DCA Best Disney Park?

[jtizzle1023]

So I was thinking... After the expansion of DCA is complete I think it might be the best Disney park. Based on all the rides it has the best mix.
-Cali Screamin'
-ToT
-Soarin'
-Little Mermaid Attraction
-World of Color
-Silly Symphony Swings
-All of Cars Land
-Aladdin Musical
-TSM
-Goofy's Flight School
-GRR

And a few more... If you ask me that might just be the best lineup of attractions and shows... I'm really excited :sohappy:

Where do you think it will be ranked after the expansion is fully complete?

 

[Wilt Dasney]

The best Disney park is located a couple hundred feet away.

 

[sponono88]

Once the expansion is complete it will certainly be a well-rounded park with a good mix of attractions, shows, and a big nighttime spectacular. Not to mention, one of the most expensive (if not the most expensive!) ride Disney has ever built. Pretty impressive growth for a park that is barely 9 years old!

It's currently the only park at the resort with a real daytime parade (Pixar Play Parade), a stage show (Aladdin), and a big, outdoor nighttime event (elecTRONica). So as far as live entertainment goes, it is already way ahead of Disneyland.

 

[Krack]

The best Disney park is located a couple hundred feet away.

Agreed. My personal opinion is that DCA is so poorly conceived that it may not be "fixable" (let alone the best park in the country). I know what they were trying to do (convince people not to visit Universal Studios, the Santa Monica Pier, Cannery Row, and the California National Parks), but it doesn't work, imho. It's soooo sparse right now and there's no cohesiveness. And maybe it's me, but I don't get the idea of centering an entire land on one Disney franchise; to me, it's a recipe for disaster. As soon as it's no longer the flavor of the month, you have a "dead" land. I'm secretly hoping the second half of the Carsland money turns the area into a "Pixar land" instead.

 

[sponono88]

Well, World of Color alone has already given the park a 20% boost in attendance. So whether or not you agree that the park can be fixed, the attendance numbers already show positive growth for the park. And that's just World of Color - I imagine that number will be way higher once Mermaid, Cars Land, and Buena Vista St. open over the next two years.

 

[TP2000]

Where do you think it will be ranked after the expansion is fully complete?

The best Disney park in the world, hands down, is 100 yards north of DCA. It's called Disneyland.

Once DCA is done with the Billion dollar extreme makeover, a project completely unprecedented in the history of Disney theme parks, it's not going to unseat Disneyland as the best Disney park ever. It won't even knock off the current second or third place parks; Epcot and DisneySea. But I do think it will shoot up several slots to break the Top Five.

My prediction for Summer, 2012, based on how much DCA has already improved and the massive amount of money being spent on it in the next 20 months;

Top Disney Theme Parks - Summer, 2012
1. Disneyland
2. Epcot
3. DisneySea
4. Disneyland Paris
5. Disney California Adventure
6. Magic Kingdom, WDW
7. Tokyo Disneyland
8. Disney's Animal Kingdom
9. Hong Kong Disneyland
10. Disney's Hollywood Studios
11. Walt Disney Studios Paris

 

[spock]

Pretty impressive growth for a park that is barely 9 years old!

While I agree that the growth taking place in a relatively short time is impressive, I'm inclined not to really give the park too much "credit", considering it's relative lack of quality up until recently. IMO, the growth that's taking place now is out of necessity as the park must play "catch up" in order to just barely match the other Disney parks.

It's currently the only park at the resort with a real daytime parade (Pixar Play Parade), a stage show (Aladdin), and a big, outdoor nighttime event (elecTRONica). So as far as live entertainment goes, it is already way ahead of Disneyland.

