How Does DCA Compare To The WDW Parks?

[HydroGuy]

The newest Disney park in North America is Disney's California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort. It was opened in early 2001.

I would most like to hear from people here who have been to all four parks at WDW and to Disneyland and DCA. If you have not, then please do not vote.

I would like to know your opinion of DCA. While it certainly is not of the same stature as Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom, I would like to know how you think it compares to the other WDW parks. Disney is known not for just putting together a ride, but adding themes to the ride which tell a story, seem magical, and evoke emotions. Thus if DCA has a ride or show you like, that is great. But does the ride or show seem well done or poorly done from a Disney point of view? And again, the context for comparison should be the rides, shows, and theming of the WDW parks. The answer should not be based on quantity of rides, shows, or experiences, but on the quality and "Disneyness" of DCA.


Here are some questions you should consider when making your poll choice:

- Is DCA well themed or poorly themed from a Disney point of view?

- Overall, are the DCA rides and shows well done or poorly done from a Disney point of view?

- Does DCA exhibit comparable "Disney magic" when compared to the WDW parks?

Finally, it is not fair to compare DCA only to your favorite WDW park, or your least favorite. It should be the cumulative quality of the WDW parks.

 

[almacdonald]

I voted for "DCA Compares Well (Overall it is just as good as the WDW parks)" There are some aspects that I think make it better than WDW park and some aspects that make it worse.

DCA has A few major rides in itself and is a short walk from even more headliners at DL. Grizzly river run, the ride is WAY better than Kali although I think the theming for Kali is a bit more exotic. Tower of Terror is better at MGM (in my opinion) and the Tree of life does add to It's tough to be a Bug though the show is exactly the same at both DCA and AK. Soarin' is the same at both parks. California Screamin' and the Mailboomer don't have WDW comparisons. Also, the smaller rides like the Sun Wheel, Orange stinger, Golden Zephyr etc usually have pretty short lines. Aladdin is hands-down, the BEST Disney show i've seen at the parks. I like that DCA has a few highlights from WDW's parks all in 1 park and a very short walk to MK. The fact that the parks are within walking distance is what makes DLR my preference over WDW. You'd have a hard time riding TOT, Kali, Soarin' and any MK rides in the same day at WDW, not so at DCA! It's really nice to be on your own schedule and not have to cram onto the crowed buses!

 

[Judy from Boise]

Here are some questions you should consider when making your poll choice:

- Is DCA well themed or poorly themed from a Disney point of view?

***Themed better than MGM,and Future world on slightly below par with WS, MK and AK

- Overall, are the DCA rides and shows well done or poorly done from a Disney point of view?

***Well done or comparable

- Does DCA exhibit comparable "Disney magic" when compared to the WDW parks?

***Better than MGM, on par with AK, below Epcot and MK

Finally, it is not fair to compare DCA only to your favorite WDW park, or your least favorite. It should be the cumulative quality of the WDW parks.[/QUOTE]

***fair doesen't factor into my opinions! I enjoy DCA more than MGM, and as well as AK until AK edged out with Expedition Everest.

 

[Judy from Boise]

What about you HG????

 

[HydroGuy]

What about you HG????

I did not want to bias the poll by giving my opinion just yet. Hopefully we will get some more votes, and then I will summarize my thoughts and why I created the poll.

 

[travelgirl06]

I think DCA is deffinately on par with AK, and in my opinion better than MGM. EPCOT is a personal favorite of mine, so I would probably say thate EPCOT is better than DCA.

The theming is just as great as at other Disney parks, and the park has many special touches. It does seem a little small and it could use some more attractions (as could AK and MGM) to be up to the level of MK, DL and EPCOT.

 

[eargal]

I visited DCA for the first time this May and was pleasantly suprised. For me, it had many of the best attractions from the "other" three WDW parks all rolled into one. It was like seeing the best of the best. What a treat when you only have a few days to spend at Disney. As for theming, I would say it is on par with the exception of Epcot WS side.

