What DL has that DCA doesn't!

[Will14]

I was thinking the other day, why is Disneyland so much better than CAA? I realized something I never had before! Disneyland's rides are all one of a kind! The only place that has those rides is Disneyland. Disney has been there for 55 years which has given it time for trees to grow big and for them to weed out the bad rides and for the park to establish. Part of its magic is all the trees and how the layout is perfect! It's literally PERFECT! Most of the rides Disney opened with are gone now for different reasons but it has become a perfect park over time. Ca Adventure is only 10 years old and they still need time to get rid of bad rides and find what really works and where, it needs more time to establish and have a more magical feel. A lot of the rides there you can get anywhere else. I feel in time it will be just as magical as its counterpart! What are your thought???

[Zero36]

CAA just suffered and became a victim of poor planning and from a management that didn't care who penny pinched and cut corners during it's construction while only thinking of $ signs. If CCA was given the detail and care that Walt gave Disneyland while it was being built it would have been on par with Disneyland on opening day.

Lately with the care CAA has been given lately, the expansions of the two new lands which are very Disneyland quality in layout and theme. The new details and theming layouts in paradise pier and condor flats plus the slew of new offerings and rides replacing the old ones, CAA is slowly rising to it's potential which it should have had in the first place.

[austen]

I believe they have found what works and what doesn't in DCA, which is why they are almost done renovating it. When Carsland and Buena Vista Street opens, it will feel more magical. Disneyland will always be one of a kind, but DCA is getting more and more atmosphere everyday.

[crystaltink]

I've never really had anything against DCA. But, I've always felt it just didn't and probably never will stack up against the original wonder. Comparing anything to would mean it's competition would have some massive shoes to fill. While I do agree with Austen that the improvements will help DCA, in the end it will never stand toe to toe with it's grander sister park.

[disneylover]

I agree Crystal. I'm glad they are putting all the work into DCA now. The changes are so exciting and well done. But nothing compares to DL. NOTHING!!

[Disneyland_DHI]

The original Disneyland Park has its own touch of Disney magic. When I think of Disney Parks, I do think of fun getaways with attractions designed purely to entertain the child in all of us. But Disneyland has all of that, plus this inexplicable feeling. So California Adventure will never live up to its sister park. It will, however, live up to the standards that Disney is constantly setting up for themselves.

I saw the signs on the DCA walls that said "The walls are about to come down!" I just stopped and thought, "It's really been that long since the changes were even announced?" I'm getting chills just typing this up. The next thing we know, Carsland is going to have its grand opening ceremony, and I can't wait to see DCA finally live up to its never-ending potential.

[billy_gailey]

As far as I know, Disneyland did not really start off being the most amazing destination in the world. Granted, it is Disney, so you can only assume that its never going to be bad. Still, opening day, and for about the next ten years at least, was trial and error, because it was the first park of its kind. For Pete's sake, the cement had not even fully cured on opening day. And the number of rides and attractions were hardly what they are today. Plus! It has been around long enough now that it is part of the American culture, and Mickey is an icon. I feel like DCA should have started better off than it did, since there was all the knowledge gained from the years of Disneyland. For example, it took them how long to figure out that a pass from TOT to BL would be a good idea. I am seriously excited about all the expansions they have and will be doing in DCA, but it is going to be a long time before they get the park into shape, and even then, they will be tweaking forever.

[SHADO]

What does DL have that DCA doesnt...UMMMM...Disneyland...LOL...One thin I always loved about DL is the HUB..You can get into any land...DCA...Well put your skates on because you'll be walking forever to get to every land

[jennifer8337]

DL has the history of being started by Walt Disney. DL also has more charm and more of that Disney storytelling magic. Although, DCA can never have a history of being started by Walt Disney I do believe huge efforts are being made to create more of the Disney storytelling magic. I think that Carsland is a huge step in the right direction.

[Horbigast]

There will never be another Disneyland park. The Magic Kingdom in WDW comes close (I can't speak to Paris, Hong Kong, etc. because I haven't been there yet), but it's still not the same. Personally, the biggest thing is the knowledge that Walt used to walk the streets. Through all the changes over the years, Disneyland still remains the same at its' core, and the majority of what we love in the park is based on Walt's dreams. In the 11 short years between DL's opening and Walt's death, we got to see how much the man himself loved the park. It was his playground, and we were allowed to share.

