Originally Posted By Dabob2 <Redwood Creek challenge trail is pretty much it (I guess GRR could be any mountainous region) but the major anchor points are all SoCal based.> Well, there is the Wharf, which is basically Monterey. And if Ghiradelli replaces Mission, that's very NoCal. Plus, the winery I guess could be SoCal or NoCal, but most people associate "wine country" with NoCal. Not as good as a proper SF area, but hey - it's something!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Agreed. I did not think much to MGM (other than Hollywood Bvd) when it opened, finding it a poor park, preferring the real deal in USH. And yet when DCA opened, I liked it more than 50% of the parks in Florida and thought it had tremendous promise. Now I am not a huge fan of either, but I would still give DCA the edge over DHS.
Originally Posted By crapshoot <<Not as good as a proper SF area, but hey - it's something!>> When DCA was touted by its originators as "California, Here and Now." that really sealed its fate as being underwhelming. Nw that they are taking Hollywood back to the 1930's, it is too bad that they couldn't do the same for a well developed 1930's themed story centered around the San Francisco warf. Just sayin'.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Or even better, the Barbary Coast, and then how about a gold rush camp. California has a fantastic history that could have been tapped into more (I miss Golden Dreams - though Circle of Hands would have been so much better and something I would rather have than Little Mermaid, but the sheeple dig popular IP).
Originally Posted By ImgineerBob I actually thought doing a farm section was a cool idea, Granted it was exectued poorly and had they made some effort to make it more intresting (maybe make it like the land pavilion) it would have been cool, since cali has a very big argictulral history.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Agreed, my wife loved the farm section (she had never seen many of the crops there except in the super market) and I had a soft spot having spent my formative years in the central valley.
Originally Posted By crapshoot <<I actually thought doing a farm section was a cool idea.>> Really? I never found it fun to watch corn stalks grow. That's why I go to the county fairs once a year. The time it takes me to walk past the farm exhibit is all the time I want to spend.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Bountiful Valley Farm would have been great if there had actually been an attraction there. One of the big problems with DCA in the beginning was that there was a lot to look at and not enough to do. Interestingly it looks like Maters will have a farm/junkyard setting creating a smooth transition into Cars Land from A Bug's Land between the Winery vineyard and the Wharf. I'm anxious to see how that area will turn out.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA <<I actually thought doing a farm section was a cool idea.>> <Really? I never found it fun to watch corn stalks grow. > Sheesh. Not every attraction or individual feature of a theme park has to be a 'hey, let's stop and look at this and take part in it' kind of experience. Some might not care about browsing at perfume in the New Orleans Square perfume shop. Some love it. You may not care about walking around a petting zoo at Big Thunder Ranch (I know I don't care about it). Others do like it and enjoy it. Some don't even care about stopping and listening to the Main Street Maniacs or The Dapper Dans. Doesn't mean they suck. But because Big Thunder Ranch petting zoo, and the perfume store and The Dapper Dans are in Disneyland -- which is a multi-layered park with big ticket, mid-size ticket and smaller 'walk past' types of things -- they work. When you drop 'Golden Dreams' and 'Seasons of the Vine' and the 'Tortilla Factory' and 'Paradise Valley Farm' exhibit into a brand new park that is incredibly light on attractions, and has the expectation of being a Disney theme park and sitting next to Disneyland -- yeah, people give them too much credence and think 'hey, that sucks.' As part of a deeper DCA experience, many of those same attractions that were vilified in their first year (yes, even "Superstar Limo") could have worked.
Originally Posted By crapshoot <<Doesn't mean they suck.>> Well JimInMercedCa what you are refering to is what many in the business call "Honest Entertainment". The Ghost Town peak-ins at Knotts are a prime example of this type of "honest entertainment." They tell a low tech visual story. Disneyland is full of these examples too. But they are "fill in" details, not whole "districts". And even with Bugs Life 4-D show, the farm simply wasted too much prime area on mind numbing dribble. So yeah, no one appreciates this type of visual story telling more than I do. But only if it is treated as an enhancement to the overall theme not as the main source of entertainment.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Wait, the Bug's 3D movie was a part of the Farm? Why do I keep forgetting that?
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub sounds funny to think about a junkyard(Mater's) in the middle of a Disney theme park in Southern California...
Originally Posted By ImgineerBob I think its funny that they are putting a junkyard in the middle of DCA to fix it since it was orginally considered by many to be a junkyard.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub Funny but I am going to be honest finally and say I loved the original DCA and my first name on LP was Californialand since that was the name all the castmembers and locals used. It was Disneyland/Californialand and then become DCA quickly! I was usually visiting DL and WDW alternately until they started all the cheap yearly pass options and "tooning" DCA. My last visit was to see WOC when it opened...and find myself preferring WDW all the time now which sounds weird for me and is probably sounding strange to all the lpers that seem to think DL is a million times better than WDW. I will be visiting California to go to the Hollywood Bowl specifically for the Fantasmic Presentation Aug 19-23(same weekend as D23Convention) so I will probably visit DL afterwards! I hope it will be not so crowded on a Monday/Tuesday just before school starts.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Glad I am not alone in preferring DCA v1, though I do not think I could ever choose WDW before DL. To me DL is THE Disney park. The Tragic Kingdom coupled with the massive size and the weather means WDW is often my last choice of Disney resort I would want to visit.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub I know it is hard for me to accept of myself. I got too familiar with DL and see the flaws due to such rapid growth and destruction and construction. Just want to visit a world with no walls for a 2 year hiatus of no more construction once Carsland opens!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Well WDW is not without it's walls (FLE, Grand etc.). Plus all the attractions were in such bad shape last time.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub Yes I know. I am not happy about the new FLE but hope it will be beautifully landscaped. The pics certainly make it look green! I think WDW has become a holidayland since it has my favorite ways to spend Easter and Christmas and my birthday and Fourth of July too!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Maybe you could try Disneyland Paris some time ;-) We used to celebrate the different holidays with the Mouse, but I think a little variety is needed now.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub I know I really feel the need to visit DLParis and Tokyo to put a proper finale to my Disney addiction. But Carsland will definitely be the finale no matter what!
