Downtown DCA?

Only a rumour at this point, but it's an interesting thought nontheless about one proposal Disney may be considering for DCA's future:

Tony Baxter, on the other hand, has reportedly supported a group of Imagineers that feel DCA is so inherently flawed that Burbank will never be able to muster the long-term capital needed to make it a suitable companion park to Disneyland. Tony's plan for DCA included a few new attractions and some much needed beautification of the current drab plazas and lackluster design in much of the park. But under his plan DCA also would cease to be a separately ticketed theme park entirely. Instead, new entrance areas would be opened up on the southern side of the park across from the Anaheim Convention Center, the turnstiles would be removed from the current main entrance, and the entire DCA property would be "repurposed" as a grand extension of Downtown Disney that needs no admission ticket to enter.

 

The entire ticketing strategy for the Disneyland Resort would be rethought; tourists could use their multi-day Disneyland tickets to gain admission to the rides in DCA still left after it ceased to be a separately ticketed venue. Popular major rides like Tower of Terror, Soarin' and California Screamin' would all remain, while turkeys such as Golden Dreams or Jumpin' Jellyfish would be removed to free up space for more retail and restaurant offerings. Tourists staying at nearby hotels would show their Disneyland tickets to enter the queues of the remaining rides, while locals wandering in from Downtown Disney would buy individual ride tickets to go on Screamin' or Monsters Inc. before they went on to dinner and a movie. In short, DCA would become a new concept in Disney themed entertainment; an odd mix of traditional theme park attractions set in amongst restaurants and entertainment offerings in such a manner that could satisfy locals and tourists alike.

 

To get the financial side of this new project to pencil out, the plan Baxter supported includes a new boutique hotel off of Harbor Blvd., Disney Vacation Club timeshare units done in a trendy urban-loft theme and slotted in amongst the new restaurants and rides, and the ability to lease out most of the restaurants and retail locations to non-Disney businesses a la' Downtown Disney. It was some of these bold out of left field new ideas, such as the boutique hotel or DVC units set right next to restaurants and rides, that actually intrigued Lasseter when his pal Tony first shocked him by supporting such a radical idea for DCA's future.

http://www.miceage.com/allutz/al112806c.htm

OK, guys. I love Disney. Been to Orlando more times than I can count, trekked to Paris and made the pligrimmage to Anaheim for the 50th. I gotta tell ya, DCA is a mess. I hate to kick Disney, but the entire area is just a jumbled incoherent built-on-the-cheap mess. During my trip I just wanted to head back across the Esplanade and get back to DL.

I'm not aware of any theme park in history being completely redone, but DCA needs it. Anyone agree?

I wouldn't say DCA is neither a mess, nor hopeless. Sure it doesn't stack up to Disneyland... did any of you honestly expect it to? Give it time and I'm sure the park can improve... hell, look at Epcot.

As for the DD expansion... why? Spend all this time marketing the Resort as having 2 parks and then all the sudden it's down to 1 again? Seems like there is more money to be made by having it remain a park and just improving it. Wasn't DL considered a failure at first too?

An interesting article that explains more about DCA becoming the "third gate" can be found here:

http://www.mousetimes.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=269&Itemid=166

Also icludes the possible DisneySea and the possible new Theme¨Park beeing built just 3 miles from Disneyland Resort.

So, what Disney wants to do is turn DCA into the worlds largest outdoor shopping mall. I would have never have thought that some like this might happen.

So DCA will be part of Downtown Disney with the popular rides?

sounds lame imo, but I guess if they could do it right it wouldn't be so bad. Though I would expect a new replacement 2nd gate ASAP.

I think the actuality of this happening is slim to nil. Imagineers propose a ton of different ideas, 1/2 of 1% of those ideas actually go anywhere.

I think DCA's best bet would be scrapping entire areas and creating something fresh and new.

But what they really should do for the park is concentrate on the rarely seen aspects of California, like Catalina for example. I personally would propose a Catalina conversion of the Route 66 portion of Paradise Pier. It fits in perfectly with the beach theme, it could potentially be the best looking part of the park, and its a part of California that a lot of Californians haven't ever been to, or really explored.

They need more treeeeeeeeees!

My take on this topic:

DCA is an okay park, seeing you can get all of the good rides done in a matter of hours. But, it does need some serious work. Some parts of the park just aren't like they used to be (Pacific Wharf, Paradise Pier). I hardly recognize it as a Disney park anymore. Sure, it is fun to hang out with your friends at DCA (especially on ToT), but we tend to have way more fun at DL. My ideas for DCA:

1. Go through with the Place Making option

2. Get some new and updated rides

3. Open some stuff that has been closed for a while (some resteraunts)

Yeah, so DCA defenitley has some work to do. But, with the right person in charge, this could become a good theme park that I enjoy.

---Brent