It’s a few days late, but we figured we would still show you some photos from DLNT Reporter Max Guggenheim that he took on his last trip to the Disneyland Resort:
The Carthay Circle Theater is coming along nicely
An over the walls shot into Buena Vista Street, and we didn’t even stand on a garbage can!
Pavement going in in front of the Carthay Circle Theater
Time lapse camera installed
This construction shot is brought to you by California Sanitation
The Lego Store in Downtown Disney is open for business with a host of new features, including Disney featured Lego characters and children’s Lego play areas on the outside and on the second floor! Carnation Garden is now closed…forever, and I capture shots of Matterhorn and Buena Vista street from the Monorail.
I wonder what this new thing is?
About to ride the Monorail & catch a glimpse of Matterhorn & Buena Vista Street progress.
With the 5-year DCA Expansion wrapping up, soft opens and previews are expected to start soon as they do with any new attraction/land. Disney has started a sweepstakes for Annual Passholders to preview the new DCA on June 11th…
Grab this chance — only for Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders — to be among the first to experience how the Happiest Place on Earth just got happier! As part of the preview, experience exciting attractions, dining and merchandise locations.
Step foot on Buena Vista Street — the main street of Disney California Adventure Park — to see the transformation. Imagine you have been transported to an idealized 1920’s version of Los Angeles. Stroll past Art Deco storefronts, a sparkling fountain and see sights designed to invoke the energetic city Walt Disney discovered when he traveled to California in 1923.
And then enter a land like no other: Cars Land! Here, Radiator Springs has been brought to life and you’ll feel like you’ve walked into the Disney•Pixar Cars movie. Cars Land comes fully loaded with exciting attractions, entertainment and plenty of Disney Character meet-and-greet opportunities. Get ready to be floored!
The expanded and re-imagined Disney California Adventure Park will open to the general public on June 15, 2012.
Buena Vista Street is filled with dreams of a bright future for all, and this Yuletide season promises to be even brighter as this happy, bustling community celebrates its first Christmas with joyous new traditions.
Shopkeepers up and down the street have decorated for the holidays, but inside the lavish Elias & Co. department store, they’ve gone all out to create a winter wonderland for the arrival of Santa Claus. Here, wide-eyed children may take a seat alongside the jolly old elf to share with him their fondest wishes for Christmas morning.
Another new idea really struck a chord after a holiday committee meeting of the Buena Vista Street Chamber of Commerce. Wishing to serve their community, eight individuals decided to form a volunteer holiday troupe, calling themselves the Buena Vista Street Community Bell Ringers. Acting as a spirited, traveling “welcome wagon” to anyone visiting this friendly neighborhood, the Bell Ringers take their festive cheer to the street, encouraging others to join in spontaneous ring-along sing-alongs of familiar holiday tunes.
As dusk falls each evening, the Buena Vista Street Community Bell Ringers will gather in Carthay Circle with their fellow Citizens of Buena Vista Street. The sound of bells rings out, and everyone is invited to join together in the lighting of the town’s Christmas tree, wishing goodwill and joy to one and all!
You’re all invited to come join in the merriment, November 12 through January 6, at Disney California Adventurepark.
DLNT Reporter Hayley Nance was lucky enough to be able to attend one of the Cars Land and Buena Vista Street annual passholder previews and took a plethora of newsworthy photos of both new land at DCA. On to the photos!
There was a big line to get in
A special map provided to those attending the event
Wristband for the event
Everyone was so happy…
First ride, Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree
Reviews have been surprisingly popular for this ride so far
Filming on Route 66
The queue for Radiator Springs Racers was pretty long
Yes, they built the fountain from the movie…. awesome
Neat bench
Lighting McQueen out meeting guests
Ramone’s House of Stroller Parking… I mean body art
We know you’ve been waiting for it… new trashcans!
The hoods displayed at the D23 Expo are in the windows
The entrance to Luigi’s Flying Tires
Side entrance to Ramone’s
Stanley’s statue
The Fastpass machines that wont be used for a while. Racers’ fastpass will be distributed at the former It’s Tough To Be A Bug location
More filming
The path to Pacific Wharf
Now for a walk through the Racers queue
Ha…
The Radiator Spring
Stanley and Lizzie getting married
There is a house made of oil bottles…
In the boarding area
I spot a WDW bag… anyway…
The attention to detail is insane
Yes, there is an on-ride photo
The word is that the Single Rider line moves quickly if you don’t mind your party being split up
Luigi’s Flying Tires
Path to Bugs Landhas neat sign, selling the land as a tourist trap along Route 66…
Brilliant…
Curio shop
It’s funny where DCA impedes on Cars Land, like the Boudin Bakery visible from Fillmore’s
Plenty of fruit and drinks available
Cone-Anza!!!
