California Adventure vs Universal Studios Hollywood

[J4546]

DCA is a solid park by itself, and Id say a great sister park to DL. Keep in mind, CA was built around the same time as HKDL and DSP which are all budget parks, and they all sucked when they first opened. But they were good foundations to build upon, now they are all on their way to becoming really solid parks.

I really like the california theme of CA and how almost everything in the park is exclusive. And the food at CA is great, so many options. Having a great food choice is also on point with the California theme as anyone who lives in LA can tell yea, the food scene here is insane.

Things take time to build, everyone wants everything immediately all at once but thats just not the way things are...ever.

 

[DanielBB8]

Once again, it’s clear nothing is sinking in for you. It’s interesting how everyone else around you seems to understand what I’m saying even if they disagree and yet you’re the odd one out. If it were everyone else, I’d say there’s an issue with my communication but since it’s just you. Well, you can go ahead and do the math.

Literally nothing you’ve said about “what I want” is fully the direction I’d go for the park. You see me as either black or white in any given situation and never even bother to look into the grey. For whatever reason, you’ve decide to try and single myself and one or two others out because we have disagreements with the direction of DCA.

If you really understood and simply disagreed, you’d let it go. But you can’t even be bothered to do that. No, instead it seems like you see yourself on some sort of crusade in the name of the park and some kind of breach of “fairness” that was never violated to begin with.

It blows my mind, really. Here I am talking about how I wouldn’t do things a certain way and listing other general directions the park could go but am instead met with rebuttals akin to “nope, this is what you want, enjoy”.

You assume because I’d advocate for lands and attractions inspired by the Golden State or Disney IP that can feel at home inside similar themes, that I am suddenly advocating for the cheapest, laziest version of said thing. Why? Because Disney did it that way once back in 2001? You just figure that I’d prefer something like Golden Dreams over Mermaid (even though both technically work within the context of the park and even after I’ve admitted to Mermaid being the better choice of the two). You just assume that even if I did want a show like Golden Dreams, that I’d want something lazy like a video on a screen instead of full blown, audio animatronic show like we’ve got in other parks.

I’m not here to say whether or not Golden Dreams could have worked with some changes but heck, if something like the Carousel of Progress or Hall of Presidents can bring people in, there’s no reason to believe that if Disney put in the time and effort, they couldn’t have done the same for something in DCA.

But frankly, I’ve given you far more explanation than you deserve regarding these matters. At this point it’s obvious to myself and many others that you’re just here to cause chaos for others you disagree with. I have tried to be coherent and civil in the past but as you continue to press on due to an inability to accept others views of the parks, it has become clear to me that you are either a) incapable of understanding or b) a professional troll.

In either case, congratulations on being the very first addition to my ignore list.

I know you’re not reading this, but you take the cake.

So nothing on Stories, People, and Diversity?

 

[DavidDL]

I think the thing preventing DCA from using the “but it opened in 2001” argument is that Tokyo DisneySEA opened just a few months later and is widely considered one of the greatest theme parks ever built.

I suppose it really all does come down to how much they’re willing to spend at any given time. Sure, DCA 1.0 was held back because of its budget but it begs the question of if they knew how much they were going to have to spend to start fixing it years later, would they have just bitten the bullet and made it right in the first place?

No poor park should have to endure “sucking” when it first opens. I agree that it had some solid bones to build on, at the very least.

-and the good news is that with the right vision and amount of money, anything can be fixed or made better. I guess I’m not sure what else I could expect from a budget park, but man, why’d it have to be a budget park? Why does any park need to be a budget park? XD

 

[PiratesMansion]

Universal Hollywood for me. I love the atmosphere, the studio tour, the entertainment (YAY Waterworld), and the rest of the ride collection and the way that it's the greatest hits of UOR. The location of the park is stunning. Sure, the attractions are limited, but for me everything just *works* at USH in a way that isn't even really true of the other Universal parks, even if UOR is a better overall complex and USJ also has its perks.

DCA is the worst of the major destination parks in this country for me. It has its charms, but RSR alone doesn't make up for so much mediocrity elsewhere within it and the fact that the rest of the park has largely been moving backwards since 2015 or so. USH, by contrast, feels like it's very much moving forward and towards genuine improvement.

I get why people like DCA more but for me there's no contest.

 

[Sharon&Susan]

So nothing on Stories, People, and Diversity?

I'm so sorry that you weren't successful into baiting this into an argument about "woke" Disney, Kathleen Kennedy, Star Wars etc. I'm sure you'll get 'em nice time!

 

[CaptinEO]

Thank you. I like to think that I've been coherent to all but one. I don't expect everyone to agree with me, I wouldn't expect that in a million years. But my case is clear and understandable, even if it's not something that everyone agrees with.

I have a differing opinion on how to view the park but that doesn't mean I'm being "unfair" or skewing my judgement. I can handle people disagreeing with me. I just can't handle people saying I'm formulating my (personal) opinion wrong because of some kind of imaginary fairness bias.

Edit: Regarding your point about the transition, it's not like they couldn't make it work within the park. But there needs to be a stronger, more cohesive theme or idea related to whatever the park is trying to portray itself as. Right now, it's claiming to be a "California Adventure" with all the themes and celebrations that should come with that. However, the new land is a stretch. Because it doesn't celebrate or embody anything about the state. It's just a contrived story that they claim takes place in the state to try and hide the fact that all they wanted to do was cash in before it's too late. It doesn't present the illusion or even further any sort of understanding Guests might have about California culture and how Disney characters could fit within these greater ideas or themes.

