How would YOU fix DCA?

[TomboyJanet]

Among all the Disney parks DCA has had a very troubled history. It struggles with an identity problem, is it just an IP dump or is it really a celebration of California culture? Currently it has five or six E-ticket level attractions, yet a lot of the park is taken up by generic off the shelf boardwalk style rides.
On one hand it could be praised for reviving boardwalk rides that are endangered due to dwindling numbers and the age of the rides, but on the other hand is it really the park to do that?

In my opinion quick fix rides like Monsters Inc and Toy Story Mania are just ok. Monsters Inc has it's moments, but is still just a limited motion dark ride that would make more sense if it was built in 1959 than in the 2000s. Toy Story Mania is only fun because people are competing, but there is nothing in that ride that could not be recreated in a Dave and Busters. That leaves us with Soarin, Radiator Springs Racers. Guardians, and Incalifornia Coaster I mean Incredible Screamin' I mean whatever!

California Incredible Screamin' has an issue that It is both a good coaster and a badly themed one. The theming is better than it was before, yet It still feels like something that would be impressive in a Six Flags Park theming wise but not thrill wise. It's kinda stuck in the middle of being a good "first loop" coaster like Sooperdooperlooper at Hershey, or the local Revolution at SFMM, yet is less intense than the Rockin' Roller Coaster, which I believe still takes the crown as Disney's most ambitiously intense coaster.

In my opinion the park would be ok if it had say four low themed boardwalk rides or even five. But it seems that they take up the majority of the rides in the park, as if you built a Magic Kingdom made entirely of Teacups, Dumbo clones (Carpets, Astro, Tricera), Carousels, and Tarzan's Treehouses (I know it's themed but it's quick).

What I think the park is missing is:

A water based dark ride. Something like Small World, Pirates, Fiesta, Frozen, Splash Mt, These things go a long way because of how immeserive being in a boat is. A river theme can add a lot to a story as it's already adventurous. If possible I'd love to see Western River Expedition become the new Disney Parks exlcusive ip ride (with a movie in the future perhaps). It could be kinda like how the Bugs Bunny Ride was in Six Flags Over Texas but more advanced. You'd be dragged into some kind of shootout and battle over a mining claim or something. Maybe you're deputized by the sheriff to go after outlaws, or perhaps you are travelling out west to stake a claim and something goes wrong, I'm not sure but they could sort it out once they got a layout down. It could end with a drop down into a canyon river or something similar to Splash Mountain. This ride could either replace GRR or be an extension somewhere

A Scary Ride. I don't mean like a thrill kind of scary, but a jumping out at you kind of scary, or just a creepy tone. Every single Disney park has SOME sort of scary things ride, Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland have Haunted Mansion, Mg....Disney Studios Hollywood and Paris have Tower of Terrors, Disney Sea has one too. Hong Kong Disney has Mystic Manor. Paris has Phantom Manor. Shanghai Disney has that Crocadillian thing. Animal Kingdom has Dinosaur, and Epcot......well they used to have Trolls....maybe they need to get one too. When DCA lost it's tower it changed the character of the park. No longer was there that cool version of anxiety looming over you, knowing you will face the spooky Tower of Terror, which blended well with the entrance and Hollywood atmosphere, but instead have a kinda moment about the Guardians ride. The ride is arguably less scary now due to its humor distracting from the drop. I'm not dissing it for that it probably (as I will not ride it until next month) creates a fun experience, but that still leaves a gap. Perhaps Dr Strange, the horror movie side of the Marvelverse could be called upon for a new ride. I know it may not be very Disney but something that utilizes technology like a Vekoma mad house (see Houdini's great escape at Six Flags or Hex at Alton Towers for reference) could be implimented to create a Mirrorverse effect. A spooky sanctum ride that traverses the multiverse may be....EPIC! I'm shocked that this hasn't been thought of before, as it's a perfect fit. To me this would have been the way to go with the tower but that was kinda before.

