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This is the largest area of the park. It is
divided into several sub-sections representing the different regions
of California.
The Geek's First Takes (2/3/01)
- Overview: I felt they really tried to cram too much into
this one "land". The several sub regions are too small
to be self supporting, but I think when you combine them all it
is too big. Adding to this is the layout of the region, the large
circle in the center of the park. (I will now talk about the attractions
going from the Nouth East corner, Condor Flats, around GRR in
a counter clockwise fasion).
 Soarin'
Over California: Definitely a not to be missed attraction.
This is was one of our favorite attractions. It is extremely well
themed, cool technology is used to run it, and the experience
is unique. It combines almost everything Disney is great at. The
only thing missing is a tight story to propel you through the
experience. It is basically a relaxing and entergetic flight through
California. I do not know how to make a story out of it, it seems
to work ok without one for me. There was some dust on the projector
one time we went in and it looked like giant birds in the scene,
kind of distracting to me, but not devastating yet... time will
tell how this attraction ages... If you want to ride Soarin' get
a fastpass if you can, the line was long all day long. Grizzly
River Run:Another not to be missed attraction at DCA. I was
skeptical of this ride after riding Kali River Rapids at Animal
Kingdom. I just did not see how Disney was going to be able to
have a great rapid experience in such a small space. Boy was I
wrong. The attraction itself is incredibly themed as you walk
around the mountain. There are several props and other items in
the load/unload area that really add to the show. While on the
ride there is very little "extra theming" except the
mountain itself, but I do not see it needing any. If the concept
is to take you on a raft ride through the wilderness I think it
works (except for the couple points where you can look out into
the park and the areas beyond). When Disney says you will get
wet, they do not lie. You will get wet, to what extent though
depends on your luck. Two other really cool things we liked on
this attraction were the lockers and the spinning. There are lockers
available near the entrance to GRR that are free for 3 hours to
store your gear in. This way your cameras and other items stay
dry. Remember to get your items out, or else the fees are extremely
high after you free time, I forget how much. The second feature
that we found great was the spinning on the ride. You are almost
always spinning, and the final drop has an incredible spin effect
(you feel like a top...). One complaint with this region of the
park is the walkway by the entrance to the ride is way too small.
It was always congested and hard to walk through (during the day,
at night when the line was nonexistant for the attraction the
problem was gone).- Redwood Creek Challenge Trail: This area turned out to
be one of the pleasant surprises of the day. We were envisioning
a fairly small children's play area. Instead it turned out to
be a fun place to visit for children of all sizes... We really
liked how there were no real maximum height requirements on the
attractions, so we were able to experience most of them. There
are min. for some of the areas though. The little details in this
area really made it for us. It was more than just a giant jungle
gym. There were some trails to walk around on(with "track
spotting guides", some exhibits to look at in the lookout
towers (maps of national parks, etc...) , and just a general sense
of fun to the whole area. The only complaint we have is from the
lookout towers you can easily see out of the park, which really
ruined the illusion, but the views were great.
- Golden Dreams(Closed September 7, 2008): This movie turned out to be ok. It basically
talks about California and its heritage. It really reminded me
of something you would see in EPCOT's World Showcase at a national
pavilion. The closing song does have that "Golden Dream"
feel to it from the American Adventure, but the tune is not as
memorable.
- The Boudin Bakery: We really liked this tour. Only one
thing could make it better.. free samples at the end (we like
sour dough bread much more than corn tortillas). I was very skeptical
about the prospect of "industry tours" in the new park.
After visiting the tortilla one I thought my worries were coming
true, but then we did the sour dough one. We found this tour to
be much more informative and interesting to walk through. Not
worth waiting for, and probably will not do it more than once
or twice a year, but for an occasional visitor it works.
- Mission Tortilla Factory: I really did not like this
tour. I found it to be sort of boring. Watching a machine do all
the work was interesting for about 30 seconds, but once you see
what it is doing you are bored. The free tortilla at the end is
cool, but definitely not worth waiting in line for. We did like
how they had a cast member start off the tour with an introduction
and brief history lesson. This was interesting.
- Golden Vine Winery(the film was shuttered on March 30, 2008): The winery looked impressive. The
main building and the vineyards are exceptionally themed. The
big attraction here is the restuarant and the counter service
place where you can buy wine... There is also a brief film (10
min or so) about the process called Seasons of the Vine. The film was interesting, but not
that spectacular. The best thing is it is a comfortable seat in
a climate controlled building. Also we really liked how there
were signs by the exits asking you to keep alcohol in designated
areas. I was concerned about seeing people wondering the park
with wine glasses... seems Disney was too.
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