DHS CARS LAND

[RSoxNo1]

We were just looking at Paradise Pier which I know is more than the good neighbor hotels, but staying on property is just one of those options we do not want to do without. What usually kills it for us goes back to the value for our dollar. The cost of 1 trip to DL exceeds our typically year at WDW which consists of numerous 1-4 day trips. I am just not ready to give that up yet. We came real close to not renewing this year, but just can't quite pull the trigger.

Disneyland is a different animal in that respect though. The convenience of staying on property is a non-issue. There are good neighbor hotels that are comparable to Disney value resorts and are under $100. It's what I do on every trip.

 

[Ignohippo]

The entrance plaza is identical, but Buena Vista street is different than Hollywood Boulevard/Sunset Boulevard. Both are well executed, but they are different.

Having said that, I would have preferred that the entry gates for DCA were not changed to the Pan Pacific Auditorium.

Holy cow! How are you writing so many posts I would agree with 100%!?

I haven't seen it in person, but the new entrance does absolutely nothing for me. The entrance to DHS has never been an especially exciting one either. Maybe if it were at a larger scale it would hold more appeal, but the way it is now it looks incredibly cheap IMO.

The old entrance to DCA looked very, very nice from the pics I've seen. I understand them wanting a new entrance for this new incarnation of the park, but I wish they would have just updated it rather than tearing the whole thing out.

 

[TalkingHead]

While they're at it, can they *please* for the love of Walt's frozen head clone DL Indy?

What would it take for that to happen? I'll promise to buy an AP if they do.

 

[Skyway]

I've never understood the "no clones" argument. To me, it's a weak argument only made by die-hard fans. . Personally, I hope they continue to design and build attractions for the majority of fans... not the malcontents that have some idealized view of the parks that has never been shared by Disney.

I don't think people are opposed to clones in general.

The problem is that DCA already has very few attractions of its own. Nearly everything was copied from WDW or given to Florida later.

Even with numerous clones, Disneyland still has a large roster of attractions not found in FL (and vice versa). And of those clones, there are many differences that give the attractions some uniqueness. The DCA clones are carbon copy identical to their WDW counterparts.

Without Carsland, DCA's only unique (and worthwhile) attractions are World of Color and California Screamin'. Not much reason for WDW regulars to pay $90 to get in.

 

[wdwmagic]

Holy cow! How are you writing so many posts I would agree with 100%!?

I haven't seen it in person, but the new entrance does absolutely nothing for me. The entrance to DHS has never been an especially exciting one either. Maybe if it were at a larger scale it would hold more appeal, but the way it is now it looks incredibly cheap IMO.

The old entrance to DCA looked very, very nice from the pics I've seen. I understand them wanting a new entrance for this new incarnation of the park, but I wish they would have just updated it rather than tearing the whole thing out.

The old DCA entry was horrendous, like most of DCA was originally. The new version is miles ahead.

 

[RSoxNo1]

A couple thoughts on this:

Color me surprised if it happens. For a couple reasons:

1. As I've watched construction at DL, I kept thinking to myself "well, the way they're building it, there's little chance it'll make it to Florida because of the mountain range." I'd like an engineer to comment on this, but I've always thought that huge wall of mountains would have trouble against hurricane force winds. In SoCal, it's not so much a concern, but in Florida, I would have to think those mountains would act almost like a sail... Or a huge wall with nowhere for that wind force to go. It's basically enclosed on three sides by huge walls. I don't profess to be an engineer... This is just me brainstorming about it. So if an engineer could chime in, that would be cool. I just can't imagine a fake rock wall literally hundreds of feet wide and tall on three sides would behave nicely against 70mph winds. ??

2. Rain. RSR obviously has a large portion of the ride outside. Again, in SoCal, they very rarely have to worry about that. But in O-Town, rain is much more an issue. The TT ride system doesn't play well with rain... That's been witnessed in all 3 attractions around the world that use it. It seems to me there would be MASSIVE downtimes on it, both because of lightning, but also by going 101.

Maybe both of these points are off base... I don't know. But those have always been the first two things to come to mind as I've watched it progress in DL and wondered if it might make its way to FLA.

The Hurricane issue is likely a non-issue as it was built to withstand earthquakes in California. The Rain issue is far more valid.

 

[Master Yoda]

The thing is, your costs aren't the same as others. For me, it's still cheaper for me to go to WDW, but that gap is getting smaller and the quality of the two resorts is changing. To that point, I'm considering an additional trip to Disneyland next year, and less trips to Disney World.

