California Adventure - Guide to the First Five Years

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California Adventure: Early Days Guide for Scene 7

This is a guide created for Scene 7 of the One Little Spark Competition

Here is a map at opening day with the area you will be working with for the scene in red. I’ll be going land by land to detail stuff so you can get a better idea of it.

“A California themed theme park in the already California themed California.” - Defunctland

California Adventure has grown tremendously over the years. It has also change in both good and bad ways. It started out very roughly though with a low number of attractions, a very very small presence of disney characters, few stand out experiences in the list of attractions, and many bizzare ideas and concepts included. The theme of California Adventure is perhaps the most unique of any disney park, but also perhaps the most limiting. Much of the challenge of expanding the park has been finding new ways to expand and please guests while also staying within the theme at least partially. It is a very interesting Imagineering challenge to work within this tricky park.

 

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List of Opening Day Attractions by Land

Golden State Area - This area was actually a collection of five sub areas and featured mostly walk through attractions or video based attractions. It did feature the icon of the park (at opening) with Grizzly Mountain being in this land. The right half of this area felt a lot more complete with a good balance of attractions (if a bit sparse). The left half, with the exception of Tough to Be a Bug, was mostly simple exhibits set up mostly to sell stuff from sponsors disguised as attractions.

1. Bountiful Valley Farms - Displays and exhibits on farming and farm equipment
2. Golden Dreams - A movie about the history of California starring Whoopi Goldberg.
3. Golden Vine Winery - Basically just a display version of an actual winery
4. Grizzly River Run - Then the icon of the park
5. It’s Tough to be a Bug - a 3D movie cloned from Animal Kingdom with a much simpler outside queue
6. Mission Tortilla Factory - A behind the scenes look at Tortilla Production
7. Redwood Creek Challenge Trail - A play area/ropes course themed to a redwood forest.
8. Soarin’ Over California - A simulator flight over California that was cloned in Epcot later
9. The Boudin Bakery - A bakery that is listed as an attraction whether than dining because California Adventure had no attractions.

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Hollywood Pictures Backlot - Essentially a mini version of classic MGM Studios. A bit of the Hollywood that never was and always will be, but mostly the backlot aesthetic.

1. Disney Animation - A collection of exhibits and small hands on activities themed to Disney Animation
2. Hyperion Theater - A broadway style theater. At opening it played: Disney's Steps in Time: Musical revue featuring songs from various Disney films. Later in 2001, anew show started that lasted for about a year: The Power of BLAST!: Adaptation of the musical Blast. Then, in 2003 until recent years, Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular played in this theater.
3. Jim Henson’s Muppet Vision 3D - Yet another movie cloned from another park and brought here for a cheap opening day attraction.
4. Superstar Limo - The best attraction disney has ever designed. A larger loss than Horizons. It closed in early 2002, less than a year after opening.
5. Hollywood Backlot Stage - An outdoor stage that had small, fun, family friendly daytime shows. Eventually went on to host Mad T Party and ElecTRONica.

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Paradise Pier - A pier/boardwalk themed area that features mostly generic carnival style rides with some Disney plussing. Was relatively light on themeing since the theme was an amusement park. But it capture the feeling and charm of classic piers and boardwalks pretty well, even if its original version felt a bit generic. The Sun Wheel (which later had a Mickey head added) and the Mickey head behind the loop on California Screaming (which later had the Mickey head removed) were both icons of the park.

1. California Screaming - a fast paced, intense rollercoaster themed as a fast paced, intense rollercoaster. But with visuals and a soundtrack that elevates it far above the theme that could have been way lackluster.
2. Games of the Boardwalk - a collection of midway games
3. Golden Zephyr - a spinning circle-swing attraction themed as a rocket themed boardwalk ride.
4. Jumping Jellyfish - a small, fmaily friendly drop tower themed as a jellyfish themed boardwalk ride.
5. King Triton’s Carousel - A carousel featuring sea creatures rather than horses.
6. Maliboomer - An intense drop tower themed to the Strength test carnival game
7. Mulholland Madness - A mousetrap style coaster themed to the famously curvy road, Mulholland Dr.
8. Orange Stinger - A spinning swing ride themed to California’s orange growing industry. It involves swinging around inside a giant orange full of bees.
9. S. S. Rustworthy - Boat themed water play area.
10. Sun Wheel - A large ferris wheel with sliding benches and a large sun on the front.

 

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List of attractions added or changed in the first five years

• 2001
  • Who Wants to Be a Millionare Play it! - an audience participation show themed to the classic game show. Closed in 2004 with its space used for special events only since then. It was added as a quick and cheap attraction after it was immeadietly clear there wasn’t enough rides in the park.
    
