Originally Posted By Darkbeer February 8th, 2007 – DCA’s 6th Anniversary – Current issues and Hope for the Future So we have reached California Adventure’s Sixth Anniversary, and currently it is still having problems, but there are strong rumors of Major Improvements and Changes in the future. We will talk about the future at the end, but let’s look at the park as of February 8th, 2007. Much of the park is still closed to general Park Guests. In the Hollywood Pictures Backlot area, the Former Millionaire Building, now called Stage 17 is just used for Special events and Private Parties. The same holds true for the former Hollywood and Dine location. Two large facilities fairly close to each other. The Hyperion now sits unused two days a week. Over at the Bountiful Valley Farm area, Caterpillar has pulled out of being a sponsor, and the Stage area has been removed, leaving a very dead space. Next door, in the Pacific Wharf area, the largest eatery still sits empty and unused (Lucky Fortune Cookery), though it did get some use during the Food and Wine Festival. And right next to that you have the Golden Vine Winery Wine Bars, the larger of the two (the west end) has sat unused (except for some special events a few days a year) for years, along with the Season of the Vine attraction, which is hardly ever open. Last Sunday, we had a group of 20 that asked for someone to come over and show us the movie, and were told that it was closed. On the other side of the closed Wine Bar is the San Francisco area, with a empty building, last time it was used by Guests was during the X-Games promotion, as an arcade. The Cove Bar is just open three days a week in the off-season. The Entertainment Corridor only has a Parade go down it 3 days a week during the off-season and the Electrical Parade is only offered about 4 months out of the year. DCA still has shorter park operating hours and much less entertainment and character interaction than Disneyland. The only new things that DCA got in the last 12 months were the High School Musical and the Lighting McQueen and Mater Meet and Greet, plus “PUSH†getting relocated from Tomorrowland. Less than a year ago, Disney's chief executive officer, Robert Iger went on record during the company's annual stockholder meeting on March 10th, 2006, when someone asked about a potential third park being built in Anaheim. "We're still working to assure the second gate is successful", Iger said, referring to California Adventure. "In the spirit of candor, we have been challenged." What is the challenge? Well, it has been reported that the Senior Execs now are looking into “The DCA Problem†and how to fix it. But the main problem is currently attendance, or more precisely, paid admission revenue. Currently we have major discounts and promotions to try and draw guests into DCA. The current marketing program, “Rockin’ Both Parks†was rushed and changed multiple times the weeks before it took effect, including logos and now a revised Television commercial that features the “Dreams†music instead of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, with once again revised logos. The marketing program was designed to match up with the return of the 2fer ticket, which Disney still markets as “Enjoy Disneyland® Park on one day and Disney's California Adventure® Park on another day FREE!". Then we have the severe discounting offered to guests that will buy a Three Day or longer ParkHopper (Currently a 3 day ParkHopper is just $7 more than a 2 day ParkHopper). This has Disney looking for guests to take a look at DCA while they are there, but not much additional admission revenue paying for the park operation. Disney also does force some folks to go into DCA. First during certain times, if a Cast Member wants to sign in a guest, they need to use the DCA turnstiles, not Disneyland’s. Also there are less Cast Member Blockout days for themselves and guests at DCA than at Disneyland. Add the Annual Passport program, in which Southern Californians can get an AP for $154 or less for an entire year. Now, DCA did get a boost in its attendance count due to the expansion of the Mickey’s Halloween treat event, which had a larger daily attendance this year. Also, Disney was very pro-active on days of high attendance at Disneyland, stopping one day ticket sales to Disneyland earlier, but offering a special DCA ticket for the same price, that allowed a guest to visit DCA, but then enter Disneyland after a certain set time printed on the ticket (they spread the time around to not have a large group at any one time try to enter Disneyland, but times like after 4 PM, 5 PM and 6 PM were common). This helped DCA attendance, as they count the first park visited in a day. Disney doesn’t issue official attendance counts, but they do talk about percentage increases and decreases by the “resort†in investor information and phone calls. In the conference call on November 9th, 2006, they reported that the Disneyland Resort attendance was down 7% in the 4th