Buena Vista Street (2012)

[SeaCastle]

Well I think that's debatable since it sits at the end of the main entrance and I've heard it called an icon (not necessarily the icon) quite a lot.

I guess Guests would call it that because it's at the end of the main street, but my point is that Disney didn't intend for it to be the icon. In the park logo, it was always Grizzly Peak represented. However, I had always thought the minimalist sun was the icon, but it wasn't designed to be that way.

 

[disneyland075]

during the part of the constrion for the trolly they had close down alldden in septber to work on the troly

 

[SeaCastle]

source: MintCrocodile

I just realized something...check out the file I attached below. I never thought of this before, since I was under the impression they were building new shops and restaurants, not just building facades on old ones. But besides the Carthay Circle Theater, no buildings will be erected on BVS...they'll just be given lavish facades.

 

[sponono88]

That is correct. No reason to build new building when the shops and eateries are already there Along with the new facades, they will complete re-do the shops and re-theme them along with adding new places to eat. So although it will be the same buildings, they will look and feel completely different.

This of course along with the new Red Car Trolleys, Carthay Circle Theatre.. it will be quite a big project.

 

[sponono88]

The Golden Gate Bridge has been decorated for X-Mas on its final year of existence.

The letters are also decorated with candy-cane patterns and the Mickey/Goofy figures

The construction walls have been expanded closer to the parade route

[image source: MintCrocodile]

 

[Twilight_Roxas]

So where is the Buena Vista Street's partner's statue going to be?

 

[sponono88]

There's very little left in the old hub/plaza area of Sunshine Plaza..

All the trees have been cleared, making the area feel very wide and open.

Outside the park, new walls have gone up near the main entrance turnstyles.

 

[TP2000]

There's very little left in the old hub/plaza area of Sunshine Plaza..

All the trees have been cleared, making the area feel very wide and open.

Okay, now that is just surreal looking! It looks so barren and big and blank. How very, very odd to see it that way. I've got to get to DCA and see this for msyelf.

Talk about a total remake of an existing Disney theme park! So bizarre to see it actually happening!

 

[sponono88]

Yeah, it is quite surreal to see in person. Feels very empty without all those trees. Luckily it's only temporary because it's not a very pretty sight :lol:

 

[ABigBrassBand]

The Golden Gate Bridge has been decorated for X-Mas on its final year of existence.

Wait, what? Man, I feel so out of the loop with Disney news.

 

[sponono88]

Yeah, the Golden Gate bridge as well as the murals and other Sunshine Plaza icons will removed to make way for Buena Vista St. The bridge will remain but will have a different theme to fit into the early '20s Los Angeles theeme.

 

[ABigBrassBand]

Oh my god, early '20s?! Easily my favorite decade, I can't wait for this.

 

[sponono88]

Yep, and it will focus on Walt when he first arrived in California. Check the first page for concept art pictures and video

 

[sponono88]

Yesterday the Disney Parks Blog announced that Buena Vista St. construction will begin January 4th. It will be interesting to see the main entrance go into full-construction mode!

On Jan. 4, we will begin making way for a new entrance modeled after the legendary Pan-Pacific Auditorium. This means, the “CALIFORNIA” letters will be removed, and we plan to save these icons for possible future use. Now’s the time to get your photos!

As this work continues, we are making adjustments to the Disney California Adventure Main Entrance area, including relocation of some Guest service areas. We’ll keep you informed about those here on the Disney Parks Blog as soon as we have specific dates and locations.

Also on Jan. 4, we will begin the transformation of the Sunshine Plaza area into Buena Vista Street inside the Main Entrance. When complete, it will represent Hollywood as it was when Walt Disney arrived on the west coast in the 1920s.

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...ontinues-at-disney-california-adventure-park/

 

[sponono88]

Construction update (12/13)

Very little remains of the mural walls..

