prohibition, DCA doesn't even have that.
So now it's just the sourdough bread keeping it relevant. And it does have the best water ride at the resort now.
SuddenStorm
Well-Known Member
A friend once asked one of the DCA VP's this very question. Their response- we don't want to give the perception that DCA is a lesser park via pricing.
Professortango1
Well-Known Member
The way to differentiate from Disneyland is with theme, focus, and design; not quality.
If DCA had been built with better planning, we wouldn't have the best land and original icon of the park locked into a tiny corner between a parade route and a ginormous hotel with zero expansion space. We wouldn't have the lack of a berm to help with sightlines. We wouldn't have had the marquee attraction for Bugs Land built in front of Bug's Land rather than within it. We wouldn't have the path to TOT being a bland and unthemed walkway between the unthemed outdoor lobby of a theatre and the blank side of the Animation building.
When I was in High School, I designed a second gate for Disneyland based on Heroes and Mythology from across the world. It was very Epic-Universe-like with a main corridor consisting of ancient ruins and temples to heroes of the past, filled with water and ivy and greenery. Each land could be accessed by passing through a temple or portal honoring the land. It was a way to explore the folklore of the world.
Would it have had AA shows? Yes. Would it have darkrides and kinetic energy? Yes. Would it have a central weenie? Yes. But would it have felt like Disneyland? Only as much as Epcot feels like Disneyland. Or Animal Kingdom.
The issue I have with DCA is it feels now, in its course correction, that it IS trying to emulate Disneyland, but at surface-level only, making it feel like a cheaply themed county fair. How do they integrate Pixar IP's into the park? By pasting their face on the sides of ride vehicles and having still fiberglass figures posed in front of rides or food locations. Wow. Their E-ticket uses multiple fiberglass figures on sticks and some ham-fisted audio.
And the same problems plaguing Disneyland (IP-based lands/attractions being dropped in that don't fit the park) is looking to come to DCA as well with Avatar. While I am excited about the park getting its second Disney-level E Ticket, I'm saddened that the park's identity is turning even more random and unfocused.
Disneyland's theme used to be Americana. DCA's theme should have been exploration and venturing out to worlds of opportunity. Discovering El Dorado or the Lost City of Mu. Awakening the Wendigo or Sasquatch. Exploring the cosmos with the Aliens that gave us the Shasta Lights. A Hollywoodland bustling with opportunities both star-studded and shady with mobsters and ancient Hollywood curses. A Spanish Mission where we can saddle up with Zorro and swashbuckle our way through history. A turn of the century fictional San Francisco filled with inventors and progress, incorporating the spirit of silcoln valley with the idea of a Gold Rush boom town.
Rides with AA's and good sets and fun effects isn't being like Disneyland. Solid themeing and nostalgic charm isn't being like Disneyland. These are things that we just expect of Disney as a theme park experience. And its where DCA has struggled since day one. And no matter how many IP's they shove in there at a surface-level, it's not going to fill the actual gaps within the park's execution.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
lol @ the sourdough bread. I’m fine with the park feel and aesthetics for the most part minus the backlot. The park just needs more family friendly and/ or indoor attractions of quality. And a boat ride. Personally I don’t view that as trying to be Disneyland. I view it as trying to get closer to the quality of Disneyland’s offerings. DCA will never be Disneyland.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
@SuddenStorm Speaking of sourdough bread the group I was with for my trip last week are fans of the turkey leg sandwiches. Instead of doing a solo dash to DCA for baguettes to go with the Turkey legs I had the bright idea of getting three sourdough bread bowls with soup on the side instead. Big fail. The bread bowls are dense and hard. They need the soup to soften them up. In addition it was a bad day for turkey legs. They were damn near undercooked. I find the turkey legs, chimichangas and corn dogs to be some of the most inconsistent items at DL. They can range from awful to pretty good.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
Does it really though? I’m not a huge thrill guy. I always say I’m a Disney level thrill guy. Is Mission Breakout and Incredicoaster (which is tame by thrill seeker standards) enough?
Professortango1
Well-Known Member
Mission BO, Incredicoaster, Goofy's Sky School, Pixar Pal Around, Radiator Springs Racers, and even GRR/Soarin' have moderate thrills without any of that pesky Disney storytelling.
When DCA built Carsland and Buena Vista Street, the fire was burning strong and it was exiting to see what was next for the park but after that, Disney did not take advantage of it to keep the fire going. Instead, they opted to rest on their laurels and just do Ride/Land makeovers time and time again to Tower of Terror, Pacific Wharf, Soarin’, Paradise Pier with IP’s just slapped on and added a little flair.
What new rides did we get? Webslingers? A ride that no one asked for especially since we already had Toy Story Mania. That’s like USH putting in Despicable Me after they already had The Simpsons Ride. What else? Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters? While it’s a good ride, it was only put in because Flying Tires was becoming a problem.
Is that it? Yup, 13 years later and this is what we have had to show for it. We’ve had no new D or E tickets during this time, These new rides slated for the park can’t come soon enough so Avengers better knock it out of the park.
What new rides did we get? Webslingers? A ride that no one asked for especially since we already had Toy Story Mania. That’s like USH putting in Despicable Me after they already had The Simpsons Ride. What else? Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters? While it’s a good ride, it was only put in because Flying Tires was becoming a problem.
Is that it? Yup, 13 years later and this is what we have had to show for it. We’ve had no new D or E tickets during this time, These new rides slated for the park can’t come soon enough so Avengers better knock it out of the park.