I Miss WDW More Than DL..

[bryanfze55]

Y’all trippin’. I never said DHS was absolutely better than DCA, just that it’s on the right trajectory whereas DCA is not. DCA was better five years ago. I do agree a few of the stage shows are outdated and need an update, though. But still, this is the best DHS has ever been. It actually has rides now. For what it’s worth, DCA has a stage show too (albeit better than any of the DHS ones).

DCA has double the rides that DHS does, but most of those rides are unthemed filler that I do not expect from a Disney park. Do you really think DCA is better because it has Jumpin’ Jellyfish and Jessie’s Critter Carousel? Take the top ten attractions at DCA and the top ten at DHS, and I’m sure it’s a wash.

RnRC and Incredicoaster are a wash for me. I don’t normally ride either one. But at least RnRC is tucked away whereas Incredicoaster dominates the DCA skyline in the back of the park. Pixar Pier is just bad. Toy Story Land is better than Pixar Pier, and that’s saying something. Cars Land and SW:GE are equally fine, both with a stellar E-ticket. My guess is Runaway Railway will probably be much better than either dark ride at DCA, but we will see. Tower of Terror is obviously much better than Mission Breakout. And I much prefer Star Tours to Soarin’, but I think they’re both well-themed and a good fit at DHS and DCA, respectively - another wash. I’m a Muppets fanatic and appreciate the presence of Grand Ave and Muppet Vision 3D. Better than PhilharMagic at DCA.

Grizzly River Run and World of Color are probably enough to tip the scales slightly in favor of DCA, but it’s extremely close. They both need a lot of work still, but I maintain that DCA’s trajectory is worse.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

We can at least say that with Avengers Campus and maybe Coco (????) that DCA has a trajectory in general, though. Not to mention, it's been significantly better than DHS for about a decade now. Even post-Rise.

I significantly prefer Screamin/Incredicoaster to RnRC. Incredicoaster has subpar theming, sure, but it's an actual well-paced and lengthy ride. RnRC loses most of it's energy seconds after the launch.

My overall take on the discussion though; Disneyland feels better because it's easier. I can't stand how easy it is to get bored with a park at WDW; park hopping is a waste, resort stays aren't really worth it at any level, and all forms of transportation (except the Skyliner) are just...the worst.

 

[PiratesMansion]

Thanks for the detailed description. I find your insight to be very even-keeled.

I will say, I hope I didn’t come across as implying that Disneyland Paris has no merit. I’ve only been to 6 of the 12 Disney theme parks, but I can heartily say that all of them have their own merits. And as far as castle parks go, DLP does appear to be the most beautiful.

What I did mean to imply is that I think there are people who are dejected enough about the way that Disney has run the American parks recently, and they will view the foreign parks with particularly rosy lenses.

While DLP looks beautiful, I just don’t feel there’s a whole lot there that I can’t already experience in Disneyland for half the cost. The park alone isn’t that much cheaper when you consider you have to pay for Fastpasses. However, if I ever do make it to Paris I will be sure to visit DLP. I’m not against non-US Disney parks. I’m just not making a special trip to see them. Well, maybe DisneySea...

I don't feel like people see Paris through as rosy of a lens as the Asian parks; perhaps in the nineties, but the Studios and decades of neglect helped kill that off. Now, even with many problems being fixed over the past few years, Paris is still probably the resort people complain about the most. It's definitely the most polarizing.

After what you said about their FP, I was curious and looked at their site. They do still have free FastPass available, although they might have the most elaborate system of upcharges of any Disney park. Shanghai and Hong Kong (hahaha) also have paid FP available; unnecessary in HK for sure, and while Shanghai was ludicrously busy, we used their free FP and were able to do everything we wanted. That said, we stayed onsite and we got a free FP each day because we were staying in a Disney hotel, which definitely helped. I imagine Paris would be the same way; I can't speak for the highest of high seasons, but on weekdays in June I found DLP to be the second easiest castle park to navigate, after Hong Kong. It was even easier than Disneyland.