It seems like Disney believes that Marvel Avengers Campus is on par with Pandora or Galaxy's Edge and that's just not true. That place needs a serious overhaul. The Spiderman ride needs to be either updated or removed. The entire ride is just you shooting at what appears to be those 90s walking toys that they always had outside of KB Toys back in the day. It's dull! Perhaps an attraction with an arm like the Harry Potter ride could be superior but It could be too similar to Universal's Spiderman ride. I'm not exactly sure what the best way to fix this ride is, but what if you actually shot at not plywood or screens, but moving animatronics that duck and change position every now and then. I know it would be expensive but, you gotta invest to be the best!

Monsters Inc is a nice fun ride but it does get kinda old. I almost never see a line for it in any of the times I was there. It also has very little to do with Hollywood and would make more sense alongside the other Pixar rides. It's really an odd ball, like when Six Flags puts a Superman ride in it's wild west area. I would love to see a Great Movie Ride come back but that's just wishful thinking. Perhaps they could come up with some wacky star map tour but it's Disney Characters in their houses and they are having like wacky situations happen to them instead of Superstar Limo. Though It does sound kinda lame now that I think about it. Hmmm.... I just miss the old Disney MGM Studios and it's cool behind the scenes and movie based rides. So yeah whatever put a Great Movie Ride in...... Either that or make a Muppet ride

Bring Back Muppetvision, OR create some kind of new show, like an animatronic show. It's been a long time since they came up with something like the Country Bears or the Tiki Room, why can't they go back to making original characters like they used to? Has the creative well gone dry?

Speaking of that they shoulda put the Country Bears in Grizzly Peak land whatever. I know some people complain about them but an equal number of people like them. I think they are funny because they are silly and corny and evoke an awkward time. It's kinda like one of those like so ridiculous it's funny things.

So what do you think? What would you do to make this park look like a place worth spending an entire day at?

 

[Consumer]

Just return it to how it was in 2015.

 

[Rich T]

Just return it to how it was in 2015.

Or 1997.

DCA truly has become an IP dump. TomboyJanet, your ideas for improving it are all sound, but as long as Disney keeps focusing on shoehorning IPs everywhere, I think DCA is going to remain a fun but disjointed and shallow park.

And, looking at all the company’s U.S. parks, I find it hard to expect much more. Look at what they’ve done to poor Epcot. Hollywood Studios is a mishmash held back by half-baked changes. Even Animal Kingdom, the best park at WDW, is reportedly looking toward popular animated film IPs to solve its few-but-significant issues.

I think the castle parks have only held onto their themes as well as they have because the lands are labeled clearly enough to penetrate even the densest corporate minds.

There have been a few positive changes in the company lately. I’m trying to stay hopeful. We’ll see what happens in the next couple of years and if Bob Iger actually cares for or genuinely understands theme parks.

 

[Phroobar]

Knotts has a new show called Knotts Preserved. It was a song and dance show on Knotts/California history. That show would have fit perfectly in DCA had Disney been a little creative and kept the California theme.

 

[TomboyJanet]

Just return it to how it was in 2015.

That was ironically the first year I visited. I thought the Tower flowed so well with the trolly and the Carthay Theater. I think that that whole area felt more old school DHS which I loved. In Fact I wonder why DHS didn't put a Trolly on Sunset? They have like fake paved over tracks but the Era seems to be geared towards the time when they would be used. However I guess the implication is that the Tower and RNRC are in the modern day and the rest is just a glorified version of the area that changed little in this alternate Disneyverse. (In that case the abandoned tracks do fit well with the abandoned Tower). It may sound odd but I lament the loss of the Bugs Life Theater. It contained that old school imagineering immersion look. One thing Disney is really good at is creating caves, rockey, underground, and canyon areas. You got Splash, Thunder, RSR, Bugs Life, Seven Dwarves, Matterhorn, Everest, Indy, Tom Sawyer, Adventure Caves in Paris, Pirates, Pandora, Galaxy's Edge etc. They all look impressive. I kinda liked the scary aspect of that show too, as I am a fan of the bizarre.

Or 1997.

