something-by-the-sea

[spatch]

Disneyland's French Market restaurant in New Orleans Square is the only restaurant I've ever heard of what has Mint Julep right on, er, tap, next to the Fanta and ginger ale. Course, it's not the real drink, instead it's a bright neon green non-alcoholic beverage that tastes slightly fruit-like with a real mint aftertaste at the end. Still, you always get it when you go to Disneyland because that's the only place you can get it (and don't tell me otherwise if you know any better; I'm living in my happy space here.) I do recommend getting another beverage with your meal, though, just in case.

That's the only picture I actually took at Disneyland proper; I was too busy having fun. I did take some pics at Calfornia Adventure, Disneyland's second park in what used to be its parking lot (hence the nickname Parking Lot Land.) It's a little park that holds quite a bit of potential, though it's had its share of problems (including the fact that it really is a little park.) However, one of the major craw-sticking points that the Purists trot out, again and again, is the Paradise Pier section of the park, which aims to recreate a boardwalk-based amusement park like the ones that used to exist at Long Beach and elsewhere.

The purists take offense with the fact that these boardwalk parks were what inspired the creation of Disneyland in the first place. Walt was disgusted with the state of those parks in the 50s, and detested having to take his kids to those seedy places and then avoiding gum and other gunk on the sidewalk, putting his kids on the same old boring rides, and then sitting on an uncomfortable bench watching them since there wasn't much everybody in the family could enjoy together. So he then decided, by george, he'd build an amusement park himself and exclude all that he found wrong with the current parks. (He may have visited Knott's at one point and said "Ah-ha!" when he saw their themed Ghost Town attractions.)

Well, sure -- but it doesn't mean Walt absolutely detested the boardwalk parks. There was something in them that he must have enjoyed if he wanted to improve upon the concept, and I think that Paradise Pier is a reasonably successful attempt to create a boardwalk park-style setting that Walt may very well have enjoyed taking his kids to. So there.


While California Adventure was built during the time when everything was strictly budgeted to the last cent and the accountants, not the Imagineers, held sway over everything, they still found the time to put in some nice details, such as these decorative bench ends, reflecting the mermaid-neptune-clamshell aspect of a seaside park. I liked that.


The Sun Wheel is California Adventure's version of Coney Island's Wonder Wheel, right down to the swinging cars. As I mentioned before, the Sun Wheel's swinging cars are more vicious than Coney's, which is a rather odd change of pace considering Coney was known for its super-tuned versions of regular thrill rides, such as the Breakdance. Each swinging car was helpfully equipped with its own motion sickness bag, which amused me to no end.


The park really does shine at night, as a good seaside park ought to. Lots of lights and swirls around its architecture. While it may not be the quintessential experience and lacking a bit in the ride department (the big attraction is, of course, the California Screamin' coaster which is indeed a hoot and a holler) it's a fair attempt and once they've put in the Toy Story Midway attraction in 2008, I think this place will see a bit more traffic and get a bit more love.

Comments

[skeetlj.livejournal.com]

Okay, I don't mind not having an equivalent to California Adventure -- I mean, taking your chances in the shootin' range they call Orlando is pretty much as much of a Florida Adventure as there ever will be. But nothing like New Orleans Square at WDW?

UNACCEPTABLE.

Sure, the real New Orleans is... oh, about 10-12 hours' drive away. But they put an American pavilion in at Epcot, so clearly they aren't concerned with such common-sense issues.

[spatch]

One of the main criticisms of California Adventure is that, in one context, it's needless -- why have a park in California showcase the wonders of California? Wouldn't tourists rather visit the real wonders instead? Sure, some of the DCA theme is historical and it all does indeed capture the flavor of California, but the argument is vaguely compelling. Some of the WDW attractions have similarly tried to keep a Florida theme. Pleasure Island's first theme was Florida-based; Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon too, I believe.

But why no New Orleans Square? Okay, here's the deal. Put your Story Time helmet on.

When WDW was planned, the idea was to incorporate much of the elements of Disneyland into the Magic Kingdom, but to also make sure that certain attractions and elements stayed unique to each park -- so that there'd be something in California you couldn't find in Florida, and vice-versa.