 

[minnietoo]

why compare? they are different parks - each with something special to offer

 

[Judy from Boise]

I think the point is that there are web sites filled with comparisons, that trash DCA. Many of these posters have only been to DL, and assume that all other Disney parks have the same theming etc as DL park.
But people who have been to lots of Disney parks, realise that DCA compares favorably with other Disney parks......or at least that is the question we are putting to people. In fact I would argue that the Future world portion of Epcot is at the very bottom of the theming scale, an MGM second. But to put that in perspective Epcot is my favorite Disney park after DL, so theming isn't everything!

 

[HydroGuy]

why compare? they are different parks - each with something special to offer

Judy did a good job at reading between the lines.

I have spent considerable time on numerous DLR forums over the last 18 months, and a couple WDW forums as well. Most all of the other DLR forums are swamped with DLR regulars, many of whom have never been to WDW.

One of the things that is unique about the DLR forum here is that most of the participants seem to have signficant WDW experience (probably because they hop over here from the very strong DIS WDW forum).

I thought that by posting this poll here I would get the best perspective of combined WDW and DLR visitors. If I posted this on any of the other DLR forums, I fear the ballot box would get stuffed with folks who have never been to WDW and/or have an unrealistic opinion of WDW.

 

[minnietoo]

I think the point is that there are web sites filled with comparisons, that trash DCA. Many of these posters have only been to DL, and assume that all other Disney parks have the same theming etc as DL park.
But people who have been to lots of Disney parks, realise that DCA compares favorably with other Disney parks......or at least that is the question we are putting to people. In fact I would argue that the Future world portion of Epcot is at the very bottom of the theming scale, an MGM second. But to put that in perspective Epcot is my favorite Disney park after DL, so theming isn't everything!

and by theming do you mean having a Disney theme from the disneyfied stories and movies? Because I think DCA is themed - not the same theme - but certainly themed. Just wondering

 

[Judy from Boise]

Just themed.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I have also read a lot of trashing on DCA. We finally visited this past August, and I was very pleasantly surprised.
Not only did DCA have several quality attractions, but the theming was also done well. I understood the theme theme to be the different parts of DCA represented different parts of California.

Now, comparing DCA to other Disney parks...
Maybe it's just the kid in me, but Disneyland and Magic Kingdom are clearly my favorites. Not sure which of those I like better, as they both have strong points.
Epcot would be next, followed by Disney/MGM Studios. The Studios really have improved greatly in the last several years.
Animal Kingdom is next, but this is still far from a mature park. The future could be bright here.
I would rank DCA last, but by no means does this mean it's a bad park. It's very underrated IMO.

I truly love all Disney parks. I think they're all unique with their own special appeal.... but that doesn't mean we all can't have our favorites!

MG

 

[iceskatejen]

I think it compares well to the WDW parks. Epcot and AK are my fave WDW parks, so those rank higher for me than DCA, but it's about equal to MK for me. MGM is my least fave park (though my 2 fave WDW attractions are there--RnRC and TOT).

 

[HydroGuy]

and by theming do you mean having a Disney theme from the disneyfied stories and movies? Because I think DCA is themed - not the same theme - but certainly themed. Just wondering

Just themed.

For purposes of this poll, I would mostly agree with Judy. A park does not have to have a strong tie-in to Disney stories, per se. IMO AK does not have a very strong tie-in to "disneyfied stories and movies", but Disney tried to put its "magical touch" to the park theme. Same thing with Epcot FW. DCA should be considered in the same way for purposes of this poll.

 

[HydroGuy]

Bumping this to make sure everyone gets a chance to vote. Results so far are intersting.

 

[disneychrista]

I say DCA is comparable to The Studios at WDW.

 

[pouncingpluto]

I say DCA is comparable to The Studios at WDW.

I agree. I like DCA... I don't think it's a bad park. And I like MGM, too, but it's my least favorite of the four (other than the sentimental reasons evidenced in my signature). So... since DCA and MGM are fairly equal to me... that means I would rank it low on the ladder of parks, but would still love to spend time there!

 

[slp87]

The one thing we don't like is the layout of the park. Otherwise, we really enjoy it. Each section has some really neat features and attractions.

