California Adventure vs Islands of Adventure

[DisneyAndUniversalFan]

Let's say that you have one single day ticket for either of these two parks, which park are you choosing? Both are the "adventure" Disney/Universal parks in the US, and both parks have excellent rides, thrilling attractions, water rides, dark rides, and a wide variety of things to do and see. Both parks also have great themed lands, and nice immersion. Which park is better?

Which park is superior, has better rides, more fun, etc? Which is the better park?

 

[Phroobar]

So is the point of these threads to teardown DCA and make Disney look bad?

 

[DisneyAndUniversalFan]

So is the point of these threads to teardown DCA and make Disney look bad?

Not at all, DCA crushed DHS in that thread.

https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/california-adventure-vs-hollywood-studios.981074/

 

[PiratesMansion]

So is the point of these threads to teardown DCA and make Disney look bad?

No, DisneyAndUniversalFan just likes making comparisons and is genuinely interested in what people like better and why. He does so with just about every park or ride comparison you can think of, and many you may not-a search will pull up dozens and dozens of examples.

With all that said, there's no objective reason to pick DCA over IOA from my POV unless 1) you hate Florida that much, 2) You hate Universal that much and genuinely cannot picture a universe (ha) where Universal could do something better than Disney on any level, or 3) You really really hate thrill rides.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Islands of Adventure is a hugely successful theme park.

California Adventure is a mistake they keep trying to fix over and over.

 

[PiratesMansion]

California Adventure is a mistake they keep trying to fix over and over.

And often times their "fixing" makes it even worse.

I can't think of anything they've done to the park after 2015 that hasn't been wildly polarizing at best.

 

[Jiggsawpuzzle35]

I mean come on, are you for reals? That’s like comparing In N Out to McDonald’s. IOA hands down.

 

[Starship824]

So are we just going to compare DCA to every theme Park now? That being said, IOA is a thousand times better.

 

[Phroobar]

Except the two parks are very different and really can't be compared. I think you need to stay in the same class.

Comparing IOA to Disney Sea would be a lot more interesting as would comparing Knotts to Dollywood or Lagoon. They are in the same class of park. DCA would be compared to DHS or WDS or maybe Epcot on a bad day. Animal Kingdom really should be compared to Bush Gardens or Sea World.

 

[Misted Compass]

It would be more fair to poll DL vs. IoA.

 

[PiratesMansion]

Except the two parks are very different and really can't be compared. I think you need to stay in the same class.

Comparing IOA to Disney Sea would be a lot more interesting as would comparing Knotts to Dollywood or Lagoon. They are in the same class of park. DCA would be compared to DHS or WDS or maybe Epcot on a bad day. Animal Kingdom really should be compared to Bush Gardens or Sea World.

1. That's not how the OP sees things. He compares whatever he likes, and more power to him for that. It's his primary interest on these forums.
2. I think there's actually a decent amount of parallels between DCA and IOA:
-Both the second gate of a prominent theme park resort
-Both located very conveniently in proximity to their predecessor's gates
-Both parks were built in what had been the OG park's original parking lot
-Both had a new shopping & dining district open with them, as well as new hotels.
-Both marked a turning point in how their companies were perceived by the industry and fans
-Both struggled to get a true following outside of particular demographics until the opening of a major IP-based expansion ~11 years after opening
-Both feature launched roller coasters as headlining attractions
-Both feature significant river rapids attractions
-Both feature drop towers that were/are frequently contrasted unfavorably to Florida's TOT
-Both have come to be defined by the IP within their gates, for better or worse

They're not the most obvious comparison in the world, but there ARE similarities and comparable attributes between them. It's not like Yellowstone and Blizzard Beach are being compared here.

 

[DLR92]

I never been to Island of Adventure. But that park is more solid of good quality of attractions.

 

[Jiggsawpuzzle35]

I never been to Island of Adventure. But that park is more solid of good quality of attractions.

It’s the second best theme park in Orlando behind Epcot.

 

[Professortango1]

Except the two parks are very different and really can't be compared. I think you need to stay in the same class.

Comparing IOA to Disney Sea would be a lot more interesting as would comparing Knotts to Dollywood or Lagoon. They are in the same class of park. DCA would be compared to DHS or WDS or maybe Epcot on a bad day. Animal Kingdom really should be compared to Bush Gardens or Sea World.

I mean, I've always said that Knotts is the successful version of California Adventure in terms of design. California Ghost Town, Wild West wilderness area, 1920's Boardwalk, Car Culture and Aviation, Central American influenced area, and a nostalgic camping themed area. If Disney had copied Knotts with their budget and design principles, we would have a MUCH better DCA. Instead, we have the nicest permanent LA County Faire.

 

[Basketbuddy101]

I mean, I've always said that Knotts is the successful version of California Adventure in terms of design. California Ghost Town, Wild West wilderness area, 1920's Boardwalk, Car Culture and Aviation, Central American influenced area, and a nostalgic camping themed area. If Disney had some copied Knotts with their budget and design principles, we would have a MUCH better DCA. Instead, we have the nicest permanent LA County Faire.

Such a nuanced take; I never made that connection. So much wasted potential. Sigh...

 

[Phroobar]

I'm not really sure who would win on DCA vs Knotts. There are pros and cons to both. I think Knotts would win just on history and entertainment.

 

[Professortango1]

I'm not really sure who would win on DCA vs Knotts. There are pros and cons to both. I think Knotts would win just on history and entertainment.

Knotts has charm and ideas, DCA has the better artisans. Its a hard comparison as obviously Midway Mania and even WEB Slingers is better than Beary Tales and other similar 1:1 comparisons, but Knotts is just so charming and has character whereas DCA feels very cold and corporate.

Now, if it was Knotts before Silver Bullet when the Haunted Shack was in place and Kingdom of the Dinosaurs was still around....that would be even closer for me.

I wonder if all theme parks, in the end, have a bell curve of greatness. They start off scrappy, get better as time goes along, and then eventually get over built and lose that quality. We see it with Knotts, with DCA, and I even feel it with Disneyland and Universal Hollywood. But that could also be "old man yells at crowd" syndrome where we just get attached the more accessible version of things from our formative years.

 

[PiratesMansion]

I'm not really sure who would win on DCA vs Knotts. There are pros and cons to both. I think Knotts would win just on history and entertainment.

Since quite a few people during the DCA vs USH poll apparently decided to vote for DCA over USH less because of any actual attributes of DCA than because it was right next to Disneyland, I'm sure DCA would win over Knott's, actual merits be damned.

 

[Phroobar]

Since quite a few people during the DCA vs USH poll apparently decided to vote for DCA over USH less because of any actual attributes of DCA than because it was right next to Disneyland, I'm sure DCA would win over Knott's, actual merits be damned.

There is a bias here against Knotts and definitely Magic Mountain.

A USH vs USO would be interesting.

 

[Professortango1]

Since quite a few people during the DCA vs USH poll apparently decided to vote for DCA over USH less because of any actual attributes of DCA than because it was right next to Disneyland, I'm sure DCA would win over Knott's, actual merits be damned.

If admission to DCA included admission to Disneyland, I would understand that reasoning more. But both are priced individually at the same price unless you are bundling them through special promotions.