Animal Kingdom vs California Adventure

[mickEblu]

Monstropolis would be a cleaner transition, that is certain. They would still need to change the name of the park either way.

And yes, Pixar Pier is the ugliest land at DCA. Giant fake fast-food containers, character cut-outs looking like the LA County Faire, the mish-mash of themes and styles.

Hollywoodland has issues, but the main street looks good as long as you don't stop and look too long. Hyperion is a fantastic space and Animation Academy was once great.

Avengers Campus isn't ugly, its just boring and uninspired. Tell someone they get to walk into the world of the MCU and run around and play superheroes, a Silicon Valley tech campus isn't exactly what anyone thinks or wants. Its pretty, but doesn't reflect the stories they are trying to sell.

Yeah I’m not getting into the changing the name of the park thing. You know where I stand on that.

Sure, Hollywood Blvd is fine but I was specifically referring to the backlot. That’s the most dreary uninspired area in the park by far. Followed by AC. Then Pixar Pier. You want to tell me the Backlot is more of a pleasant place to be than Pixar Pier at night?

 

[Professortango1]

Yeah I’m not getting into the changing the name of the park thing. You know where I stand on that.

Sure, Hollywood Blvd is fine but I was specifically referring to the backlot. That’s the most dreary uninspired area in the park by far. Followed by AC. Then Pixar Pier. You want to tell me the Backlot is more of a pleasant place to be than Pixar Pier at night?

Pixar Pier looks great across the bay, but its ugly and feels like the Pomona Faire when I'm in the land.

Sure, if you want to pinpoint one area of an entire land, I'd say that Backlot portion of Hollywoodland is the blandest in the park. But there's also nothing there other than Monsters Inc. That's why AC was supposed to go there a few years ago.

That's like saying Tomorrowland is uglier than Knott's because the weird unthemed corridor between Buzz and Matterhorn. Sure, that one part of the land is terrible, but you can tell its low traffic and not the focus of the land it is part of.

Avengers Campus is miles better looking than Pixar Pier. The only thing ugly about the land is Mission BO, which isn't even facing that land.

If ranking DCA Lands, I'd go:

Buena Vista Street
Cars Land
Grizzly Peak Recreation Area
Avengers Campus
Hollywoodland
Weird stretch between Little Mermaid and Silly Symphony Swings
Pixar Pier

 

[mickEblu]

Pixar Pier looks great across the bay, but its ugly and feels like the Pomona Faire when I'm in the land.

Sure, if you want to pinpoint one area of an entire land, I'd say that Backlot portion of Hollywoodland is the blandest in the park. But there's also nothing there other than Monsters Inc. That's why AC was supposed to go there a few years ago.

That's like saying Tomorrowland is uglier than Knott's because the weird unthemed corridor between Buzz and Matterhorn. Sure, that one part of the land is terrible, but you can tell its low traffic and not the focus of the land it is part of.

Avengers Campus is miles better looking than Pixar Pier. The only thing ugly about the land is Mission BO, which isn't even facing that land.

If ranking DCA Lands, I'd go:

Buena Vista Street
Cars Land
Grizzly Peak Recreation Area
Avengers Campus
Hollywoodland
Weird stretch between Little Mermaid and Silly Symphony Swings
Pixar Pier

Well that’s the part of the land that would be going away for Pandora so why wouldn’t I phrase it that way?

Hard disagree on Avengers Campus being more aesthetically pleasant than Pixar Pier. But not sure I want to spend anymore time debating which of the bottom 2-3 lands in the park is uglier. Haha.

 

[Misted Compass]

Does Animal Kingdom have Disney's best land Performance Corridor though?

 

[Professortango1]

Well that’s the part of the land that would be going away for Pandora so why wouldn’t I phrase it that way?

You had said land, so I thought you were talking about an entire land in the Disney-sense, not an area like Fowlers Harbor or Big Thunder Ranch.

 

[mickEblu]

You had said land, so I thought you were talking about an entire land in the Disney-sense, not an area like Fowlers Harbor or Big Thunder Ranch.

Gotcha. Not exactly a 1:1 comparison with those examples though. The backlot takes up about half of the lands acreage and houses the only ride in the land. Fowlers and BTR are tiny in comparison. Hollywood Blvd is fine but the backlot is so bad that brings the average of the land way down. The waiting area for the Hyperion is also not great. Anyway, back to the original point and away from semantics, Pandora would be removing the ugliest area* in the park. But if Hollywood Blvd ends up being scrapped or absorbed by BVS then my statement of Pandora removing the ugliest "land" in the park would indeed be correct.

 

[Epcot81Fan]

When I think “California”, I immediately think “Aliens in Pandora”.

Another Rhode special.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Unfortunately, DCA also wasn’t spared from the Rhode “touch”:

View attachment 805492

Every time I see this I can’t help but think they must have completely changed the plan for Avengers Campus after they rethemed this, it doesn’t fit at all.

