Originally Posted By Darkbeer >>...the park is doing what it was intended to do and take in Disneyland's overflow and keep people in the resort spending money.<< That is NOT true, based on statements made in early 2001 by Disney spokespersons, the plan was for Disneyland to take up the overflow from DCA... From the LA times article from January 14th, 2001... >>Senior Disney officials acknowledge that there will be days when California Adventure will have to turn patrons away, particularly in the first weeks after the park opens, during spring break and again in the summer. Disney hopes those denied entry will stay at the resort and visit Disneyland and the new Downtown Disney's shops and restaurants. The risks are that people may flee the resort and those who do get inside California Adventure on crowded days will feel cheated out of experiencing a full range of attractions. "Come early in the day or come later, after the park clears out again," said George Kalogridis, senior vice president of Disney operations in Anaheim. "Hopefully, with Disneyland right across the esplanade and Downtown Disney right there, we won't have to turn people away from the resort."<< DCA was designed and was planned to be a stand-alone park, and the original ticket media sales proved it....
Originally Posted By juicer "It still seems weird walking past the winery and seeing the entire west side tasting area empty." I totally agree Nobody! - It does look really weird - Can't the Tratoria fill that area with tables too?
Originally Posted By Captain Jack Sparrow That is NOT true, based on statements made in early 2001 by Disney spokespersons, the plan was for Disneyland to take up the overflow from DCA... True enough Darkbeer, but when they realized DCA was not the smash hit they thought it would be,the plans changed.We cannot keep going into the past without realizing the egos involved in creating DCA. Then we can blame those truly responsible... Eisner/Pressler/Harris. You see,the new Disney team realizes the weaknesses of DCA and are counting on DL overflow to help pay for these new projects.Smart HUH! Gotta love the park hopper! Oh and keep reporting Iluv....great work! :>}
Originally Posted By bean Oh please Darkbeer you do realize that the statments you are quoted were made in reference to DCA's opening year. TDA/Glendale expected the park to get days of full capacity because it was the first park built in anaheim after 40+ years right next to Disneyland. The overall idea was that during that years first few months the park might reached capacity and Disneyland would take some of its overflow. Eventually the parks attendance level would slow down and work just like the other parks in WDW do. They are there to take up some of the Magic Kingdoms overflow and help keep guest in the resort longer. DCA was planned to do that after its initial year of opening. Yes it did not work out that way but instead of its attednace level dropping down the second year like most theme parks do because its newness factor dies down DCA's attednace level started rising year after year and has been doing what it was intended to do and help Disneyland with its holiday overflow.
Originally Posted By Pinocchio85 Pictures of crowds can be quite deceiving. It's very easy to get shots of nearly empty walkways at Disneyland even on the busiest days.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "That is NOT true, based on statements made in early 2001 by Disney spokespersons, the plan was for Disneyland to take up the overflow from DCA..." That was in 2001. This is now.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>It's nice to know that DCA can fill out the park every once in awhile, just hopefully none of the days *I'm* there .<< There were some days last month when it was pretty darn busy! Nothing like those deserted DCA photos that Al Lutz loves to post.
Originally Posted By 9oldmen >>Yes it did not work out that way but instead of its attednace level dropping down the second year like most theme parks do because its newness factor dies down DCA's attednace level started rising year after year << This is NOT TRUE. Attendance DID drop down the second year. 2002 was lower than 2001. And yes, some of this was due to 9/11, but the park was having problems long before that. The biggest increase was in 2003. 2003 also happened to be the first year of the "2fer".
Originally Posted By hiddencat3 When DCA first opened capacity was set around 30,000. IF DCA had around 20,000 people that is a REALLY busy day. I worked in DCA for the first year it was opened and the busiest I saw it was when they brought back the Electrical Parade. That weekend was near capacity.
Originally Posted By bean you are correct 90ldmen according to ab numbers attendance did drop a bit on 2002 but AB numbers have always been on the low side biggest increase was 2003
Originally Posted By ChurroMonster It's amazing to me how personally people take it when their point of view is questioned. Can anyone CONFIRM that DCA closed its gates on friday or was the CM scuttlebutt inaccurate? For what it's worth, my money is on darkbeer.
