Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts Tres

[Cosmic Commando]

The attraction lineup at DCA was decent. It's proximity to Disneyland made it work as "ooh, there are additional rides across the street when we're waiting for our Space Mountain Fastpass".

Yeah, and the ODV cart made a killing selling these on the way into DCA:

 

[RyenDeckard]

Quick thought on Springfield, USA: it's a DM food court.

I'm not impressed

That's just one section of the expansion, and that was exactly what it was before. This, however, looks infinitely better than the IFF.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Did you not walk into Moe's? It looks amazing.

I think we should wait until the land is fully complete before we all deem it as a just a food court. Personally, I do agree about the Fast Food Boulevard section. It is a food court, and it's nothing too impressive. At least there are themed facades inside though and plenty of options, ranging from a fried chicken waffle sandwich to health options such as wraps, vegetarian pizza, etc.

Moe's is attached to the food court

 

[BryceM]

Moe's is attached to the food court

Yes, but I feel as though it manages to act as a separate entity.

 

[asianway]

Spirit, any updates from your travels about the personnel issues at CP, past, present, or future?

 

[Computer Magic]

I'll answer in a slightly horizontal way.. I think DAK demanding ticket prices similar to the other WDW theme parks is valid and justifable.

Think of it this way... which do you think costs more to start and maintain... a fake jungle of plastic monkeys.. or a fabricated jungle full of real monkeys that you can get close to and observe?

DAK justifies itself in providing excellent entertainment -- it just so happens that not all people are interested in the form of entertainment DAK offers. The type of entertainment DAK offers is expensive to produce - so I think it's price compared to another park that may be more busy with more physical experiences is justifiable.

Now if the WDW ticket prices in general are justifiable... a different topic. And generally I find them hard to swallow.

agree. DAK is underappreciated because its not what people see as a typical "theme park''. If it don't have rides, it can't be any fun.

 

[disney fan 13]

Quick thought on Springfield, USA: it's a DM food court.

I'm not impressed

What were you expecting? Moes is nice and the food court is what it is. There is still like 2/3 of the expansion to open so labeling it all now is slightly stupid.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

What were you expecting? Moes is nice and the food court is what it is. There is still like 2/3 of the expansion to open so labeling it all now is slightly stupid.

Moe's is nice... too nice. It actually does look good, but it looks well-lit. Moe's in the show is a dark hole-in-the-wall place, so it loses something when they (had to?) light it like any other theme park restaurant.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

agree. DAK is underappreciated because its not what people see as a typical "theme park''. If it don't have rides, it can't be any fun.

But it doesn't help that the few rides it does have are in poor shape, the shows have little replay value, the exhibits do not offer the best views of the animals and nothing new has been added in several years.

You can still dislike AK without being a member of the Uncultured Swine.

 

[Computer Magic]

But it doesn't help that the few rides it does have are in poor shape, the shows have little replay value, the exhibits do not offer the best views of the animals and nothing new has been added in several years.

You can still dislike AK without being a member of the Uncultured Swine.

You pretty much can say the same about every WDW theme park but there is more hate for DAK. Doesn't DAK have the newest e-ticket except Toy Story Mania before this year? Nothing to brag about just comparing the parks.

IMHO the musicals are the best in WDW.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

You pretty much can say the same about every WDW theme park but there is more hate to DAK. Doesn't DAK have the newest e-ticket except Toy Story Mania before this year? Nothing to brag about just comparing the parks.

IMHO the musicals are the best in WDW.

I think it has the newest E (since nothing in NFL qualifies as such). It's also become the most infamous when it comes to effects, though. I wouldn't count TSMM as an E. It's just really busy all the time because that park offers so little of those kinds of rides.

Nemo is the best musical in WDW for sure, but the others are in lackluster condition (BatB) and there's little competition (neither Epcot or MK has any).

 

[Computer Magic]

I think it has the newest E (since nothing in NFL qualifies as such). It's also become the most infamous when it comes to effects, though. I wouldn't count TSMM as an E. It's just really busy all the time because that park offers so little of those kinds of rides.

Nemo is the best musical in WDW for sure, but the others are in lackluster condition (BatB) and there's little competition (neither Epcot or MK has any).

I agree, being the best of the worst isn't something to brag about. I enjoy the slow pace of AKL.

 

[luv]

But it doesn't help that the few rides it does have are in poor shape, the shows have little replay value, the exhibits do not offer the best views of the animals and nothing new has been added in several years.

You can still dislike AK without being a member of the Uncultured Swine.

Of course you can!

I have a completely different opinion of the AK and its shows (especially FotLK...how can anyone not love that?!), but you're totally entitled to your opinion!

I do not like DHS at all, but some people claim it as their favorite!

Something for everyone.

 

[spaceghost]

Disney didn't dislike carnival rides - he hated the stigmas and environment that traveling amusements had. It was that atmosphere... of distrust.. filth.. and unwholesome.. that he intended to keep out of his parks - not the type of rides.

People forget Disney's holidayland.. and even the circus on mainstreet (both in Walt's time) that would be far more similar to a circus than Paradise Pier ever will be.

I don't know the history of DL enough to argue this point, but I have read enough on Walt to know that he wanted his park(s) to be unique experiences. I know that I've also heard references to the fact that Walt hated ferris wheels...not sure if that is true or not. If it is, how big of a punch in the gut is it to have a ferris wheel as one of the centerpieces of the park? I just think that symbolically, recreating the amusement parks that Walt vehemently disliked, even if it is a clean, and pretty, and idealized version, it still just doesn't mesh for me with the legacy of the man. Isn't that part of the reason we dislike Dinoland (although Dinoland is admittedly way tackier)?

