Bountiful Valley Farm Appreciation Thread

GiveMeTheMusic

GiveMeTheMusic

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Once upon a time, Michael Eisner thought that Disneyland guests would be really interested in seeing farm equipment up close. He was going to include it in his Disney's America park, which never materialized in Virginia. As soon as that project died, Disney's California Adventure was born and did you know that Mexican people grow a lot of food in California? It's true! What better way to pay tribute to a vital but boring as hell part of California's culture than to make a whole land themed to plants you can look at and Caterpillar tractors you can't touch.

bountiful_tractordisplay2001tm.jpg


Look at all four of those guests having a great time wondering how they had accidentally ended up at the Pomona fairgrounds.

farmmural_bountiful2001tm.jpg


This stunning mural covers the it's tough to be a bug show building. Look at those plants, trying and failing not to die!

con13.jpg


This building looks like it holds some boring exhibit about watching plants grow, but it doesn't!

What's your favorite memory of Michael Eisner's Bountiful Valley Farm?
 
F

fctiger

Well-Known Member
Wait what was in the Farmers expo building? I don't remember ever going inside.

But yes this area basically said it all about DCA 1.0: Bland, cheap, stale and uninspired.

If you want to build a land around a farm, make it fun and interesting. Living with the Land ride in Epcot is a great example. Its informative but fun. It gets people invested in agriculture and greenhouses by building a story around it, which is what Disney USE to be good at doing with these things.

But obviously that costs money and actual effort. So let's throw in a bunch of tractors and a small garden to WOW the tourists. Who wouldn't storm the gates to see that?
 
Curious Constance

Curious Constance

Well-Known Member
One of my biggest life regrets is missing this since my first visit to DCA wasn't until like 2008.

I just remembered our first trip to the resort was in 2006, but after getting inside Disneyland, I never even had any desire to visit DCA. Isn't that weird? For all I knew back then it could have been just as good as Disneyland. I guess the ugly murals in the front told me all I needed to know?
 
Animaniac93-98

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
Up until recently I had every Disney Magazine issue from Fall 1996 to Summer 2005 (the final publication). The one I decided to keep was Spring 2001, the issue that hyped opening day DCA in all her glory. Here's the blurb on Bountiful Valley Farm:

"Nearby attractions include Irrigation Station, a cool-down playground full of spritzing pipes; Bountiful Valley Farmers Market, a rural-themed food court serving baked potatoes, turkey legs, and lemonade; San Andreas Shakes, offering frothy cold drinks; and Santa Rosa Seed & Supply, a garden shop loaded with flowers, plants and garden decorations."

The seven plots around the farm were supposed to represent the over 350 crops produced in the state, but February weather may not have been the best time to showcase them for the first time.
 
VJ

VJ

Well-Known Member
GiveMeTheMusic said:
Once upon a time, Michael Eisner thought that Disneyland guests would be really interested in seeing farm equipment up close. He was going to include it in his Disney's America park, which never materialized in Virginia. As soon as that project died, Disney's California Adventure was born and did you know that Mexican people grow a lot of food in California? It's true! What better way to pay tribute to a vital but boring as hell part of California's culture than to make a whole land themed to plants you can look at and Caterpillar tractors you can't touch.

bountiful_tractordisplay2001tm.jpg


Look at all four of those guests having a great time wondering how they had accidentally ended up at the Pomona fairgrounds.

farmmural_bountiful2001tm.jpg


This stunning mural covers the it's tough to be a bug show building. Look at those plants, trying and failing not to die!

con13.jpg


This building looks like it holds some boring exhibit about watching plants grow, but it doesn't!

What's your favorite memory of Michael Eisner's Bountiful Valley Farm?
Click to expand...
I love you (and this post). So much.
 
TwilightZone

TwilightZone

Well-Known Member
Curious Constance said:
One of my biggest life regrets is missing this since my first visit to DCA wasn't until like 2008.

I just remembered our first trip to the resort was in 2006, but after getting inside Disneyland, I never even had any desire to visit DCA. Isn't that weird? For all I knew back then it could have been just as good as Disneyland. I guess the ugly murals in the front told me all I needed to know?
Click to expand...
You missed something that will never be replicated ever again. Imagine a whole park full of incredicoasters. It was both a dream and a nightmare.
11/10
(also tot was the stuff of young me legend, don't think I will have that much mystery about a ride ever again due to internet. Though I can surprise myself for some rides.)
 
FerretAfros

FerretAfros

Well-Known Member
The Bountiful Valley Farm area was never meant to be a highlight of the park, but I think it was really well done for what it was. It highlighted an often overlooked but very important part of California's industry, and added a pleasant low-key space to the park. In a park that was often derided for its wide walkways and lack of charm in the early years, it (and the Grizzly Peak area) was a great green space that added an understated texture and diversity to the line-up. The problem wasn't with the area itself, but with the overall balance in the park's attraction menu.

The weak roster meant that things like the farm area and factory tours were viewed as missed opportunities for additional high-profile attractions, rather than pleasant diversions between them. Even in its current past-its-prime state, Epcot successfully hosts similar exhibits as highlights of its annual Flower & Garden and Food & Wine festivals. When taken alone it's dull, but it would be a great add-on to an already-full day.

Maybe it's my Midwestern roots, but I always enjoyed the farm area for what it was, and appreciated that they took the effort to include an unsexy but integral theme to support the park's story. Its post-Carsland vestigial remnants are pretty pathetic and awkward, as though they can't decide whether the area still exists or what to do with the oddly-sized footprint. At this point, it's better to replace it entirely than to try to work with what's left.
fctiger said:
Wait what was in the Farmers expo building? I don't remember ever going inside.
Click to expand...
It's a (backstage) cast cafeteria. It's never been open to the public. For all of DCA1.0's failures, I think this was actually a pretty clever bit of design that incorporated the typically-invisible support facilities in a way that adds depth and presumed substance to onstage areas. For a park with a very limited budget, it was a smart move.
 

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