Two coasts: One very different world

[Bolna]

So, if the construction schedules had been different and CA opened up just the little Luigi's tire carnival ride and FL opened up the entire FLE, would you have been so quick to try to create some controversy?

In a way that actually s another thing that showcases the difference between the coasts: DCA kept the whole area complete and opened everything in one big event: all of Carsland and all of Buena Vista Street. While in Florida we get the new Fantasyland in tiny bits. First you can walk more or less through a maze of construction walls to one spinner and then things get opened up in tiny pieces. It's a process that will keep going for 2 years!! Yes, I know the differences: DCA needed the new launch to free itself from the image of "the park that failed". But why couldn't the MK have a great event to launch the new Fantasyland as well? Well, because it desperately needs any bit of capacity that it can get as soon as it becomes available. Also, as others have said the whole project is spread out because of accounting issues. And then I have read many times here how smart it is to open it in phases to constantly have something new to promote.

And I think with this last argument we are back where WDW1974 started: Does Disney really thing that they can get people excited enough about WDW when they have a relocated Dumbo or a former ride turned into a princess meet & greet?

 

[Bolna]

And I wasn't talking about The Disney Parks Blog ... even those fools aren't stupid enough to upstage their biggest domestic event in years by talking about a kiddie fountain.

They did talk about the kiddie fountain: http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...o-storybook-circus-doubled-dumbo-is-unveiled/

And I think that article is there on purpose: to remind the WDW fans who read that blog that while DCA is getting that wonderful Carsland they don't have to be sad: They are getting a Circusland filled with lots of magical attractions!

 

[TP2000]

Can someone tell me how long it took for Carsland to be constructed?

Earth moving and the Golden Shovel ceremony for Cars Land took place on July 9th, 2009. Cars Land opened officially on June 15th, 2012. So, it took about three weeks shy of three years to build Cars Land from the ground up. And this is in California, where they have far more restrictive building codes for earthquakes, and a government permit process that is far less accomodating than Florida and the Reedy Creek Improvement District.

I just returned from my first visit to Cars Land and the extreme makeover of the new DCA. All I can say is.... WOW. The place is amazing. I can't even believe this is the same theme park that I used to make fun of constantly a decade ago. That new opening act of Buena Vista Street where the cheesy Sunshine Plaza used to be is just stunning.

Cars Land is gorgeous and funny and charming and romantic and awe-inspiring all at the same time. My new favorite land of any Disney theme park; and yes, I have been to Tokyo DisneySea several times.

And Radiator Springs Racers?!? That's the best darn theme park ride I've seen since Indiana Jones Adventure and/or Pirates of the Caribbean. Radiator Springs Racers impresses you immediately like nothing I've been on; it's just brilliant from the moment you step into the queue until you exit the ride. Even the ride's exit path had people stopping and taking pictures of the breathtaking scenery. So, so, so utterly impressive with the big animatronics and soaring rockwork and thrilling road race and swelling music and crashing waterfalls.

And yes, the Casey Jr. water train looks cute. But I don't quite get the fence around the locomotive.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Earth moving and the Golden Shovel ceremony for Cars Land took place on July 9th, 2009. Cars Land opened officially on June 15th, 2012. So, it took about three weeks shy of three years to build Cars Land from the ground up. And this is in California, where they have far more restrictive building codes for earthquakes, and a government permit process that is far less accomodating than Florida and the Reedy Creek Improvement District.

I just returned from my first visit to Cars Land and the extreme makeover of the new DCA. All I can say is.... WOW. The place is amazing. I can't even believe this is the same theme park that I used to make fun of constantly a decade ago. That new opening act of Buena Vista Street where the cheesy Sunshine Plaza used to be is just stunning.

Cars Land is gorgeous and funny and charming and romantic and awe-inspiring all at the same time. My new favorite land of any Disney theme park; and yes, I have been to Tokyo DisneySea several times.

And Radiator Springs Racers?!? That's the best darn theme park ride I've seen since Indiana Jones Adventure and/or Pirates of the Caribbean. Radiator Springs Racers impresses you immediately like nothing I've been on; it's just brilliant from the moment you step into the queue until you exit the ride. Even the ride's exit path had people stopping and taking pictures of the breathtaking scenery. So, so, so utterly impressive with the big animatronics and soaring rockwork and thrilling road race and swelling music and crashing waterfalls.

And yes, the Casey Jr. water train looks cute. But I don't quite get the fence around the locomotive.

So... you liked it? Awesome! Can't wait 'til I can see it in November.