Very few peoples costs are the same as others. The point was visiting DL it is not as simple as just hopping on a plane.

Disneyland is a different animal in that respect though. The convenience of staying on property is a non-issue. There are good neighbor hotels that are comparable to Disney value resorts and are under $100. It's what I do on every trip.

I know that but the wife is dead set on staying at a DL hotel. The straw that always breaks the camels back is the airfare for a party of 4.

 

[El Grupo]

Oh, he'd love to...if they would let him.

Lee, other than making an argument against building CL/RSR in Orlando, has Lasseter presented any serious alternatives (with designs)? If so, can you give any hints regarding what those plans included?

Also, how likely is it that DCA will start Phase 2 of their refurb/expansion by the time something is finished at DHS?

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

Please correct me if I'm wrong and I may be confusing him with another poster but I thought whyalightbulb was working on Universal projects??

 

[RSoxNo1]

How much of that 600 mill was wasted developmental related costs? We always here budgets for things like WWoHP that cost 265 million. Disney seems to be a black hole for developmental monies. With that all taken care of, maybe the budget has been majorly streamlined?

If the number is $680 million, I would guess they could replicate more or less then entire land for under $500 million assuming no Luigi's Flying Tires or the shop that was going to house Ridemakerz.

 

[saxamoophone]

Please correct me if I'm wrong and I may be confusing him with another poster but I thought whyalightbulb was working on Universal projects??

Most Themepark projects in Orlando (Universal/WDW/SeaWorld) contract out work, so it's very possible

 

[Yellow Strap]

Can't we have the best of both worlds here?

Hear me out...

Clone Radiator Springs and RSR, but create two different rides for the area. Leave Luigi's and Mater's rides exclusive to DL.

 

[RSoxNo1]

The old DCA entry was horrendous, like most of DCA was originally. The new version is miles ahead.

What's hilarious about this is that the old entrance was made to resemble a postcard. In the D23 Magazine issue that highlighted the changes to DCA, the free gift with the magazine was a magnetic postcard made out of the new elements of DCA.

Can't we have the best of both worlds here?

Hear me out...

Clone Radiator Springs and RSR, but create two different rides for the area. Leave Luigi's and Mater's rides exclusive to DL.

I would support this - perhaps a single C/D dark right in place of these two attractions?

 

[Beholder]

This is sort of a mixed bag for me. I like the fact (assuming this will come
to pass) that DHS is getting some attention in the way of a solid attraction, but I'm also a tad bit underwhelmed by the Cars idea. Partly because it's been done already and because even though I enjoyed the first movie, it's not my first choice as an attraction based idea. I still think DHS needs a DCA overhaul to make it coherent and more navigable. Perhaps this is a much needed step in the right direction.

And I won't miss LMA. Backlot died years ago.

While they're at it, take down the hat.

 

[flynnibus]

Take out the Sci-Fi drive-in and rebuild it in Carsland like the original concepts for Carsland had

 

[Lauren915]

DHS needs something like this. As much as I love the park (And I do), it needs something. I will not shed a tear over losing LMA or the Backlot. I don't care about it being a clone, per say. I'm just happy that DHS is going to get attention. It needs it. While you are at it, TDO, tear down the hat!

I cannot believe it took this long for someone to mention the hat! I was waiting for it. Haha!

(Agreed, btw.)

 

[JEANYLASER]

Awesome news!

 

[danlb_2000]

Can't we have the best of both worlds here?

Hear me out...

Clone Radiator Springs and RSR, but create two different rides for the area. Leave Luigi's and Mater's rides exclusive to DL.

I like this idea also. As others have pointed out it's unlikely they would clone Luigi's anyway due to the problems they have had with it. To solve the TSMM crowd problem it would be good to have a new high-volume ride that is appropraite for the entire family.

 

[ebof1023]

DHS in need of more family friendly things, so if i had a chioce(which i dont) i would axe the backlot tour and LMA, and use this as a pixar land expansion, within this could be a couple dark rides, a coaster or two, and a smaller version of RSR.

 

[Kuhio]

The old DCA entry was horrendous, like most of DCA was originally. The new version is miles ahead.

True... but now you can't pose with the giant "CALIFORNIA" letters and take a series of photos that, when put together, cleverly spell out your name* for a unique holiday card that no one else could possibly have thought of!

*But only if your name is Al, or Flo, or Ron, or Nora, or Rolf...