Disneyland: One Man's Dream- The Official Expansion of DCA

Before we went through all the new attractions that were removed and/or added to Disneyland's struggling sister park. Now that new management was introduced to Disneyland, it was time for Disneyland to get the sister park it always deserved. One that was richly themed and has the layers Disneyland had. One that was a full day park. One that was not tacky or ugly, but was beautiful.

On October 17, 2007, something momentous occured. The Walt Disney Company announced a $1.1 Billion Expansion to DCA. It would be done in sections over the course of a few years, with final construction ending in 2012 before a second phase would begin. Though these new additions were coming, let's take a look at 2 new attractions that were not included in the budget, but helped set the tone for the retheme.

Toy Story Midway Mania is one of the most technoloically sophisticated rides WDI has ever come up with. In it, you ride through the 3D world of Toy Story playing classic Midway games with a few twists in them. Rig tosses, pie throws, dart throws, and more are found in this ride. It is a lot of fun and quite addicting. The ride holds a lot of people per hour, so the line moves quickly. Even so, it's not uncommon to wait over 45 minutes for the ride.

Outside the attraction, Mr. Potatohead serves as the Boardwalk Barker who entices people to visit the ride. He is one of the most technolically advanced Audio-Animatronics created.

While this is all nice, it's really the outside of the attraction that sets the mood for the new Paradise Pier. Paradise Pier will now be have a Victorian theme and feature rides themed to classic Disney shorts. The Sun Wheel is now Mickey's Fun Wheel and the Games of the Boardwalks are now themed to classic shorts. In the not-so-distant future, the Pier Shops will also get Victorian theming, as well as the new Garden Grill that will replace Pizza Omm Mow Mow and Burger Invasion. The Orange Stinger will be replaced Silly Symphony Swings and Mullholland Madness will be replaced by Goofy's Sky School. (More info will be found in Future Updates).










World of Color also was approved before the massive expansion. The show will celebrate the music and magic of Disney's Animated movies, ranging from classics all the way up until today. Currently, the fountains are under construction and so is the viewing area that will accomadate about 9000 people. While this continues, the Paradise Bay is recieving extensive beautification, with more rock work, lighthouses, and ornaments. (More info will be found in future updates).


A brand new attraction will also replace Golden Dreams. The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Adventure will take guests into Ariel's Undersea Adventures (lol) and showcase all the songs from the movie. It is being compared to Haunted Mansion and will feature the Omnimover system. It's set to open in 2011. The ride will be set in a lavish Victorian-esque Aqaurium. (More info will be found in future updates).


As we move away from the peir, we head into the next big thing to open: Buena Street. Buena Vista Street will replace Sunshine Plaza and will be themed to 1920s LA, just as Walt Disney Would have seen it when he stepped of the train. The shops will be rethemed and the Redcars will be added, as well as streets, curbs, and sidewalks. Also to be added is Carthay Circle Theater which will be one of the park icons. (More info will be found in future updates).







We also have Carsland. I did an extensive report on Carsland months agom but I'll do a short rehash here. Carsland will celebrate California's love affair with ars and celebrate not only Route 66, but CA's desert landscapes. The land is themed around Radiator Springs, the town from Cars and will feature 3 new rides. Mater's Junkyard Jamboree will be an "outdoor" swinging darkride, meaning it will be lavishly themed like a darkride but be outdoors. Luigi's Roamin Tires will be the 1960s Flying Saucers of Tomorrowland with better technology making for a better ride and less matinence problems. The highlight of this land will be Radiator Springs Racers, which will not only take people on a tour of the town, but will feature 2 Cars racing against each other. It's going to be one hell of a ride. (More info will be found in future updates).



The Grizzly Peak Area will also get some additions, like animals to Grizzly River Run and possibly a Mine-Train type train ride that goes around the area. Soarin' wll also be rethemed from a desert area to a mountain area. (More info will be found in future updates).

Hollywood Pictures Backlot will also recieve real facades and not the fake ones it has now. It will also be themed to 1930 Hollywood, and recieve the name "Hollywoodland" as homage to what Hollywood was first named. (More info to come in future updates).


