Dodie
<font color=green>Survived the big crash<br><font
- Joined
- Nov 10, 1999
Part 3 of 3: Our California Adventure experience:
We really enjoyed DCA, but managed to see everything we wanted to see within a 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. timeframe. This reminds me of when Disney MGM Studios first opened (and even now). It's just not a full day and night park, but it's wonderful nonetheless!
I will admit that we received a general Fast Pass (to be used on any attraction) with our Disney Travel Co. package, so we sneaked over to DCA one evening after leaving Disneyland and used it on Soarin' Over California. (I was glad we did. This allowed us to do this ride twice - by getting another Fast Pass first thing on the day of our visit to DCA.) This ride is simply amazing. There are not words to describe how much of a "WOW" this is. People actually applauded at the end of it both times we went on it! How often does that happen? That said - there are a couple of things that they could have done better - since they obviously spent so much money in the first place. For instance, there are no transitions between the scenes. You are in the mountains and then are suddenly, with a quick edit, somewhere else. It doesn't make it any less of a ride, but it just doesn't make since that they didn't put some sort of transitions in (maybe going back into the clouds and coming back down again) to make it less choppy. That said - you HAVE to do this. There are warnings for people who are afraid of flying and afraid of heights (I am both), but it didn't bother me. DH gets motion sickness, but this ride didn't do that to him either. Again - get your Fast Pass first thing in the morning! We talked to people who had almost 6 hours between the time they got their FP and when it was valid.
We didn't do the river raft ride because we didn't want to spend the day soaking wet. Everyone seemed to get soaked, not just damp, soaked. (It looked like fun though.)
The animation building and its attractions are wonderful! MGM Studios in Florida needs to take a second look at what they offer here. Take the time to see it all. The film in the movie portion of the attraction is the same Walter Cronkite/Robin Williams one that they show at MGM, but everything else is very different and very interactive! I highly recommend this.
Superstar Limo was so bad it was laughable. I can see how maybe little kids would like this, but, to us, it was incredibly cheesy and below Disney standards. (Of course, from reading these boards, I knew that in advance, and had warned my DH, but we just had to see for ourselves.)
We did the Muppet 3D thing - although it is the same as MGM, but it's just so much fun that you can't resist. Ditto for "It's Tough to Be a Bug!"
The Bountiful Farm area was a little disappointing. There's just really nothing there other than the Bug movie. (DH and I really didn't care how tortillas or sourdough bread are made - so we skipped those "attractions.") Hopefully additions will be made to this area in the future.
The "Seasons of the Vine" movie was only 7 minutes long, although informative. Jeremy Irons is the narrator and I can listen to him all day! : ) The wine (at $5 or higher a glass), was nice, but who can afford to taste more than one kind at that price?
The first three-quarters of the Golden Dreams movie with Whoopie was good, with some cool special effects. Unfortunately, the last few minutes was an incredibly sappy montage of photos of famous Californians with amazingly syrupy background music. DH sarcastically said that the thing should have been sponsored by U-Haul, so you could sign up to move to California at the end. This sappy ending is too bad, because the history of California was really interesting and well done.
We ate at the Hollywood and Dine foodcourt. DH had pizza and I had Chinese. This was a good meal at a fairly reasonable price.
DH really enjoyed the Paradise Pier area. He used Fast Pass to do California Screaming and used the single rider express line for the Maliboomer. (I'm a wimp, neither of these were for me!) This area was particularly beautiful at night. The wait was too long for the Sun Wheel, but those swaying gondolas looked like a CRAZY ride! Mulholland Madness was down for our entire trip. They were obviously testing it - running empty cars, but it was never operational. (I was disappointed.)
This is a beautiful park. We enjoyed our day there thoroughly. That said - it does not equal Disneyland in the attractions that it offers. I would have to agree with those who say that this is not worth the one-day/one-park admission price. As a complement to Disneyland, it works well as a piece of the hopper pass available to those staying at a Disney Resort.
We really enjoyed DCA, but managed to see everything we wanted to see within a 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. timeframe. This reminds me of when Disney MGM Studios first opened (and even now). It's just not a full day and night park, but it's wonderful nonetheless!
I will admit that we received a general Fast Pass (to be used on any attraction) with our Disney Travel Co. package, so we sneaked over to DCA one evening after leaving Disneyland and used it on Soarin' Over California. (I was glad we did. This allowed us to do this ride twice - by getting another Fast Pass first thing on the day of our visit to DCA.) This ride is simply amazing. There are not words to describe how much of a "WOW" this is. People actually applauded at the end of it both times we went on it! How often does that happen? That said - there are a couple of things that they could have done better - since they obviously spent so much money in the first place. For instance, there are no transitions between the scenes. You are in the mountains and then are suddenly, with a quick edit, somewhere else. It doesn't make it any less of a ride, but it just doesn't make since that they didn't put some sort of transitions in (maybe going back into the clouds and coming back down again) to make it less choppy. That said - you HAVE to do this. There are warnings for people who are afraid of flying and afraid of heights (I am both), but it didn't bother me. DH gets motion sickness, but this ride didn't do that to him either. Again - get your Fast Pass first thing in the morning! We talked to people who had almost 6 hours between the time they got their FP and when it was valid.
We didn't do the river raft ride because we didn't want to spend the day soaking wet. Everyone seemed to get soaked, not just damp, soaked. (It looked like fun though.)
The animation building and its attractions are wonderful! MGM Studios in Florida needs to take a second look at what they offer here. Take the time to see it all. The film in the movie portion of the attraction is the same Walter Cronkite/Robin Williams one that they show at MGM, but everything else is very different and very interactive! I highly recommend this.
Superstar Limo was so bad it was laughable. I can see how maybe little kids would like this, but, to us, it was incredibly cheesy and below Disney standards. (Of course, from reading these boards, I knew that in advance, and had warned my DH, but we just had to see for ourselves.)
We did the Muppet 3D thing - although it is the same as MGM, but it's just so much fun that you can't resist. Ditto for "It's Tough to Be a Bug!"
The Bountiful Farm area was a little disappointing. There's just really nothing there other than the Bug movie. (DH and I really didn't care how tortillas or sourdough bread are made - so we skipped those "attractions.") Hopefully additions will be made to this area in the future.
The "Seasons of the Vine" movie was only 7 minutes long, although informative. Jeremy Irons is the narrator and I can listen to him all day! : ) The wine (at $5 or higher a glass), was nice, but who can afford to taste more than one kind at that price?
The first three-quarters of the Golden Dreams movie with Whoopie was good, with some cool special effects. Unfortunately, the last few minutes was an incredibly sappy montage of photos of famous Californians with amazingly syrupy background music. DH sarcastically said that the thing should have been sponsored by U-Haul, so you could sign up to move to California at the end. This sappy ending is too bad, because the history of California was really interesting and well done.
We ate at the Hollywood and Dine foodcourt. DH had pizza and I had Chinese. This was a good meal at a fairly reasonable price.
DH really enjoyed the Paradise Pier area. He used Fast Pass to do California Screaming and used the single rider express line for the Maliboomer. (I'm a wimp, neither of these were for me!) This area was particularly beautiful at night. The wait was too long for the Sun Wheel, but those swaying gondolas looked like a CRAZY ride! Mulholland Madness was down for our entire trip. They were obviously testing it - running empty cars, but it was never operational. (I was disappointed.)
This is a beautiful park. We enjoyed our day there thoroughly. That said - it does not equal Disneyland in the attractions that it offers. I would have to agree with those who say that this is not worth the one-day/one-park admission price. As a complement to Disneyland, it works well as a piece of the hopper pass available to those staying at a Disney Resort.