Originally Posted By AladdinAZ Thanks for the info David. I was there on 11-11, and couldn't believe how busy it was! the entry bridge over Ball, to the parking garage was packed around 9am. Traffic was nearly at a standstill, even will ALL booths in the parking garage fully staffed and letting vehicle in. The tram was busy, but moving people to the entry gate at a good speed. Bag check was also not too backed up, Entry gate to DL was LONG, but kept moving. BUT the parks, both DL and DCA were packed! And the food lines were among the worst. Never seen TL Terrace (Buzz) so backed up ever!! Fast Passes for Space Mt were gone before 1pm. Went over to DCA mid afternoon, saw Aladdin, and the block party was just starting, as one Aladdin show was letting out. A TON of traffic was "Trying" to leave the Hollywood Picture Backlot, but NO ONE was able to leave, not Even Cast members were able to get thru. I have NEVER been so frustrated with traffic in DCA before. And it's really unexcusable for DCA to have SO LITTLE Traffic Control around the Hollywood Pictures Backlot Main Entrance. They HAVE TO BE ABLE TO KEEP TRAFFIC FLOWING in and out of this area, and not let the Block Party turn into a Blockade. DCA has handled traffic in this area for nearly 5 years, no excuse for the horrible traffic control that occurred 11-11. DCA better get there act together traffic control-wise as the holiday season has just barely begun. DL did add a 3rd showing of Fantasmic! But it appears a lot of the traffic had already had enough of the crowds for the day, thankfully there was some breathing room late evening.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros "DCA has handled traffic in this area for nearly 5 years, no excuse for the horrible traffic control that occurred 11-11." They've probably been able to handle it there for such a long time for two reasons. First there hasn't been a daytime parade in DCA since Eureka! left just after the park opened. That, along with Aladdin never having showings that ended at the same time as the Electrical Parade would make it work easier. Also, there haven't been that many people in DCA in a long time. It is good that they are there, but sad that the CM's cant do anything, because they are not used to people being there.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "DCA has handled traffic in this area for nearly 5 years, no excuse for the horrible traffic control that occurred 11-11." I went to WDW about 10 years ago and wanted to bypass the Electrical Parade in the Magic Kingdom because I'd seen it about 100 times. I became extremely frustrated because the parade route there essentially shuts down half the park (from Big Thunder, past Spash Mountain, through Liverty Square and down Main St.). It was a huge cluster, especially at the Hub. I couldn't believe that after all the years of operation they hadn't come up with a more effective way to herd people around. It was a complete mess.
Originally Posted By iluvdisneyland "It's amazing to me how personally people take it when their point of view is questioned." What I find offensive is being immediately shot down for sharing information given to me at work - information that I passed on because I thought the folks here on Laughing Place would be appreciative of it. Even if I could "confirm" it, you still would not believe me. My managers have said that DCA hit capacity. That's confirmation to me, but to people like you who know more about our day-to-day operations than we do, this is not proof. Keep your money on Darkbeer. Because, you know, he works there and all...
Originally Posted By woody What attendance is considered capacity? 20,000 or 25,000 or 30,000 people.
Originally Posted By deadmentellnotales yeah I went back and forth several times on the 12th between parks without much problem, and never once were told of reaching capacity. Of course it was after 3:00 so perhaps people left early. although it was busy fri and sat, tower of terror tokk almost as long a space mountain!!
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt I think it has already been established that if you've already been admitted to a park you are allowed to re-enter with the appropriate ticket media even if capacity has been reached. Therefore being able to go in and out is not an indication that the park is still admitting new visitors.
Originally Posted By Nobody iluv, I second woody's request. If you could ask your managers what capacity is for DCA, what we experienced that day might make more sense.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer >>I think it has already been established that if you've already been admitted to a park you are allowed to re-enter with the appropriate ticket media even if capacity has been reached. Therefore being able to go in and out is not an indication that the park is still admitting new visitors.<< What is Capacity? The hard limit is decided on by the Anaheim Fire Marshall, and is based on a complex set of rules. They look at what attractions, restaurant and shops are open, and how much free space is in the park. Having attractions down or areas blocked off (such as the Hollywood Backlot area) reduced the capacity of the park for the day. Disney does not like the park to hit capacity, as they lose control over the park, and are not allowed to allow anyone in (even if they have already been in earlier). If the Fire Marshall closes down the park, then it has to remain closed to new entries until a certain amount of folks have left the park. At that time, then Disney can decide to allow who to be allowerd back in. To prevent the park from hitting capacity, Disney starts to make changes to help prevent the park from hitting capacity. The first thing that Disney does is place signs at the Parking Lot saying "Disneyland is Very Busy, please plan your day". The second stage has the signs changed to "Disneyland is Full", and the Parking CM's hand out flyers stating that, and advising that folks should go visit DCA instead. At the same time, they stop selling One Day tickets to Disneyland, though other tickets are sold, and folks can do things like buy a new AP and then enter the park. If the park is filling up faster than Disney wants, then they stop selling all tickets. Next stage, Disney stops allowing new entries into the park (except for Club 33 folks), but allows folks to re-enter. So if you came to the park with your AP at this time, you would be sent to DCA unless it is also under the same condition (Something that I have never heard of happening). The last stage is to stop allowing anybody into the park until a certain amount leaves the park (Basically almost to the Fire Marshall limit for the day). This is why they force folks to exit thru the turnstiles, this allows Disney to know how many people are in the park at the current time. Both Disney and the Anaheim Fire Marshalls also make visual inspections of the park, and can decide to stop allowing anyone inside the park regardless of the actual number, if they fell the crowds are too large for safety reasons.
