Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
Anaheim isn't dirty, and it doesn't crush Disneyland. I can see you've never been.
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Two coasts: One very different world
- Thread starter WDW1974
- Start date
Anaheim isn't dirty, and it doesn't crush Disneyland. I can see you've never been.
flynnibus
Premium Member
You are looking at the Anaheim of today... which is EXTREMELY different from what it was even 20 years ago.
Disney helped pay to basically redo the entire resort district outside the parks as part of the expansion into the resort concept when DCA/DTD/GCH/etc were built. All those pretty walkways, standoffs, etc you enjoy now on Harbor wasn't like that not too long ago.
And during the 60s.. which is when Walt was looking for new property.. Harbor looked like this south of the park
And the DL side of the property is extremely pinched by the city.. especially on the east side. The monorail almost runs over the dang highway..
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
You are looking at the Anaheim of today... which is EXTREMELY different from what it was even 20 years ago.
Disney helped pay to basically redo the entire resort district outside the parks as part of the expansion into the resort concept when DCA/DTD/GCH/etc were built. All those pretty walkways, standoffs, etc you enjoy now on Harbor wasn't like that not too long ago.
And during the 60s.. which is when Walt was looking for new property.. Harbor looked like this south of the park
And the DL side of the property is extremely pinched by the city.. especially on the east side. The monorail almost runs over the dang highway..
Exactly. This is was during the 60's. We're talking about now. Harbor Street, as well as Katella, doesn't look like that anymore. And even in the 60's it wasn't dirty. People freak out and make it seem Disneyland is located in South Central Los Angeles or somewhere in Watts.
I don't see why any of this matters anyway. When you're in the resort, you're in the resort. Why do people care if you can see the freeway from the monorail? It's ridiculous, IMO. If you're going to enjoy yourself, do it. Don't let something silly like a freeway ruin a fun trip.
Clever Name
Well-Known Member
The walk up Harbor Blvd. is always so magical. The sounds and smells from the Santa Ana Freeway make Radiator Springs come to life!
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
Is it as magical as the sounds and smells of the creaky, musty, BO-infested WDW monorail that delivers you to the MK?
MKCP 1985
Well-Known Member
People in these forums freak out if they see the back side of a show building when the trees aren't thick enough. No way they are going to accept a freeway co-existing in their walk through Disneyland. Might as well let those who want drive up to the queue for Space Mountain, get back in the car when they exit then drive around to the entrance to Splash Mountain.
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
People in these forums freak out if they see the back side of a show building when the trees aren't thick enough. No way they are going to accept a freeway co-existing in their walk through Disneyland. Might as well let those who want drive up to the queue for Space Mountain, get back in the car when they exit then drive around to the entrance to Splash Mountain.
So, so sad. I've noticed that. I can't imagine what people would have thought if they had seen DCA all walled up. Oh gosh, the horror of a wall! Give me a break. Disneylanders have been happily walking down Harbor Street and seeing that same freeway for fifty-seven years now. If we can do it, so can you!
flynnibus
Premium Member
Actually.. he wasn't. Which is why your defense about 'Anaheim is fine!' in 2001+ comment was off the mark. He was talking about Walt's thoughts on the space.. which being dead for the last 45+ years.. I'm pretty sure he can't be basing those ideas on Anaheim as it is post DLR expansion.
Harbor Street, as well as Katella, doesn't look like that anymore. And even in the 60's it wasn't dirty. People freak out and make it seem Disneyland is located in South Central Los Angeles or somewhere in Watts.
No - and that's what you call a strawman's argument. The practically of DL's location and the proximity of the outside world on the harbor side of the park is undeniable. And while Harbor is nice.. just a few blocks away it gets a tad more shady after hours. The area is generally fine - that doesn't change it's not Disney quality down there on the corner of Harbor and Katella.
Do whua? How quickly we forget the views from most of DCA... of the convention center, the power lines, the other hotels.. and that's just from ground level. Never mind the view from Screamin or ToT.
DL itself is pretty good within the berm now.. as long as you stay off the monorail... helped by removal of things like the skyway, and decades of tree growth..
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
Ok. I'm still not taking back what I said. Harbor wasn't dirty in the 60's. Busy? Yeah.
I can see we're not going to agree, since we're thinking differently. I can see you care about what the outside of a Disney theme park looks like. I myself, couldn't care less. I don't care that there are good neighbor hotels across the street, or that there's a McDonalds, or the fact that I can see a freeway from the monorail. I don't care if I can see other buildings from ToT or California Screamin' or whatever other ride. That stuff doesn't bother me because just like every other theme park in SoCal, you're guaranteed to see the same things. Besides Disneyland, I don't care what's beyond Harbor and Katella and what it looks like. You drive down the hill from Universal Studios and you've got the Metro station right there. You've got a Jack in the Box right by Knott's. You've got homes right by Six Flags Magic Mountain and I believe there's a Carl's Jr over there somewhere. My point is, so what?