 

[ScorpionX]

And Radiator Springs Racers?!? That's the best darn theme park ride I've seen since Indiana Jones Adventure and/or Pirates of the Caribbean. Radiator Springs Racers impresses you immediately like nothing I've been on; it's just brilliant from the moment you step into the queue until you exit the ride. Even the ride's exit path had people stopping and taking pictures of the breathtaking scenery. So, so, so utterly impressive with the big animatronics and soaring rockwork and thrilling road race and swelling music and crashing waterfalls.

Agreed. I believe The Radiator Springs Racers will be to Disney's California Adventure what Indiana Jones & the Temple of the Foribdden Eye is to Disneyland Park.

 

[DisneyFan 2000]

I'm honestly just trying to figure out how anyone would bother to compare a huge update at California Adventure to an extremely small water attraction that is merely part of the much larger and more extravagant FLE. You make it out as if Casey is the absolutely only offering in the upcoming FLE and that it's the only new offering that wdw has planned for the immediate future.

But isn't FLE in fact the only thing currently lined up? You know, '74 may come off as extreme but his views aren't based on his imagination. The unbelievable imbalance between WDW and the planned offerings for DLR - or, heck, any other resort at the moment - almost makes it seems like the resorts are run by two separate companies. Anyone who's been to another resort as of late would know that WDW is getting short-changed. Anyone who's willing to defend that or hope that maybe the future will be brighter just isn't seeing the bigger issues. Current management needs to go almost as urgently as Eisner did in his post 2000 years. I'll admit I didn't feel that strongly about it a year ago, but I guess all it takes is a visit to a pristine DLR and follow that up by visiting the always impressive TDR to make a change of heart.

 

[bugsbunny]

Was just at DL right before opening of Cars Land. First off, the whole of DL jst seems to have a newer cleaner appearance to everything. And maybe other than ToT, I think WDW pales in comparison when it comes to amount of "pluses" applied toward overall presentation, upkeep, etc.

I've been to DL about 6 times in the past 15 years and 25+ to WDW in that time period. Back during the Eisner reign, they both were equally suffering. Now it seems DL is back to its awesome self and as long as WDW keeps making money, why extend huge amounts of capital to improve it?

 

[marni1971]

Toy Story Mania isn't considered a major addition to Studios when it has the longest lines in the park?

Nope. It's stupidly popular, in a Soarin' crazy way, but a busbar ride looking at a series of screens in a converted shed isn't a pinnacle of WDIs ability. Even if the tech is clever.

 

[asianway]

Nope. It's stupidly popular, in a Soarin' crazy way, but a busbar ride looking at a series of screens in a converted shed isn't a pinnacle of WDIs ability. Even if the tech is clever.

Especially in a world where Monsters Inc Ride and Go Seek exists, they could have done so much more. Now you have two Toy Story themed shooting gallery type rides, that's at least one too many

 

[njDizFan]

I was wondering about that too, even more than I am wondering how a guy fresh off the Bar exam and is just starting out as a lawyer is getting all this vacation time. He's posted 4 trip reports before the Carsland opening alone.

Agreed...reading his twitter feed is like a year long travel-log. More power to him I guess...but still quite interesting

 

[AmongMadPeople]

Tom Bricker is there representing Touring Plans, which he blogs for.

I'm not one to judge how someone spends their vacation days, but it seems they usually leave on evening flights after working during the day and their trips usually overlap a weekend. He probably takes fewer vacation days than it appears.

 

[rudyjr13]

74 makes some very valid points here. See backlot tour, Wonder of life pavilion, Alladin spinner, Indy show, Yeti, monorails to name a few. However, the World is still a great place to spend a week with the family. I'm going in November with wife and 2 daughters (2 and 3) and we can't wait to see the new fantasyland. HOPING Beast and Ariel are open as well.

As others have said, why spend the money if people still come? It's like Apple's new MacBook Pro with retina display. People are fired up about not being able to upgrade the internal parts. But if you are apple isn't it better for the consumer to have to come back in 3 years and drop another 2k on a laptop? Smart business. Plus you cant even but the darn thing, sold out with 3-4 week shopping.

Let Uni and Cali put pressure on TDO and if attendance dops hopefully we will see change.

 

[ScoutN]

https://twitter.com/WaltDisneyWorld/status/214012203873992704

Sure seems to be glorified there.

 

[rudyjr13]

https://twitter.com/WaltDisneyWorld/status/214012203873992704

Sure seems to be glorified there.

What's wrong with kids having fun at MK? That spot is for kids not adults. They tore out one water are and replaced with this one that by first hand reports looks great.

