Diversion: Pier Problems
Story, story story. If you ask Disney’s PR team, every single thing in Disney Parks is all about story. And say what you will about Paradise Pier – it had a a story.
In the park’s early days, the story was surely that the time was now and the place was California; that we were stepping into a “real” Californian boardwalk as it really would’ve looked roundabout the New Millennium – a mix of classic seaside rides, stucco walls, neon signs, modern thrill rides, and fried food vendors. Sure, you can argue that that setting and rides like Mulholland Madness, the Sun Wheel, and the Orange Stinger weren’t very “Disney,” but there was a cohesive setting and story at play.
The park’s redesign thoughtfully turned back the clock, grafting Victorian architecture and Edison bulbs and wrought iron onto the land, even sweeping across its rides and removing modern ornamentation in favor of classic, pie-eyed Disney characters on Mickey’s Fun Wheel, the Silly Symphony Swings, Goofy’s Sky School, etc. So at least visually, there was a strong story at play here, too: that – just like at Disneyland – we had been transported to a time and place that never truly was, but always will be; a sort of romanticized, idealized vision of what a turn-of-the-century boardwalk might’ve been like. Story? Check.
The land’s third edition – Pixar Pier – debuted in 2018 checking all the boxes of a Chapek-era project: it’s highly “Instagrammable”; “cheap and cheerful”; “cute but dumb.” While aesthetically, Pixar Pier doubled down on the gorgeous Victorian style initiated in 2012, it doesn’t bother to make any sense of it, cramming in nonsensical neighborhoods themed to The Incredibles (filled with mid-century architecture), Toy Story (with Toy Story Land-esque “giant” props), Inside Out (with literally just one spinning carnival ride), and “Other” (with the same Mickey-faced Ferris wheel, now nonsensically named the Pixar Pal-a-Round).
For a writer, Pixar Pier is an abomination. If it has a story, that story must be that The Walt Disney Company operates an amusement boardwalk, and in 2018, decided to overlay its popular and high-earning Pixar film franchises on the rides and attractions there. (I mean, life imitates art, right?) Only that could explain the presence of these juxtaposed stories and styles and the scapegoat “neighborhoods” that populate the pier. It’s silly, and a step backwards. So in my California Adventure, I tried to restore a strong sense of story and setting to this pier… but I didn’t revert it to Paradise Pier.
Pop-Up Pier
Build-Out
Instead, I envisioned Pop-Up Pier, recontextualizing this seaside collection of amusements into the setting of a classic, black-and-white, 1920s or ’30s Mickey Mouse short. When we arrive on Pop-Up Pier, it’s as visitors to a cartoon world, full of life and energy and mischief, packed with odes to those shorts and the pie-eyed classic characters who inhabited them. Yes, this is a testament not only to California’s boardwalks, but to the adventures of Mickey and friends in Walt’s earliest cartoons; a part of his California Adventure.
In fact, as guests cross the bridge onto Pop-Up Pier and pass by the INK & PAINT CLUB full-service restaurant, they’d actually see the full-sized STEAMBOAT WILLIE docked in the inlet of the bay, its water wheel turning as it gently dips to and fro in the water in time with the land’s peppy, big band, classic cartoon soundtrack. (The boat actually plays a role in the plot of the land’s re-themed roller coaster, but we’ll get there in a minute.)
I renamed the park’s body of water TECHNICOLOR BAY. That, I thought, would actually make a really compelling setting for the nightly WORLD OF COLOR as the celebration of animation and emotion and color that it is. Likewise, I turned the land’s central Ferris wheel – still adorned with a pie-eyed Mickey – into THE COLOR WHEEL with rainbow-hued cabins and a shimmering nighttime lighting package.
The land’s flat rides become fun odes to classic cartoons… MICKEY’S MULTI-PLANES sends guests swirling around in circles aboard crop-dusters (while also serving as a testament to Walt’s multiplane camera and the first Mickey cartoon produced, “Plane Crazy”), giving the park a Dumbo equivalent experience.
Nestled in the final helix of the roller coaster is DONALD’S BEACH PICNIC SPIN – a “teacup” equivalent set on a giant picnic blanket stylized after Donald’s 1939 short, “Beach Picnic.” Similarly, I’ve transformed the land’s carousel into MINNIE’S MELODY-GO-ROUND, housing creatures from Disney’s “Silly Symphonies” series.
Given that this land is “built-out,” it also contains three major rides.
First is MICKEY’S MIDWAY MANIA. If you didn’t know, Mickey was initially meant to be the host of this attraction until Toy Story won out… But I think there’s something wonderful about an early model Mickey in a straw barker hat and cane being a host for this ride, inviting guests to “step right up” and try their luck at midway games. (Remember, California Adventure’s Midway Mania makes sense in the context of the pier, anyway, so leaning into it here would be a very good decision in my mind.)