In just a few years, Disney's California Adventure will become the second gate Disneyland always deserved. Better late then never, right? And what better way to see this then at the Bluesky Cellar? Every few months, new artwork and models will be added into the cellar where CMs will be happy to answer questions about the projects. Expect the next change out to occur after World of Color opens and to be focised more on The Little Mermaid and the attractions around there.

Disneyland: One Man's Dream- Various Controversies over in Disneyland

Recently, whether it was do towards the emergence of Disney fan boards or radical Disney "Purists" there have been outcries for some things happening at Disneyland. This most notably can be found in the enhances at various rides throughout the park that have been labled to be "controversial". Are they? Have they done any damage? Well, let's take a look and see!

First, let's start with it's a small world. At various times during the attraction's history, the facade was painted different colors. It went from white and gold to shades of blue to a bright multi-color pattern and finally back to white and gold.


In 1997, it's a small world holiday debuted. The ride was decorated with Christmas decorations inside and outside, with a fantastic array of lights on the exterior. The "children" also add "Jingle Bells" and "Deck the Halls" to their repitore. This has been more popular then the original ride that it has been coming back year after year. For many, it's the only time they ride the ride.



The real controversial additions came in 2009, when Disney characters were added. For all of 2008, it's a small world was shut while the flumes were replaced. Contrary to what Al Lutz may have said, they were not replaced due to overweight guests (like he should talk... sorry for that;). The flumes needed replacement after years of wear and tear. In conjunction with this, Disneyland took a page out of Hong Kong Disneyland's book and added in a few Disney characters in their respective countries (Snow White in Germany, Pinnochio in Italy, etc.). The rainforest scene was also to be relocated to allow for a scene detecated to America. This caused some people to go up in arms, and some people still hate this today. Why? Well, it's supposedly ruins the "theme" of the ride. Um... it still shows how people from all over the world are connected, and what better way for kids to understand this then to see thier favorite Disney charatcers (who are hardly noticable) to help them understand. It actually looks as if the dolls are dressed in Alice or Cinderella's clothing.





Haunted Mansion did a few changes in recent years as well. In 2001, Haunted Mansion Holiday opened. The change over was orgiginally going to be about A Christmas Carlol, but was not fesible. So they looked for another character to celebrate Christmas in the Mansion, and The Nightmare Before Christmas' Jack Skellington won that. So every year around Halloween, the ride is decorated and new characters are added. It is so popular, that Fastpass is utilized during this time.




Another changeover happened in the Attic. In 2006, after a refurbihment, a new scene was added in the attic. The old bride was taken out, and the widow Constance Hatchaway was put in. Her story is a simple, but gruesome tale: Constance married rich men for their money, then killd them and got their money. This is a far cry from the original story, where the bride was murdered by Captain Gore who was actually a Pirate.

In 2001, The Country Bear Jamboree closed after 30 years of being in the park due to low popularity. It was going to be replaced by a new darkride, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. When the latter attraction opened up in 2003, it was critized for being cheap. But to this day kids really love it. Not to mention the outdoor theme area is a really great atmosphere to start the ride, better then the attractions in Fanatsyland.


Pirates of the Caribbean has gone through a few modifications due to politcal correctness in the past. The women now chase the pirates with brooms, the "pooped pirate" who was holding underweard while looking for a lady, and a few other scenes were deleated and/or changed. But that's small compared to what was instore for the boat ride. With the success of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Disney was going to make 2 more sequels. And they also decided to add some aspects from the movie into the classic attraction that inspired the movie. And when I mean "aspects", I mean the "c" word that Purists hate to hear... gulp... characters.

Pirates was closed for a few months. The infamous Cursed Aztec Gold was added to the grotto scene and so was an impressive projection of the ghostly Dvay Jones in a waterfall. Barbossa now helmed the Wicked Wench, and was attacking the port. And of course, Captain Jack Sparrow made several appearances in the ride, first hiding behind a maniquin, then hiding in a barrel, then celebrating at the end with his treasure.




Some people saw this revamp as trashing the original ride. Others saw it as making the story odd. But most people, including myself, saw it as a great improvement to an already flawless ride. Will it remain? Only time will tell...

So, what do you think?