YES! The cone umbrellas from the movie!
Flo’s Breakfast Menu
Purty…
Alright, lets move on out
Buena Vista Street time! A leather jacket featuring the Storytellers statue
Plenty of sweets at Trolley Treats
Mad T Party candy…
Clabelle’s
RED CAR!!!!
Pluto out on the street in his fancy new duds
Ads inside the trolley are brilliant. Take note of the Hollywood Tower Hotel before the tallest tower was added
Let’s take this puppy for a spin…
The new guest relations building is the Chamber of Commerce
More new trashcans!
RED CAR!!!!
It’s amazing what paint can do to this old facade
Back in Cars Land, Red was out
Thanks for reading! Don’t forget, DLNT will have continuing coverage of all things opening at DCA and Disneyland over the next week, including coverage of the media festivities June 13th-15th! Stay tuned!
Expanded Disney California Adventure Park Features New Entrance Themed to Los Angeles of the 1920s and ’30s, When Walt Disney Arrived With Big Dreams and Plans for an Animation Studio
ANAHEIM, Calif., June 6, 2012 – When guests walk into a Disney theme park, they find themselves in a place apart from the everyday world they leave behind. At Disneyland Park, the adventure begins on turn-of-the-century Main Street, U.S.A. At the newly expanded Disney California Adventure Park, it now begins on Buena Vista Street, a nostalgic look at Los Angeles as it may have appeared to Walt Disney in the 1920s and ’30s when he first arrived in California.
Buena Vista Street welcomes guests to a very specific “Disney California Adventure,” the adventure of a young Walt Disney stepping off the train from Kansas City and into 1920s Los Angeles, the beginning of a wonderful, inspirational period of his life. The dynamic themed environment transports guests to another era, along this boulevard of dreams.
“One of the main things we’re trying to do with Buena Vista Street is create an emotional connection for guests when they walk in,” explained Lisa Girolami, senior show producer and director, Walt Disney Imagineering. “We want people to take in the architecture and the color and the ornamentation, to know where they are and what time it is. The whole street comes alive to put you right there in the steps of Walt when he first stepped off the train in California, with all the optimism and opportunity he felt was there for him at the time.”
On Buena Vista Street, guests board the Red Car Trolley to take a tour and clang-clang-clang their way into Hollywood Land. The tour includes Carthay Circle Theatre, a striking, new Disney California Adventure landmark that stands at the hub of the park, with a beautiful fountain and avenues that lead to the eight themed lands of Disney California Adventure. It’s also home to one of the premier dining locations at Disneyland Resort, the Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge. Guests may stroll around a Buena Vista Street “downtown” featuring vintage architecture and a dozen shops and restaurants.
Buena Vista Street Landmarks
The new entry turnstiles of Disney California Adventure are inspired by the Pan-Pacific Auditorium. The Pan-Pacific was designed by architect Welton Becket. Disney is said to have consulted his friend Becket when he was planning Disneyland in the 1950s. Becket told Walt he already had all the talent he needed at the Disney Studios. That talent was the creative team that became Walt Disney Imagineering.
Entering the turnstiles, guests find themselves in Buena Vista Plaza, a town square with a flag pole, a stop for the Red Car Trolley, and Oswald’s gas station. Passing through the town square, guests walk under Hyperion Bridge(the Disneyland Resort Monorail track), modeled on the concrete Glendale-Hyperion Avenue bridge near Walt Disney’s early Hyperion Animation Studios.
Past Hyperion Bridge and into the central entry plaza, which leads into the eight themed lands of Disney California Adventure, guests will find Carthay Circle Theatre, inspired by the motion picture palace where “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” premiered in 1937. It’s the home of the Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge.
The Carthay Circle Theatre stands 89 feet 6 inches to the top of the cupola spire. It is approximately a ¾ scale to the original Carthay Circle Theatre building. In comparison, Sleeping Beauty Castle stands 77-feet high, with a design that makes it appear taller through forced perspective.
The central plaza is also home to “Storytellers,” a statue of Walt Disney with Mickey Mouse. Placed at street level and less monumental than the “Partners” statue in Disneyland, “Storytellers” depicts Walt Disney as a humble, optimistic young man, dreaming of achievements to come, standing alongside Mickey Mouse.
