Could Disney's California Adventure Be Fixed?

They should just rename the park to Disney’s Cinematic Adventure, because at this point it’s 90% more about IP and films than it is about California.

I think Knott's Berry Farm captures the feeling of California much better than California Adventure ever has.

I literally started this video twenty seconds ago but I would like to say that every video should start with that Euro Disneyland opening bit with Eisner’s voice cracking. Possibly my favorite Disney history moment of all

Went to Disneyland Resort around 2010-2011 and I felt California Adventure was ok, I had much more fun at Disneyland. I think the park is a perfect example that Disney should focus on making things timeless instead of trying to latch onto things that are popular in the moment.

I think their emphasis on big rides and ignoring the simplicity and charm of dark rides is a problem. Fantasyland has four dark rides crammed into one area should be the pattern for the Hollywood backlot area.

It’s very unfortunate that the Eisner is so remembered for the terrible end of his run. Most people don’t remember/know about how much great stuff him and Wells did together!! It’s a very real possibility that there would be no Disney as we know it today if not for the team of Eisner and Wells

With all due respect, I don’t think Cars Land works anywhere else BUT California Adventure. Yes…the Arizona thing is more obvious to those who know Route 66 well. However, when you think about the geography of California, you have mountains, beach, metro city and desert. One of the only places in the country or even world that you can see all that in a single day. DCA was lacking the desert landscape in the park and it works perfectly. Even without the Cars franchise attached, CA desert and its car culture would still work!

It's interesting that Walt's original ideas for Disneyland were basically a response to the (what he felt were) dirty and non family friendly boardwalk amusement parks around at the time. So the fact that Eisner and Imagineering went ahead with adding a whole themed land dedicated to old time amusement parks, it just seemed like it was ill-advised from the start. Like they really didn't understand the appeal of what made Disney parks so enjoyable.

I have to say that I disagree that Grizzly needs animatronics, I really like the low-key theme of a Bear spirit that we never see, it makes the ride feel more grounded. It also makes room for the best part of that ride: Interacting with the other riders that you're literally facing, and with whom you're sharing this wet roulette experience. More stuff to pay attention to could only detract from that

It's funny how childhood nostalgia paints everything as wonderful-- I've watched multiple videos on the woes of California Adventure and I understand the cheapness of it, but my 7 year old self absolutely loved the original park. I loved hearing "California Girls" by the Beach Boys playing over the speakers and singing along. I loved the Hollywood section (my sisters and I were picked to be a part of a street show and we had a blast). I thought being in "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" was amazing, as we watched the real show on television all the time. I remember eating a loaf of sourdough bread from the San Francisco area as my sister and I saved our spot for the parade. I 100% agree things needed to change (and keep needing to change), but I really did love it.

DCA was heading in the right direction with Buena Vista Street and Cars Land. They had plans & concept art to make Hollywood Land more vintage looking, and they had plans to transform Paradise Pier into a lush Victorian Era boardwalk. You can see hints of that in some of the post Cars Land / pre Pixar Pier additions they made. But Pixar Pier ruined that. They made it even more tacky than before with the shoehorned IP. They could have easily added a Boardwalk Fun House, Illusions, of House of Oddities themed dark ride to Paradise Pier. And Avengers Campus feels even more out of place than Bugs Land did. I also preferred it's tough to be a bug VS the new Spiderman ride, which feels like a tacky and less interesting version of Toy Story Mania. I just hope the planned Avengers E Ticket eventually gets built. Cuz as of now, it feels like a waste of space. While a fun retheme, losing Tower of Terror and getting Guardians was the biggest loss.

Truly they should have done Disney Sea which was being built in Tokyo at the same time. Unfortunately the Oriental Land company has a non-competitive clause limiting what Disney could copy.

I honestly think California Adventure was doomed from the get go. I'm going to say something crazy here but bear with me: the California theming isn't the problem. I remember when the park first opened. I think I lot of the flack actually comes from the limo ride being lazy, rather than everything else. Keep in mind, the Tower of Terror was really well themed and reflected the downtown area of LA. Soarin' Over California actually took the theming and ran away with it showcasing a lot of California's unique geography. The Grizzly River Rapids are also pretty well done and themed. People forget that a large section of California is actually mountainous. Even the pier at opening is well themed. People may not like it for how cheap it feels, but it really does feel like Santa Monica pier which has all those same cheap rides and carnival games. So what was the problem? How it was advertised. It wasn't supposed to be Disneyland 2.0 and I think using the Disney brand was a mistake. The fact that California Adventure does sell alcohol should tell you everything about who the target audience really was. Adults. Adults who could let their "older" kids run free around Disneyland for 2-3 hours while the parents unwind at California Adventure at one of the nicer restaurants sipping wine or beer in the hot California sun. And maybe going on one of the more thrilling rides their younger kids may not have liked. Now, it's just a Frankensteined mishmash of all the IPs Disney can't/won't use in the actual Disney park and Pixar.

I have always felt bad Michael Eisner had a voice crack during the Euro Disney ribbon cutting haha Every time I see that clip… poor guy

Honestly, those bread-making and tortilla-making and farming experiences sound right up my alley! Weird or quotidian though they may be, they’re not something you’d find just anywhere. Maybe this is why I was also a sucker for old, original E.P.C.O.T. Center?

I think for me I prefer DCA pre Guardians (when it was still Tower of Terror). The park was definitely flawed, but I much preferred Paradise Pier instead of Pixar Pier. It just had this charm to it that was better than just “generic IP laden experience.” I guess I’ll always have the memories of my visits to the parks (DCA, Disneyland, and all of WDW) in the early 2000s when they still at least half-cared

I was there for the opening week of Pixar Pier, and it dawned on me that they really had utilized Pixar IPs more than anything else at that point. Had they not removed A Bug's Land they very well could have turned the park into a Pixar theme park, albeit with some attractions from other IPs. I'm sure Imagineers could come up with creative ways as to how various Pixar characters are "presenting" the attractions featuring other IPs, as well as tying in the San Francisco areas with the fact that Pixar's studios are there. The entire park could convey the heart of Pixar's best films while also allowing for a comedic tone wherein Pixar characters are trying to make their "own park" like the Mouse-owned one across the street.

I always thought that California adventure was named that way because it’s located inside California. It wasn’t until i watched this video I realized that it was called California adventure because of its California theme.

The main problem with DCA is that most of the new rides are just bland. Spider-Man is a pretty boring ride and doesn’t make it feel special. Soarin is better under the California idea not the around the world idea. Except for 2-3 rides, they are just generic merry go round, generic sit there and watch ride, generic swings ride.

The whole idea of route 66 was going TO California rather than being in California but I think that still ties it in to the California theme. Our family drove from Saskatchewan, Canada in 2012, down to Colorado and then over to Disneyland and so in my mind it was a perfect fit.