By now, you've no doubt seen some of the photos which came out of this past weekend's preview events at Disney California Adventure Park.
Photo by Noe Valladolid
If you look around the Web, 90% of the images that have been posted focus on Cars Land …
Photo by Noe Valladolid
… which is understandable. Given that Cars Land features that spectacular new attraction, Radiator Springs Racers …
Photo by Noe Valladolid
… not to mention all of that terrific-looking neon which comes on every night when the sun goes down.
Photo by Noe Valladolid
But as amazing as Cars Land might have been, you know what really impressed me about this $1.1 billion redo of Disney California? Buena Vista Street.
Photo By Noe Valladolid
Noe and I had spent much of the past week exploring the noise and the flash of E3 (That's actually where we scored these super-cool Oswald-the-Lucky-Rabbit ears) …
Photo by Alice Hill
So to now to be able to transition from that event (which was held inside of the sleek, modern Los Angeles Convention Center) to this extremely romanticized version of 1920s LA, where the buildings were all as beautiful on the inside …
Photo by Noe Valladolid
… as they were on the outside.
Photo by Noe Valladolid
Look, the Disneyana fans out there will tell you about all the great Disney Company history that's hidden in and around Buena Vista Street. The tributes to Walt's Dad …
Photo by Noe Valladolid
… the nods to the Nine Old Men …
Photo by Noe Valladolid
… not to mention placing Walt's first break-through character right there in the front window.
Photo by Noe Valladolid
But you wanna know what, me personally, I liked best about Buena Vista Street? It wasn't the Red Car (Though — as a train buff — I have to admit that it was pretty cool to see this recreation of Southern California history go rolling through that theme park) …
Photo by Noe Valladolid
… or the exquisite period detail that the Imagineers managed to cram into …
Photo by Noe Valladolid
… virtually every corner of this theme park's radically revamped entrance area.
Photo by Noe Valladolid
You wanna know what I like best about Buena Vista Street? That this redo adds some much-needed heart & charm to Disney California Adventure Park. Which means that — rather than hurrying through this part of that theme park so that I could then experience The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror or Toy Story Mania! — I now seem myself lingering in this area. Having a leisurely meal at the Fiddler Fifer & Practical Cafe …
Photo by Noe Valladolid
… or spend a half hour or shopping at the Elias and Company Department Store. Which is just what the Imagineers were hoping for when they "reimagined" DCA's old Sunshine Plaza into a 1920s Los Angeles version of Disneyland's Main Street, U.S.A.
So while people will be talking about Cars Land and its 12 acres of stunning rockwork (not to mention its ridiculous level of detail) …
Photo by Noe Valladolid
… it's Buena Vista Street that does the really tough part. It's the piece of this theme park just like the Oasis at Disney's Animal Kingdom which then tells you to slow down. Take your time now while visiting DCA. Because there are charms galore to be found in this radically revamped theme park if you just know where to look.