A New Attraction – Red Car Trolley
Inspired by, and lovingly modeled on the historic Pacific Electric Railway system which operated in Southern California from 1901 through 1961, the Red Car Trolley runs through Buena Vista Street and into Hollywood Land, making multiple stops until it arrives at the Hollywood Tower Hotel, aka The Twilight Zone™ Tower of Terror.
The red cars of the Red Car Trolley are modeled on two Pacific Electric Railway designs, representing different eras of the system’s history. The attraction evokes the original Red Car line with large windows all the way around the cars, a distinctive single headlight in the center of the front panel, and even overhead “catenary” electrical lines (all part of the show).
The Red Car Trolley makes four stops. Trolley car conductors, in uniforms evoking the ’20s time period, call the stops, toot the trolley whistle and entertain guests with historical tales of Buena Vista Street.
Shopping On Buena Vista Street
Oswald’s stands in Buena Vista Plaza, just inside the Disney California Adventure turnstiles. The name might have prompted a young Walt Disney to name his early cartoon success, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Oswald’s is actually a shop selling sundry “road trip” vacation necessities: travel mugs, sunscreen, hats and more.
On the east side of the central plaza is Los Feliz Five & Dime, themed to a vintage five-and-dime or variety store. The Los Feliz area of Los Angeles is near the site where Walt Disney’s Hyperion studios were built. Los Feliz Five & Dime offers t-shirts, fleece, hats, figurines, souvenirs and more.
Big Top Toys features innovative and interactive toys, games and plush inspired by such Disney characters as Tinker Bell, Disney Princesses, Phineas & Ferb and Duffy the Bear. The shop is a nod to the Disney animated film “Dumbo,” which provides much of the inspiration and the background music.
Elias & Co. is the largest shopping location on Buena Vista Street and pays tribute to the opulent art deco style department stores of yesteryear, selling apparel, watches, handbags, accessories and more. The Canadian-born Elias Disney was Walt Disney’s father, and Elias was Walt Disney’s middle name.
Kingswell Camera Shop, on the west side of Buena Vista Plaza, is headquarters for Disney’s PhotoPass, where guests can pick up their photos taken by Disney’s roving photographers. The shop also sells memory cards, cameras, film, batteries, frames and photo albums. Kingswell Avenue was the site of an early Disney animation studio.
Julius Katz & Sons carries a variety of home décor and seasonal merchandise including kitchen gadgets, dinnerware, hand towels and aprons. “Julius Katz” was inspired by Julius the Cat, an animated cat who joined the live-action Alice in Disney’s silent “Alice in Cartoonland” shorts of the 1920s.
Atwater Ink & Paint is a Hollywood-style market house selling coffee, tea and other delectable treats to enjoy or take home. The name refers to the Atwater Village district of Los Angeles, a regular haunt of animators in the early days of the Disney Studio.
Trolley Treats offers packaged candy as well as signature items from the Disney candy kitchen: hand-pulled taffy, gourmet marshmallows, caramel apples, toffee, dipped strawberries and more. Some are made on the spot by Disney candy makers. Another treat is in the window – a display of Rock Candy Mountain, an attraction designed for Disneyland park but never built.
Dining Along Buena Vista Street
Upstairs at Carthay Circle Theatre is the Carthay Circle Restaurant, one of the premiere dining locations at the Disneyland Resort, with a menu of hors d’oeuvres, salads, soups, California specialty entrees and desserts. Downstairs is the Carthay Circle Lounge, which serves appetizers, wine, craft beer and specialty drinks.
Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Café is a diner-style, quick-service restaurant serving soups, salads, sandwiches and beverages, including Starbucks coffee. Guests enjoy a pleasant view of Carthay Circle from the picture window. The café name references the names of the Three Little Pigs in the award-winning Silly Symphonies cartoon.
Clarabelle’s Hand-Scooped Ice Cream is a soda fountain and ice cream shop whose name might have inspired the name of one of Mickey Mouse’s friends, Clarabelle Cow.
Mortimer’s Market offers whole and cut fruits, bottled water, juices and soft drinks. (Mortimer is the name Walt Disney originally gave his new creation in 1928; he later changed it to Mickey.)
Entertainment on Buena Vista Street
”The Red Car News Boys” roll into town on shiny Red Car Trolleys, singing “California, Here I Come!” and other fun tunes from the 1920s and ’30s. The News Boys also deliver the latest “headlines,” in the Buena Vista Daily Bugle.