We're coming from two different backgrounds. You grew up going to WDW, where there's seclusion. I grew up going to Disneyland, where we could always walk across the street and grab a Happy Meal. I highly doubt our views will change, but that's okay. You're used to waht you know.
comics101
Well-Known Member
For what it's worth, I'm a lifetime "WDW-er" who made the trip to DL last summer. Flynnibus, you're kind of exaggerating the sights of the highway. We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, so we literally had to walk all the way through Downtown Disney in order to get to the parks. You see the road for maybe a total of 10 seconds, and honestly, it looks exactly like the roads on WDW property do. And even when you're on the monorail, it really isn't that big of a deal. I agree with the poster who said when you're on resort property, you're on resort property. Actually, considering DLR's location, it's kind of amazing that Disney's been able to shut out the world as well as they have there, and in some ways, I think they've been able to do a better job because you don't need a car or a bus to get to the parks. Those buses aren't exactly the pinnacle of Disney magic, and IMHO do more to destroy the magic than a non-Disney street traveling under a bridge...
comics101
Well-Known Member
I did see it boarded up! It wasn't that bad...and the end results were clearly worth it! I really can't wait to get back to DL, and I hope it ends up being sooner rather than later!
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
Thank you!
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
That's great to hear! I'm glad this seclusion Disneyland apparently doesn't have doesn't bother everyone. Geez, people kill me with that. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself and I hope you can get back soon!
flynnibus
Premium Member
So what? Apparently it was 'so what' enough to motivate the guy who designed the whole thing to not repeat that mistake again when he started over.. and is on record as not liking it. And it's 'so what' enough that it's been a criteria for every park since to maintain those types of buffers and avoid the sight line intrusions.
It may be nothing to you - it doesn't make it nothing to others, and the others have the very people that designed the place in the corner of 'it is more than so what'.
No, I'm just reiterating what the man behind it all said was his mistake that he didn't want to repeat.
choco choco
Well-Known Member
Based off of what? Do non-whites scare you? One story suburban houses with front lawns and swimming pools give you the creeps? Target Megastore secretly masquerades as a harlot house? Anaheim is pretty typical of a suburban city in the LA metropolitan area. There's nothing shady about it.
Personally, I think the digs at the surroundings around Disneyland is just xenophobia. Los Angeles is very diverse, that's its great strength. Drive just a little south to Garden Grove and there are some of the quaintest Korean restaurants you'll ever find. Little further south and you get to Westminster, known for its Vietnamese food. A little east into Santa Ana and some of my favorite family owned burrito shops. People who wander around this area see lots of mom and pop shops run by minorities and, because they don’t see a familiar “corporate chain,” get all freaked out by people of color. They don’t realize these communities are the gems of SoCal.
I usually eat at these places to avoid Disneyland's sterilized catered food, and they sure as heck beat the living daylights out of those overpriced, impersonal chains like Morton's, Ruth's Chris, McDonald's, Mimi's, Denny's, IHOP...
flynnibus
Premium Member
Walking from the hotel to the esplanade is walking along the center line of the property. I sure hope the views weren't distracting for you from there... Where you are talking about is not the area under discussion.
You can chose to shut it out.. but you can't ignore what the view from Paradise Pier is like.. or any of the height rides on property.
I mean come on.. the roller coaster has sound panels on it for crying out loud because it overlooks the outter edge of the property.. and they didn't even ATTEMPT a berm or visual boundry around DCA. They just left it. Of course Carsland tries to address that in it's own way, but that is only one side of the park.. the Katella/Disney Way side of the park is still pretty much a visual mess.
flynnibus
Premium Member
Yes, because Iive in the DC Metro area.. which is just as diverse.. I'm all scared of non-white people...
There is a reason Disney fights to keep the zoning and standards up in the Resort District. No one said it's south central..
The Empress Lilly
Well-Known Member
What's the big deal? Anaheim does intrude upon DL. If TWDC could do it over, they wouldn't make the same mistake of buying too little land - as they never again did. WDW is superior to DLR in this respect. (Yay! We win!)
Still, as with so many things in Disney, you can choose not to notice intrusive things and focus on having a good time.
Anaheim is also shady and scary. But not as much as the train ride from central Paris to DLP. Brrr....yikes!
Still, as with so many things in Disney, you can choose not to notice intrusive things and focus on having a good time.
Anaheim is also shady and scary. But not as much as the train ride from central Paris to DLP. Brrr....yikes!
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
Let me ask you this. Are you constantly thinking all day, in the back of your mind when you visit Disneyland, man, I wish that freeway wasn't visible from the monorail?
It doesn't seem like Walt Disney had this huge, aching problem with it, since he first wanted to build Disneyland in Burbank next to his studios, which wasn't isolated either. Yes, he wanted more space and he didn't want outsiders looking into his park. But the man still enjoyed it. That's my point. Don't let the Mickey Ds across the street and the freeway get in the way of your experience. That's all I'm trying to say.
Clever Name
Well-Known Member
Take the boat or the bus next time.