As for the Asian resorts, I've done Tokyo and HK twice, and Shanghai once. I would say the Asian parks, in general, are better maintained, have fewer obvious cuts going on (while part of that is the info available to us, I can attest that even perpetually money-starved Hong Kong has never gotten near the lows of Paris), and have better service than the US parks currently. In addition, the admission prices for all of them are about half what the US parks are charging now; at Tokyo, the food is about half what it is in the US as well. Tokyo, because Disney has no ownership/operating stake, is genuinely the gold standard, and even if they aren't necessarily operating where they used to be, they are still the best overall resort in the world. Ride collection and quality is debatable, sure, but as a total package in the parks (WDW is the winner outside), Tokyo has been for a long time, and remains, the hands down winner. Each Asian resort (unlike Paris) not only has received quality investment over the past decade, but also has at least one legitimately outstanding E ticket that can't be experienced anywhere else.

Maybe there is some grandstanding for them because of how rare it is for most to get to them, but there really is at least some merit to what people are saying. Those ticket prices and the quality of service, at least, aren't fabricated.

We can at least say that with Avengers Campus and maybe Coco (????) that DCA has a trajectory in general, though. Not to mention, it's been significantly better than DHS for about a decade now. Even post-Rise.

I significantly prefer Screamin/Incredicoaster to RnRC. Incredicoaster has subpar theming, sure, but it's an actual well-paced and lengthy ride. RnRC loses most of it's energy seconds after the launch.

My overall take on the discussion though; Disneyland feels better because it's easier. I can't stand how easy it is to get bored with a park at WDW; park hopping is a waste, resort stays aren't really worth it at any level, and all forms of transportation (except the Skyliner) are just...the worst.

I'm not sure that a negative trajectory is really better than no trajectory. If DCA had stayed frozen in 2015, I'd like it a heck of a lot more than I do right now.

That said, there's something to the idea that Disneyland being easier is a strength. In many ways, Disneyland is WDW without a lot of the BS that has overtaken that property in recent years.

 

[mlayton144]

[QUOTE="Mickeyboof, post: 9050729,
Stage shows are New York. Boring, dull, lifeless.

[/QUOTE]
Wow , never heard that New York was boring ,

 

[Mickeyboof]

[QUOTE="Mickeyboof, post: 9050729,
Stage shows are New York. Boring, dull, lifeless.

Wow , never heard that New York was boring ,
[/QUOTE]

Well, I live in New York and work on broadway musicals.

I can tell you that DHS version of stage shows are about as good as high school cafeteria shows.

 

[mlayton144]

Wow , never heard that New York was boring ,

Well, I live in New York and work on broadway musicals.

I can tell you that DHS version of stage shows are about as good as high school cafeteria shows.
[/QUOTE]

Totally agree , I just donT get the NY is boring statement

 

[cmwade77]

Wow , never heard that New York was boring ,

Well, I live in New York and work on broadway musicals.

I can tell you that DHS version of stage shows are about as good as high school cafeteria shows.
[/QUOTE]
And yet DL has shows that are quite capable of rivaling Broadway stage shows (If not Boradway, then at least the touring shows, just shorter for obvious reasons), so Disney CAN do it. Overall the entertainment at DL is far better than at WDW, although if DL keeps making cuts to entertainment, then soon that won't be the case anymore. The sad part is Knott's Berry Farm is upping their game so much that they may take over the entertainment crown out here on the west coast.

But I don't get the NY is boring statement either.

 

[bryanfze55]

You act as though the stage shows ruin the whole park. I can only think of two "theater" stage shows at the park - Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. It's not like the park is full of stage shows.

 

[Mickeyboof]

I only meant to say *Disney’s* stage shows in flordia are quite awful and boring. Also throwing in boring stage shows at a Hollywood themed park makes no sense.

New York is not boring.

 

[PiratesMansion]

Live entertainment is just a practical reality of running a theme park. I don't think live entertainment is any more or less appropriate at the Studios than at any other park.

Heck, Universal Hollywood IS a studio, and it has a number of shows!

But I will agree that there are a ton of them (BATB, Frozen Sing a Long, Indy, Little Mermaid, Jedi Training Academy, and I feel like I might even be forgetting a few), they are all old (some older than I am!), and that WDW live entertainment in general is embarrassing compared to the other parks.

 

[Mickeyboof]

You act as though the stage shows ruin the whole park. I can only think of two "theater" stage shows at the park - Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. It's not like the park is full of stage shows.