 

[spaceghost]

Seaside piers are a big thing in California, hence the reason it has a presence in California Adventure.

...

Walt Disney opened Disneyland, specifically Fantasyland with the same, carnival-type rides.

Oh, I totally understand the logic behind it, but it still doesn't seem right to me. As for Walt using those rides to open the park, I'm sure part of that was necessity. Walt and company knew what made their park unique, and it wasn't the carnival type rides. Found this quote about/from Marty Sklar:

Sklar says that in Disneyland's early days, he used to enjoy going to the ticket windows to eavesdrop on guests. "They'd say, 'I want to go on the Jungle Cruise, the Mark Twain Riverboat, the Pirates of the Caribbean...but I don't want to go on any of the rides!' I figured out that rides meant the whip or the Ferris wheel at amusement parks. The public recognized these were different. They all had stories."

So why go back to the past and build a bunch of attractions celebrating those rides? It may be historically relevant to California, but it is incongruous with what makes Disney theme parks unique. Just my $.02. Truthfully, we enjoyed Screamin' and it was a neat area to walk around, but I just couldn't shake this feeling that (for me), it just didn't fit.

 

[SirOinksALot]

That's just one section of the expansion, and that was exactly what it was before. This, however, looks infinitely better than the IFF.

This is accurate, it's much better than what was there but I agree with Dave.

As someone with a Simpsons character as my handle here, I think I'm qualified to speak as a "Simpsons fan" .... I had low expectations a few months back then higher expectations after the press release. I should have stuck with the lower expectations. If Three Brooksticks and BoG are about 9-10 on the theme park fast food scale, I'd put this around a 3 or 4. The interior feels lower rent than I was expecting. And even Disney doesn't have the cajones to charge $10 for a basic hamburger. I did not eat there despite it being 7:30 and not having eaten dinner yet so I guess I have to withhold judgement on the actual food, but nothing I've read claims that it's anything special.

 

[lazyboy97o]

So why go back to the past and build a bunch of attractions celebrating those rides? It may be historically relevant to California, but it is incongruous with what makes Disney theme parks unique. Just my $.02. Truthfully, we enjoyed Screamin' and it was a neat area to walk around, but I just couldn't shake this feeling that (for me), it just didn't fit.

This is why I think Paradise Pier 1.0 makes more sense that Paradise Pier 1.7. The original was supposed to be some sort of homage to seaside piers. Paradise Pier 1.0 lacked a strong direction, was undercut in its financing but essentially had to be included because the seaside pier project had existed for years as a pet idea of Eisner's that had yet to materialize with the idea showing up previously as part of plans for at the Boardwalk, Port Disney and Disney's America. Paradise Pier 1.7 however is this really bizarre hypothetical of "What if Disney built an amusement park?" across the street from where Disney actually did build an amusement park. We know the answer to "What if Disney built and amusement park?" and it looked nothing like Paradise Pier in any form.

 

[spaceghost]

I've never understood the significant dislike that Disney fans have with "carnival rides" considering that two of the most seminal Disney experiences so closely associated with the nostalgia of the parks (Dumbo and the Tea Cups) are such rides.

Now, I certainly wouldn't advocate having a large number of flat rides as the basis for a Disney park, but having some of them is a very good thing in terms of helping capacity and providing for different experienced. As long as the rides are well themed and fit into the general ambiance. I think PP at DCA was a problem because it was basically all that type of ride when the park opened (and largely still is like that). But having a small handful of such rides scattered in a theme park in appropriate places with appropriate look is totally fine and does not diminish the experience.

I think a small amount of cycle rides scattered throughout the park is fine, but that's not what is at DCA, even in the 2.0 version. Here's the current list of carnival/cycle rides:

• Flik's Flyers
• Francis' Ladybug Boogie
• Golden Zephyr
• Heimlich's Chew Chew Train
• Jumpin' Jellyfish
• Luigi's Flying Tires
• Mater's Junkyard Jamboree
• Mickey's Fun Wheel
• Silly Symphony Swings
• Tuck and Roll's Drive 'Em Buggies

DL may have nearly that many as well, but there's also twice as many attractions overall in the park. These rides make up a rather large chunk of the DCA experience still. They're are also not high capacity rides. They are cycle rides where operations has to load, run for a few cycles, stop, unload, rinse and repeat. The true people eaters are the (almost) constantly running rides like Pirates or Mansion where the ride doesn't have to stop for people to get on or off - if designed right, those just eat people up. Even with the coasters and rides like Splash Mountain, while the ride vehicle has to stop for loading and unloading, at least other ride vehicles are still operating in the ride.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to sound like a DCA grump - we really did enjoy our time there and some of the areas and attractions are just spectacular.

 

[PhotoDave219]

What were you expecting? Moes is nice and the food court is what it is. There is still like 2/3 of the expansion to open so labeling it all now is slightly stupid.

I was expecting more than a food court.

I was expecting androids dungeon to be more than a bathroom.

I was expecting a themed moe's tavern, beyond a bar with green walls.

I guess the Tangled Toilets set the bar for how simple things should be themed.....

 

[PhotoDave219]

Yes, but I feel as though it manages to act as a separate entity.

Except by the throngs of people eating lunch in there.

What have we said about mixing family and alcohol environments?