Disneyland officially reopening April 30th

[Tamandua]

Wow, second day in DCA=dead!



I mean I know all the attention is naturally going to be on DL at the opening, but this is 2001 levels of non-crowds. What's even crazier is that DCA had 'sold out' that day like DL did, so they should have roughly the same level of crowds, even if both low. June 4th probably can't get here soon enough.

This is the real reason why they need an AP program and sooner than later. They can't sell out DCA even at 25% capacity except for some weekend days when AC opens... And those AC crowds won't last. Disney will play it cool in public but I have no doubt that they are preparing a new AP program for this summer.

 

[CaptinEO]

This is the real reason why they need to have different prices for Disneyland and California Adventure.

Fixed it

 

[fctiger]

Full price DCA with crazy restrictions is not a good combination.

And people are wondering why the AP program will never go away? That video is exactly the reason. And I like DCA a lot now. But it's going to be KBF level of attendance for most of the year with just day passes and park hoppers. But maybe AC will give it a good bump for a few months at least.

 

[fctiger]

This is the real reason why they need an AP program and sooner than later. They can't sell out DCA even at 25% capacity except for some weekend days when AC opens... And those AC crowds won't last. Disney will play it cool in public but I have no doubt that they are preparing a new AP program for this summer.

Been saying this for literally years now. DCA is a popular park, but not popular the way DL is yet even with stuff like CL Incredicoaster and GOTG: MB. I think to a lot of people, DCA is still a half day park. You go over there for a few hours, maybe stay for WOC, but you ultimately spend most of your day at DL, especially if you have a PH for just 2-3 days.

With an AP, it's easier to get people to spend more time there when they are going all year long. When you are on burrowed time however...

 

[MisterPenguin]

This is the real reason why they need an AP program and sooner than later. They can't sell out DCA even at 25% capacity except for some weekend days when AC opens... And those AC crowds won't last. Disney will play it cool in public but I have no doubt that they are preparing a new AP program for this summer.

More than a quarter of DCA days are sold out... for now. Avengers campus will lead to more sell out days.

As mentioned above, WDW had a similar slow re-start before they were hitting capacity on a regular basis... all without APs.

This is more akin to how Epcot and DAK weren't near capacity but MK and DHS were because MK is MK and DHS has two new E-Ticket rides.

DCA will always lag behind DL until it's beefed up... a lot.

Your argument about how "this shows DLR needs AP" also doesn't work because DL is nearly sold out. In fact, it shows why DLR doesn't need APs because DL brings all the boys to their yard. APs would overwhelm DL.

Perhaps you meant an AP for DCA alone?

 

[SoCalDisneyLover]

In the beginning of their blogging thing when they were new I genuinely liked them. After they announced their Patreon and decided to be political it was downhill from there.

Are you referring to OA? How were they political?

 

[Tamandua]

Fixed it

Disney won't do that though. They'd rather bundle the parks into an AP then devalue one of their parks at face value.

 

[chadwpalm]

Wow, second day in DCA=dead!



I mean I know all the attention is naturally going to be on DL at the opening, but this is 2001 levels of non-crowds. What's even crazier is that DCA had 'sold out' that day like DL did, so they should have roughly the same level of crowds, even if both low. June 4th probably can't get here soon enough.

Based on the timestamp he was filming this during the last hour of the park being open where probably most people had either park hopped over to DL or already left for the day. Show me a live stream at 11am and if that is showing empty then I'll be convinced nobody is going to DCA.

I don't see how AP's would fix this. If people like DL more than DCA I don't see how having an AP will change that. DL was always more crowded than DCA.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Based on the timestamp he was filming this during the last hour of the park being open where probably most people had either park hopped over to DL or already left for the day. Show me a live stream at 11am and if that is showing empty then I'll be convinced nobody is going to DCA.

I don't see how AP's would fix this. If people like DL more than DCA I don't see how having an AP will change that. DL was always more crowded than DCA.

Don’t you dare question The Narrative!!

 

[Tamandua]

Based on the timestamp he was filming this during the last hour of the park being open where probably most people had either park hopped over to DL or already left for the day. Show me a live stream at 11am and if that is showing empty then I'll be convinced nobody is going to DCA.

I don't see how AP's would fix this. If people like DL more than DCA I don't see how having an AP will change that. DL was always more crowded than DCA.

When there are APs, DCA acts like an extension or overflow for Disneyland. When attractions at Disneyland have long wait times, people spill over into DCA knowing they have all the time in the world to do things at Disneyland, either the same day or another day. Without that AP access, people don't want to invest their time in DCA at the cost of time at Disneyland.

 

[chadwpalm]

When there are APs, DCA acts like an extension or overflow for Disneyland. When attractions at Disneyland have long wait times, people spill over into DCA knowing they have all the time in the world to do things at Disneyland, either the same day or another day. Without that AP access, people don't want to invest their time in DCA at the cost of time at Disneyland.

What do you call this? Cart before the horse? Self-fulfilling prophesy?

You're basically saying we need APs to force people to DCA when DL can't take in any more people which was caused by APs existing in the first place!

Without APs, Disneyland wouldn't overflow, thus not needing people to go to DCA which is why you say we need APs.

Temporal paradox! Causal loop!

Unless you are admitting that DL can be full to the brim with non-APs, which is a Disney exec's dream! Why have APs if higher-paying vacationers can pack the parks? Hasn't this been the argument for needing APs? Because the parks aren't full?

 

[ToTBellHop]

What do you call this? Cart before the horse? Self-fulfilling prophesy?

You're basically saying we need APs to force people to DCA when DL can't take in any more people which was caused by APs existing in the first place!