DCA truly has become an IP dump. TomboyJanet, your ideas for improving it are all sound, but as long as Disney keeps focusing on shoehorning IPs everywhere, I think DCA is going to remain a fun but disjointed and shallow park.

And, looking at all the company’s U.S. parks, I find it hard to expect much more. Look at what they’ve done to poor Epcot. Hollywood Studios is a mishmash held back by half-baked changes. Even Animal Kingdom, the best park at WDW, is reportedly looking toward popular animated film IPs to solve its few-but-significant issues.

I think the castle parks have only held onto their themes as well as they have because the Lands are labeled clearly enough to penetrated even the densest corporate minds.

There have been a few positive changes in the company lately. I’m trying to stay hopeful. We’ll see what happens in the next couple of years and if Bob Iger actually cares for or genuinely understands theme parks.

Oh Epcot, I feel your pain. I will always remember when I ride into that TV screen part of the New Imagination what I used to see in that round room that astounded me beyond words. I still have dreams of the original Imagination ride, and the old image works which was dark and mysterious and had floating musical notes and stuff that seemed impossible.

That's the kind of magic I want to see return. The kind where you ask HOW DID THEY DO THAT?! and the answer isn't just "It's on a screen" or "With computers".

Like I said I do enjoy Incredible California Coasterin' as a coaster because it's just a good ole' classic looper launcher from the late 90s 00s era. But It isn't really a Disney Level Coaster. In terms of Theming I'd probably rank it above coasters like Sky School, Primeval Whirl, and Slinkey Dog, but below Indiana Jones in Paris, and Rockin' Rollercoaster. (That's because the theming of the RNRC is more based to how the audio syncs up with visuals and motion which is unique in its own right.) Its a fun ride, but there isn't really a highly themed coaster in the park either. The only other Disney park I can think of without a highly themed coaster is uhhmm.....uh...........well this is awkward. So yeah thats weird. I wanna say replace Sky School but its too small and I kinda like it for some reason. Moreso than PW. I can't think of why but I guess I just like Goofy. He's funny. Though this is where they probably shoulda used the screens. Made it indoor and show like a cartoonish sky with planes coming at you piloted by goofy and he's like WWWWAAATTCHOOOUTT!! wHOAAA EEE-hoohoohoo-hoooey! and It'd be hilarious.

I do think Rhode did a good job on Pandora though, and I think it does fit with the conservation theme as Avatar is about harmony with nature and how things are connected. The area helps to serve as a cautionary tale for our own future. It also shows how nature reclaims man made structures which is pretty interesting to look at. I've always been a fan of the abandoned overgrown atmosphere look as it feels like a strange dystopian utopia. Its a beautiful tragedy.

Anyway, I don't like the direction DHS is going. I feel like they treat DHS, DCA, and DSP as just a free pass to put clashing themes together which look really bad from a flow point of view.

When I visited Disney Studios Paris, I found that it was designed as if they tried to do Disney MGM Studios but didn't get what Disney MGM Studios was, and instead made a flimsy movie theme. The "main street" if you can even call it that, can't decide if it's a movie set or a depiction of downtown Hollywood as the buildings are just flat facades. The entrance is what looks like if they stuffed a bunch of 1920s-50s Hollywood buildings inside the Great Movie Ride's loading station. Back then you had RNRC next to Armageddon (nice!) and that was cool, but the placement of the tower was so awkward that it never looked good from any angle and half the time you look at the back of it. That's what DCA is now basically. Like DSP has that weird toy story land connected to FRANCE? FROM EPCOT?? and a one ride cars land, and that Nemo Coaster which I'm sure would be dumped on DCA if there were room. It's like a hodge podge of a semblence of an original theme and then it just turns a corner and does something totally random like having a whole land dedicated to pixar except one pixar movie is not in that land but a different one.


As you can see I can't even describe the theming without creating a wordy jumbly paragraph that sounds like a rambling post at 4am on a Friday from a 16 yo. The original theme was questionable but it did have a cohesion.