Makes me wonder if the original concept for AC wasn’t supposed to be in outer space or something, and then someone reminded them it’s a theme park about CA, it’s one of the most confusing changes ever. Compared to this Tiana fits seamlessly in Frontierland.

 

[Epcot81Fan]

Every time I see this I can’t help but think they must have completely changed the plan for Avengers Campus after they rethemed this, it doesn’t fit at all.

Makes me wonder if the original concept for AC wasn’t supposed to be in outer space or something, and then someone reminded them it’s a theme park about CA, it’s one of the most confusing changes ever. Compared to this Tiana fits seamlessly in Frontierland.

All of that - and it’s really, really ugly.

 

[Professortango1]

Every time I see this I can’t help but think they must have completely changed the plan for Avengers Campus after they rethemed this, it doesn’t fit at all.

Makes me wonder if the original concept for AC wasn’t supposed to be in outer space or something, and then someone reminded them it’s a theme park about CA, it’s one of the most confusing changes ever. Compared to this Tiana fits seamlessly in Frontierland.

The original idea for AC was to be placed in Hollywoodland and expand into the transit area, but when the Eastern Gateway was DOA, they just forced it into Bugs Land. I know the Tower was also supposed to have the top window enclosed so that when the doors opened a show scene could occur, but Disney wanted it cheaper and so they had Rocket mention that he can see Disneyland and changed the storyline to be that the Fortress landed at DCA right across from Disneyland.

The ride is a complete mess and I can't imagine what Rhode was going through, trying to create Pandora in his passion project park and having this assignment dumped on his lap with the same exact opening day.

 

[Epcot81Fan]

The ride is a complete mess and I can't imagine what Rhode was going through, trying to create Pandora in his passion project park and having this assignment dumped on his lap with the same exact opening day.

Must have been what he was going through when he also designed Dinoland USA - arguably one of the worst lands in any Disney theme park in history.

But hey, that’s his “passion project park” so….

 

[mickEblu]

The original idea for AC was to be placed in Hollywoodland and expand into the transit area, but when the Eastern Gateway was DOA, they just forced it into Bugs Land. I know the Tower was also supposed to have the top window enclosed so that when the doors opened a show scene could occur, but Disney wanted it cheaper and so they had Rocket mention that he can see Disneyland and changed the storyline to be that the Fortress landed at DCA right across from Disneyland.

The ride is a complete mess and I can't imagine what Rhode was going through, trying to create Pandora in his passion project park and having this assignment dumped on his lap with the same exact opening day.

Considering the constraints and comparing to results from other forced re-themes I think he did well. I just can’t forgive him for the exterior.

 

[Parteecia]

Maybe we enter Pandora via an avatar portal that happens to be in Hollywood so we're not physically on another planet, it just feels like we are. Bonus points if they can turn us blue and skinny.

 

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

Well that’s the part of the land that would be going away for Pandora so why wouldn’t I phrase it that way?

Hard disagree on Avengers Campus being more aesthetically pleasant than Pixar Pier. But not sure I want to spend anymore time debating which of the bottom 2-3 lands in the park is uglier. Haha.

Isn't Avatar more likely to be placed in the DisneylandForward expansions? The zone restriction liftings were approved and everything...

 

[Phroobar]

The Guardians tower reminds me of this:

 

[mickEblu]

Isn't Avatar more likely to be placed in the DisneylandForward expansions? The zone restriction liftings were approved and everything...

Rumors are pointing to the backlot + bus transpo area

 

[DLR92]

I hope not…I don’t want to see DCA being more hodge podge of ideas nothing blending in.

 

[Professortango1]

I'd prefer Pandora to take over Autopia/Subs/MBC or Simba Parking. Or even Pixar Pier. Turn the corner around Grizzly and see Pandora and the bay.

Sadly, Toontown would have fit perfectly in the Backlot/Transit area of Hollywoodland. Then we would actually have two D ticket darkrides in the park; Cartoon Spin and Runaway Railway.

 

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

I'd prefer Pandora to take over Autopia/Subs/MBC

100% agree. There’s good space there, and making it a merger with Tomorrowland as a “new society” in time with nature has a better message and cohesiveness than anywhere else.

 

[TP2000]

Maybe we enter Pandora via an avatar portal that happens to be in Hollywood so we're not physically on another planet, it just feels like we are. Bonus points if they can turn us blue and skinny.

Can we just ask for skinny? I just spent the morning playing very bad senior's doubles tennis. Skinny would have helped. For all four of us.

Whatever the backstory they come up with, Pandora will work wherever.

If you can retcon an Employee Owned Food Cooperative into a log ride with a singing alligator, you can retcon anything anywhere. All it takes is about a half dozen Parks Blog posts, and you're done!