Without APs, Disneyland wouldn't overflow, thus not needing people to go to DCA which is why you say we need APs.

Temporal paradox! Causal loop!

Which is why they need more capacity for vacationers who were increasingly spooked by AP-induced crowding. Vacationers have not gone to the parks 497 times in the last five years and can enjoy DCA for what it is: a stellar non-castle park. It must be nice to be able to look down on the park with RSR, GRR, Soarin, Incredicoaster (great coaster despite baby on sticks), and the begrudgingly-good GotG:MB.

 

[Tamandua]

What do you call this? Cart before the horse? Self-fulfilling prophesy?

You're basically saying we need APs to force people to DCA when DL can't take in any more people which was caused by APs existing in the first place!

Without APs, Disneyland wouldn't overflow, thus not needing people to go to DCA which is why you say we need APs.

Temporal paradox! Causal loop!

Unless you are admitting that DL can be full to the brim with non-APs, which is a Disney exec's dream! Why have APs if higher-paying vacationers can pack the parks? Hasn't this been the argument for needing APs? Because the parks aren't full?

I never said when Disneyland is full or can't take any more people. The reality is that Disneyland will always be a lot more popular than DCA. If the average wait time at Disneyland is 60 minutes for an E-ticket but it's 15-30 minutes at DCA, APs flow to where the lines are shorter and everything more or less balances out. Without APs, you might have some of that with park hopper tickets, but i don't think those sell as well at you might think. They don't increase the amount of time you have in the parks, so they're generally not a good value. That's why you're seeing the lopsided attendance with Disneyland and DCA right now. People are paying full price and so they're being very deliberate with their time, which means more time is being spent in Disneyland compared to DCA. If you have a large percentage of attendance as passholders, they're happy to cross the esplanade for shorter wait times or some different rides, but not at an extra cost.

 

[lumberguy5]

A DCA Only pass seems likely, unless Disney is okay with a discounted ticket to go to DCA. DL is almost out of days in which 1park tickets can be used, and even Park Hoppers are significantly restricted. DCA has about the same number of days with less availability before and after the opening of the Avengers area, and almost all of those days are on the weekends.

 

[Tamandua]

Even if Disneyland could sell out at full capacity everyday, it's a problem that DCA is relatively empty. Opening up both parks to APs means that the parks utilize more of their overall capacity, bring in reliable AP revenue, and sell more food, parking, and merch than if they left the overall capacity lower.

 

[chadwpalm]

That's why you're seeing the lopsided attendance with Disneyland and DCA right now. People are paying full price and so they're being very deliberate with their time, which means more time is being spent in Disneyland compared to DCA.

That's because the people in the parks right now are mostly the people who were once AP holders anyway, so yeah, they are valuing their time when paying full price, but what about when other states start opening up? Then what @MansionButler84 said above makes more sense. People that don't go as often will value DCA more than locals because they don't get to see it as often.

APs just compound the problem you think you are solving. The lopsidedness is still there, but DCA only sees more attendance because the overpacked DL forces it. An overpacking caused by an unfettered AP system.

Even if Disneyland could sell out at full capacity everyday, it's a problem that DCA is relatively empty. Opening up both parks to APs means that the parks utilize more of their overall capacity, bring in reliable AP revenue, and sell more food, parking, and merch than if they left the overall capacity lower.

This is just a band-aid solution. The problem is solved by making DCA a more valued product, not by just trying to throw more bodies in there for the sake of having more bodies. That doesn't solve the underlying problem. Avengers Campus will somewhat help with that for a while, but ultimately DCA needs to be worth the value of DL, and I doubt that can happen unless future expansion hits things out of the park for DCA.

Look, I'm not saying there shouldn't be APs (though they should come back with more blackouts and reservations attached to them), just that the need for them to fix the lopsided problem is not why they should exist...especially if the only problem they are fixing is moving people to DCA because DL is too busy.

 

[Californian Elitist]

DCA’s problem is it’s not, nor will it ever, be Disneyland. They can improve it all they want, but it will never see the same amount of love and adoration as it’s older brother across the way. The best thing Disney can do is improve DCA (actually improve it and not make it worse, like they’ve been doing). Not to improve it be to a competitor with DL, because that won’t happen. But improve it for its own sake.

Charging less for DCA won’t happen.

 

[Tamandua]

DCA’s problem is it’s not, nor will it ever, be Disneyland. They can improve it all they want, but it will never see the same amount of love and adoration as it’s older brother across the way. The best thing Disney can do is improve DCA (actually improve it and not make it worse, like they’ve been doing). Not to improve it be to a competitor with DL, because that won’t happen. But improve it for its own sake.

Charging less for DCA won’t happen.

The best chance DCA has of every becoming a standalone park is if they bit the bullet and dropped the California theme and reshaped it into some new and interesting premise... But that would require throwing out some of the good with the bad to make a new cohesive Park. It seems like the best option for Disney is just to keep it as the Disneyland overflow park.

 

[Californian Elitist]

The best chance DCA has of every becoming a standalone park is if they bit the bullet and dropped the California theme and reshaped it into some new and interesting premise... But that would require throwing out some of the good with the bad to make a new cohesive Park. It seems like the best option for Disney is just to keep it as the Disneyland overflow park.

They really should just start over. They were on a decent track in 2012 but another round of bad decisions has landed DCA a few steps back.

 

[Tamandua]

They really should just start over. They were on a decent track in 2012 but another round of bad decisions has landed DCA a few steps back.

They could have just made the whole thing a Pixar park. They were basically halfway there and then they had to cram a bunch of marvel stuff into it. Now it's just a bunch of unrelated stuff.