 

[J4546]

I think dca is a solid park. But I'd Def like the monster Inc area to be razed and expanded like the eastern gateway plans called for. I'd love another water based rode as well. So far though it's a good sister park. I really hope the phase 2 avengers ride is a really good one.

 

[Brer Panther]

if Bob Iger actually cares for or genuinely understands theme parks.

All signs point to "no".

 

[Twilight_Roxas]

Wonder if Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway would work in DCA if they didn’t put it in ToonTown?

 

[Phroobar]

Wonder if Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway would work in DCA if they didn’t put it in ToonTown?

We need the Muppets Runaway Rainbow Connection at DCA.

 

[Consumer]

To give a more in depth answer, yes, returning the park to its 2015 state would be a start at fixing DCA - returning Tower of Terror, Paradise Pier, Pacific Wharf, Bug's Land, etc. - but it can't stop there. DCA was on trajectory to being a great park before Chapek was brought in and completely undid all of the progress made over its 5 year makeover.

So, what do I suggest? Here are a few simple changes that could be easily implemented.
- Again, return DCA to how it was in 2015, most notably with reviving Paradise Pier and Tower of Terror. While Avengers Campus sucks, it is much easier to ignore than the 13 story power plant.
- Add vehicles to Buena Vista Street that take guests from Carthay Circle to the roundabout at the entrance of Paradise Pier/Cars Land/Pacific Wharf.
- Finish Hollywood Land remodel by replacing the false fronts, especially on the Hyperion.
- Add audio animatronic grizzlies in the caves of GRR, as well as other California native wildlife throughout the attraction, such as wolves, mule deer, skunks, etc.
- Add Country Bear Jamboree, nestled in the corner of the Grand Californian next to Soarin' over California.
- Add a small Mulan dark ride to Pacific Wharf, bringing in a stronger Chinatown theme to the area.

Now, if we wish to be more ambitious, here's what I would add to that list. Unfortunately very few of these are practical ideas if for no other reason because of the poor initial planning when the park was designed, but they're fun ideas that show the potential of a California centric theme park.
- Add The Great Movie Ride to Hollywood Land in the plot occupied by Monsters Inc.
- Add a mine train ride through Grizzly Peak.
- Add a Western River Expedition type boat ride to Grizzly Peak, showing California in 1849.
- Add a Mystic Manor type dark ride to Grizzly Peak.
- Turn Cars Land into Car Land, building the never-built Goofy About Road Trips/Road Trip USA dark ride, the never-built Herbie the Love Bug dark ride, a new home for Autopia, as well as a drive-in theater restaurant, and an overall greater focus on midcentury Route 66 and car culture in general, instead of strictly Radiator Springs.
- Add a Mary Poppins dark ride in the spot once occupied by the Maliboomer.
- Returning "a bug's land" to Bountiful Valley Farm with a Living with the Land type boat ride focusing on the agriculture grown in California.
- Add a land dedicated to and celebrating the Mexican culture of California with a Coco boat ride and a Zorro stunt show,
- Add a Zephyr that takes guests on a grand circle tour of DCA.

 

[shambolicdefending]

I think it's pretty clear DCA is eternally destined to be an IP dump, and it will work in its own way.

I've argued that, located anywhere else on the planet, it would be considered an outstanding park in its own right. But, because it was built next door to Walt's singularly brilliant masterpiece, it will always exist in that shadow.

It didn't help that Eisner's crew tried to price and sell it as just a slightly younger, hipper Disneyland equivalent at first. That was an obvious folly.

 

[Phroobar]

To give a more in depth answer, yes, returning the park to its 2015 state would be a start at fixing DCA - returning Tower of Terror, Paradise Pier, Pacific Wharf, Bug's Land, etc. - but it can't stop there. DCA was on trajectory to being a great park before Chapek was brought in and completely undid all of the progress made over its 5 year makeover.