This is pure speculation on my part, so factor that in, but I tend to believe that's probably by design. DCA really needs all the help it can get considering it is just steps away from what is arguably the best theme park on the planet. So anything to give DCA the "edge" or to give people a reason to leave DL and check out DCA is probably a good business decision. Its kind of like the decision to move the Electrical Parade to DCA instead of bringing it back to DL. Even though it would be more fitting to keep it in DL, it was a good business move to have it in DCA. I'm sure if they could physically move just a few of the classic DL attractions to DCA just to balance things out they would. :lol:

 

[spock]

Agreed. My personal opinion is that DCA is so poorly conceived that it may not be "fixable" (let alone the best park in the country). I know what they were trying to do (convince people not to visit Universal Studios, the Santa Monica Pier, Cannery Row, and the California National Parks), but it doesn't work, imho. It's soooo sparse right now and there's no cohesiveness. And maybe it's me, but I don't get the idea of centering an entire land on one Disney franchise; to me, it's a recipe for disaster. As soon as it's no longer the flavor of the month, you have a "dead" land. I'm secretly hoping the second half of the Carsland money turns the area into a "Pixar land" instead.

I've actually never had an issue with the THEME of DCA. What has always bothered me is what little they actually did with that theme. For example, when I think of California, one of the first things I think of is the Gold Rush. I've lived in CA my entire life and that's definitely something we're taught about in the 5th grade and beyond. Yet to what extent is the Gold Rush even so much as mentioned in DCA? Even in the now defunct Golden Dreams attraction, very little attention was given to it. In contrast, what do seaside amusement parks have to do with CA? Sure, they've existed here, but by no means have they ever been a major part of what people think of when they think of California. Yet the most real estate in DCA is devoted to Paradise Pier. Makes no sense to me. And what do bugs have to do with California, aside from the fact that bugs exist in CA, as they do everywhere else? The same goes for monsters and Muppets. Those aren't things I think of when I think of California. It just seems like they came up with a really good concept, but when it came to doing something really cool with that concept, all imagination (something Disney is supposed to be known for) went out the window.

 

[spock]

The best Disney park in the world, hands down, is 100 yards north of DCA. It's called Disneyland.

Once DCA is done with the Billion dollar extreme makeover, a project completely unprecedented in the history of Disney theme parks, it's not going to unseat Disneyland as the best Disney park ever. It won't even knock off the current second or third place parks; Epcot and DisneySea. But I do think it will shoot up several slots to break the Top Five.

My prediction for Summer, 2012, based on how much DCA has already improved and the massive amount of money being spent on it in the next 20 months;

Top Disney Theme Parks - Summer, 2012
1. Disneyland
2. Epcot
3. DisneySea
4. Disneyland Paris
5. Disney California Adventure
6. Magic Kingdom, WDW
7. Tokyo Disneyland
8. Disney's Animal Kingdom
9. Hong Kong Disneyland
10. Disney's Hollywood Studios
11. Walt Disney Studios Paris

I totally agree with your top two, but also I've never been to DisneySea. Based on what I've seen and read, it looks like the type of place that could potentially be my favorite theme park in the world if I ever visit. Have you visited it, and if so, what makes it number 3 to Epcot and DL? Just curious as I'm always interested in getting different opinions on this park.

 

[sponono88]

While I agree that the growth taking place in a relatively short time is impressive, I'm inclined not to really give the park too much "credit", considering it's relative lack of quality up until recently. IMO, the growth that's taking place now is out of necessity as the park must play "catch up" in order to just barely match the other Disney parks.

Maybe so, but with all the new additions it's starting to leave the other parks in the dust. I think at this point it's time for the other Disney parks to catch up to DCA. I think pretty much every Disney park could use a boost of new additions and refreshed entertainment lineup. Although it may not be on the grand scale of DisneySea, DCA has shown that it is a solid second-gate with a wide array of quality attractions.

This is pure speculation on my part, so factor that in, but I tend to believe that's probably by design. DCA really needs all the help it can get considering it is just steps away from what is arguably the best theme park on the planet. So anything to give DCA the "edge" or to give people a reason to leave DL and check out DCA is probably a good business decision. Its kind of like the decision to move the Electrical Parade to DCA instead of bringing it back to DL. Even though it would be more fitting to keep it in DL, it was a good business move to have it in DCA. I'm sure if they could physically move just a few of the classic DL attractions to DCA just to balance things out they would. :lol:

The success of World of Color was very big for the park and it proved very popular with guests. The park wasn't exactly in need for even more additional guests at night, but they still went ahead and added elecTRONica. With both of these events, DCA is now the place to be at night at the resort. Gone are the days when everyone used to flock across the esplanade to catch the nighttime shows at DL.