 

[TP2000]

Was just at DL right before opening of Cars Land. First off, the whole of DL jst seems to have a newer cleaner appearance to everything. And maybe other than ToT, I think WDW pales in comparison when it comes to amount of "pluses" applied toward overall presentation, upkeep, etc.

I am forever fascinated at the differences in operation between Disneyland and WDW. Those differences have been growing wider in recent years, and I'm afraid it's now a chasm between the two when it comes to several key things in how they run their daily business. It's amazing these are two properties run by the same company, and that this wide difference in operation has grown wider during the "One Disney" corporate era.

Cars Land and DCA's extreme makeover just puts a cherry on top of that. A very big cherry.

That said, I would humbly add Splash Mountain to Tower of Terror as two attractions that are designed better at WDW. There are more animatronics in Disneyland's Splash, and the maintenance is noticeably better (without the funky WDW smell too), but the plotline and art direction is better on WDW's Splash Mountain. At Disneyland's Splash Mt. it's a frenzied race past two dozen singing chickens and psychedelic animals flailing in caves before the drops, but at WDW there's actually a plotline and story presented. Who knew Splash Mountain had a plot?!? Not me, until I rode the WDW version after a few years of riding the Disneyland version.

 

[TP2000]

Nope. It's stupidly popular, in a Soarin' crazy way, but a busbar ride looking at a series of screens in a converted shed isn't a pinnacle of WDIs ability. Even if the tech is clever.

I think the ridiculously long lines at Midway Mania at DHS speak more to Fastpass forced on to the operation and the dearth of rides and attractions at DHS, than the actual merits of Midway Mania. There are only a small handful of actual rides in DHS, and all of them are from the 1990's, except for Midway Mania.

What should be fascinating to watch is what happens to the lines for Midway Mania at DCA now that Cars Land is open. Midway Mania at DCA doesn't have Fastpass (in that quirky Disneyland way where they limit Fastpass to only a small number of rides in each park, opposite of the WDW strategy), and it generally has waits of 45 minutes on busy days. What happens with Cars Land now open? Do the DCA wait times drop to 20 or 30 minutes? Or does DCA attendance bump up enough to keep the afternoon Mania wait times at 45?

 

[HMF]

What's wrong with kids having fun at MK? That spot is for kids not adults. They tore out one water are and replaced with this one that by first hand reports looks great.

"It came about when my daughters were very young and Saturday was always daddy's day with the two daughters. So we'd start out and try to go someplace, you know, different things, and I'd take them to the merry-go-round and I took them different places and as I'd sit while they rode the merry-go-round and did all these things - sit on a bench, you know, eating peanuts - I felt that there should be something built where the parents and the children could have fun together. So that's how Disneyland started. Well, it took many years ... it was a period of maybe 15 years developing. I started with many ideas, threw them away, started all over again. And eventually it evolved into what you see today at Disneyland. But it all started from a daddy with two daughters wondering where he could take them where he could have a little fun with them, too."-Walt Disney

 

[Californian Elitist]

^^^^AMEN!

 

[misterID]

I think the ridiculously long lines at Midway Mania at DHS speak more to Fastpass forced on to the operation and the dearth of rides and attractions at DHS, than the actual merits of Midway Mania. There are only a small handful of actual rides in DHS, and all of them are from the 1990's, except for Midway Mania.

What should be fascinating to watch is what happens to the lines for Midway Mania at DCA now that Cars Land is open. Midway Mania at DCA doesn't have Fastpass (in that quirky Disneyland way where they limit Fastpass to only a small number of rides in each park, opposite of the WDW strategy), and it generally has waits of 45 minutes on busy days. What happens with Cars Land now open? Do the DCA wait times drop to 20 or 30 minutes? Or does DCA attendance bump up enough to keep the afternoon Mania wait times at 45?

Like Soarin' at EPCOT, I think the lines for TSM speaks more about the other attractions in DHS than how good TSM really is.

 

[marni1971]

I think the ridiculously long lines at Midway Mania at DHS speak more to Fastpass forced on to the operation and the dearth of rides and attractions at DHS, than the actual merits of Midway Mania. There are only a small handful of actual rides in DHS, and all of them are from the 1990's, except for Midway Mania.

What should be fascinating to watch is what happens to the lines for Midway Mania at DCA now that Cars Land is open. Midway Mania at DCA doesn't have Fastpass (in that quirky Disneyland way where they limit Fastpass to only a small number of rides in each park, opposite of the WDW strategy), and it generally has waits of 45 minutes on busy days. What happens with Cars Land now open? Do the DCA wait times drop to 20 or 30 minutes? Or does DCA attendance bump up enough to keep the afternoon Mania wait times at 45?

Indeed.