Indiana Jones, Fantasmic, Frozen sing along. Disney Jr show. There has to be two other “theaters” I’m forgetting.

 

[bryanfze55]

Indiana Jones, Fantasmic, Frozen sing along. Disney Jr show. There has to be two other “theaters” I’m forgetting.

Well I don’t consider those to be theater productions... Indy is a stunt show. Fantasmic! is a nighttime spectacular. Disney Jr. is a dance party. Lightning McQueen is an audio animatronic and screen based show. Frozen is something... not sure... but it’s mostly for kids anyway. Just let it be I guess.

I agree with you that a lot of these shows are outdated and/or boring. It’s your apparent issue with the presence of shows in general at DHS that is odd. All theme parks have shows...

 

[Mickeyboof]

Well I don’t consider those to be theater productions... Indy is a stunt show. Fantasmic! is a nighttime spectacular. Disney Jr. is a dance party. Lightning McQueen is an audio animatronic and screen based show. Frozen is something... not sure... but it’s mostly for kids anyway. Just let it be I guess.

I agree with you that a lot of these shows are outdated and/or boring. It’s your apparent issue with the presence of shows in general at DHS that is odd. All theme parks have shows...

I rule, if I’m sitting in a stationary seat in a performance-specific venue, watching actors perform... it’s a theater production.

The last thing I want to do at a theme park is sit down and see a “show,” let alone a show at a Hollywood themed park.

 

[bryanfze55]

I rule, if I’m sitting in a stationary seat in a performance-specific venue, watching actors perform... it’s a theater production.

The last thing I want to do at a theme park is sit down and see a “show,” let alone a show at a Hollywood themed park.

Just out of curiosity, do these feelings extend to things like the Enchanted Tiki Room, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, etc?

 

[smooch]

Just out of curiosity, do these feelings extend to things like the Enchanted Tiki Room, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, etc?

I don't think they're comparable to each other. Sure, you're sitting watching a "show" technically, but I don't think a stage show with actors and a show of animatronics are the same. Watching all the birds come to life in the tiki room is much different than sitting in a theater watching actors play birds, for example. If Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln was just a man in a costume, it would have a much weirder tone, the fact that it's an animatronic just makes it inherently different in a way I can't put into words right now.

 

[bryanfze55]

I don't think they're comparable to each other. Sure, you're sitting watching a "show" technically, but I don't think a stage show with actors and a show of animatronics are the same. Watching all the birds come to life in the tiki room is much different than sitting in a theater watching actors play birds, for example. If Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln was just a man in a costume, it would have a much weirder tone, the fact that it's an animatronic just makes it inherently different in a way I can't put into words right now.

Yep, I agree with you. I was just curious to hear Mickeyboof’s view on the topic. IMO, the animatronic stage shows are one of the best things about Disney. I wish Disneyland had as many as WDW does.

 

[smooch]

Yep, I agree with you. I was just curious to hear Mickeyboof’s view on the topic. IMO, the animatronic stage shows are one of the best things about Disney. I wish Disneyland had as many as WDW does.

Ah I see, yeah I would like to hear their opinion as well with their background. I agree, I wish Disneyland had more animatronic shows but I don't see us realistically getting any, for the most part. I don't know where they would put one, space is so valuable and all they seem to want to add are rides, places to spend money, or photo opportunities. They don't do enough things to just enjoy for the most part, it has to be a ride or something they can profit off of or for people to post all over Instagram for more free publicity.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

DHS continues to be my least favorite Florida park for a reason. Its pretty, but its filled with things that don't hold my attention for a full day when so much is the same. I'm not into stage shows and theater presentations. Broadway type shows have no appeal for me. It needs for dark rides, thrills rides, and boat rides much more akin to the Magic Kingdom.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

On the rare occasion I go to DLR, I actually wish they had the Avatar land. It's weird because the notion of Avatar in Disney did absolutely nothing for me when it was announced, but I came out of it more entertained than SW or Cars Lands.

 

[Mickeyboof]

Just out of curiosity, do these feelings extend to things like the Enchanted Tiki Room, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, etc?

I find the Animatronics shows are different, as they are sprinkled with technical magic, a true marvel.

I love Disneyland’s... but you won’t catch me in the Disney World nap zones- American adventure or hall of presidents. Big because they can, and they smell like dust.