 

[TP2000]

I totally agree with your top two, but also I've never been to DisneySea. Based on what I've seen and read, it looks like the type of place that could potentially be my favorite theme park in the world if I ever visit. Have you visited it, and if so, what makes it number 3 to Epcot and DL? Just curious as I'm always interested in getting different opinions on this park.

I've been to DisneySea several times between '05 and '09. It's just gorgeous from pretty much any angle. Truly stunning to walk through and look at. It has an incredible range of so many attractions, from charming A Tickets to novel C and D Tickets to full-tilt mega E Tickets you won't find anywhere else.

Quite frankly, I tried to take out the Cast Members service levels when ranking those parks above. I was just going off of aesthetics, design, attractions mix and menu, and major entertainment.

If I were to factor in the service level of the Cast Members, where the Japanese Cast Members far outstrip anything any Cast Member seems capable of in Anaheim or Orlando, then the two Japanese parks would rise to the top of the list easily.

To be honest, I really want to put Tokyo Disneyland at #6 and Magic Kingdom at #7 on that list, but this being a WDW board I was afraid I'd be tarred and feathered and banned for life. So I switched their ranking at the last second.

.

 

[Krack]

The success of World of Color was very big for the park and it proved very popular with guests. The park wasn't exactly in need for even more additional guests at night, but they still went ahead and added elecTRONica. With both of these events, DCA is now the place to be at night at the resort. Gone are the days when everyone used to flock across the esplanade to catch the nighttime shows at DL.

Yes, but how many of this "increased attendance" is spending all day at Disneyland and then park hopping to DCA to watch WoC and then going home? I know when I lived in LA, I found DCA terrible (and only spent a full day there once), but I passed the DCA turnstyles almost everytime I visited DL just to catch the Electrical Parade.

It's hard to market a park around a single nighttime show - eventually it becomes a "been there, done that" situation. Just look at how people on this board call for replacing DHS Fantasmic with WoC.

 

[janoimagine]

The best Disney park is located a couple hundred feet away.

Agreed, however Tokyo Disney Sea is a very close second.

 

[sponono88]

Yes, but how many of this "increased attendance" is spending all day at Disneyland and then park hopping to DCA to watch WoC and then going home? I know when I lived in LA, I found DCA terrible (and only spent a full day there once), but I passed the DCA turnstyles almost everytime I visited DL just to catch the Electrical Parade.

It's hard to market a park around a single nighttime show - eventually it becomes a "been there, done that" situation. Just look at how people on this board call for replacing DHS Fantasmic with WoC.

There's zero proof that shows that the increased attendance is due to park hoppers. Besides, increased attendance is increased attendance -- it doesn't really matter if people park-hopped from Disneyland or Knotts Berry Farm to get into DCA. More people are getting through the turnstyles and that is a good thing for the park. Also, dining packages and picnic meals for the show are still selling out to this day.

And they are not marketing the park to a single show. There's still two-years worth of additions coming up in the pipeline. It just so happens that this show by itself was a big enough success this early in the expansion. Shows can have a long shelf-life if they're maintained properly. Take a look at Fantasmic at Disneyland. 18 years old and still going strong, with big crowds turning out every night. Thanks to constant updates and new additions, the show looks fresh and even better than it did with it premiered in 1992.

World of Color is expected to be the same, because the technology allows the creative team to constantly update the show. The recent TRON scene is one example of that. Also, Christmas and Halloween-themed overlays are expected to be added in the upcoming years.. The show will be always-changing to purposely avoid the "been there, done that" situation.

 

[Thrill]

Doubtful. Probably the fifth best.

 

[spock]

I've been to DisneySea several times between '05 and '09. It's just gorgeous from pretty much any angle. Truly stunning to walk through and look at. It has an incredible range of so many attractions, from charming A Tickets to novel C and D Tickets to full-tilt mega E Tickets you won't find anywhere else.

