It's been an amazing eight days here in Southern
California. I've met with a lot of great people while I was out
here. And these folks then shared tons of tremendous stories. Many of which
I'll be posting on JHM & the Huffington Post in coming weeks.
But before I blow town, I did want to let you guys know that
I was mostly successful in my search for where Disneyland
was almost built back in the mid-1950s. Working off of that "Analysis of
Location Factors" report that Stanford Research Institute prepared for
Walt & Roy, I was able to visit two of the other possible construction
sites that the Company also considered for its very first theme park before ultimately
settling on the Ball Road Subdivision (i.e., that large chunk of property at
the corner of Harbor & Katella).
Photo by Jim Hill
And speaking of Harbor Boulevard
.. I have to admit that I do find it kind of intriguing that the Disney
brothers did once consider building their family fun park on another piece of
property that was Harbor Boulevard
adjacent. And by that I mean, if you turn at the corner of Fifth Avenue &
Harbor down in Santa Ana, just a half mile or so down the road, you'll
eventually find the Willowick Country Club.
Photo by Jim Hill
Looking over this centrally located piece of property, I don't imagine that all
that much has changed since Disney Legend Buzz Price & Co. did their initial site survey
back in 1953 (Though I'm betting that — 60+ years ago — there wasn't a gated
community directly across the street from this golf course).
Photo by Jim Hill
Anyway … Willowick Country Club is pretty much exactly
what you'd expect. It's an 18 hole golf course with carefully maintained
grounds.
Photo by Jim Hill
The property is now bounded on one side by a pretty sizable water control
project as well as a bridge for traffic.
Photo by Jim Hill
And given the radio station that's located right on the
grounds of this golf course (not to mention that trio of broadcast towers which
cozy up to Willowick's driving range), it's clear that this piece of property
has great line-of-sight for Mount Wilson. Which would have been ideal from
Walt's plan to regularly broadcast TV shows from Disneyland
Park.
Photo by Jim Hill
But given that drivers would have to chug down Harbor quite a ways before
they then turned onto Fifth … Even though (thanks to the 405) Willowick was
relatively easy to get to, Walt & Roy decided to take a pass on this pretty
piece of property.
Photo by
Jim Hill
Instead, the Disney brothers took a long hard look at what
was then known as the Leo Harvey site. Which was at the corner of Valley View
Avenue & Orangethorpe Avenue.
Photo by Jim Hill
Looking at this alternate-site-for-Disneyland today, it's
easy to see why Walt & Roy considered it. I mean, the freeway is right nearby.
Which means that would-be Guests would have had no problem getting to this
theme park.
And given how centrally located this
proposed-construction-site-for-Disneyland is, it's easy to understand why so
much of the land bounded by Valley View & Orangethorpe is so heavily
developed these days.
Photo by Jim Hill
The bulk of this 650-acre site is now occupied by a massive
JC Penney warehouse …
Photo by Jim Hill
… which trucks trundle in & out of day and night,
loaded with goods that are soon out on the 5th and/or 91, zooming to customers
all over the country.
Photo by Jim Hill
As for the pieces of property that Walt & Roy looked at
in & around the then-incorporated City of La Mirada … Given that the
Disneys reportedly looked at five sites in this corner of Los Angeles County,
I need to do a wee bit more research / legwork before I can then post
definitive pictures of where Disneyland was almost built in La Mirada.
And given that I had been spending so much time on this trip
visiting the places where the Happiest Place
on Earth was almost built, I felt it was time that I actually looked at the
Disneyland Resort itself. Which is why I found myself walking the perimeter of
this piece of property yesterday afternoon.
Photo by Jim Hill
I know that a lot of people weren't all that happy with the
original version of Disney's California Adventure theme park. But you have to
admit that the reimagining / reconfiguring all of the land around the Disneyland
Resort as this lush garden district worked out beautifully. That — for the
most part — all of those ugly electric power towers that used to march
straight across Disneyland's old parking lot …
Photo by Jim Hill
… are now largely hidden in plain sight by some artful use of
greenery.
Photo by Jim Hill
And speaking of parking lots … I have been hearing
increasing rumbling from within Disney Parks & Resorts that the Simba
parking lot …
Photo by Jim Hill
… (You know. The one that backs up against Katella & Walnut?) …
Photo by Jim Hill
… may soon be closing so that construction can then begin
on this massive multi-story parking structure. That — it is hoped — will then
help the Resort address its increasingly serious we-don't-have-enough-room-for-our-Day-Guests-and-their-cars-on-our-busy-busy-days
problem.
Photo by Jim Hill
Mind you, the upside of this pending parking structure
construction (which — admittedly — will seriously disrupt things around the
Resort for 18 months to two years) is that it will then allow The Walt Disney
Company to seriously increase capacity at Disneyland
Park and Disney
California Adventure
Park, allowing them to add lots of new rides,
shows and attractions. Not to mention finally getting serious about possibly
turning the nearby Toy Story parking lot into a third theme park for the
Disneyland Resort.
But hey, you didn't hear that from me …
Your thoughts?