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'Disney's California Adventure' is a theme park in Anaheim, California, adjacent to Disneyland Park and part of the larger Disneyland Resort. It opened on February 8, 2001. The park is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company.
This 55-acre theme park was constructed as part of a major expansion that transformed the Disneyland area and its hotels into the Disneyland Resort and consists of five areas: Sunshine Plaza, Hollywood Pictures Backlot, The Golden State, A Bug's Land and Paradise Pier. Most of them meant to resemble or recreate various aspects about California, its culture, landmarks and history. Often referred to by its initials, DCA features a different line-up of attractions from those of Disneyland, including some family-friendly rides as well as an emphasis on adult-oriented thrill rides.

Contents

Dedication

Concept and Construction

Park Layout

Sunshine Plaza

Paradise Pier

Golden State

Condor Flats

Grizzly Peak Recreational Area

The Bay Area

The Golden Vine Winery

Pacific Wharf

Hollywood Pictures Backlot

A Bug's Land

Performance Corridor

Initial lack of success

Attendance Statistics

See also

References

External links

Dedication

Concept and Construction

In 1991, Disney announced the plan to build a second gate at Anaheim, WestCOT, a west coast iteration of Epcot, in the Disneyland main parking lot,^[1]but due to various reasons the project was canceled in 1995, which led to the idea of 'Disney's California Adventure', a park to celebrate and pay tribute to California. The concept was to provide the experience similar to stepping inside a California postcard.
DCA was part of the plan to expand the one park property and convert it into a greater, multi-day vacation resort destination which would be able to appeal to a greater audience - similar to the Walt Disney World resort where a guest would stay for several days or weeks.
The construction of DCA began in 1998, as part of the expansion project which included the new theme park, the Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, Downtown Disney, and the renovation of the Disneyland Hotel and the Paradise Pier Hotel. When completed in 2001 this project was inaugurated as the Disneyland Resort. Since DCA occupies the site of the former parking lot for 5,000 vehicles, parking is now provided in the multi-level "Mickey and Friends" parking structure, giving space for more than 10,000 vehicles.^[2]
The new park was designed to appeal to an older audience when compared to Disneyland and the overall intention was to create an alternative to Disneyland. It features various thrill ride attractions for older guests as well as rides for the whole family, and at the beginning lacked kiddie rides when compared to Disneyland.

Park Layout

Sunshine Plaza

The entrance is designed to give the feel that guests are stepping inside a California postcard. After guests pass the giant postcard letters spelling out California, they come across a replica of Golden Gate Bridge, which serves as a track for the monorail. On both sides of the Golden Gate Bridge are two mountain murals depicting California. Beyond the Golden Gate Bridge is Sunshine Plaza, the entrance to the park. At the end of the path, there is a fountain that includes a giant sun icon in the center, which reflects the light of the sun. Sunshine Plaza is also home to a replica of the California Zephyr, which houses the plaza's two counter service restaurants: Baker's Field Bakery and Bur-r-r Bank Ice Cream. The plaza is also home to two of the park's biggest souvenir shopps, Greetings from California and Engine Ears Toys.

Paradise Pier

Main articles: Paradise Pier

Paradise Pier is themed after a California boardwalk, based on popular coastal boardwalks such as the Santa Monica Pier and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Paradise Pier's attractions consist of the classic amusement park rides found in many boardwalks such as the Sun Wheel, California Screamin’, the Maliboomer, and the Orange Stinger. Toy Story Mania!, an interactive attraction inspired by classic midway games and featuring Pixar characters, is under construction and will open in 2008.
A section of Paradise Pier is themed after the Historic Route 66, a desert road area that starts with Paradise Pier's crashed fireboat the S.S. rustworthy. Notable attractions are the ''Jumpin' Jellyfish'', ''Golden Zephyr'', and ''Mulholland Madness'' as well as the ''Sunglass Shack'' in the shape of a giant roadside attraction dinosaur.

Golden State

Main articles: Golden State (Disney's California Adventure)

This land allows guests to experience California's natural settings. It is further divided into five sub-lands:

Condor Flats

This sub-land is themed after the aviation industry. The featured attration here is Soarin’ over California, a popular ride that simulates a hang glider tour of California. Also in this area is the Taste Pilot's Grill counter service restaurant.

Grizzly Peak Recreational Area

This sub-land is themed after California's wilderness, such as Yosemite and Redwood national parks. Attractions include Grizzly River Run, a fast-paced river rapids ride around Grizzly Peak, the park's icon. Nearby is the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail; an interactive playground area which also includes a show housed in an amphitheater featuring characters from Disney's Brother Bear, The Magic of Brother Bear. A special entrance to Disney's Grand Californian Hotel is also located in this area.

The Bay Area

This sub-land is themed after the San Francisco Bay Area. It features ''Golden Dreams'', a film about the history of California, starring Whoopi Goldberg housed in a theatre. Outside of the theatre is a mural and a replica of the Palace of Fine Arts. The Bay Area also includes an avenue of houses similar to the Victorian architecture of many townhouses in San Francisco Bay Area neighborhoods.

The Golden Vine Winery

This sub-land is themed after Northern California's Napa Valley and the wine making industry. Included in this area are two restaurants, The Vineyard Room, a fine dining dinner-only table service restaurant which features a great selection of wines, and Wine Country Tattoria, a more casual table service dining restaurant which features wines and many Italian foods. Attractions in this area include Seasons of the Vine, a film showcasing Napa Valley and the changes throughout the seasons, housed in a wine cellar-like theatre. Guests also have the opportunity to taste several wines for an additional price.