So, what do I suggest? Here are a few simple changes that could be easily implemented.
- Again, return DCA to how it was in 2015, most notably with reviving Paradise Pier and Tower of Terror. While Avengers Campus sucks, it is much easier to ignore than the 13 story power plant.
- Add vehicles to Buena Vista Street that take guests from Carthay Circle to the roundabout at the entrance of Paradise Pier/Cars Land/Pacific Wharf.
- Finish Hollywood Land remodel by replacing the false fronts, especially on the Hyperion.
- Add audio animatronic grizzlies in the caves of GRR, as well as other California native wildlife throughout the attraction, such as wolves, mule deer, skunks, etc.
- Add Country Bear Jamboree, nestled in the corner of the Grand Californian next to Soarin' over California.
- Add a small Mulan dark ride to Pacific Wharf, bringing in a stronger Chinatown theme to the area.

Now, if we wish to be more ambitious, here's what I would add to that list. Unfortunately very few of these are practical ideas if for no other reason because of the poor initial planning when the park was designed, but they're fun ideas that show the potential of a California centric theme park.
- Add The Great Movie Ride to Hollywood Land in the plot occupied by Monsters Inc.
- Add a mine train ride through Grizzly Peak.
- Add a Western River Expedition type boat ride to Grizzly Peak, showing California in 1849.
- Add a Mystic Manor type dark ride to Grizzly Peak.
- Turn Cars Land into Car Land, building the never-built Goofy About Road Trips/Road Trip USA dark ride, the never-built Herbie the Love Bug dark ride, a new home for Autopia, as well as a drive-in theater restaurant, and an overall greater focus on midcentury Route 66 and car culture in general, instead of strictly Radiator Springs.
- Add a Mary Poppins dark ride in the spot once occupied by the Maliboomer.
- Returning "a bug's land" to Bountiful Valley Farm with a Living with the Land type boat ride focusing on the agriculture grown in California.
- Add a land dedicated to and celebrating the Mexican culture of California with a Coco boat ride and a Zorro stunt show,
- Add a Zephyr that takes guests on a grand circle tour of DCA.

Good ideas. Here are some more.
Mystic Manor in Paradise Pier as a Mickey Fun House.
Ursula octopus spinner in the helix of the coaster.
Werewolf / Big Foot encounter AA show to replace challenge trail.
Great Muppet Movie Ride replace Monsters Inc.
Rock n' Rollercoaster playing No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom or the Electric Mayhem band where Hollywood n dine used to be.

 

[Twilight_Roxas]

I rather keep the Challenge Trail because it could easily be use for Villains Grove during the Boogie Bash, and because of the upcoming Percy Jackson series it could easily be given a Camp Halfblood overlay.

 

[Suspirian]

It's funny how these threads use to be so common before the 2012 redo. Full circle!

At this point I would honestly opt to given DCA a looser theme where there able to save as much as possible but open the opportunity to things outside of California so they're not shoehorning IPs in.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I also prefer 2015 DCA to 2023 DCA but disagree it needs to be “fixed”. The only change I feel is an outright negative is the exterior of ToT, and it’s only the exterior, I like the Guardians ride better than the ToT ride.

Pixar Pier is a slight downgrade in appearance but is more or less a wash, Avengers campus fell short of expectations but is still an improvement over Bugs land (and could be a massive improvement if we ever get the promised E ticket), the Soarin area is slightly improved, San Frantokyo looks to be a wash…

The major negative, to me, is they’ve spent a small fortune making things different… not better, that money could have given us a new ride or been used to improve areas like Hollywoodland that desperately need to be improved.

 

[Brer Panther]

- Add a Mary Poppins dark ride in the spot once occupied by the Maliboomer.

…what does Mary Poppins have to do with California?

 

[Consumer]

…what does Mary Poppins have to do with California?

The aesthetics of Jolly Holiday fit with the aesthetics of Paradise Pier. Same reason Mary Poppins meets on Main Street U.S.A. despite the character being obviously British.

