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Disney’s California Adventure

Carthay Circle Fountain Details Explained By Imagineer

The Carthay Circle theater may be the center piece for Buena Vista Street, the new main street of Disney California Adventure, but the beautiful art deco fountain is the hub. In the following video Imagineer Lisa Girolami shares some insight into the inspiration for the… Read More »Carthay Circle Fountain Details Explained By Imagineer

DCA History Lesson: Parades

I don’t know about you, but if I lived in California, I would be jumping for those D23 tickets to go do a Carsland and Buena Vista Street walk-through before the official opening on, everyone together now, JUNE 15th! But, alas, I am in Florida, recapping the past ten years of DCA for you to enjoy before that lovely June day. Today, we will talk about the 2 now deceased (maybe not the best word choice…) parades that ran up and down the Performance Corridor for years. No, I’m not kidding, it was called the Performance Corridor instead of a Parade Route…oh DCA.

First up, we have the infamous “Eureka”. Named after the state motto, it was also the name of the deity that was represented on each of the floats, dressed as to reflect certain regions of California. She was in the sun logo, Hispanic California, an angel from “The City of Angels,” Beach-Loving Beauty, Chinese woman of Chinatown, and the Golden Goddess representing the Golden State. With each float came its respectable share of interesting costumes (A man dressed as the Hollywood Bowl, two men on stilts as the Golden Gate Bridge, etc.). In addition to the odd costume choices, the float performers were really cool, with the beach/surfing float containing a skateboarding half-pipe being used and the City of Angels section having drummers hanging off the side of float.

Though it did gain a small cult following among some Disney fans, it ultimately was not successful (Shocking!) at DCA. The problem? It had no Disney Characters. Not even Mickey. Though “Tapestry of Nations” at Epcot had no characters and was very popular, this parade had a very hectic and discombobulated feel to it that off put some, unlike “Tapestry”. It opened with the park in Feb. 2001, closed for the off-season, returned for the Summer of 2002, and never ran again.

After the park became such a folly for Disney and the crowd numbers weren’t what they were expecting, they needed something to pull the people in and fast. The solution? “Disney’s Electrical Parade”.

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DCA History Tour – Golden Dreams

It is part three of my DCA History Lesson! Every week I will be bringing you a look back at something from DCA’s past, leading up to the June 15th grand re-opening of the park. So come along as we take a stroll through the past and remembering how great it was!
Today, we are heading over to the “San Francisco” area of the park (if you could call that an area) and reliving “Golden Dreams.” The exterior of the theater was a replica of Bernard Maybeck’s Palace of Fine Arts located in the real San Francisco. This 25 minute film took you through the history of California and the dreams the land created. Led by Califia, the Queen of California, played by Unofficial DCA Mascot Whoopi Goldberg, we traveled through the years and realized all the dreams that could stem from one state.

This opening day attraction was highly regarded…for what it was, a movie. It never got Soarin’ style ratings, but it was still very good. Disney tried to add their trademark emotion into the film, which they did with great success. Whoopi playing Califia was a great choice as a narrator and shed some nice humor into the film. Favorite line? When the MGM namesake is looking at ‘The Wizard of Oz” costume designers choice of silver slippers, Califia walks quickly behind Mr.MGM and says “Silver is nice, Ruby is better.” While it showed a huge span of time, it never came off as dull history lesson. They brought life into a film that had the chance to be extremely bland.

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DCA Contruction Update

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This is me and my boys. I’m looking at the construction being done on the Carthay Circle Theatre in Disney’s California Adventure. My kids are just looking at a wall they can’t see over. Score one for tall (and old).

We recently (as in a couple of weeks ago, but I didn’t have time to post what with the trip to PIXAR and all that, oh, did I mention the trip to PIXAR?) took a weekend visit to the Disneyland Resort (Disneyland updates are here), and while we were there we took a peek at some of the upcoming changes to DCA. You know what I’m talking about:

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Goofy’s Flight School Open at California Adventure

One part of the renovation of California Adventure’s Paradise Pier is now open. Disney has released this short promotional video for Goofy’s Flight School tying it into one of the short animated films that stars our lovable Goofy. What do you think? Have you been… Read More »Goofy’s Flight School Open at California Adventure

Shameless Plug – New Kenversations(TM) Column Posted

Yes, it’s shameless plug time. The latest edition of Kenversations(TM) was posted today at LaughingPlace.com. It’s all about the crossroads were now facing in Anaheim between "giving up" on the Anaheim Resort or upgrading the Anaheim Resort.

Good answer to Will you change travel plans question

I’ve had a few great responses to my desire to know how Disney’s recent spate of deaths and injuries has affected your travel plans, if at all. I’m happy to say that everybody appears to be fairly sane, is a little more cautious. I wanted to post this response I got through another channel as… Read More »Good answer to Will you change travel plans question