Pacific Wharf

This sub-land is based on Monterey's Cannery Row area, especially as depicted in John Steinbeck's novels, and also resembles San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf. This area includes many restaurants, cafes, along with a Karl Strauss beer truck and Margarita stand. This sub-land also features attractions such as the Mission Tortilla Factory, which features a tour on how tortillas were once made, and showcases a working corn and flour tortilla machines. Another attraction is the Boudin Bakery Tour, which is a tour of the sourdough bread making process with Rosie O'Donnell and Colin Mochrie as video tour guides.

Hollywood Pictures Backlot

Main articles: Hollywood Pictures Backlot

'Hollywood Pictures Backlot' is an area styled to appear as Hollywood boulevards and movie backlots, with Hollywood, Television, and movie-themed attractions. A version of the ''Tower of Terror'' attraction from the Disney-MGM Studios opened in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot in 2004. Recently, a new attraction, ''Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!'' based on the characters from ''Monsters, Inc.'' opened in the attraction building which used to house Superstar Limo. The 2000-seat Hyperion Theatre currently plays host to ''.
Also featured since the park's opening is Muppet Vision 3-D, a show that originated at Disney-MGM in Florida.
The entrance to the area with the sign ''Hollywood Pictures Backlot'' featuring two ceramic elephants sculptures atop columns is a homage to a huge set constructed for the epic 1916 Hollywood film ''Intolerance'' directed by D.W. Griffith. This homage is echoed at the Hollywood and Highland entertainment complex in Los Angeles which currently houses the Academy Awards ceremonies at Kodak Theatre (which opened the same year, 2001) which also has elephant sculptures atop columns.

A Bug's Land

Main articles: a bug's land

Featuring ''Flik's Fun Fair,'' ''It's Tough to be a Bug!'' and the ''Bountiful Valley Farm'', based on the Disney-Pixar film A Bug's Life, opened in 2003 and offers various kid-friendly rides.

Performance Corridor

The Performance Corridor is the primary parade route through the park, and as-built curves around Sunshine Plaza, passes the entrance to A Bug's Land and the Golden Vine Winery, past the Golden Dreams attraction, and halfway around the Paradise Pier water feature, exiting adjacent to California Screamin'.
The Performance Corridor has hosted the following:

★ ''Eureka!'' (no longer running)

★ ''Disney's Electrical Parade'' (on Hiatus after Labor Day, 2007)

★ ''Block Party Bash'' (Officially scheduled to move to Florida in Early January, 2008)

★ ''High School Musical: The Pep Rally!'' (no longer running)

★ ''High School Musical 2: School's Out!''

Initial lack of success

Disney’s California Adventure was expected to draw early crowds that were several times larger than what they initially welcomed. Some of the most popular theories surrounding the low attendance in the park's early life include:

★ Bad word-of-mouth from early visitors discouraged future visitors, stating the park was lacking in Disney quality attractions.^[3]

★ Hollywood Pictures Backlot had lack of focus on the restaurants, shops and attractions.

★ Lack of children's rides. A Bug's Land opened up in 2003 with five new rides as a response to this complainant.

★ Fans criticized the Paradise Pier area of the park because many of the attractions in this area were generic rides that guests do not expect to find at a Disney park. It was also criticized because Walt Disney originally created neighboring Disneyland to provide a theme park experience unlike boardwalk piers and amusement parks of the era, and instead wanted to create a park where the entire family could enjoy themselves.

★ Many guests complained that a single day admission ticket to Disney's California Adventure cost the same as a single day admission ticket to Disneyland Park, yet contained less attractions.^[4]
Additionally, attendance issues have been documented at:

★ The Los Angeles Times in a January 14, 2001 article projected attendance for DCA to reach 7 million, however in 2002 it reported only 4.7 million.^[5]

★ Disney's chief executive officer, Robert Iger went on record during the company's annual stockholder meeting on March 10th, 2006, when someone asked about a potential third park being built in Anaheim. "We're still working to assure the second gate is successful", Iger said, referring to California Adventure. "In the spirit of candor, we have been challenged."^[6]

Attendance Statistics

From the initial opening, DCA attendance has been less than what Disney projected. However, while the park matures, and the company learns how to market its product better, there have been measurable increases.

★ 13% growth in 2003 as an effort to boost attendance, Disney’s marketing introduce a 9 month promotion to visit DCA on the second day free. DCA was the only double-digit gain in US amusement parks that year.

★ 6% growth in 2004 with 5.6 million visitors.
Additional elements have generated additional park traffic. Currently, most visitors use a multi-day ParkHopper ticket or Annual Pass when entering DCA. These passes permit unlimited “hopping” between Disneyland and DCA. Very few visitors enter using a single-day, single-park ticket.

See also

★ List of current Disney's California Adventure attractions

★ List of past Disney's California Adventure attractions

★ Music From Disney's California Adventure (2001 CD)

References

1. Tony Baxter... on WestCOT Tony Baxter
2. California Misadventure: Part 3 Jim Hill Media
3. Archived D-I-G Update: 6/25
4. "Dark" Days Ahead?
5. The Most Jam-Packed Theme Park on Earth?
6. [1]

External links

★ Disney's California Adventure web page

★ Disney's California Adventure Roller Coasters