Quarter (as compared to 4th quarter 2005). The Fourth Quarter covers the months of July, August and September. Of course, the 50th celebration was winding down, so it wasn’t a big surprise that attendance drop as compared to 2005. In the February 7th, 2007 conference call, it was reported that the Disneyland Resort attendance was down 5% for the October thru December 2006 period compared to the same timeframe in 2005. So the vast majority of DCA’s attendance are folks who paid very little to enter DCA (The 2fer, Advance Purchase ParkHoppers, Annual Passes and Cast Member sign ins and comps). On the other hand, Disneyland sells a lot of single day tickets to its park, bringing in a lot more revenue on a “per guest†basis than DCA does. We know of one major project in the works, “Toy Story Mania!†which is being built and opens in 2008. So far, everything that has been announced sounds like Disney is using new technology and including advanced AA’s, things that are sorely lacking currently at DCA. Also, part of the budget is to help plus the area around the entrance to “Toy Story Maniaâ€. This is all fine and good, but Disney did learn that just opening one new attraction will just help push more Annual Passholders thru the gates to check out the new ride when they opened Tower of Terror and Monsters, Inc. Currently both attractions have short waits the majority of the time. The park is still not seen as having a full days worth of “valueâ€. Disney has known they need to have a much stronger Extreme Makeover of the park, and rumors have the decision to spend over $650 million, about the same amount of money as what it costs to build the original DCA. And some of the current rumors are getting positive spin on the internet. The Walt Disney Company Annual Stockholders Meeting will be held Thursday, March 8th and rumors have the Board coming up to a final decision on the proposed plans and that an announcement will be made to the major investment and needed changes to DCA around the same time, maybe even at the meeting itself. So we should have some great things to discuss, upcoming new attractions and the possible re-branding of the park when the project is completed. Maybe then Disney can get more than a few folks a day to pay full price to visit the park just south of Disneyland So Disney will let the day pass by without celebration at the Park, just another normal off-season weekday with limited hours and entertainment. Here is hoping that we can spend more time a year from now (and 4 years from now) with all the work being done to help make DCA more deserving to be called “Disney’s†California Adventure. And then, Disney can celebrate the changes when they can reduce and eliminate all the discounts and the CM’s selling tickets can truly ask, “You want a One Day ticket, which park would you like to visit?†and not get just one answer…..
Originally Posted By whistler Hopefully there are a lot of interesting, diverse, and enjoyable additions to DCA in the next few years. That would be very fun to observe. I hope there are a lot of little out of the way additions, ala the rumored pan for gold in the sierra area.... I think these sort of things would go a long way in this relativily new park. Go DCA! BOOYA!
Originally Posted By Darkbeer FYI, John Frost linked to this thread at "The Disney Blog", and has some great comments of his own.... <a href="http://www.thedisneyblog.com/tdb/2007/02/california_adve.html" target="_blank">http://www.thedisneyblog.com/t db/2007/02/california_adve.html</a> >>Disney fans have known what the problems were from the moment plans were leaked to the internet. The plans for the park were conceived during an executive retreat in Aspen. Disneyland President Paul Pressler and rising WDI star Barry Braverman (known for his ability to build attractions on the cheap) came up with the idea for the park during a brief walk down to the corner. There was no story, no need to be filled (other than the company's coffers), and no theme park design experience in the original group. Then they handed the park off to the a new group of Imagineers who were brought in from Disney's Development Company (the folks who built Hotels and Resorts). Essentially, they were flying blind. There were three main problems. One, on Michael Eisner's orders they went cheap. They spent $1.4 billion expanding the resort, but only around $650 million of that went to the new park. Tokyo Disney Sea, which opened later in 2001 spent $1.6 billion just on the park. There are a host of problems that come with going cheap. No birm (or creative building placement) to block out the outside world, over use of lightly themed buildings and off the shelf attractions, very little shade, and more. Some of this is easy to fix (better themeing) and some of it isn't. The lack of a birm let's Disney's hotels, neighboring hotels, and the convention center loom over the park constant reminders of the decidedly unfun world they're trying to escape. << Much more at the link....