• 2002
  • Superstar Limo Closing - This ride closed less than a year after the park opened in January of 2002. They didn’t even wait the 9 more months for Bug’s Land to open. Even with as few rides as California Adventure had, this was deemed not worth keeping open any longer.
  • Flik’s Fun Fair/Bug’s Land - Flik’s fun Fair was added near Tough to Be a Bug and bountiful Valley Farms to create Bug’s Land. The fun fair was focused on families (mostly kids) with 3 flat rides, an outdoor dark ride type thing, and a splash pad. More on this later
    
• 2003
  • Playhouse Disney Live on Stage - This toddler age focused stage show replaced the ABC Soap Opera Diner to add more for young kids.
  • Disney’s Aladdin Musical Spectacular - A stage show added to give guests a longer attraction as well as something more distinctly “Disney” feeling
    
• 2004
  • Twilight Zone Tower of Terror - A simplified clone of the Florida original added to give the park another high quality E-Ticket
    
• 2005
  • Turtle Talk with Crush - Added to the animation building as another Disney Ip based attraction aimed at kids
    
• 2006
  • Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue - a classic style dark ride telling the story of the move that replaced Superstar Limo as soon as the Exorcist was able to purge the building of evil. Another attempt to please families and add more Disney IP.
  • High School Music Pep Rally - Because this was was 2006 and High School Musical hype was insane. A small sing along type show that was just a step above streetmosphere.

 

[Pi on my Cake]

Guide to Bug’s Land/Tower Space

Tower of Terror was added as a simplified, yet still pretty amazing, clone of the original.

Aside from the farm equipment and Tough to be a Bug that was already there, the following attractions were added to the area to create Bug’s Land:​

Francis' Ladybug Boogie - A spinning attraction where guests boarded one of the six Francis Lady bugs with up to six adults and children aboard each bug. The ride spun guests around in a figure eight style. Unlike the Mad Tea Part, guests were unable to spin their vehicle.

Princess Dot Puddle Park - Princess Dot's Puddle Park was a water-type play area.The area featured an oversized garden hose nozzle that sprayed water at guests as well as a giant spigot that spurted water.

Tuck and Roll's Drive 'Em Buggies - Tuck and Roll's Drive 'Em Buggies was a bumper ride. During the ride the car talked to the guests with the voices of pill bugs Tuck or Roll, depending on the assigned car.

Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train - Guests boarded a train in the shape of Heimlich, the German-accented catepillar from the film. Heimlich narrated the ride through speakers along the track. Heimlich's tendency to overeat was the theme of the ride, as the train appears to eat through oversized portions of human foods. The scent of watermelon and animal crackers were piped in. Large bites had been taken out of all the foods, so guests could tell that Heimlich has been there before. This was the signature attraction of Bug’s Land and was the most loved (it depends on the person as to whether their love for this was ironic or not).

Flik’s flyers - A spinner ride. Guests rode in Flik's bug-made contraption fashioned from man-made objects. The vehicles appeared to have been fashioned from used food containers and have been stitched together by leaves and twigs to become “balloons” that whirled around a pie plate centerpiece. Notable for being the only ride from Bug’s Land that has survived as it is being moved to Pixar Pier and being rethemed to Inside Out.

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The purpose of the additions of Bug’s Land/Tower of Terror was to add several new attractions to the park, improve guest flow by connecting the Backlot dead end to Golden State area, add more Disney IP as a lack of that was a common complaint, add more for younger kids, add more for families to do together, and add another signature E-Ticket attraction.

It was very effective and what the park needed at the time, yet none of it still stands. Perhaps something more unique and better executed could have been designed back in 2002 in this space to solve these issues.​

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The area of Bug’s Land and Tower of Terror (including Tough to be a Bug and the farm exhibit) is roughly 6 Acres.
Plus, more area nearby that could easily be used for more space if need be. Not a giant space, but plenty of room and plenty of potential for an excellent new land!​

 

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Park Map 2001 (Opening Day)

 

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Park Map 2002 (After Bug’s Land Opening)

(Technically the map is from early 2003, but it was the closest I could find of good quality. Just pretend Playhouse disney isn’t there)​

 

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Park Map 2004 (After Tower of Terror Opening)

 

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[AceAstro]

Superstar Limo - The best attraction disney has ever designed. A larger loss than Horizons. It closed in early 2002, less than a year after opening.

 

[mickeyfan5534]

Disney's Steps in Time: Musical revue featuring songs from various Disney films.

Honestly, what little remains of the original version of this show makes me mourn the loss of it because the retooled version is possibly the worst show Disney has ever done.