Not only could you have a lot of fun with playing classic midway games with characters like Clarabelle, Ortensia, and Horatio as hosts, but this ride could also be built around a larger premise of bringing color to the pier, perhaps by having a game with Technicolor Paintballs that would add color to the scene as guests play. I don’t know… there’s fun to be had with this concept! (And of course, there’s got to be a hot dog stand on the pier outside.)
Ahead of California Adventure’s “re-opening,” Disney CEO Bob Iger made a hilarious and historic move, trading legendary sportscaster Al Michaels from Disney’s ESPN to Universal’s NBC in exchange for regaining the legendary lost character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. (A good sport about it, Michaels reported that he expected that as a result, he’d be a Trivial Pursuit answer one day.) The character Walt developed before Mickey (but famously lost to Universal, forcing him to develop the Mouse instead), Oswald’s return was a big deal in animation circles, and Disney did activate on it in a cute way.
At least in 2012, Oswald sort of became the “unofficial” mascot of California Adventure and its Buena Vista Street… Which makes sense, since canonically, Mickey wouldn’t have existed yet at the time the land is set. While you could get Mickey plush and Mickey ears at Disneyland, California Adventure instead offered Oswald ears and plush… a very, very cute and clever distinction between the parks! Oswald and his merchandise can still be found at his eponymous gas station on Buena Vista Street, but I wanted the character to have a proper attraction.
I pictured OSWALD’S ASTOUNDING ADVENTURE as a fun, tongue-in-cheek dark ride that would follow Oswald’s global adventures during the 80-ish years that the character was absent from pop culture. Perhaps a suspended dark ride (like Peter Pan’s Flight), guests would load into hot air balloons, taking off from the animated pier and traveling across the cartoon globe, seeing Oswald trying out careers as a jungle explorer, cowboy, gas station attendant, opera singer, and more, all while sadly watching Mickey’s star rise. Finally, a dejected Oswald would get the call from Mickey to join him at Disneyland, leading us back to the pier where the two would meet at last.
Finally, I had to imagine what do to with the land’s central roller coaster. I don’t think the “Incredicoaster” project was wrong to try to add story beats to the ride, but the execution surely leaves something to be desired. So I reimagined the ride as ROLL-O-COASTER RESCUE, basically bringing guests into a full-on Mickey short.
Now, as guests board the roller coaster and make their way down to the water’s edge for the launch, they’d pull up right next to the docked Steamboat Willie. There, on embedded screens, Mickey and Minnie would be at the railing, waving, “yoo-hoo”ing, and cheering guests on. But then, Pete would burst out of the galley, grab Minnie, and zip off. “Oh no!” Mickey would shout, “Let’s get ’em!” With that, the coaster would launch, dipping and twisting and diving through comical set-ups as Pete makes off with Minnie and we (and Mickey) follow behind.
I kind of like the idea that as guests climb the coaster’s second lift hill, they’d see Pete plant TNT ahead of them, with fog, light, and sound seeming to “explode” the coaster’s structure just as guests crest the hill. Riders could zip through scenes of construction chaos and other ridiculous traps set by Pete along the ride’s course. Cute moments like that could make this a very fun, very thrilling, and very cartoon-y ride, all culminating in Pete being captured and Minnie and Mickey re-uniting.
That would wrap up a whole lot of adventures on Pop-Up Pier… a land that’s now both an ode to Californian boardwalks, an homage to the early days of animation, and rich with story and setting that fits the other immersive lands in this park.
Golden State of Mind
And there you have it – my complete, “idealized” California Adventure. Sure, this park isn’t perfect. But with 30 rides, 12-ish dark rides, plenty for thrill-seekers, and a whole new host of family rides, too, I think that this California Adventure would fulfill its destiny as a perfect counterpart and complement to Disneyland. Just as rich, just as storied, just as “built-out…” it would be a park of history, fantasy, and imagination, while still acting as a tribute to the Golden State and its stories.
Sure, this version of California Adventure isn’t possible, and for lots and reasons. But that’s what an “ideal build-out” is all about. It’s a dreamy, Blue Sky, imagined version of what could’ve been… So now we’ve got to ask… What would your ideal California Adventure look like?
Thank you so much for reading. Now, it’s your turn to join the story. If you enjoy spending time falling down the “rabbit hole” of Park Lore’s in-depth, ad-free, member-supported stories, consider becoming a Member for as little as $2 / month.
