Tag: Disneyland Resort

When the wint’ry winds start blowing and the snow is starting in the fall, then my eyes head westward knowing that’s the place that I love best of all… California, here I come, right back where I started from! Where bowers of flowers bloom in the spring! Each morning at dawning birdies sing and everything! A sun kissed miss said “Don’t be late!” That’s why I can hardly wait. Open up that Golden Gate! California, here I come!”

When Disney’s ode to the Golden State opened in February 2001, it was supposed to change Disneyland forever. All at once, this second theme park – built right on the land that had been its older sister’s parking lot for 45 years – was meant to transform Walt’s original Anaheim property into a multi-day destination rivaling Walt Disney World in tourism and international appeal. Instead, it failed.

That’s exactly where our story began in Disney California Adventure: Part I – our in-depth exploration into the frustration-filled design and flawed development of Disney’s first “New Millennium” theme park. Sure, the park was “too much California, not enough Disney.” It was short on rides. It had practically nothing for families. But even Imagineers’ attempts to bolster the park’s weak spots with “Band-Aid” attractions in the mid-2000s proved that California Adventure’s issues ran deeper than ride counts… and any real fix for the park would need to address its broken foundation…

Today, in Part II of our deep dive into Disneyland’s infamous second gate, we’ll stand before the soaring, art deco towers of the Pan-Pacific and set off to explore the unprecedented process – and walk through the unbelievable outcomes – of a $1.2 billion master plan to fix California Adventure’s foundational flaws and design a true companion and complement to Disneyland… Open up your Golden Gate; California, here we come!

When you think of Disney, you may think of the storied, golden years of animation heralded by Walt himself; of today’s international media conglomerate acquiring Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and more; you may imagine the world’s leading theme parks with fairytale castles at their center, or pirates, princesses, and parades. One thing that you probably don’t associate with Disney? Failure.

When Disney’s California Adventure opened in 2001, it was meant to be the park that would thrust Disneyland into the 21st century, finally establishing Walt’s “original magic kingdom” as just one piece of a multi-day international resort destination. Instead, the park became one of the most infamous failures in Disney Parks’ history. Underbuilt, underfunded, and creatively-starved, California Adventure lacked the kinds of rides, characters, stories, and settings that Disneyland’s generations of local visitors had come to expect. And unlike the rare box office bust, this problem wouldn’t disappear with time…