Originally Posted By Mr X Someone asked this question on another thread, and I thought it deserved its' own topic because it's a great question... Which park, when they opened, was better? My answer, MGM by far. Thoughts?
Originally Posted By dennis-in-ct Hmmm .... Both parks had a similar feel - a really good start. I visited MGM 4 months after it opened and DCA 3 months after it opened. My vote goes for MGM too. MGM - The park had a real story. It felt like a visited a real working studio. I got the experience of what the park promised. The experience made me feel a little trapped though. To start the tour, I remember lining up to get on the backstage trams by the animation building. Once you got on it led you to all the backstage attractions - one by one by one .... And the lines. I felt a little hostage. In later years, they broke up the backstage experiences with their own entrances and closed the tram method of entering the backstage tour. That was better. Some lasting powerful memories - the Bette Midler movie and waiting in the prop house looking at all the props I had just seen in the movie short. Seeing a real soundstage. The special effects area. The great movie ride. the prime time cafe. The MUPPET show !!! (funny how the muppet show was also at DCA the opening day also) DCA - I was blown away by the grizzly peak area, the animation building, the Hyperion show experience and the Eureka parade. All this things alone gave me my admissions worth. The rest I just felt was a good start and I knew the place would blossom just like MGM did with the expansion of sunset blvd. I look forward to visiting DCA in 2012 more than I look forward to Disney Studios right now.
Originally Posted By Mr X Wow...a rare message from My Old Pal Dennis! It's neat to hear your perspective since you enjoyed both places soon after they opened! Thanks for the details and the insight, and also Little X says (since she asked what I was doing and I said "talking to Uncle Dennis") she remembers you and your family and your pets and wants to visit again soon!
Originally Posted By Mr X ***To start the tour, I remember lining up to get on the backstage trams by the animation building. Once you got on it led you to all the backstage attractions - one by one by one .... And the lines. I felt a little hostage. In later years, they broke up the backstage experiences with their own entrances and closed the tram method of entering the backstage tour. That was better*** Funny. I remember that too, AND I do remember feeling rather trapped in the lines BUT I sort of thought it was okay because there were so many set props and other stuff to check out (the sort of things people these days clutching their fastpasses never bother to look at...in this case, you were obliged to due to circumstance and, I kinda liked it actually).
Originally Posted By Dabob2 For me, easily DCA. Neither felt complete, certainly. MGM felt too much like a pale imitation of a real studio tour, the shows were nothing I hadn't seen before, and GMR was a little weak for me as the signature (and only) ride. I definitely had more fun at DCA, preferred its best ride to MGM's best ride, preferred its animation building to MGM's, plus it had a good coaster, some "little gems" (like the winery)... I just liked it better.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Thoughts?" X all you have to do is compare the roster of attractions and DCA wins hands down. Disney/MGM only had ONE, yes one, ride when it opened, The Great Movie Ride. Everything else was either an exhibit or some kid of spectator show, oh, and the backstage tram tour of course. I could be wrong but from my recollection Disney/MGM didn't even have a parade during its first season.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***X all you have to do is compare the roster of attractions and DCA wins hands down*** No, that's *not* all you have to do. There is the matter of the incoherent theme, and the cheap carney stuff (of which MGM opened with none), and the vibe of the place too. Although arguably it was even worse a year or two AFTER opening when the restauranteurs bailed and stuff started getting shut down. Oh, and I don't buy that "one ride" bluster for a second...
Originally Posted By Dabob2 MGM had one ride when it opened, that's just a fact. Star Tours opened pretty soon thereafter, but initially it was just one, unless you count the portion of the tour that was on the tram.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "There is the matter of the incoherent theme, and the cheap carney stuff (of which MGM opened with none), and the vibe of the place too." Disney/MGM wouldn't have won any prizes cohesive theming or atmosphere, and nothing screams cheap more like a short roster consisting of one mediocre ride and a collection of stage shows.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Ugh. Let's try that again: Disney/MGM wouldn't have won any prizes for cohesive theming or atmosphere, and nothing screams cheap more than a theme park with one mediocre ride and a collection of stage shows.