No, it's just, "Suddenly Spider-man!


...also, Tony Stark's dad had a factory here, or something, yeah, that'll work nicely. They'll eat that right up."

If Disney could just present an Avengers ride that feels at home within the greater context of a land or area that feels at home within the park, we wouldn't even NEED a storyline about why it's there. We wouldn't even question it, because it would just feel natural for it to be there in the first place. Instead, since they had to make something up in order for us to pretend it's okay or give it a pass to be there, it only calls more attention to the fact that it's not located properly to begin with.

I totally agree. The same thing about the bad transition to Avengers Campus applies to "Pixar Pier". We suddenly are supposed to be in a boardwalk carnival entirely based on completely different 3d animated films with different settings?

It doesn't make any sense to me. What does the Incredibles having a roller coaster have to do with California? I pretty much assumed they lived in New York anyways. Why is there a random Toy Story ride on the boardwalk? What does this have to do with California?

Cars has the whole route 66 and California desert vibe going for it, Grizzly Peak is fantastic and showcases Northern California's forest scenery.

The park is now half California and half really random advertisement lands. As you mentioned, you are walking in 1930s Hollywood and then there's a random Spiderman and super hero land.

If the land was 1930s Marvel Characters in Los Angeles, that would actually blend in to the theme pretty well. Instead you jump 100 years with no clear transition or segway.

 

[DanielBB8]

I'm so sorry that you weren't successful into baiting this into an argument about "woke" Disney, Kathleen Kennedy, Star Wars etc. I'm sure you'll get 'em nice time!

Why would I do that when I’m trying to figure out the other argument? It’s so funny when no one even defends their argument anymore. The collapse eventually happens.

 

[CaptinEO]

Why would I do that when I’m trying to figure out the other argument? It’s so funny when no one even defends their argument anymore. The collapse eventually happens.

The other poster clearly defended their argument multiple times.

I think you need to understand that some people may have a different opinion than you, and its OK.

 

[Californian Elitist]

DCA 1.0 was more consistent than current DCA.

 

[CaptinEO]

DCA 1.0 was more consistent than current DCA.

100%. As bad as early DCA was, I prefer it to what's going on now.

I'd rather have cheap props than blatant random advertisements everywhere to remind me of what companies the Walt Disney Company purchased in the last 10 years.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Superstar Limo was better than the Secret Life of Pets.

 

[CaptinEO]

Superstar Limo was better than the Secret Life of Pets.

What's funny is my family was there the summer the first year it opened and we thought we rode everything. We never went on Superstar Limo because we didn't even know it existed. It was that hidden.

 

[Sharon&Susan]

Why would I do that when I’m trying to figure out the other argument? It’s so funny when no one even defends their argument anymore. The collapse eventually happens.

 

[Californian Elitist]

100%. As bad as early DCA was, I prefer it to what's going on now.

I'd rather have cheap props than blatant random advertisements everywhere to remind me of what companies the Walt Disney Company purchased in the last 10 years.

Yep. I’m starting to prefer DCA 1.0 more and more. Significantly less IP, more consistency, and even more Californian. I wouldn’t be saying this if it was 2012.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Disney had it right the first time.

If only we could roll back the changes like a firmware update.

 

[bryanfze55]

Acting like either park has a cohesive theme is kind of silly. “Ride the movies” is an activity, not a theme - and it’s essentially the key focus of both parks at this point other than the Grizzly Peak area of DCA, which is the best themed land at either park.

 

[josh2000]

Acting like either park has a cohesive theme is kind of silly. “Ride the movies” is an activity, not a theme - and it’s essentially the key focus of both parks at this point other than the Grizzly Peak area of DCA, which is the best themed land at either park.

100%

Just to throw some more anecdotal testimony onto the pile, people can absolutely spend a full day at DCA, (at least before the pandemic). I visited in 2019 for the first time since DCA 1.0 and I spent an open-close day there. I'm planning to do it again this summer but it'll definitely be harder without parades and World of Color.

 

[fctiger]

What's funny is my family was there the summer the first year it opened and we thought we rode everything. We never went on Superstar Limo because we didn't even know it existed. It was that hidden.

Good for you!

I rode it first week it opened...and never bothered again.

 

[DanielBB8]

Thank goodness people can rewrite history. Bugsland was a new edition that was absolutely controversial. It wasn’t even California.

 

[DavidDL]

Acting like either park has a cohesive theme is kind of silly. “Ride the movies” is an activity, not a theme - and it’s essentially the key focus of both parks at this point other than the Grizzly Peak area of DCA, which is the best themed land at either park.

I’m inclined to agree with your assessment of Grizzly Peak (but don’t forget about Pacific Wharf!), it really is beautiful. Though Universal really does only have two areas it can even consider to be “lands”: those being Springfield and Wizarding World.

Edit: I forgot that the illumination area is sort of becoming a land of sorts. -and Nintendo is on the way.

Everything else just sort of, exists on the backlot. I think one could make an argument for Wizarding World being a better themed area, overall but it all comes down to personal opinion.

There’s certainly more to do in terms of shopping and eating in WW and I do think the marquee attraction is better.. yet, GP is so relaxing and it’s way harder to get a sunburn there, haha. Yeah, the area is just so relaxing, which is a rarity in almost any park these days. Took this photo on our last trip a few weeks ago.