Things are relatively quiet out in the former location of the Sun/Wave fountain. Although the land has been cleared, heavy construction probably won't begin until the week of January 4th:

 

[sponono88]

And just like that, the mural is completely gone..

http://twitpic.com/3g7wek

 

[TP2000]

And just like that, the mural is completely gone..

http://twitpic.com/3g7wek

Wow. I'm struck by how simple and plain the original 2001 buildings of DCA's entrance complex were. You could use the word "cheap", but it really is amazing how economically they built that park in '01. They were just stucco boxes for stores and park facilities hiding behind those tile murals.

It's amazing it looked as good as it did really, for how economically they apparently built that section of the park.

No wonder they have to spend a cool Billion to fix it all a decade later. :lol:

 

[sponono88]

^ Yeah, it looks so open and empty without the murals. Can't wait for construction to begin in a just a few weeks!

Here's what it looked like today, pictures from MintCrocodile's update

And behind the walls in the former Sun Fountain area, dirt being moved around

 

[sponono88]

Today Disney revealed the schedule of construction projects for DCA's new entrance next year. During construction guests will be able to enter through the same entrance but will be re-routed backstage to go inside the park. Also, Pixar Play Parade will go on hiatus as the parade route will also be blocked off (possibly for the El Camino Real re-theme).

Construction will be done in several phases, the first being the removal of the letters beginning January 4th, 2011..

Jan. 4:

Letter statues: Construction walls will start going up around the “California” letters statues in front of the park’s turnstiles. Crews plan to remove the statues. Read more about the Disney”California” letters HERE.

Sunshine Plaza: Inside the park, the walls will come out farther around the Sunshine Plaza, where a sunburst statue and fountain used to sit. The corridors will become narrower. Read a previous story about the Disney Sunshine Plaza.

June 1:

Corridor closed: The major corridor between Sunshine Plaza and the Grizzly River Run mountain, which veers right after the park entrance, will be closed. Visitors instead can get to “a bug’s land” and Pacific Wharf by going through the Hollywood Pictures Backlot and through “a bug’s land” back entrance by the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride.

July 31:

Shops and restaurants closed: Restaurants and a shop on the right side inside the entrance will be closed, as walls go up for more Buena Vista Street construction. The closures will be at: Baker’s Field Bakery, Bur-r-r Bank Ice Cream and Engine-Ears Toys.

Aug. 29:

Entrance changes: Visitors will go through new turnstiles at the entrance. But they will be funneled right into a pathway behind the Soarin’ Over California ride to the Condor Flats area where they will enter the park. Most of the Sunshine Plaza area will be blocked, including the Greetings from California store. The entrance change is slated to stay until summer 2012.

While construction is underway at the entrance, new venues are set to open in the spring in the Paradise Pier area: The Little Mermaid – Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, Goofy’s Sky School and a dining-shopping complex.

See the full article here: http://ocresort.ocregister.com/2010/12/20/big-changes-coming-to-disney-california-adventure/64914/

It's a very big undertaking; how to keep a daily operating theme park running smoothly for paying guests but completely transforming the main entrance at the same time. But at least they are balancing it out by opening new rides and restaurants at the other side of the park.

Also interesting that they will be forced to shut down two of the most profitable stores at the park.. 2011 will be a very big year for DCA as far as growth and new development, and it will also mark the park's 10th anniversary!

 

[TP2000]

It's a very big undertaking; how to keep a daily operating theme park running smoothly for paying guests but completely transforming the main entrance at the same time.

And totally unprecedented in the history of Disney theme parks, if not the entire theme park industry. Never before have they gone in and bulldozed an existing park entrance complex and rebuilt it from the ground up with an entirely different look and theme.

I've said this before, but it's the Buena Vista Street project that will be the sleeper hit of this Billion Dollar Makeover. It will help rebrand this park more blatantly than any of the other projects, even CarsLand. Buena Vista Street is also going to be the big project that reminds us all how massive and completely unprecedented this DCA makeover project is.

Amazing times we live in.