Sadly, there is some truth to the idea that DCA was built as a soulless, moneymaking ploy from an unsentimental corporate empire. The original concept was fundentally flawed from the beginning. "Too many stores & restaurants and not enough attractions" was a common complaint in the first five years, but I think there was more to it than that. Why build a theme park showcasing California IN California? And by centering the concept around reality, there's no room for the fantasy that Dinsey does so well. Or at least, adding fantasy becomes forced and artificial. Disneyland excels at illusion. They accomplish this not only with exceptional attention to detail, but a carefully choreograhed piece of performance art of the part of everything the guest might come in contact with. DCA seemed to just plunk the same ingedients in front of the audience and expect them to mix themselves. The result was less than the sum of its parts.

That said, it may not really be fair to compare DCA to Disneyland park, but rather compare DCA to Epcot, or Disney's Hollywood Studios, or Animal Kingdom (since none of those try to reproduce Walt's original vision). And even then, I think DCA is the least of those four parks (in my humble opinion). So, we're still left with the question of what doesn't DCA have that all other parks do (to varying degrees)? My answer in Moments. In every park I've visited, there have been moments when I've just stopped running from attraction to attraction and taken some time to absorb the atmosphere. I stop, and take a deep breath, and look around. They have happened organically in all the parks (and most often in Dinsyeland, of course), but DCA does less to inspire them in me. More often than not, I feel like I'm rushing to get through the varying lands, rather than slowing down and soaking it in. Whether or not that's because of poor theming, or shortcuts in details, or just a plain bad concept, I'm not sure.

Don't get me wrong, I still go to DCA whenever I have the chance. But if time is a factor, I will happily skip DCA and go to Disneyland. Hopefully the new renovations will add some of those "moments" to visiting DCA, but until they do, the "other" park on Disneyland Resort property will remain an afterthought to my visits there.

[SHADO]

Read my Avatar..Disneyland...Where it all Began!!!!!

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Let's not go completely overboard with DCA's relaunch later this year. While it is an exciting time for the much maligned Anaheim second gate, the addition of Cars Land plus all the various improvements to Paradise Pier, Buena Vista Street, and other places are what DCA needed to become what it should have opened as in the first place. With these improvements, DCA finally blends in with its cousins around the world as a respectable park worthy of the Disney name.

It is from here, from this point that DCA can go looking for its potential. There's still plenty of room to move around, expand, and to place new attractions and new offerings. Stage 17 is BEGGING and PLEADING to house a new E-ticket attraction. Hyperion Theatre is limitless in what it can provide, and I hope that Big Band Beat eventually finds its way in there. Redwood Creek is prime space for the future.

That said, after this year, look to the north end of the property for future projects. Specifically the north east area.

[Dragon003]

There is a long list of things that Disneyland has that not any other theme park in the world, not just DCA does not have. For starters, Walt's touch, history, classic and unique rides, and most importantly for a lot of us, nostalgia. Most of us grew up with Disneyland and just cannot escape the memorries and moments created there throughout the years. I have never even been to DCA until I became an AP holder in 2006, intially I was not impressed because I was trying to compare my experience to Disneyland and not actually trying to see what DCA has to offer.

DCA to me has a different heartbeat and vibe. I started recently discovering some things that I love about DCA, THINGS THAT ARE STARTING TO CREATE THOSE "MEMORIES" THAT CREATE THAT MAGIC FEELING. In 2006, watching the MSEP for the first time in over a decade was special to me. I also love Aladdin at the Hyperion! ToT and Screaming are on a whole different level of intensity than you will find next door at Dland. Soaring is a technological wonder! Now DCA has a world class evening show in World of Color, I highly recomend the Wine Country Trattoria dinner package for a date, great food and probably the best view of WoC hands down. With all these new experiences at DCA, I feel less guilty lately about taking time away from Disneyland. Before I felt like being at DCA was wasting time I could be spending at Disneyland. Not so much anymore. I even enjoyed Electronica for the dancing and music, sad to see it go but it ran it's course and something new will takes it's place! With Carsland and Beuna Vista Street coming soon, DCA will be taking it's first big steps in finding it's own identity. Let's face it, it's been 55 years and nobody can touch Disneyland. Sorry Orlando people, deal with it. But DCA can now finally say they have it's own identity with it's own unique rides and attractions! I've been to Disneyworld, right now I would list North American Disney parks in this order 1. Disneyland 2. Magic Kingdom 3. Epcot 4. DCA 5. Disney Hollywood Studios 6. Animal Kingdom. In the past DCA would have been last on my list. Now it stands right behind the major stalwarts in Dland, MK and Epcot.

[predude]

the list can go on and on about what DLR has that CAA doesnt, but for me its the feeling. Lets say you go on a date to DLR vs CAA. The feeling you have will be totally different, DLR could in a sense be more romantic at night etc, and CAA is more for the fun type and laughing. For me i have to say DLR is better than CAA thats just my own honest opinion, it will always be the original no matter what other parks come along CAA for example, but it will never measure up to the fun i have at DLR.