Disneys California Adventure VS Tokyo Disney Sea

DisneySea vs California Adventure

The stark contrast between what the Walt Disney

Company is capable of with their theme parks, and what

they're settling for, can readily be seen by comparing

Tokyo DisneySea, a three billion dollar project funded

by The Oriental Land Company and developed by Walt

Disney Imagineering, and Disney's California

Adventure, the second gate of Disneyland being

developed primarily by budgeteering executives Paul

Pressler and Barry Braverman, who during design of the

park cut the budget of the park in half TWICE in an

effort to please Chief Executive Officer Michael

Eisner. Although officially Disney will argue that

California Adventure is designed by Imagineers, just

like other parks, insiders realize that the real

mastermind behind the project is the Disney

Development Company, a new group designed to

supplement Walt Disney Imagineering. Translation...

Disney Development Company doesn't put up a fight when

budgets are slashed, projects are cancelled, and

corners are cut. Imagineers (and only Pressler's

chosen ones) were brought in only when Imagineers

objected to a park being developed differently then

they always had i.e. with talented artists and

engineers working together to create the best possible

experience for the guest. There are those Disney

apologists who argue that theme parks can't be

directly compared to one another. To those I ask you

this. Can you imagine ANYONE wanting to go to

California Adventure over Tokyo DisneySea?

Also, I don't mean to imply that Disney needs a three

billion dollar theme park in the US. In terms of

labor alone, neither coast could support such a

project at this time. Instead, I wish to question

what would happen to new, individual American

attractions if they were given budgets remotely

comparable to those of DisneySea. Recent American

projects cancelled for budgetary reasons by Disney

include Beastly Kingdom (150 to 200 million dollars),

Fire Mountain (100 million dollars), an undisclosed

Villains ride (100 million dollars), and the currently

under construction Mission: Space at Epcot was

budgeteered to well under it's original price,

resulting in what will be a less than innovative

attraction, I'm sure. Recently opened attractions

included Kali River Rapids (an off the shelf,

traditional amusement park raft ride with little

innovation or creativity), The Many Adventures of

Winnie the Pooh (a cheap, if somewhat entertaining

dark ride taking the place of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at

Florida's Magic Kingdom). In contrast to this

attraction, Tokyo Disneyland, on September 1, unveiled

Pooh's Honey Hunt, a 150 million dollar attraction

with fully dimensional animatronics (not like our

attraction, complete with plywood cutouts passing as

animatronics) and a new trackless ride system based on

global positioning technology. Those having

experienced the ride report they have never

experienced anything like it. In other words, it was

impressive, innovative, and unique, unlike what Disney

has come out with lately.

E-Ticket attractions


20, 000 Leagues under the sea	California Soaring (possibly)
Journey to the Center of the Earth	Sorry, but off the shelf carnie rides and ugly rides don't represent the cutting edge to me.
Indiana Jones
"Pirates" like attraction
Storm Rider


Aladdin's Magic Show (reportedly blew the execs)	Wine Making Movie
Broadway Style Show	California History film hosted by Whoopi Goldberg
Arabian Show	Bread Making
Jungle Show

"Copied" Attractions DCA

Indiana Jones Ten Year

(different story, theming Muppets 3D

In different areas of the park, it recreates Italy,

the Middle East, a Futuristic Port, South America,

Turn of the Century New York, Under the Sea, and the

exterior and interior of an active volcano, all in 120

acres of Japan's Tokyo Harbor.

California Adventure

Well, it does the seemingly impossible job of

immitating the STATE OF CALIFORNIA in...well... the

STATE OF CALIFORNIA.

Personally, I would accept just ONE of DisneySea's

E-Tickets in America over the entire California

Adventure Park...That way, though, Eisner can't build

a mall (Downtown Disney)and make another billion worth