My DL State of the Parks

[larworth]

Having just visited DL (essentially, for the first time) I thought I’d give my “state of the parks” address for the other coast. Since DCA is such a lightning rod I will cover it in a separate thread.

APPEARANCE - DL was in better shape than I was expecting. Nothing jumped out at me as being in grave disrepair. Of course, I have no point of reference for how things use to look. I couldn’t tell if ToonTown was faded or if those were the intended colors. IASW was fresh off a rehab. I didn’t inspect the Tiki Room or TSI, however. Trash/cleanliness wasn't an issue. We did see a painter or two each day, and the construction going on around Pooh was pretty noticeable. Maybe, some of you locals can set the record straight.

FEEL – I was struck more by the congestion than the shorter distance between lands. Given how crowded the walkways were I kept expecting everything to have much longer wait times. Escapism is an important part of the Disney experience. WDW’s size is a big insulating advantage. However, the contrast at DL almost seemed bigger. I felt more removed from S. Cal. in DL, than from Florida in WDW. The sudden transition from suburbia to theme park is one factor, but not the only one? I can understand the local’s reverence for this effect. Is it real or was it just me?

RESORT - I was expecting the surroundings to be even tackier. The recent area renovations must have made a big difference. Staying at a neighbor hotel, with a clear view of the resort, I didn’t feel that disconnected. ART was a very effective off-site traffic option. The addition of DTD and a second park gives the place a nice balance. Made me wonder why it took them so long to do this?

DIFFERENCES - It was fun observing the differences. Angles that seemed askew, attraction elements on the wrong side. Several times it felt like the Bizarro MK. Some brief observations:

Splash – More detailed than expected. However, it runs way too fast. Have they increased the water speed to offset the new lower capacity logs? WDW an easy winner.
BTMMRR – More inwardly focused, makes me prefer WDW.
New Orleans Square – Excellant atmosphere.
HM – Better loading, but prefer the WDW exterior.
Pirates – Whoa, what a difference!
Indy – Lives up to the hype. Needs some little things to be perfect. With outside queue do people really follow the plot.
Jungle Cruise – Always a walk-on. How to revitalize?
SpaceM – Prefer the WDW interior/setting. No ride preference versus the DL version sans music (since it never was working).
Autopoia – If the speedway is going to exist it should at the minimum be this.
Tomorrowland – I like Orbitor as an entrypoint. After that the land loses it’s feel.
Matterhorn – Still a good ride for a 45 year old coaster. You have to shake your head wondering how they never got a clone of this funded for EPCOT all these years.
Fantasyland – Love the extra detail. Being a Mr. Toad fan it was a real treat to ride the original (and better) version. Will be even nicer when the carousel is back.
Toon Town – I can see why the locals are spoiled. Again, the extra detail.
RogerRabbit – Why did they leave this out of WDW? A classic dark ride.
Believe Fireworks – Great. Again, why don’t they copy this at the MK?
Fantasmic – Closer does make it better, but only marginally.
Castle – The initial shock does wears off.

Sometimes it wasn't clear if the WDW versions were different to be better or just to be different?


We had a great time and look forward to returning some day.

 

[Sarangel]

Glad you enjoyed the left coast, larworth. Speaking on the flip side, in many ways (to me) MK seems like a Bizarro DL - nothing's in quite the right place or quite the right color. I love 'em both, but DL is my home resort.

Of course, I have no point of reference for how things use to look. I couldn’t tell if ToonTown was faded or if those were the intended colors. IASW was fresh off a rehab. I didn’t inspect the Tiki Room or TSI, however. Trash/cleanliness wasn't an issue. We did see a painter or two each day, and the construction going on around Pooh was pretty noticeable. Maybe, some of you locals can set the record straight.

Toon Town *is* faded. The only silver lining I can pick up from this is that the faded colors on the hills tend to fade into the hazy So. CA sky & it makes the division of fantasy & reality a little fuzzier...

Construction is something we have gotten used to over the last year or so, rumor has it that everything is being spiffed up for the 2005 50-Year celebration. Most of us do our best to ignore it, but it's a good thing that the Landbaron isn't planning a trip out to CA.

Sarangel

 

[raidermatt]

Apparently, Toon Town is getting a lot of new paint lately. Lutz's columnn over on Mouseplanet has documented some of it. So some of what you saw, Larworth, probably was painted very recently, while other parts are still faded. It does appear that for whatever reason, maintenance is improving at DL.

Sara could be right about the reason, or maybe its because they realized the carousel is costing them a lot more to fix now than it would have if they had just done a little maintenance along the way. (Not to mention that it was probably not even safe...)

The sudden transition from suburbia to theme park is one factor, but not the only one? I can understand the local’s reverence for this effect. Is it real or was it just me?

Nope, its real. The effect has been enhanced by DD and even DCA.

The addition of DTD and a second park gives the place a nice balance. Made me wonder why it took them so long to do this?

I could be wrong, but I believe it was mainly an issue of land. I think it took the passing of a strawberry farmer whose son was more than willing to sell for Disney to get their hands on the land. That's actually a rumor I heard, and it was far removed from anyone actually affiliated with the situation, so take that for what its worth.

I agree with most of your ride comments, though some of it is also taste. I happen to prefer the exterior of the DL HM, but again, can't really say its "better".

The Matterhorn is a great ride, but I think its only about 32 years old. I love riding it at night.

We had a great time and look forward to returning some day.

 

[hopemax]

Believe Fireworks – Great. Again, why don’t they copy this at the MK?

Why, would you want a copy? Wouldn't you think having the person who developed Believe create a, "spectacular but different from Believe, brand new" fireworks show for the Magic Kindom, be a good idea?

 

[Letsbgoofy]

We just came back from my families first DL trip (I haven't been myself in 24 years).

I agree with Larworth on many things:

1. Pirates - wow! And I always loved the one at WDW

2. Toontown was amazing - it's so much more interesting than Mickey's Toontown Fair.

3. I loved New Orleans Square. We were there over the 4th and even with the crowds it always seemed so peaceful.

4. Indy - What a great ride. Why didn't they put this is at WDW (sorry but Dinosaur is a poor substitute)

5. Slash Mountain - I didn't care for this at all. Even my 13 year old son noticed how dark and dreary it seems compared to the one at WDW. The story didn't seem to flow either.

6. Haunted Mansion - liked the inside better, but the outside doesn't look much like a haunted mansion!

And I never got over the shock of the castle!!!

We loved Southern California and plan to go back next summer. We only had three days this year and there is so much to do. We seem to be in the minority as we really liked California Adventure.

 

[Redcon1]

Raidermatt-
You are somewhat right in your thinking about purchasing land
from a strawberry farmer.
When my wife and I went to DL in '92, one of the managers at the Anaheim Marriott, where we stayed, explained that Disney was trying to purchase those fields from some Japanese farmers.
These were located on the south side of Harbor(?). This is the same side as where the Radisson Hotel sits and is right by there.
These fields, which may still be there, would be sold and Disney would then build WESTCOT, the left coast version of EPCOT.
The farmers held out for more money, and, obviously, no WESTCOT was ever built.
As for the Matterhorn, it is about 40 years old and was built
to coincide with the release of the film, "First Man on the Mountain", which starred James McArthur, Dan-O from Hawaii-Five-O.

Redcon1

 

[Testtrack321]

Woah, lanworth, I forgot you were there! I thought I would get the scoop before you

Well, were going tomorrow and I'll throw in my state of the parks address too. We will be there 4 days (3 full, 2 at the parks, the other one in the air).

See ya soon!