Disney's California Adventure
Inherits A Billion Dollars!

I'd Be Happy With Half of That...

The introduction of Pixar characters like Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the gang from the movie Cars has been a good start. In fact, the bigwigs at Disney apparently have been doing a lot of thinking about how to get guests to love DCA and want to return (with their credit cards) time and again.

The answer is that Disney’s California Adventure is now in the process of being expanded and dramatically remodeled to evoke visions of Disney’s California Adventure—that is, Walt Disney’s adventure that started when he came to California in the 1920s. On another page we tell you how to visit the places where (right-brained) Walt and (left-brained) brother Roy settled to create animated features in Tinseltown.

By recreating the feel of that bygone era, and by highlighting important early events in Uncle Walt’s life, DCA will be more complementary with Disneyland. It will include some more recent but consistent themes as well, such as an attraction centered around The Little Mermaid movie.

With a billion dollars burning a hole in their pockets, the Imagineers are sparing no expense. Midway Mania opened in 2008 as the first step in the extravaganza, emphasizing on the Pixar gang of characters. Between now and 2012, a lot will happen. The sun image in the center of the Ferris wheel is now being replaced by the face of Mickey as he looked in the many old cartoons.

There will be a new building near the entrance that resembles a famous local theatre and will interactively tell the Walt Disney Story. Also near the entrance will be a 1920s California-themed shopping plaza. The Golden Gate Bridge will go away, as being too contemporary.

Paradise Pier, the area alongside the big water feature, will be remodeled to more closely resemble a 1920s boardwalk; perhaps a bit like Coney Island in its prime. The big Orange Stinger swing set will become the Silly Symphony Swings (did you ever have the chance to see any of the Silly Symphonies cartoons?), where you’ll feel like you are swinging out over the bay.

Then there will be the Little Mermaid dark ride, which does not exactly fit into the ‘20s theme but sounds like a pretty exciting attraction for smaller kids. Disney will add 12 acres onto the park to create Radiator Springs from Cars. Interestingly, they tentatively plan to call this Cars Land. It will reflect Route 66 America in the depression era and will offer three new attractions. You can now see the construction underway; it's going to be great when it's done.

Among many other features, we’re particularly intrigued by the major nighttime water and light show called The World of Color (anybody remember Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color TV show on NBC years ago?). It recently opened, and is a cross between the Fantasmic water/light/pyrotechnics show in Disneyland and the fountains at the Mirage in Las Vegas.

But you can't just walk up and catch the show. They give out reservations that disappear by the afternoon; if this show is important to you, check it out as soon as you get inside DCA; there are a couple of restaurants that have a view of the show--so you could plan to eat dinner and watch the show.

There is a preview area showing the proposed changes at the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar inside DCA. If you are particularly interested in Disney updates and would like some additional details and photos, click on this link to a page at Micechat.com.