Disney California Adventure: Change for the Better!
20 Years of Change At Disney California Adventure…
As per usual, today, Brady MacDonald’s writing really caught my attention.
The subject? Disney California Adventure.
Image: Disney.
The best part, MacDonald takes the reader from the depths of its opening and into the future and its step into the Marvel Universe.
Better as a Parking Lot
For example, in profiling the rise to power of Disney California Adventure, MacDonald quoted the inimitable John Hench as saying, “I liked it better as a parking lot.”
And MacDonald explained of the park:
Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood Land inside Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020. Image: Orange County Register/Getty Images.
Disney California Adventure was the culmination of years of attempts to build a second Disney theme park in Southern California. Other ideas — like a West Coast version of Epcot or a stateside take on what would become Tokyo DisneySea — were rich in detail and ambition, but for one reason or another failed to materialize.
Improvements Made to DCA
But then Brady recounts the items that have put Disneyland’s sister park in the running for many fans’ favorite of Disney’s themed lands.
Moments that struck me:
Lunar New Year celebrations at Disney California Adventure Park. Image: Joshua Sudock/Disneyland Resort.
- “Bob Iger put his stake in the ground to say, ‘We’re going to make this better.’” [Patrick Finnegan, vice president, Disney California Adventure Park, and Downtown Disney District] said. “He was willing to stand up in front of everybody and say, ‘We’re going to make it right.’”
- “What was missing was a stronger leaning on Disney,” Finnegan said. “We had to go in a different way, and I’m super proud of this company for seeing things for what they were and making the right adjustments.”
- The biggest addition is yet to come: Avengers Campus. The Marvel-themed land promises to be filled with legions of superheroes after DCA emerges from the pandemic closure. The level of detail in Avengers Campus is “mind-numbing,” Finnegan said.
McQueen and Mater greet park guests outside the Cozy Cone Motel on Route 66. (Paul Hiffmeyer/Disneyland Resort)
Again, some really nice work by the West Coast. Go read the article, and let’s hope we are all back in Disney California Adventure (all of it) soon.