 

[randyjackson]

i think webslingers gets too much hate, i haven’t been on it yet but it’s never supposed to be some crazy E Ticket, they knew that whatever they did will always be compared to universals so they went in a different direction. honestly i would expand marvel into hollywoodland area do a tron coaster and retheme it to captain america, add a shield HQ to house the m&g’s and maybe a restaurant in there and throw another attraction there would love a doctor strange trackless ride but not sure how it will fit exactly. i think pixar pier needs a dark ride as well maybe bring back the coco idea

 

[CaptinEO]

i think webslingers gets too much hate, i haven’t been on it yet but it’s never supposed to be some crazy E Ticket, they knew that whatever they did will always be compared to universals so they went in a different direction. honestly i would expand marvel into hollywoodland area do a tron coaster and retheme it to captain america, add a shield HQ to house the m&g’s and maybe a restaurant in there and throw another attraction there would love a doctor strange trackless ride but not sure how it will fit exactly. i think pixar pier needs a dark ride as well maybe bring back the coco idea

I think Web Slingers was a bust solely because they cancelled the lands E Ticket. As a secondary ride it would probably be pretty decent.

Galaxy's Edge also felt unfinished when they opened it with just Smuggler's Run. In Avenger's Campus case the E ticket never surfaced though.

 

[PiratesMansion]

The big issue is this: they need to prioritize what will make the park better, and not which IP they think is most popular with the public, but they're doing the opposite.

DCA was strongest when they were focused on making the park work. It has unraveled because they're not putting the park first. They're putting the merch first. The synergy first. Anything but the actual environment.

There has yet to be a theme park where people fall in love with it only because they love the IP. They fall in love with parks because they're pleasant places to be, and part of what makes parks pleasant to be is that they have a certain sense of place about them. They have an atmosphere that is distinctive, memorable, authentic to the area they reside in if they don't have the budget or desire to create wildly themed environments. Even unthemed amusement parks can be cohesive environments-they can bring a sort of kinectic, authentic, lived in, historical feeling to the place-a certain atmosphere that can't be replicated anywhere else. A soul of sorts. DCA, as a park that from its start was conceptualized to steal and copy borrow heavily from its nearest competitors rather than form its own identity, would have faced an uphill battle from the start that only might have worked if it had thoroughly outclassed each and every one of those other parks, but alas, that's not what happened and it just made Disney look like greedy idiots. And then, when they finally were starting to form their own identity, they immediately gave up and basically went back to the same sorts of things they were doing when 1.0 was around, but on a higher budget, not realizing that higher-budget tackiness is still tacky before it is anything else. The only other operator throwing in IP everywhere without regard for what it's doing to the overall environment is Six Flags. Disney is supposed to aim higher than that, and everyone knows it. So cheap IP overlays thrown in without regard to the environment stick out as dissonant in a company that loudly brags about how cohesive and well-designed its parks are, undermining the park and its atmosphere in the process.

Great rides are, of course, important too, but ultimately are secondary to atmosphere. No matter how good an attraction is, if the park isn't a pleasant place to spend time, people will eventually choose a more pleasant alternative if one exists. In addition to the aforementioned atmosphere issues, DCA arguably made many of its attractions less good over the years. Then there's the final kicker-there's a more pleasant alternative literally right across the street that happens to have several all-time classics of the industry inside of it. To overcome or even equal this would require a lot of focus, determination, and thought into making all of this happen, and it just doesn't seem like they're up to the job.

A lot of the problems can be boiled down to exceptional self-sabatoge: in DCA's case, almost every time an area or attraction works, it is targeted and replaced with something that is more IP-friendly or, perhaps, something more superficially impressive; meanwhile, areas that have never worked sit untouched because either they have sufficient IP or because Disney just isn't interested in trying to replace them with something better. Which ultimately leaves the park, which was misconceived from conception and was only starting to work based on careful, deliberate decision making, feel hollow and artificial. And why become invested in something if Disney may as well just rip it out or change it in five years anyway, as has happened to much of the original park and even a number of the changes that were genuine improvements?

But the people running the place seemingly have no idea that this is the case, and until they recognize the situation, make a serious effort to fix it, and are given the time and support to bring all of this to fruition, nothing will change and the park will remain a problem child.