Members can unlock rare concept art in every tale, reveal attraction audio streams in select stories, gain access to over a hundred exclusive articles in our quick-read Extra Features and in-depth Special Features collections, gain exclusive podcast extras, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail! (Plus, y’know, supporting research-based, ad-free, clickbait-free, in-depth theme park writing!)
Very cool build out! I know this is a late comment some ideas to consider:
1. With so much animation-themed stuff already on Hollywood Blvd., if they do want to replace the Hyperion Theater (not advocating that, but it’s not being used…) I would love to see a recreation of Disney’s original Hyperion Studio, with the Mickey Mouse billboard on the roof and beautiful Spanish style. What a great Disney-specific “weeinie” that would be. Then that street would also be made less “generic Hollywood” and be re-named “Disney’s Animation Avenue.” It would celebrate Disney’s animation heritage and art form. What would go inside the Hyperion Theater? Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (an indoor, special-effects-filled version)…it was the money-making movie that was made at that studio (and premiered at the Carthay Circle, creating logical bookends to the street). The queue would go through the studio: animators offices, ink and paint, camera dept. and then to the screening room where we’d see the movie on the screen as we switchback down to the ride vehicle loading.
2. I love the idea of resurrecting Discovery Bay. Given we now have Avenger’s Campus there, maybe Pixar Pier could be made into Discovery Bay? Steampunk, whimsical, mysterious San Francisco? Sign me up! But they need to put a skyline flat or mountain range behind it to block out the outside world (power lines, etc.). I don’t love the exposed roller coaster but if it got a steampunk overlay, it could be cool.
3. I’d love to see Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters attraction given the drive-in theater re-theme. They could put a drive-in screen on the building behind the attraction. During the day, the attraction would be the same as it is, but at night the Cars-versions of movie would be projected on the screen (a great visual as you walk to Avenger’s Campus) and the ride vehicles would move in synchronicity to action on the screen, whether a car chase or a Busby Berkeley dance sequence.
These are all great points!
As I hoped you’d see (and now see that you have via comments there!) I actually did use the historic Hyperion Studio in my build-out of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. My only reason not using it here (even as the facade of the retained Animation Academy) is because I don’t think it’s scaled right to be at the end of the Hollywood Blvd. stretch. The flat front of the theater – while it certainly could be more beautifully decorated – is used partially to screen out views of Harbor Blvd., so I used the faux Hollywood Hills to do the same in my build-out, concealing the Runaway Railway showbuilding. But I like the idea of a purely animation-themed street a lot!
For Discovery Bay, I actually did this build-out after Avengers Campus has debuted, but still wanted to reorganize it more thoughtfully. Avengers Campus feels like a land that would work well in the bus loops (where now Avatar is going) because it would be “okay” that entering pedestrians can look down into it from the descending pedestrian pass planned to be there in the initial Eastern Gateway. Likewise, I wanted Discovery Bay to absorb Tower of Terror, and to continue Cars Land’s tradition of using faux mountains to create a berm. Seemed like a good way to activate that last expansion pad (where now the Avengers dark ride is going) to expand the park’s pedestrian footprint. I shied away from going that route with the Pier because I know several people have already done armchair Imagineered redesigns that make it more steampunk, industrial, etc. But also, it felt to me like a waste of a concept as strong as Discovery Bay to apply it to what would basically be a reskin of carnival rides along a boardwalk. Pop-Up Pier was my solution to letting the Pier be what it is, but in a “distinctly Disney” way!
For your Luigi’s idea, this is great! I love it! I used the “Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater” concept instead, but cars “acting out” the action on screen with randomized clips would be very funny.
Thanks so much for checking this out and for your thoughtful reflections on it! I love this project, and it means a lot that you read it, thought about it, and replied!
Such a small thing, but I feel the entrance of Grizzly Peak is incomplete without a small, log cabin with a traffic arm that is up representing the typical ranger staffed entry to a national park. We all get excited when we reach that spot. Maybe a few vintage cars lined up. T-shirts for sale.
I love this idea so much! Brilliant!
Okay, two more things I’d add:
1) The adding Runaway Railway took away the 2,000 person Hyperion Theater. I don’t remember seeing another equivalent elsewhere in the park (correct me if I missed it, please). It’s hard to mention determine where it could go in the build-out you described, but it’s something that should definitely be part of a final DCA design. LA is home to so many actors, singers and performers that it’d be a shame not to have a theater space worthy of showing that off.
2) Ever since Carlsland was announced, I’ve wanted to see Autopia moved over from Disneyland and rechristened Carstopia, or some such. Not only is DCA is a more fitting home to celebrate California’s car culture, but it frees up a HUGE portion of space between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland; the last space for such a large expansion pad at Walt’s original park.
