Originally Posted By gadzuux Much of TDS's additional square footage consists of flat water, which costs purt' near nuthin'.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer Someone LOVES DCA... <a href="http://www.somethingawful.com/" target="_blank">http://www.somethingawful.com/</a> >>So who exactly was the park for then? Nobody knows for sure. It's like asking, why did the druids build Stonehenge? Experts (fat guys with computers who troll Disney newsgroups) hypothesize that Disney park planners wanted to concentrate less on attractions and more on shopping and dining, uhm, you know, like a mall. Disney parks aren't exactly known for their quality dining experience. Kids barely able to contain themselves in excitement don't mark up park maps days before their trip with the restaurants and shops they want to visit. "Oh, I can't wait until I get to go to Disneyland! First I'm gonna eat a $8 hamburger and then I'm gonna get a churro and then I'm gonna buy like 14 of those glow rings!" People go for the rides! That's the hook. Just remember the line from the oft-quoted Kevin Costner film, "Dry land is not just our destination, it is our destiny!" The most amazing thing about all of this is that the park doesn't even do the California theme justice. The "history" the park claims to inspire visitors with is contained in a 20 minute film hosted by a time traveling Whoopi Goldberg. The rest of the park is a bastardized version of California filled with bad puns. Oh God the puns, the horrible, horrible puns. The park is riddled with them. It's like they turned GBS into a theme park. You'll see signs that say "Bear left" with an arrow and a bear because YOU'RE IN BEAR COUNTRY NOW. Test pilot turns into "taste pilot". Burbank Ice Cream turns into "Bur-r-r-r Bank Ice Cream". The Hollywood section has an "Award Wieners". There's even a place that sells shakes called San Andreas Shakes, based on the fault line that is responsible for the traumatizing earthquakes that haunt my dreams. Puns are the second lowest form of comedy right behind anything I've written for this site. The park's reliance on C-grade celebrities within the Disney/ABC family is disgusting. Instead of seeing Goofy and Donald Duck you'll find the likes of Rosie O’Donnell and Colin Mochrie sharing hosting duties in a bread baking exhibit. The world of sourdough bread is just that exciting I know. Better buy an annual pass so I can see this yeast rising action again and again! However, none of that compares to the horror that was Superstar Limo, the worst theme park attraction ever built. The idea was that you are a celebrity just getting off a plane in Los Angeles and have to be rushed to Hollywood. Along the way you see celebrities like an animatronic Tim Allen and the real Joan Rivers (she really needed the money). If I don't want to see them on TV why do I want to see them in a theme park ride? The ride lasted less than a year. Much like everything else in the park the cost cutting cheapness was embarrassingly blatant. <<
Originally Posted By Nobody "Oh God the puns, the horrible, horrible puns."..."Test pilot turns into "taste pilot". Burbank Ice Cream turns into "Bur-r-r-r Bank Ice Cream". " You know, as painful as the puns may be, somebody EXPLAINING them is even worse.
Originally Posted By DlandDug In terms of the comparative costs of DCA and TDS, all I will add is... You get what you pay for.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt From the article: "I think Something Awful is going to be the only publication in the world to even mention California Adventure's 6th anniversary." Exactly. Why should anyone care about DCA's 6th anniversary? Then he continues with this little homage to the old DL parking lot: "California Adventure sits on the former site of the fabled Disneyland parking lot. Once a beautiful and awe-inspiring parking lot, its corpse now lies below a horrible theme park. Gone are the days of not knowing where the hell your car is after walking around for 18 hours in a 40 year old tourist trap and desperately wanting nothing more than to go home and jerk off in peace after your wife and kids go to sleep." Um, say what?
Originally Posted By trekkeruss Ah yes, another ad nauseam "discussion" about how afwul DCA is. Can we give it a rest? Who cares about any Disney park's sixth birthday? NO ONE!
Originally Posted By Darkbeer ^ Some of the Cast Members did, as they made Birthday Stickers for the day... The Disney Blog cared, as they wrote a column related to it...