Quite frankly, I tried to take out the Cast Members service levels when ranking those parks above. I was just going off of aesthetics, design, attractions mix and menu, and major entertainment.

If I were to factor in the service level of the Cast Members, where the Japanese Cast Members far outstrip anything any Cast Member seems capable of in Anaheim or Orlando, then the two Japanese parks would rise to the top of the list easily.

To be honest, I really want to put Tokyo Disneyland at #6 and Magic Kingdom at #7 on that list, but this being a WDW board I was afraid I'd be tarred and feathered and banned for life. So I switched their ranking at the last second.

.

Thanks, that's great information and insight! I really hope I get to experience the foreign parks some day. A few years back, I came really close to taking a trip to Tokyo with some friends, and we would have saved a lot of money because we would have been staying with people instead of at a hotel. But I had to back out at the last minute. I hope that opportunity presents itself again. Nothing about Tokyo DL really grabs me, but I'm definitely intrigued by DisneySea. Interesting to read what you said about the guest service in Tokyo. While I think Disney's guest service has certainly declined a bit in recent years, it's all relative and I think they are still great. However, it sounds like Tokyo really blows our parks away in that regard.

 

[SeaBase86]

I Think the OP is looking at it in terms of rides. In terms of rides, when complete DCA will be IMO Ahead of the WDW parks (except MK). Look at it this way 5 Big E ticket rides in DCA. MGM, Ec, and AK each have 2 or 3. Then on top of that you have strong C's and D tickets. Like Little Mermaid, Sky School, Bug's Life, Toy Story Mania. That's a full day for a first time family. At the other WDW parks they are missing strong C and D tickets. Those really keep guest in the park. E's attract but the C and D keep em in. So yea I think in terms of rides it maybe the best Disney Park in the USA. However when it comes down to dinning, shows, and all that the WDW parks beat it there so no it won't be the best. I think attendance will look like this in 2013:
1. Magic Kingdom
2. Disneyland
3. Epcot
4. Animal Kingdom
5. Disney California Adventure
6. Disney's Hollywood Studios

My prediction.

 

[spectromagic04]

I Nah I think in 2013 attendance will be this but I think Dl and MK will be in a battle for 1st in attendance.
1. Magic Kingdom
2. Disneyland
3. disney sea
4. Epcot
5. tokyo disneyland
6. DCA
7. hollywood studios
8. animal kingdom
9. disneyland paris
10. hong kong disneyland
11. Walt disney studios

 

[sponono88]

I Think the OP is looking at it in terms of rides. In terms of rides, when complete DCA will be IMO Ahead of the WDW parks (except MK). Look at it this way 5 Big E ticket rides in DCA. MGM, Ec, and AK each have 2 or 3. Then on top of that you have strong C's and D tickets. Like Little Mermaid, Sky School, Bug's Life, Toy Story Mania. That's a full day for a first time family. At the other WDW parks they are missing strong C and D tickets. Those really keep guest in the park. E's attract but the C and D keep em in. So yea I think in terms of rides it maybe the best Disney Park in the USA. However when it comes down to dinning, shows, and all that the WDW parks beat it there so no it won't be the best. I think attendance will look like this in 2013:
1. Magic Kingdom
2. Disneyland
3. Epcot
4. Animal Kingdom
5. Disney California Adventure
6. Disney's Hollywood Studios

My prediction.

Unless they announce something new for AK within the next year, I doubt it will come out on top as far as attendance. DHS has Star Tours 2, and DCA has the completed expansion.. so i'm not sure why those two parks are below AK on your list :shrug:

 

[Disneyfanatic!!]

Top Disney Theme Parks - Summer, 2012
1. Disneyland
2. Epcot
3. DisneySea
4. Disneyland Paris
5. Disney California Adventure
6. Magic Kingdom, WDW
7. Tokyo Disneyland
8. Disney's Animal Kingdom
9. Hong Kong Disneyland
10. Disney's Hollywood Studios
11. Walt Disney Studios Paris

There's no way DAK is less than DLP or that Kong Kong beats DHS.

I agree with the OP, DCA will be the best Disney Park in the states when the expansion is complete.