 

[HydroGuy]

Thanks to everyone who voted in the poll. I am going to ask a moderator to close the thread and poll so we can keep the results. As of today, here are the results:

A) 0 votes
B) 5
C) 17
D) 13
E) 8

A total of 43 votes were cast. I myself did not vote. If we assign a value of 5 points for choice A, 4 for B, etc., the average score was 2.44, about half way between choices C and D.

FWIW, if I had voted, I would have chosen option C. This would not have changed the end result very much.

In my experience over the last 18 months, DLR forums tend to have a different attitude than WDW forums. I trace this to the much stronger base of local Southern California regulars who visit DLR on a frequent basis (some of them weekly). WDW draws more non-locals. I think the stats are 85% non-locals at WDW, but only about 30% non-locals at DLR.

In any case, DLR locals take their park very seriously, and heated discussions on many DLR forums are a common occurrence.

I do not have the stats, but I have the strong impression that DIS DLR is different from all other DLR forums in that it is made up predominantly of non-locals. In addition, I have the strong impression that a much higher percentage of participants here have some recent and significant WDW experience. I do not get this sense from other DLR forums.

This makes DIS DLR a unique place to post a poll about DCA. Most other DLR forums have regular DCA bash sessions. There are many complaints, but chief among them is that DCA is below Disney standards and was built "on the cheap". And that DCA is a "total failure", and that the best thing Disney could do for DCA is to "bulldoze it to the ground and start over". Yes, people seriously argue this.

Now I do not think DCA is in the same league as DL. Over the last 3 years I have made four trips to DLR, two of which were multi-day trips and the other two were day trips. Each time I visited DCA in addition to DL. But I did not think it was horrible as some others do.

In June I made my very first trip to WDW, and spent two full days at each of the four parks there. MK aside, I did not feel like the WDW parks were head-and-shoulders above DCA. In fact, many of the DCA weaknesses pointed out by its critics also could be observed at the WDW parks.

So, this summer I entered the DCA pro/con threads with the opinion that the DL fans who claim that DCA is far below the WDW parks are giving DCA too little credit, or the WDW parks too much, or both. And that they are holding DCA to an unrealistically high standard that does not even exist in Florida.

In addition, over the last year on DIS and TGM I repeatedly saw WDW vets say something to the effect "We visited DCA and liked it. I do not know why it gets so much criticism."

However, if you go onto the DCA bashing threads, you will see people make claims such as "WDW vets say that DCA is poorly done". I started to wonder what the basis for this was, and some of the DL vets fessed up and said they had never even been to WDW but "they know a Disney park when they see one, and DCA is not a Disney park". Whew. And I could nver find out which WDW vets they were talking about who say bad things about DCA because I sure was not seeing them on places like DIS or TGM.

So with all that said, I decided to post this poll over here on DIS where I rarely see any of the regulars on other DLR forums, plus I think the people here have WDW experience, and finally because I have never seen a DCA bashing thread here.

And what did I expect? Well, I expected the results would fall between answers C and D, which they did. However, I expected the results to be a little but closer to C than D. Rather than the 2.44 score, I would have expected 2.6 or 2.7.

Further, I was not expecting hardly anyone to vote for answer A (no one did) or answer B (DCA a notch above WDW parks) or answer E (much worse than WDW parks). I expected most answers to be in the C and D categories. And most were, but there were a higher percentage of votes for B and E than I was expecting.

In any case, I want to post these results on some other DLR forums because I think they are consistent with what WDW visitors actually think about DCA. Namely, with a 2.44 score DCA is either comparable to or slightly below the WDW parks in terms of "Disneyness".

I am still surprised though by the 8 votes for answer E (19%). Some people here obviously have some big problems with DCA. Since I have not seen that in the threads here, I was not expecting that.

DCA is not perfect, and there is a lot of room for improvement. It remains controversial for Disney because its attendance has never met projections. There are a lot of plans in the works for DCA. Hopefully with more effort Disney can move the park up a notch so everyone feels it compares well to the WDW parks.