Disneyland Commentary
DCA - Not Just An Afterthought Anymore
July 3, 2009
Disney's California Adventure was a compromise of the worst kind when men in suits thought more about the bottom line than they did about creative vision. The chief culprit in this crime was former Disney CEO Michael Eisner. Disneyland needed a second park where overflowing crowds good drop their hard earned money into the Disney coffers. The original thought was to create a west coast version of EPCOT with the appropriate name of WestCOT. So Disney pursued this angle and came up with a cost of somewhere around 1.8 billion dollars. "Whoa! Wait a minute....we need a second theme park but 1.8 billion?" So the ugly compromise was made and someone came up with Disney's California Adventure, a so called homage to Golden State. Did anyone give any thought to the notion that since most people who go to Disneyland also live in California, why would they need to see theming (and for the most part bad theming at that) of a place where they already live?
But the commitment was made to build DCA at roughly half the cost of the original WestCOT. DCA was built on the grounds of the original Disneyland parking lot which strangely enough Disneyland veterans had peculiar fondness for since it was pure magic to see the big "Disneyland" sign, pull into the vast parking lot, then catch the little tram right to the Disneyland front gates. DCA lacked magic and imagination from the get go and was immediately met with harsh criticism and a great deal of indifference.
Original proprietors of high end restaurants in the park - Wolfgang Puck and Robert Mondavi -bailed after the first year seeing the handwriting on the wall that this place was a colossal failure. People complained about the lack of children's rides and many of the rides that were there appeared to have a cheap carnival look about them completely devoid of the imagination that was present everywhere in the park across the way. Actually the list of complaints was pretty endless.
To fix the lack of children's rides A Bug's Land was created in a hurry and while this is a fun place for kids it does have that look about it that says "Tacked On Quickly". The Hollywood Tower of Terror wasn't added quickly but was definitely needed as it is one of the few rides in DCA that has a real theme.
Anyway, the makeover for California Adventure began almost immediately after it opened but things really didn't get going until Eisner got booted out and the creative minds from Pixar (with a little help from Steve Jobs) moved in. The current makeover for DCA is estimated to cost 1.1 billion dollars. Don't worry, they have the money. The changes over the last couple of years have greatly enhanced the park and the current construction will have things really moving in the right direction by 2012 when the new Cars Land is scheduled to open.
Toy Story Midway Mania was the first real showpiece of the new Walt Disney's California Adventure and the recently opened Mickey's Fun Wheel is absolutely beautiful (especially at night). But there have been subtle changes that have enhanced park as well. The current show at Playhouse Disney is an improvement over the original show (which was an improvement over Soap Opera Bistro restaurant that was first housed in the building). Turtle Talk with Crush has been a great addition to the Animation Studios along with the display of the Toy Story Zoetrope. The current Pixar Play Parade is 100 times better than the old Block Party Bash and current improvements to Disney's Electrical Parade bring new life to the old procession. The stupid carnival games on Paradise Pier have given way to the ridiculously expensive but Disney themed Games of the Boardwalk.
To be fair, the best of Disney's California Adventure at its inception will be there years from now so they did do some things right. Soarin' Over California, Grizzly River Run, and California Screaming are all great rides. Some good food can be found at Taste Pilot's Grill (the chicken sandwiches), Pacific Wharf Cafe, and Wine Country Trattoria. While our family has found the food at Ariel's Grotto to be questionable at best, the building and location are quite nice. The Aladdin musical in the beautiful Hyperion Theater is absolutely spectacular. It's a Bug's Life continues to be a most enjoyable attraction. So there was some good foundation to build on and that they are in big and small ways. I look forward to almost weekly reports of the progress on various Disney website. It's exciting to see and somehow by 2012, I get the feeling that the gap between the two parks will be virtually non-existent.
In the future you will enter Walt Disney's California Adventure, a park based on the Hollywood and California Walt first encountered on his arrival in the early 1920's and a reflection of just how far his imagination has come to the present day. It starts with a walk (or a streetcar ride) down Buena Vista Boulevard (new Main Steet) to a recreation of the Carthay Theater where the movie Snow White first premiered. This theater will house a display of items that honor the imagination and dreams of Walt Disney. Somewhere around the complex will be a new Partners statue, Walt and Mickey together again. Off to the left will be Hollywoodland. To the right will continue to be entrance to the Golden State. Out in the back the new Paradise Pier will appear with cheap carnival rides replaced by rides that actually pay tribute to the Disney-Pixar characters. Gone will be the Bountiful Farm section, replaced by the massive Cars Land. The good things stay, the bad things either go or get re-made (like the Sun Wheel transformation to Mickey's Fun Wheel). At night instead of getting kicked out early because of early closing hours, California Adventure comes alive with color, water, and light. Thousands of people will be able to see the new World of Color spectacle.
I look forward to seeing all this over the next few years. This is what every Disney fan has been asking for and they are about to get something very special.