Part Seven: California Adventure
comparison
Now that we've
visited Indy - and taken a better look at just how much detail there is
in DisneySea - I want to take a few moments to present some shots taken
at the California Adventure park (DCA) this past Sunday.
There are two
reasons for this: The primary one is to show just how much care and
detail went into the DisneySea park. From all the photos I've been
working with to assemble this series so far, I am constantly amazed that
it seems that Todd cannot get a bad shot no matter where he aims his
camera. Every surface, every view - every visual relationship between
areas in the Tokyo park has apparently been carefully considered and
designed for. Disney Imagineering has truly created an environment here,
and not just a collection of rides and shops. It is really a tremendous
achievement from what I can see.
The second reason
is to illustrate just how DisneySea is already a complete park - and it
doesn't give the impression that it will require a decade of work before
it can compare to other parks such as Disneyland. The depth of initial
design is a big reason - but DisneySea also has 22 "real"
attractions. (Yes, DCA also has 22 attractions, but the majority are
movies, and two of them are tortilla making and bread baking. We can't
discuss the DisneySea entertainment offerings yet.)
This kind of value
DisneySea is offering their visitor fully justifies the comparable
admission price they charge for it as well as Tokyo Disneyland. The lack
of that same kind of value is what makes DCA a poor choice for the
customer at the same price as Disneyland, just across the way.
Take a look at the
following "vistas" (keeping in mind all the wonderful
DisneySea shots you've been looking at in this series) and see if you
don't agree with me that the value issue is a very real one. (An
internal document said it all: "themed facades are faux, show- set-
like; not immersions into replications of period- themed
architecture.") Keep in mind the pictures were all taken
strolling down the main "performance corridor" - the very
heart of the park - this is what visitors see as they stroll through
DCA.
The entry to
California Adventure originally had a huge fountain planned for it, you
can see below how obviously it is missing. The tile murals flanking the
gates are supposed to give a post card look - but the DisneySea
MiraCosta Hotel over the DisneySea entry is much more visually
impressive. The Grizzly Bear River Run mountain is even placed at an odd
angle.
This is the view on
the way down the corridor towards the farm area (after we pass the entry
hub) - the Anaheim Convention center can be seen in the distance.
Contrast this with the entry view people have of the Mediterranean
Harbor in DisneySea.
As you continue
your walk, to the left is the farm area...
...walking a little
further down and then looking back, you get a more expansive view of the
farm area... notice the shops and food stands, and lack of visual icons
for attractions.
To your right (in
relation to the shot above) is the Wharf food court - in this view with
its vista of the nearby Hilton and Sheraton hotels...
This view to the
right of the area above shows the visual compression of the Wharf and
Paradise Pier areas (note the lack of any boat props in the water, such
as you find in DisneySea). Things sort of jumble into one another.
Walking past a
little further, you get another look at the Pier area (and the adjacent
buildings and power lines)...
...looking to your
left from the view above, you see the Whoopi / Golden Dreams
theater, the cutbacks in landscaping really show here...
...continuing a
turn to the left from the view in the above photo you see the Grand
Californian Hotel (below) off in the distance (eventually another wing
will be built abutting the edge of the park)...
...finally a look
down the walkway (this from back a bit further on the route) shows the
Paradise Pier Hotel looming over the west end of the park.
This series of
photos is what you see on a walk down the main corridor. Now, yes, there
are some areas that present a better view (visit our desktops
section to see them) but you really have to position yourself in
very specific spots to get those shots. And those desktops benefit from
a few power line removals - to make them more attractive for your use.
Overall it is very
clear that DCA just doesn't have the visual richness that DisneySea does
- and that we frankly expect from the Walt Disney Company. If DCA were
priced at, oh say, a $25 adult admission (with kids up to nine for free
accompanied by an adult) and then had its entry fee raised in steps as
they added the things it would need to compare to Disneyland (including
adding a children's admission fee once enough rides for them were put
in, like the Mermaid's Lagoon Fantasyland type area in DisneySea) - then
I think all the criticism would be muted. When people complain it
is basically a mall with a few rides added in, and nothing much to do
especially for kids, priced the same as the impressive Disneyland no
less, I have to agree with them.
To be honest with
you - I don't know if in ten years DCA could be worth what Disneyland
would charge at that point. There are severe problems with the
theme of this park, the very root of what it is, that may prevent it
from ever being what it could have been. I
feel confident though (just from the photos and attraction /
entertainment list seen so far - and wait until you see what we have
coming) that DisneySea is worth every penny its neighbor park charges,
you really wouldn't think they would need to wait ten years to get to
that point. It is just that much richer in what it offers in every
aspect - even down to the child friendly attractions.
Imagineering looks
to have done a stunning job with DisneySea, and they should be
complimented and congratulated. But Paul Pressler, Barry Braverman and
Michael Eisner should be ashamed of what they forced that division to do
in DCA. The "If it's good enough for Six Flags" mentality (an
actual quote from an early internal DCA presentation), and the utter
arrogance with how the park was introduced, priced the same as
Disneyland and then promoted, plus the drastic moves to try and prop it
up ever since, has truly soiled the Disney brand name.
In that light, it
seems the recent interview with the Orange County Register by Disneyland
resort president Cynthia Harriss where she remarked, "Open [DCA]
about 10 years earlier. That's honest." takes on a new whole
perspective doesn't it?
By the way, thank
you all for indulging the commentary, the vast majority of your emails
seem to understand the comparisons I've been making.
