Last month, theme park fans the world over rejoiced at the news that the Walt Disney Company would be spending more than a billion dollars to redo DCA. With a large chunk of this cash being committed toward the retheming of the entrance portion of this troubled theme park. Which will soon be turned into this nostalgic recreation of the Southern California that the company’s founder encountered when he first arrived in Hollywood back in 1923.
This — of course — was heralded as great news by Disneyana fans. Who (as you might expect) can’t get enough of the Ol’ Mousetro. These folks just love it when the Imagineers fold in little nods to Walt & the characters that he created into the rides, shows and attractions that they place in the parks. Which is why the fans gave this portion of the proposed DCA redo (Which will even feature a brand-new version of the “Partners” statue. Where the young Walt Disney stands with a pie-eyed Mickey Mouse, surveying the city they’re both about to conquer) a big “Thumbs Up.”
Copyright 2007 Disney. All Rights Reserved
Well, would it that the guys at WDI were just as enthusiastic about DCA’s proposed entrance area as Disneyana fans seem to be. You see, the Imagineers are concerned about what the 99% of Disneyland Resort guests who are not Disneyphiles will make of the redone entrance area of that theme park. Whether the $100 – $120 million that’s about to be invested in reconfiguring this part of the park is going to have any real impact on these people at all.
As one WDI insider that I spoke with recently put it:
“There are at least two generations out there now who grew up without regularly seeing Walt on television. To them, Walt Disney is just like Betty Crocker or Colonel Sanders. He’s not a real man. He’s just some corporate symbol.
Which is why a number of us here are concerned that it may be a mistake to make the front part of this park a celebration of Walt. In essence, we’re trying to force people to feel nostalgic about a man they never knew.
Copyright 2007 Disney. All Rights Reserved
We’re wondering if it wouldn’t be smarter in the long run for us to take the money that’s been budgeted for redoing the front part of that park and just use that amount to build another E-Ticket. Something that would appeal to 18-to-25 year-old males. The people that we’re actually hoping will form some sort of emotional attachment to DCA. So that — sometime in the future — they’ll then return to this same theme park with their own children.”
Believe it or not, folks, this is a very serious concern of WDI’s. Making sure that this reconfigured version of California Adventure appeals to more than just us Disneyphiles. That this revamped theme park will have a strong enough mix of new rides, shows and attractions that the general public will also embrace this new version of DCA with great enthusiasm.
This is actually why the Imagineers decided to add Carsland to this California Adventure. This new 12-acre “land” will feature the “Radiator Springs Racers” ride, which WDI insiders have described as being like ” … ‘Test Track’ meets ‘Indiana Jones Adventure’ meets Pixar.” Translation: That sort of state-of-the-art, cutting-edge attraction that the Imagineers used to build only for the Tokyo Disney Resort. Which (it’s hoped) will help make this radically revamped version of DCA a “must see” for tourists the very next time they visit Southern California.
Copyright 2007 Disney. All Rights Reserved
The same could also be said for that immense “Little Mermaid” dark ride that’s supposed to replace “Golden Dreams” at this theme park. Given that California Adventure is thought to be lacking in attractions that appeal to young girls, it’s hoped that this new “Mermaid” ride will finally address that need. Make DCA seem that much more 5-to-8-year-old girl-friendly.
Which brings us back to DCA’s entrance area with all of its references to Walt. As my Imagineering insider continued to explain:
” … this part of the park was deliberately designed to serve as a sop to those people who have been complaining about DCA since the place first opened in 2001. We’re basically giving them another version of Main Street, which is something that these annual passholders are familiar with. More importantly, we’re making this new entrance area one big tribute to Walt. Which will hopefully finally silence those Disneyana fans who have continually bitched about how California Adventure doesn’t have enough Disney in it.
Copyright 2007 Disney. All Rights Reserved
Of course, the real irony here is that we’re trying to placate people who can never be placated. If you look around the Web, you’ll see that Disneyana fans have managed to find fault with everything that WDI has ever built. So it’s virtually guaranteed that — no matter what we do with the front portion of that park — Disneyana fans are still going to find a way to complain about it.
Mind you, we’re still going to go ahead with this portion of the redo. DCA managers are particularly excited about the new curved retail corridor that we’ve designed for their theme park. They believe that this new design will actually slow people down as they enter & exit California Adventure. Which will hopefully make more guests notice the stores that line this street and get them to do a bit more souvenir shopping.
So I guess you could say that the redo of this portion of DCA is serving two needs. It’s supposed to make Disneyana fans feel like we actually listened to their complaints & responded to their concerns by attempting to give this theme park a stronger tie to the company’s heritage by folding in a lot more Walt. While — at the same time — we’re servicing the resort’s retail needs. Slowing down the guests as well as making sure that the shops that line this retail corridor look that much more appealing. Which will hopefully eventually translate into better per-square-foot sales ratios for all of these stores.”
Copyright 2007 Disney. All Rights Reserved
So there you have it. When you break down the key components of Disney’s California Adventure’s proposed redo, you can see this retheming for what it really is. Which is not this overall ambitious plan, but — rather — a piecemeal approach toward addressing what many see as DCA’s key weaknesses. Which — in this instance, anyway — deals with this theme park’s lack of appeal to young adult males 18-25, young girls 5-8 and Disneyphiles. Not to mentioning enhancing DCA’s “Main Street” retail corridor area.
But what do you folks think? Is this Imagineer correct in suggesting that it might be a mistake to spend $100 – $120 million on making the front part of this theme park a veritable shrine to Walt Disney & the Southern California that he encountered back in 1923 ? That — if the Mouse really wants to bond with Generations X & Y — this money might be better spent on something other than Walt-centric window dressing?
Forget that you’re a Disneyphile for a moment and ponder this question: Is there really such a thing as putting too much Walt into a Disney theme park? Particularly when these new touches are deliberately being designed as a means to an end (i.e. to finally silence DCA’s more vocal critics) rather than as true tributes to the man?
Your thoughts?
Tis the season, folks. So if you’d like to show your appreciation for all the great stories that you regularly read here on this website, then why not start out your next Amazon shopping spree by clicking on the banner above? That way, JHM gets a tiny chunk of what you spend.
Happy Holidays!