This is how insane we were in 2002. We actually loved DCA.
Lots of posts by people that at that time anyway had few posts to their name and largely haven't stuck around.
If DCA was located anywhere other than across the street from Disneyland it would be considered one of the best theme parks around.
It's great curse is to always be sized up next to the single greatest park that will ever be built.
Location perhaps doesn't help. It's a better park that it's often given credit for, particularly on boards like these. But one of the best theme parks around, no way.
What really struck me this time around was DCA's redundancy within its market in every sense of the word, the lack of things that really set it apart from the other options in the area. Every other major park nearby has some kind of major differentiator to distinguish them from the others. Six Flags, coasters & setting. Universal, working studio. SeaWorld, animals. Legoland, self-explanatory. Knott's, history, chicken, Scary Farm, and the Mine and Log rides. Disneyland, worldwide icon.
Even more minor players like Adventure City and Castle Park fill niches that the others don't quite fill: approachable local parks that are fairly nice and pleasant.
DCA, to this day, still has lands mostly based on more fully realized regional alternatives, and while some of the attractions have Disney budget and IP behind them, there's no soul to it. It's various concepts thrown into the blender, jack of all trades and master of none, not disguised particularly well and hindered by truly bad decision making that was seemingly put on hold only for about five years or so. No wonder the park's trying to be buried in IPs; maybe you won't notice the lack of reason for being if they're building a new ride based on your favorite Superhero even if it's not as good as the one Universal built in 1999 that they're hoping you won't know about. They can't make people care about the park WITHOUT those IPs. Some parts of the park still don't look particularly great, including the brand new area they just built. Heck, there are parts of Castle Park that are nicer than parts of DCA, which shouldn't be the case given the vast disparity in resources and attendance they receive. That's not the mark of an elite park to me.
One thing WDW did well (not sure about right this moment, but initially at any rate) was to truly differentiate their parks across property and state. Sure, Animal Kingdom was basically aping Busch Gardens, and MGM Universal, but they built a Safari and put in animal exhibits a league beyond what was offered in Tampa. They put in an animation studio where you could watch animators working in real time. They gave those places The Disney Difference back when that meant something. THAT'S how you do it if you're going to ape a competitor. By comparison, DCA didn't even try. And sure, the fit and finish of the place is great in spots now (too bad they seem more interested in ruining the bright spots than fixing the parts of the park that need TLC though). RSR remains a great ride. But one great ride, some good ones, and a lot of filler (ex. Pixar Pier flats) does not a good theme park make, particularly at the prices they charge.
I'd argue every major park I just listed above is a better park than California Adventure. Others better than DCA, just limiting myself domestically here, include but may not be limited to:
-Kings Island
-Cedar Point
-Silver Dollar City
-Dollywood
-Busch Gardens Williamsburg
-Kennywood
-Knoebels
-Islands of Adventure
-Animal Kingdom
-Six Flags Fiesta Texas
Heck, I don't even need a theme park. Plop me down at any of the Meow Wolfs and I'd have a better time than DCA. Does it have good qualities? Sure! Is it a world class elite park? Heck no!