Originally Posted By oc_dean Six whopping years later ... and the improvements have only come in a trickle! I suppose it will take through 2015 to be anything that it should be. In the meantime ... I think I'll stick with the other theme park across the esplanade! BYE!
Originally Posted By disneywatcher I certainly do like the "dynamite" part of that blogger's commentary: >>>>> So if I'm doing all this critiquing do I have a solution? I do (look at DisneySea to start). But it involves time travel, lots of dynamite, and a lot more money. It's also pointless to discuss. Disney management is going to do what they're going to do. <<<<< If ongoing debates about what should or should not be done to DCA are "pointless," than a lot of that is because no one in the public knows exactly how the park is performing. For instance, if DCA's bottom line truly is horrible, that would point in one direction. If DCA's bottom line is so-so -- good but not great -- that would point in another direction. And if the park's profit-and-loss ledger is better than commonly believed, that would suggest a lethargic approach might not be uncalled for, now and at least into the immediate future. If rumors that regular-ticket-price attendance is surprisingly poor, suggesting that almost no one from outside the LA area -- referring to full-fledged tourists or visitors -- is bothering to visit DCA, and if that trend can be verified as going back practically to the very beginning (2001), I'd be far more aggressive about changing the status quo of the park. In other words, I'd want to use a lot of dynamite, literally and figuratively, on DCA.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <suggesting that almost no one from outside the LA area -- referring to full-fledged tourists or visitors -- is bothering to visit DCA,> I would guess it was just the opposite. Most people from outside LA spend 2 or more days, and many of them get parkhoppers, meaning they'd be more likely to visit DCA. I think the local daytrippers who visit once or twice a year and get single day tickets are more likely to just visit DL and give DCA a pass. By the way, I don't think it's fair to count parkhoppers as "reduced admission." Sure, literally they are, but just about everyone who visits WDW buys hoppers, for instance. So did I get a "reduced admission" to EPCOT last time I went because I went on a hopper? Not really.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer But if you look at the history of the 2 park ticket program, you will see that original Disney was not going to have ParkHoppers for most guests, very similar to how the Ticket Program at Toyko Disneyland works. You can buy Multi-Day tickets at a small discount, but the tickets are good for just one park per day. Disney originally only sold ParkHopper tickets to those folks staying in one of the three Disney owned Hotels. After major adjustments in the first year, including making all Multi-Day Tickets ParkHoppers, they started a "Two days free" program for Advance Purchase tickets. But due to abuse on eBay (people selling the unused days), they went to this current system of very cheap extra days if you stay 3 or more days. Currently it is $7 for the third day, making it $43 a day, or half the cost of a One Day ParkHopper. One of the major complaints was the fact that Disneyland Park lost income as the Senior Managers shifted some of the ticket revenue away from Disneyland and into DCA's budget, just to show the park doing better than it was. Many people pay full price, for example, Universal Studios Hollywood sells a lot of Full Price tickets, plus One Day special tickets at $99 and $149 for a single day for VIP style access. There is a lot of good history regarding the first years of DCA in this thread... <a href="http://www.micechat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9078" target="_blank">http://www.micechat.com/forums /showthread.php?t=9078</a> One big difference, and one Disney failed to take into consideration when they built DCA. The market is a LOT different in Anaheim than in Orlando. Disney right now is basically trying to get folks to arrive in town on a plane, get on a bus (free of course) to get onto WDW property, and then try and keep the guests there, making a lot of money since they own the vast majority of hotels and restaurants on property. Anaheim was chosen for the location for Disneyland mainly because it was the predicted center point for Southern California once it "grew up", and that is exactly what happened. That means a lot of locals (within a few hours drive) come down for the day and don't stay in the area. Also, most of the hotels and restaurants in the area are not owned by Disney (or the fact that Disney collects rent, such as the places in DtD). This makes a big difference in the Financial Model. Disney needs a larger "upfront" fee from Guests, and currently they are paying less per day than at WDW, even with all the "discounts", since they have added fees that many folks pick for the multi day tickets in Florida. Also the CM's in California make more money due to Minimum Wage and related employment costs (Workers Comp and Unemployment). Yes, folks like Knott's and Six Flags Magic Mountain can operate on around $30 per day in admission (the typical discounted rate), but currently DCA is making less than $30 a day, as the typical breakdown of admissions, other than Single Day, Single Park tickets is about 1/3'rd to DCA, with 2/3'rds being allocated to Disneyland. I think what Disney would like to have in Southern California is a minor discount on Multi Day tickets, such as $63 for a One Day Single Park Ticket, $115 for a Two Day, Single Park Ticket, $160 for a three day Single Park ticket (or do it like Tokyo, the first two days must be a Single Park, the third day and longer the guest can ParkHopper).
