Feature Article

California Dreamin'

Disney's New California Adventure Celebrates the Golden State
by Bill Sharpsteen

     Details, details. The legendary Disney penchant for minutiae goes to such extremes at their new California Adventure park , even the concrete you walk on is faux authentic. At least, that's the case in one corner devoted to California's aviation history, where the path is a miniature runway lined by lights. Disney designers toured Edwards Air Force Base, home of the mythical test pilot, photographed the battered tarmac with its crisscrossing of tar between slabs of concrete, then duplicated the look and called the "air base" Condor Flats. Granted, one out of a thousand visitors will actually notice they're stepping on part of the show, but perhaps it's the subliminal effect that matters-the layering of hundreds of impressions that add up to a 55-acre, compressed tour of the Golden State.
     And you won't find more than one reference to Mickey Mouse in the entire park.
     Opening last month [February], Disney's California Adventure sits across from that old stalwart, the 46-year-old Disneyland, and is a theme park in the truest sense of the term. With a broad brush, it celebrates the state from Hollywood to the desert to the mountains in a series of eight regional attractions.
     The effect is like twirling through a postcard rack. And in fact, the entrance is one giant postcard where the Disney people tried to answer the question, What draws people to the state? We first walk past-or through-an eight-foot high CALIFORNIA in concrete letters (the postcard's title, if you will), and over inlaid tiles of glass to suggest a beach's sparkling detritus. After handing over our $43 tickets at the gate ($33 for children 3 to 9), we continue through the opening vista and past two huge tile murals depicting a collage of state scenes. Ahead is a replica of the Golden Gate Bridge spanning the wide path. Behind that is a setting sun above a fountain of manmade waves with computer-controlled reflectors that follow the real sun and bounce its rays into the tableau.
     You're now inside the postcard and ready for the details.
     Perhaps the first detail that catches your eye is the Hollywood Pictures Backlot, with its spectacular arched entrance inspired by the ancient Babylon scene in the silent movie "Intolerance." While the designers cruised the real Wilshire and Hollywood Boulevards for inspiration, they made sure one never forgets that this is a studio backlot and not the real thing. The artifice is obvious right down to a painted backdrop depicting the street continuing on to the horizon.
     And the makers weren't above a little cross-promotion. In the ABC Soap Opera Bistro, the décor is like walking into the prop room for "General Hospital" with the bar from Luke's Place and X-rays hanging above it, or the Chandler manor living room from "All My Children." (Disney owns ABC, which produces these and four other shows featured at the Bistro.) The wait staff are various stereotypical soap characters. For the truly addicted, televisions play recaps of the shows' latest dramatic developments.
     Back on the street, the entertainment portion includes "Jim Henson's Muppet Vision 3D," a salute of sorts to moviemaking, and Superstar Limo, a ride through Los Angeles while your agent rattles on about how the three-pic deal you're about to ink is good for more than just 15 minutes of fame.
     The rest of the park isn't quite as whimsical, but more of an MTV version of California (deliberately so, say the designers, who were aiming at the culture's brief attention span). But unlike a music video, it's all interactive nearly to the point of sensory overload. Disney says it will take a day to enjoy the entire park, and they're probably right. There's a lot to see and do.
     Of course, that's the idea, and in a broader sense the reason behind the park. California Adventure, the adjacent Downtown Disney (an avenue of shops and restaurants open to the public), Disneyland and Disney hotels all form the Disneyland Resort, a $1.4 billion expansion of the original Disneyland, and is designed to keep visitors in the Anaheim area an extra day or two.
     Among the regional experiences is the Robert Mondavi Winery with its small vineyard, wine tastings and restaurant. There's also a working tortilla factory, the Pacific Wharf, which depicts Monterey's Cannery Row, and a politically correct nod to the state's immigrants called "Golden Dreams" with a 20-minute movie that recognizes California's cultural mix.
     And yes, there are a few, relatively tame rides, most of them sequestered to the park's back end called Paradise Pier. Probably the most popular will be the Grizzly River Rapids white water ride, a raft adventure through the Grizzly Peak Recreation Area. Artfully designed rapids propel free-floating circular rafts past such landmarks as Lassen Peak steam vents and Devil's Postpile, and over two nearly vertical drops of 12 and 21 feet. There's also California Screamin', a roller coaster that features a take-off speed of 0-55 in four seconds and a 360-degree loop.
     For younger kids not yet ready to risk whiplash, Disney provides a look at what it's like to drive the state's freeway system in the appropriately named "Mulholland Madness." Or they can go inside a huge half-peeled orange and ride bumble-bee themed vehicles that swing around the fruit's interior.
     Given that California Adventure is part of a resort, naturally they've included a new hotel-the first to have a direct entrance into a Disney park. After a day's worth of bells and whistles, the 750-room Grand Californian Hotel, with its craftsman-style architecture, feels like a rustic mountain cabin. Okay, the six-story lobby features massive stone columns that flank a large fireplace, and the venerable monorail line runs through one of its wings (fortunately, all the rooms are soundproofed). But just the same, it doesn't take too much imagination to see the relative quaintness of the place.
     The standard rooms are just that, standard. But others feature bunk beds that will hold three children (two bunks and a trundle bed). And if your family is larger, the hotel can also supply sleeping bags to maintain the "wilderness" experience. The sixth floor luxury rooms include two President's Suites of nearly 2,000 square feet and come with a 24-hour concierge service. Room rates vary according to season and type of room ($209 to $2,900).
     Just as in Disneyland, no one goes hungry. California Adventure is filled with 21 eateries from the Hollywood and Dine, patterned after a film studio cafeteria, to the Avalon Cove by Wolfgang Puck, with its seafood menu developed by the famous chef. The Grand Californian features a high-tone restaurant called the Napa Rose with its kitchen on display as well as floor-to-ceiling windows that look out to Grizzly Peak. For simpler tastes, there's the Storytellers Café and the Family Restaurant with "character dining" for breakfast starring the Chip and Dale chipmunks who circulate among the tables amusing the kids as they eat their corn flakes.
     With the possible exception of the chipmunks, does all of this leave one with an appreciation for California's diversity and why so many visit the state? Nitpickers might find fault here and there. But in the end, the answer is in the details.

     Bill Sharpsteen is a Los Angeles-based writer/photographer. For his last AAA Colorado article, he covered the Alaska summer solstice.

If You Go

Call or visit your nearest AAA travel office for Disney vacation packages and special member savings.

Return To Top

© Rocky Mountain Motorists, Inc.