The one thing I miss on your design (which would be a dream come true, too bad we got DCA 3.0) is the loss of the Paradise Gardens area. I love your Pacific Point land, but that area is also the defacto “California Hispanic Heritage” area of DCA, with the Dia de los Muertos celebrations and future Coco ride entry point.
I’d love to see such an important heritage group, which accounts for 40% of the state’s population, represented a park celebrating the Golden State. Just my 2 cents. Any suggestions for where that might go in your layout?
-danielc56 🙂
This is a tremendously good point! The Coco ride coming to that area of the park feels like such a natural fit, and I hope its cultural influence really does take over the Gardens area. I really am weirdly proud of the unique context I came up with here to make Mystic Manor feel at home in California Adventure, but you’re exactly right that I’ve also totally ignored something really important in our state’s past, present, and future… let me see what I can come up with when I inevitably revisit this Build-Out in the future!
Thanks for replying personally, Brian. You *definitely* need to keep Pacific Point. It reminds me of Pacific Coast-meets-Hearst Castle-meets-Winchester Mystery House. That’s a great concept to bring a bit of magic and mystery into the park in a very California way. Coco does that as well, so if there’s a way to pair the two in that section of the park, it celebrates some of the more fantastical aspects of the Golden state. Find a way to wrangle in sasquatch into the park too and you’ve got a DCA trifecta!
Looks like, I am very late to commenting – the blogpost is a few years old – but I want to commend the author for this incredible work (and for the other build outs as well, each one is amazing in its own right). This would be an amazing park to visit – and yes, I am a California Adventure apologist/fan.
With that in mind, I think there could be a way to scale it down and incorporate most of these ideas into California Adventure 3.0 – in order to be a bit more realistic. I’d figure:
Buena Vista Street, Grizzly Peak, Pacific Point, and Radiator Springs would all be kept as suggested. Unfortunately, would have to keep the Pier as Pixar Pier – but it could use some polish; perhaps rebrand/refurbish the Incredicoaster to reference the opening scene of Toy Story 3… i.e. Andy’s Great Train Heist.
San Fransokyo Wharf could take over the Central Plaza and Ariel’s Grotto, but as cool as the realignment of the Torii Gate Bridge is, it would unfortunately have to stay where it currently is. Since its relocation and turning Wine Valley into water would be an enormous expense that would be needed to block the main artery of the park for its reconstruction.
As awesome as Discovery Bay is, Avenger’s Campus is already there, but I would like to include some of your suggestions it could be blended with the Incredibles Metroville (taking over the Monsters Inc. wedge and unused space in that area).
Hollywoodland could be kept mostly as suggested, but since Mickey’s Runaway Railway is already in Toontown, I’d move your suggestion for Oswald’s Astounding Adventure into that space. Make it more of an E-Ticket ride, rather than the dark ride you suggested.
Finally, the East Gatewat you designated for Avengers Campus could instead be repurposed for the Plaza de la Familia that you suggested for Magic Kingdom. I think it fits overall with the theme, references California’s mission past and Mexican plazas.
As a child the day after Disneyland we always spent the morning drawing fake maps to our imagined perfect Disneyland. This was a great way to pass the time seeing your ideas and remmebering those days!
Is Nemo’s Seaskimmers another Aquatopia-styled ride?
Do you ever like to think (in a purely fictional and prideful world) that Disney potentially has some similar ideas to you and then says “oh darn, he used them in his rebuild” so they can’t use them?
For better or worse I don’t think I have a large enough following that anyone from WDI would ever even stumble across my stuff! Hahahah. But that isn’t to say it’s not a cool daydream that someone would say to themselves or to me, “This is great stuff stuff and I would love if we could make it real in the parks just as you’ve drawn it.” But again, I know I’m not actually a professional and that countless real world limitations would stop that from happening every single time! Haha
This is probably my favorite build out as a Disneyland regular. I love the call backs to unused lands like Discovery Bay and the addition of Mystic Manor. Pacific Point gives me a Northern California vibe like close to Oregon area. Can’t wait for your next build out!!
The thing about the 2012 redesign is that, while an idealized California appeals to out-of-towners, it also leans into DL’s identity as a local’s park by giving us places that we cannot visit in real life. I especially love the Carthay Circle restaurant and the Pan Pacific Auditorium gates, because they were torn down before I could ever see them.
Which is a long winded way of saying that the Figueroa tunnel does not belong in California Adventure, because I’ve driven there a hundred times. (To a lesser extent I’m not interested in putting the Chinese Theater in the park, because it’s still there, but I have to admit every time I’ve gone to the Chinese Theater I’ve had fun. Pasadena, however…)