Originally Posted By DlandDug Count me among those who preferred Disney-MGM. I liked both parks at opening-- but just liked D-MGM better. As I have said in other threads, I think it was the intimate scale of D-MGM that I liked. It was also far and away better than Uni Hollywood was back in 1989. (They had zero rides.) Among the things I liked were the Great Movie Ride, which really did let guests "ride" the movies. The interactive element was quite novel. I also really liked the Animation Tour, which offered a great look at animators at work, from story meetings to background painters to, well, just about every aspect of making animated films. I really enjoyed playing the Theramin at the Monster Sound Show building, and admiring the detailing at the Backlot Cafe. I also liked the way they captured the glamor of Hollywood. There were Oscars on display. Movie artifacts in the lobby of the Chinese Theater, and pretty nifty authentic memorabilia available at Sid Cahuenga's. Best of all was the guarantee that you would see an actual movie star every day. Remember the Star Cavalcade? And the handprint ceremony? And the conversations at the Theater of the Stars? That was done every day when the place opened. I also liked DCA, but part of the problem is completely intangible. In the twelve years that passed, expectations were higher. DCA was also intended to be a fully presented theme park. D-MGM was "more" than just a Studio Tour; DCA was less than a theme park. In the long run, it's all subjective. Ironically, D-MGM spent ten years to become a mess. DCA may, after ten years, emerge as a coherent winner.
Originally Posted By SpokkerJones DCA is better than MGM and Disney Studios Paris combined. Soarin' alone beats anything at either parks on day 1. DCA had at least one well-themed area vs. MGM's zero well-themed areas. And Universal Studios does everything MGM does but better. It's also more authentic because there is a real studio there. Comparing the parks circa late-2000s, MGM gets a bump from Tower of Terror and Fantasmic!, but the park still feels bare to me. DCA 2.0 clinches it even more. Of course, Tokyo DisneySea blows them all out of the water.
Originally Posted By SpokkerJones Both DCA and MGM were creatively bankrupt. The difference is that it mattered more in Anaheim. In Florida, you could completely ignore MGM and still enjoy Epcot and the Magic Kingdom. With the vast amount of real estate around, MGMs existence does not necessarily hurt the resort as a whole. DCA, however, sits on valuable land that cannot be used for anything else now.
Originally Posted By DlandDug >>...MGM's zero well-themed areas.<< I dunno. On opening day (I was there a month later) I found Hollywood Boulevard to be as well detailed and themed as anything at any other theme park. I also liked the area around the Lake. And the Animation Courtyard, while small, was very well done.
Originally Posted By Britain MGM was a great 3rd park the year it opened. It had a mildly ambitious Great Movie Ride and a very ambitious Studio Tour that took up a number of hours. Great entry way. Loved eating at the Brown Derby. Other minor attractions were simply icing on the nice little cake next to the bigger MK and EPCOT offerings. DCA was a disappointing 2nd park on opening day (but might have been an adequate opening park if there was a big 2nd park already in existence). The bar was higher. DCA also was out of focus. The point of MGM was really the studio tour. The point of DCA was... Just to get a 2nd park finally built in Anaheim. A little dash of Epcot-ish Edutainment on an MGM scale. Unsatisfying results.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Soarin' alone beats anything at either parks on day 1*** I dunno about that. I like Soarin, but I would also say the original GMR as well as the tram tour were also up there, and as someone else mentioned Star Tours opened pretty quickly and that, at the time, was a real headliner as well. Besides Soarin, what can you really say was wonderfully impressive about DCA?
Originally Posted By CuriouserConstance <a href="http://ofwnow.com/wp-content/uploads/image/_2010/august/california%20adv%20park.jpg" target="_blank">http://ofwnow.com/wp-content/u...park.jpg</a> <a href="http://www.jnmarshall.net/California%20Trip/02%20Anaheim/Web%20of%20Day%205/Disney%27s%20California%20Adventure%20Park/DSC02092-Crop.JPG" target="_blank">http://www.jnmarshall.net/Cali...Crop.JPG</a>
Originally Posted By Mr X Hardly, my dear. The second picture is nice, I haven't heard too many people dispute the fact that grizzly peak is a real highlight of the place. The first one, though, displays in a nutshell everything I loathe about DCA. Particularly the neon Mickey ears. Blech!!
