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Saccharine Delight Comes to Disney California Adventure – Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop Now Open



From left, Mary Niven, vice president, Disney California Adventure Park, Ernst Tanner, CEO, Lindt & SprŸngli AG, and George A. Kalogridis, president, Disneyland Resort celebrate the opening of a new Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop at Disney California Adventure Park June 7, 2012.

A wonder world of saccharine delights is now open at the Disneyland Resort. A new Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop is spreading its sugary sweetness inside Disney California Adventure park. The new location – the first to open inside a theme park – features Ghirardelli’s world-famous hot fudge sundaes and decadent chocolate products, and represents another milestone in the expansion of Disney California Adventure.

Good news, there will be free samples too!

“As we celebrate the culmination of our resort expansion, we are thrilled to welcome Ghirardelli, and to make this unique chocolate experience available to our park guests,” said George A. Kalogridis, president of Disneyland Resort. “Ghirardelli is a perfect fit for our newly reimagined Disney California Adventure, as we both share a rich California heritage.”

“We are excited to partner with the Disneyland Resort to open our Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop in Disney California Adventure,” said Martin Thompson, President and CEO of the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company. “Consumers associate our premium brand with high quality, delicious chocolate and now they will have the opportunity to enjoy both our intense, slow melting chocolate and our decadent ice cream treats inside the park. Our rich heritage began in California 160 years ago this year and opening this store in Disney California Adventure is a perfect way to celebrate.”

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DCA History Lesson: Tortillas, Wine, and Heavy Machinery

We are almost a week away from the piece de resistance for a Disney Parks fan, the unveiling of “DCA 2.0” after its major 5-year overhaul. As you know, I have been writing these history lessons leading up to June 15th, reminding you what would have happened if DCA stayed the same from day one. Today we are looking at a mish-mash of topics: Mission Tortilla Factory, Golden Vine Winery, and the Bountiful Valley Farm, with which we will start with.

Bountiful Valley Farm was one of the opening day attractions featured in the “Golden State” portion of the park. This area was a walk-through/garden/construction site that showed you how agriculture is such a large part of California’s culture (Thanks to Caterpillar farming equipment the area’s sponsor). This mini-land featured multiple crops that are prominent in California in addition to statues and signs describing California agriculture. The area also featured a new take on a kid’s water play area, using stationary yellow poles spurting water in different directions. A neat, inventive component was the unique store called “Santa Rosa Seed and Supply” that featured the usually t-shirts and toys (Caterpillars, no less), but also having gardening essentials. An odd choice for a theme park, but a cool ideas none the less. The highlight of the area? The ability to sit in tractor seats…duh! The area was one of the first to be gutted for the redo, closing on Sept. 7th, 2010. This area has now been covered with Carsland (BREAKING NEWS…it opens June 15th).

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Numbers Reveal Scale of Change at Disney California Adventure

We’re just a few short days away from the grand unveiling of the (mostly) remade Disney California Adventure. On June 15 two highly anticipated themed lands, Cars Land and Buena Vista Street, will open completing a five-year expansion of the Disneyland Resort. Add new attractions, merchandise locations, entertainment and food offerings, plus opportunities for families to have fun together, and guests will find an immersive experience full of memory-making opportunities for the whole family.

Here’s a closer look at Disney California Adventure, by the numbers.

280,000 – Square feet of rockwork in Cars Land, making Ornament Valley mountain range the largest rockwork created in a domestic Disney theme park; built to an unusual level of complexity with very few 90-degree angles

125 – Height in feet at the tallest peak of Ornament Valley range in Cars Land

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Will Cars Land Elevate DCA Enough

The LA Times wonders if the changes to the entrance to the park and the addition of Cars Land to Disney California Adventure will be enough to elevate the park to a full day experience. There’s a lot of room for improvement: In 2010, California… Read More »Will Cars Land Elevate DCA Enough

DCA History Lesson: The Hyperion Theater’s Former Inhabitants

We are t-minus 3 weeks and counting until the re-unveiling of Disney California Adventure. I don’t know about you, but with the constant pictures and videos from inside Carsland and Buena Vista Street (Not to mention the newly opened Carthay Circle Theater and fountain!) make… Read More »DCA History Lesson: The Hyperion Theater’s Former Inhabitants

Carthay Circle Theatre Revealed at DCA

The walls have come down around the new park icon at Disney California Adventure. Carthay Circle Theatre sits at the south end of Buena Vista Street and will act as the primary ‘wienie’ (Walt’s term for an icon that draws you into a land). Looks… Read More »Carthay Circle Theatre Revealed at DCA

Buzz Lightyear Themed Commercials for Disneyland

With the major changes at Disney California Adventure due to roll out, the Disneyland Resort is expecting major crowds this summer. That said, it’s always a good idea to tell people that there’s something new to see. With that in mind, Disney has rolled out… Read More »Buzz Lightyear Themed Commercials for Disneyland

Disneyland sets New 2012 Half-Marathon Course

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Earlier this week, runDisney made another exciting announcement, this time revealing the course for the Disneyland Half Marathon to be held on September 2, 2012. Although the majority of the course remains unchanged from years previous, there is an exciting new turn early on that… Read More »Disneyland sets New 2012 Half-Marathon Course