Originally Posted By trekkeruss Of course I realize some people will mark it, but in the grand scheme of things, it's a blip on the radar. I would also say that rehashing old news and saying for the umpteenth time that DCA sux is not celebrating an anniversary. That would be like me telling a person what a moron you had been the previous 49 years on their 50th birthday.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss That should read : "That would be like me telling a person what a moron they had been the previous 49 years on their 50th birthday."
Originally Posted By trekkeruss Before someone accuses me of telling them to shut up, I get frustrated as anyone sometimes. But I don't mean to suppress anyone. Post whatever you want.
Originally Posted By gadzuux It's not all bashing. There's also a tone of hopeful optimism within the thread. Most of us believe what the rumormill is saying - that major changes and heavy investment is coming soon - very soon. That's exciting. For those of us who enjoy following all things disney, watching this transformation unfold over the next few years should provide for lots to talk about.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <Gone are the days of not knowing where the hell your car is after walking around for 18 hours in a 40 year old tourist trap and desperately wanting nothing more than to go home and jerk off in peace after your wife and kids go to sleep."> Sounds like the author doesn't think that highly of DL either.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt For me the tired old complaints about how horrible the park is are no longer annoying but rather comedic in a predictable sort of way. It's kind of like a seeing movie you once thought was inspired and moving is now kind of humorous because of how rediculous it has become with the passing of time. As sure as the sun rises in the east come next year Darkbeer or someone else around here will dust off some old (or new) article to underline his or her point that DCA sucks.
Originally Posted By oc_dean >>Who cares about any Disney park's sixth birthday? NO ONE!<< Got that right!
Originally Posted By disneywatcher >> For me the tired old complaints about how horrible the park is are no longer annoying but rather comedic in a predictable sort of way. << That makes me think of the first-round episodes of "American Idol" on Fox TV. I'm referring to the assortment of contestants on that program who are tone-deaf and inept beyond belief, and yet who become so insulted, even irate, when they're told just how bad they are. One girl in particular this week was so incapable of holding a tune that a viewer might have believed she was auditioning as a put-on, performing in front of the camera as a joke. Her singing was so poor, it was almost hilarious. Yet when she was given the boot by the judges, she and her family became quite furious at the rejection, lobbing a few bleeped words in the process. They truly were surprised, if not shocked, that her talent -- or lack of such -- wasn't appreciated. People like that are a reminder to me of the type of perceptions and judgment that must have gone into DCA.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt “That makes me think of the first-round episodes of "American Idol" on Fox TV. I'm referring to the assortment of contestants on that program who are tone-deaf and inept beyond belief, and yet who become so insulted, even irate, when they're told just how bad they are.†This is a great analogy because it could easily be applied to the critics around here who are saying essentially the same things about DCA that they were saying even before it opened. Much like the talentless American Idol contestants, some of them seem to have no clue as to how tiring and repetitive their routines are.
Originally Posted By oc_dean The same goes for the Disney Co. for their endless procrastination on this problemed park. I'm sick of the endless talk myself.. I want to see some ACTION! NOW! Toy Story Mania only SCRATCHES the surface!
Originally Posted By oc_dean They've had six long years .. count'em baby! SIX And this is all they've been able to muster up??? I've seen other Disney parks at 6 years old that have done FAR better in adding and plussing......... 6 years is a long time. And it's 6 years too late! DCA can continue to be the AP Hangout lounge for the next 10 years for all I care! I'll come back in 2017 when it finally is something worthy of a paid admission! buh-bye! And I think I speak for a large part of the main streem public who has pretty much said what they think!
Originally Posted By trekkeruss Regardless of what they paid to enter DCA, 5,000,000+ people a year seem to disagree with you, and that's enough to keep the doors open. That, and I'd venture to say that more people than not could probably don't care about Disneyland either.
Originally Posted By Indigo Trek, To me a number somewhere around 7 Million (or about 55-60% of Disneyland's gate) should be the absolute minimum Disneyland should expect to attend their second gate each year. The fact that California Adventure is only at 5 million after 6 years tells me something is wrong. It's not just the park either, it's the whole resort and how they chose to lay it out. During the 1st and 2nd years there were days when the old parking lot brought in more money than the park built in its place did. Just poor vision and poor execution from day one.