With this in mind, the Imagineers planned an entirely new area for their Phase II expansion project. The main idea would've been Thunder Mesa, an attraction built within WDW's Frontierland. It would have mostly consisted of a gigantic show building shaped like, well, a huge red mesa, inside of which you'd find "The Western River Expedition", a Pirates-like boat ride with the same scope and scale as Pirates; a train ride throughout, access to the top for sightseeing (Look, kids! That's the top of It's A Small World!) as well as a runaway mine ride. Pirates of the Caribbean, they reasoned, would stay in California, and Thunder Mesa would stay in Orlando.

As Thunder Mesa was a Phase II addition to be built later, the park opened without Pirates and, in lieu of New Orleans Square, the bicentennial-ready (well, it was a few years before ol' 76) Liberty Square, containing the Hall of Presidents show and -- oddly enough -- the Haunted Mansion. Disneyland, of course, has no Liberty Square, and no full-fledged Hall of Presidents. I think however they definitely got the better part of the deal.

However, after WDW's Magic Kingdom was open for a while, the park discovered that one of the most common guest questions was "Where's the pirate ride?" So finally the decision was made to push Thunder Mesa back further and fast-track a lower-budget version of Pirates for Florida, sticking it in Adventureland. Eventually, what with the gas crisis keeping tourism income low and inter-Imagineer politics (the Old Guard such as Marc Davis butting heads with the New School featuring the likes of Tony Baxter), Thunder Mesa was pretty much done in.

And now the Paul Harvey denouement! One of the elements of Thunder Mesa actually did come to fruition after some changes and redesign (to Marc Davis' extreme displeasure) by Tony Baxter: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. And now you know the rest of the story, etc.

Additionally, I think that thematically New Orleans is just a little too close to Orlando to be "exotic." A Philadelphia/New England colonial theme, though, worked. What else would've worked in Florida, d'you reckon?

[skeetlj.livejournal.com]

Holy history lesson, Spatman!

Seriously, though, that's the kind of stuff I find fascinating, probably because it's the kind of information that Disney shares grudgingly, when at all. I guess Thunder Mesa would have made a nice symmetry: New Orleans Square in California, and an Old West area exclusive to the east coast.

The Haunted Mansion is actually one of the sticking points that keep me from total park fanboyness. More specifically, the fact that they deck out the Disneyland version with the Nightmare Before Christmas treatment but not the Magic Kingdom version. Excuse me while I grrrrr. Grrrrrrrrrrr.

(A second complaint is that they paved over the wonderfully cheesy 20,000 Leagues ride for... an autograph grotto and play area. I only got to ride in that retro-futuristic submarine once. But where is that? Not here, not there.)

I think I have to disagree about New Orleans not being exotic enough, however. It's technically within driving distance, although certainly not easily so. (640 miles, about 10 hours.) But the stereotypical park visitor isn't from the area anyway. And New Orleans isn't really similar to any other American city, in the southeast or otherwise. But hey, they only ask for my money, not my opinion on how they should spend it once it's theirs.

What else would have worked in the Magic Kingdom? Hmmmmm. Maybe, and this is weak, some generic "big town" area (with aspects of New York, Chicago, and so on) to act as a counterpoint to Main Street. I usually stick to just complaining, you see, rather than coming up with alternative ideas...

[spatch]

Walt had plans for an annex off Main Street in California called Edison Square, where the emphasis there would've been more of the technology-minded urban turn-of-the-century America, probably with less painted wood and more green painted metal.

There's a lot of ideas for the park that never came to be; the subject fascinates me as well as a lot of other folks, it looks like.

The retro-futuristic subs you're thinking of are the California version, which claimed to be the "world's 7th (or whatever) largest submarine fleet" even though they don't go completely underwater at any time (the sub pilot is always up above water These are the ones used in the new Finding Nemo ride, painted their bright yellow-and-gray color scheme that they had been changed to in the 70s-80s, I want to say. The subs in Florida, of course, looked like Captain Nemo's Nautilus.

[spatch]

here, I think I forgot these: .)