Post by Dave on Jun 29, 2020 13:13:00 GMT -5
Disney California Adventure is currently home to Pixar Pier, Cars Land, and a number of areas that celebrate the Golden State of California.
The park originally opened on February 8, 2001, but 10 years prior, Disney was planning for its second California theme park to be a West Coast version of Disney World's Epcot, as reported by the LA Times.
Westcot, as it was to be called, would have been modeled after Epcot, including its own golden version of Spaceship Earth called Spacestation Earth. Along with Westcot, the expansion included plans for Disneyland Center, a collection of retail, dining, and entertainment facilities similar to today's Downtown Disney District, three new hotels, and a network of monorails and people-mover systems to transport guests throughout the new areas.
Legendary cast members are honored throughout the parks, but you have to know where to look.
Next time you are walking down Main Street U.S.A. in one of the Disney parks, make sure to look up. Disney legends are often recognized with their very own window, usually depicting a fictitious business inspired by their real-life hobbies and passions. Often, Disney finds other ways to immortalize these individuals that aren't as obvious to passersby, but are possibly even more meaningful for their sheer creativity.
One such example can be found in the Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland. Before his passing in 1994, Frank Wells, former Walt Disney Company president, chief operating officer, and accomplished mountain climber, attempted to climb Mount Everest. Bad weather held him back from reaching the summit, but according to Disneyland VIP Tour guide Philander Butler, guests can now find a box with the name "Wells Expedition" among the Abominable Snowman's collection inside the Matterhorn – a sentimental tribute to a man who gave so much of his life to the parks.
You can often find nods to defunct rides in the attraction that took their place.
From time to time, and whether you like it or not, Disney parks sometimes replace favorite attractions to make way for new ones. When this happens, however, Disney's Imagineers often throw in references to the closed attraction when building the new one.
An example of this can be seen in Disney World's The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which took the place of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in 1999. According to Orlando ParkStop, if you look closely at the portraits in Owl's house, you'll see a portrait of Owl and Mr. Toad and one of Pooh and Mr. Toad's friend, Moley.
A few of the talking trophy heads from Disneyland's Country Bear Jamboree can now be found inside their version of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and if you look closely while riding Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, you'll notice that some of the animatronic characters from Snow White's Scary Adventure reprised their roles on the new coaster.
The park originally opened on February 8, 2001, but 10 years prior, Disney was planning for its second California theme park to be a West Coast version of Disney World's Epcot, as reported by the LA Times.
Westcot, as it was to be called, would have been modeled after Epcot, including its own golden version of Spaceship Earth called Spacestation Earth. Along with Westcot, the expansion included plans for Disneyland Center, a collection of retail, dining, and entertainment facilities similar to today's Downtown Disney District, three new hotels, and a network of monorails and people-mover systems to transport guests throughout the new areas.
Legendary cast members are honored throughout the parks, but you have to know where to look.
Next time you are walking down Main Street U.S.A. in one of the Disney parks, make sure to look up. Disney legends are often recognized with their very own window, usually depicting a fictitious business inspired by their real-life hobbies and passions. Often, Disney finds other ways to immortalize these individuals that aren't as obvious to passersby, but are possibly even more meaningful for their sheer creativity.
One such example can be found in the Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland. Before his passing in 1994, Frank Wells, former Walt Disney Company president, chief operating officer, and accomplished mountain climber, attempted to climb Mount Everest. Bad weather held him back from reaching the summit, but according to Disneyland VIP Tour guide Philander Butler, guests can now find a box with the name "Wells Expedition" among the Abominable Snowman's collection inside the Matterhorn – a sentimental tribute to a man who gave so much of his life to the parks.
You can often find nods to defunct rides in the attraction that took their place.
From time to time, and whether you like it or not, Disney parks sometimes replace favorite attractions to make way for new ones. When this happens, however, Disney's Imagineers often throw in references to the closed attraction when building the new one.
An example of this can be seen in Disney World's The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which took the place of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in 1999. According to Orlando ParkStop, if you look closely at the portraits in Owl's house, you'll see a portrait of Owl and Mr. Toad and one of Pooh and Mr. Toad's friend, Moley.
A few of the talking trophy heads from Disneyland's Country Bear Jamboree can now be found inside their version of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and if you look closely while riding Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, you'll notice that some of the animatronic characters from Snow White's Scary Adventure reprised their roles on the new coaster.