Originally Posted By ni_teach Sorry for this being all over the place but I’m writing it rather quickly off the top of my head before I run to a meeting. Has there been some improvement in the past 6 years, yes, but it’s been way too slow in coming. What have we seen in 6 years? On the negative side we have seen a lot of closing of buildings, both shows and dinning. The addition of “bug’s land†which has some charm was clearly done as cheaply as possible. For attractions there as been a nice overlay of Monsters on SSL and some additions to the Animation building. The on location entertainment has changed the most and I’m not going to take the time to lists them all here, but it’s easy to say that some changes were good and other entertainment that they presented to us fall under the category of “What the?!?!?â€. 6 years ago I wrote a review of the DCA which I concluded: “It’s about the rides / attractions stupid†and I still stand by that statement. The fix for the DCA is very simple what the park needs is more original, non-movie based, family attractions. Even with the weak theme of California, the park could have been a success if it had the attractions to back it up.
Originally Posted By leemac <<currently DCA is making less than $30 a day>> <<So the vast majority of DCA’s attendance are folks who paid very little to enter DCA (The 2fer, Advance Purchase ParkHoppers, Annual Passes and Cast Member sign ins and comps).>> And what evidence do you have that isn't anecdotal? Big difference between your musings and states of fact. <<Tokyo Disney Sea, which opened later in 2001 spent $1.6 billion just on the park. >> John is usually pretty accurate but the true cost of TDS was significantly higher than that number. Way north.
Originally Posted By ArchtMig >>>And Happy Birthday DCA.<<< Right... but I can't wait for the day when you mature from being a gangly geeky pimply faced ugly duckling into a beautiful, stately, elegant swan. Years from now, unfortionately, but hopefully it will happen.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <But if you look at the history of the 2 park ticket program, you will see that original Disney was not going to have ParkHoppers for most guests, very similar to how the Ticket Program at Toyko Disneyland works.> So? We're not talking about what Disney might have wanted six years ago, but what the reality is. And the reality is that most out-of-town visitors to DLR (like WDW) buy hoppers, and it's not quite accurate to count that as "reduced admission."
Originally Posted By DlandDug >>John is usually pretty accurate but the true cost of TDS was significantly higher than that number. Way north.<< And what evidence do you have that isn't anecdotal? Big difference between your musings and states of fact.
Originally Posted By leemac ^^ I'll happily point to OLC's filings at the Tokyo Stock Exchange if you like. The true cost is clearly available in the OLC's historic financial statements. Thanks for the snide comment though.
Originally Posted By DlandDug Ah, the comment was yours, snide or not. My intention was to point out that everyone here engages in "anecdotal" musings from time to time. Sorry that it caused offense; none was intended.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Doing some very very rough measuring on Google Earth, and the building costs given, it appears that DCA cost about $312 per foot, while TDS was $457 per foot (using the apparently wrong $1.6 billion). This means that DCA cost about 2/3 (68%) per foot of TDS. Maybe it's just me, but it appears that TDS got way more bang for it's buck, even with paying more. Perhaps more of that park is covered in water, so the land areas are actually more, but even for the low price that DCA was made, there just seems to be a lot missing that could be there.
Originally Posted By ArchtMig TDS is also at least 3 or 4 times the area of DCA, so it's not just a square foot per square foot comparison.