The citizens of Buena Vista Street – a cast of L.A./Hollywood “characters” out of the 1920s and ’30s – interact with guests, creating impromptu laughs, smiles and memories.
The musical group Five & Dime adds all that jazz to Carthay Circle “On the Sunny Side of the Street.” This ensemble of friends and relations, led by a vivacious singer named Dime, has travelled Route 66 all the way from Chicago in hopes of making it big. Like everyone who comes to Buena Vista Street, great things await them just around the corner.
If you have any appreciation for Walt Disney and his success story, you’re most likely going to fall in love with Buena Vista Street at Disney California Adventure. Not only does it evoke nostalgia for the long gone Los Angeles, but it brings to life the story of Walt Disney and the people who affected his life and company. Let’s take a walk around this charming new entrance to California Adventure:
Looking Towards Elias and Company
We already covered the Carthay Circle in a previous post, but it is still beautiful…
The front of Fiddler, Fifer, & Practical, Clarabelle’s and Trolley Treats
Buena Vista Street is charming during the day, but just like Main Street, it takes on a whole new persona at night
Fiddler, Fifer, and Practical Cafe Seating Area
The backstory says the restaurant is owned by three singing sisters who performed all over the country
Clarabelle’s
Trolley Treats
Rock Candy Mountain is in the window display
Love the little trolleys running through it
Train models is the window next door. Fun fact, the store in this space previously (Engines, Ears, Toys) originally sold model trains.
Rock Candy Mountain from the outside
LIGHT UP SIDEWALKS!
These were to allow light into basements
The old Candy sign from Greetings From California has moved across the street
Candy kitchen
The next store is Atwater Art Supply
And sells mostly cooking accessories, more-so just mugs…
A lot of detail in the shelving
This is a neat bulletin board behind the check in counter
Firehouse Five is the Firemen on Main Street, at this time they were the Firehouse Four…
The Three Caballeros are referenced here
WDP, Walt Disney Productions
4651 Kingswell was Walt and Roy’s original studio
S. White…
Roger Rabbit?
4409 Kingswell is where Walt and Roy stayed in Los Feliz when they first went to Hollywood. They lived with their uncle Robert Disney. That’s why it says to “See Robert.”
Lots of fun references in this one. First Flower Street is home of Imagineering. Also the Hyperion Theater at the very bottom.
The next store is Julius Katz and Sons and sells various collectibles including these great new big figures
This store is themed to an electricians shop. A bunch of fun appliances are up on the shelf.
They had a little fun with the tags
“Sew What?”
Julius Katz and Sons
Haha….
A little blurry, but an Epcot reference? Really?
The photo shop is very nice
Even the lockers facade is incredible….
Morimer’s Market is a fruit stand on the corner
Love the old style coolers
On to the other side of the street now, This is Los Feliz Five & Dime
Buena Vista Steet has it’s own Baseball Team, The Buena Vista Stars
Red car Trolley making a stop
Another window in Los Feliz has a few storybooks that inspired Disney films
Grizzly Peak appears behind Davy Crockett
The top of the shelves in Los Feliz have merchandise that actually would have been sold in the store at the time
The store sells hats and generic DCA merchandise
The next store is Big Top Toys and is a toy shop. The music loop in this room is actually from Storybook Circus which just opened over at The Magic Kingdom.
Yes the stores stay closed as part of a green initiative
This is the first section of Elias & Company, the children’s department
Cow jumping over the moon
Here is the main entrance
Chandeliers imported from Italy
This appears to be the men’s department
The Rocketeer!
And the last area of Elias and Company sells jewelry and other accessories
This is the old Candy Shop from Greetings From California, but it has been painted and refurnished nicely
The Storytellers statue
There is a small park outside of Elias and Company
Los Feliz window
Eddie Valiant, Roger Rabbit reference
Officer Percival PEabody from Hollywood Studios?
Oswald’s sells hats, sunscreen, and other things of that sort.
The new Guest Relations building
If those photos weren’t enough, you can take an in-depth video tour of Buena Vista Street at night:
Buena Vista Street has a lot of heart and is certainly going to be endearing to any Disney fan. There is a sense of real community up and down the street, much like Main Street U.S.A. and I think guests will connect to Buena Vista Street just as they have to Disneyland’s entrance for over 57 years now. This is a fantastic change for the park and a wonderful area to just meander around for a few hours. It may have all started with a mouse, but for California Adventure, it all starts with a man, a suitcase, and a dream.
