The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (126 page)

That’s
still
not enough space to handle the tens of thousands of daily Guests, so there’s also an expansive self-parking lot west of the
Disneyland Hotel
where Guests park free for up to five hours with validation from participating
Downtown Disney
business; the
Pumbaa Lot
off-property to the east on
Disney Way
, a short walk or shuttle ride from the main entrance; and the relatively new
Toy Story Lot
south of
Katella
from which buses Guests to the resort property.

S
ome Guests miss the old
Disneyland
parking lot; many, especially in the younger generation, never saw the lot, and have no idea that the resort’s new hotel, downtown district, and theme park are built upon its bones.

* * *

The
Grand Californian Hotel
opened in 2001 with a vast, six-story central lobby, multiple pools, courtyards, restaurants, and 750 Guest rooms.  Built in the
Arts and Crafts
tradition, with aesthetic roots sunk deep in Pasadena chic and the grand old lodges of California’s national parks, the
Grand Californian
brought a hitherto unseen level of luxury to
Disneyland
’s Guest accommodations.  In 2009, a 2.5-acre expansion added 200 Guest rooms, 50
Disney Vacation Club Villas
, a new pool, a fireworks-viewing deck, and a video arcade.

Themed to the natural and artistic beauties of
the state of California, the
Grand Californian
is a sprawling timber-and-stone gem that embraces Guests with the warmth and beauty of a redwood forest cathedral.  There is a quote carved above the bar in the hotel’s
Hearthstone Lounge
saying, in effect, that all great art is inspired by nature, and that is certainly true of the
Grand Californian
, where the natural world has inspired every stone and beam and window and stick of furniture, every plate and piece of linen and
objet d’art
.

The
Grand Californian
was conceived, owned, and operated by
Disney
from day one, and therefore meshes seamlessly with
Downtown Disney
to the north and the California-themed park to the east.  It is grand indeed, and was immediately embraced by Guests and critics.

Disney California Adventure Park
opened in 2001 too, but in contrast to the hotel, the park was roundly panned.

One of the major criticisms was that it was too small.  In retrospect, that seems an odd comment.  Anyone following the planning, design
, and construction of the new park knew how large
DCA
would–could – be.  With the size limitations in effect
DCA
couldn’t exceed about 55 acres.  It had to fit on property, south of
Disneyland Park
, north of the
Timon Lot
and
Katella Boulevard
, west of
Harbor Boulevard
, and east of the new
Grand Californian Hotel
and
Downtown Disney
.  It was no surprise that
DCA
would be smaller than
Disneyland
, so
why
was that an instant bone of contention?

The answer, I think, is that
irrespective of actual acreage, the new park
felt
small. 
Disneyland
Park
is actually quite compact, but it
feels
like a vast,
magical
land.  Look at a satellite view of
Disneyland Park
at Google maps online, and you’ll see how small the park really is.

It’s only due to b
rilliant architectural, theatrical, and engineering techniques like forced perspective, carefully orchestrated reveals, and the encircling
berm
that
Disneyland
seems like a limitless domain.  Yes, it’s counterintuitive that the
berm
would make
Disneyland
feel larger, rather than constricted, but the
berm
is brilliantly camouflaged to give a sensation not of limits but of great depths and distances stretching off forever.

DCA
was two-thirds the size of
Disneyland
, but on its
Opening Day
it felt much smaller because it lacked the intensive
trompe l’oeil
design elements of its older sibling.  Those early
DCA
Guests stepped through
DCA
’s
Main Turnstiles
into a world that was for the most part presented in normal scale.  A foot was a foot and a yard was a yard.  The structures and landscapes were creative and engaging, but there was no overall sense of being in a limitless,
magical
new realm.

Hand
-in-hand with the criticism that
DCA
was too small was the complaint that there weren’t enough attractions.  Again, anyone who had been following
DCA
’s development, even casually, knew that it would be somewhat smaller than
Disneyland
and would have fewer attractions.  This wasn’t a surprise.

Why the complaints, then? 
Because with a few significant exceptions, like the superb
Soarin’ Over California
and
Grizzly River Run
, the
Opening Day
attractions lacked the scope and
magic
of
Disneyland Park
attractions.  It wasn’t a surprise that there were fewer offerings, but it was disappointing that many of them seemed so ordinary, leaving Guests feeling let down and perceiving the park as being nearly bare of real entertainment.

Yes, the
Monorail
train periodically crossed
Sunshine Plaza
’s small-scale Golden Gate Bridge, but other than that, the plaza lacked vehicles and motion. 
California Screamin’
was a giant coaster, but you could find giant coasters in almost any amusement park, and most of the
Paradise Pier
activities were similarly generic.

There was no
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
in the
Hollywood Pictures Backlot
at that time; the tower wouldn’t be constructed until 2004, when it was adapted from the
Walt Disney World
attraction of the same name.  The
Backlot
did present the entertaining
Muppet*Vision 3D
, but that was copied from
Walt Disney World
and was already ten years old–Guests who’d already seen it at
WDW
could understandably argue that
DCA
was just re-hashing entertainment that had already been successful somewhere else, playing it safe–and boring.

* * *

My brother and his wife visited
Disney California Adventure Park
when it opened.

If you
searched for a couple that perfectly embodied the
DCA
target audience, it would be difficult to find a better pair.  They’re successful young professionals with a decent amount of disposable income and they love
Disney
–my sister-in-law even works for the
Disney Company
.  At that time they had no children, and they loved to travel, to dine, and to enjoy entertainment.  They
wanted
to love
DCA
, and, living locally, if they did love it, they would return frequently to enjoy it and to spend plenty of dough, a win-win for them and for
Disney
.

Well, they
liked
DCA
, but they didn’t
love
it.  It felt small to them, as it did to many Guests, and the attractions seemed sparse and ordinary.  But what really struck my brother immediately was the absence of
Disney Characters
and
Disney
themes.

Where were
Mickey
,
Minnie
, and
Goofy
?  Where were the detailed, fantastic architectural and décor touches that told Guests that they were in a
Disney Theme Park
?  And where were all the kid-and-family friendly attractions?  If you don’t offer activities for kids and families, or
Disney
characters, or
Disney
themes, then have you actually crafted a
Disney Theme Park
?

It’s interesting that even couples without children missed the kid-friendly
elements that abound across the plaza at
Disneyland Park
.  This raised an important point:  Kid-friendly elements at
Disney theme parks
aren’t just for children and families; they’re for the kid in
all
of us, even singletons, old-timers, and childless couples!  We
all
want that special
Disney magic
.

I still remember my first visit
to
DCA
in March of 2006, for my niece’s seventh birthday.  I had a wonderful time in
Hollywood Pictures Backlot
(now
Hollywood Land
) and at
Paradise Pier
, but it was like having fun at
any
quality fun park–not having fun at a
Disney
park.

Entering the
DCA Main Turnstiles
was cognitively disorienting.  I knew that this was a
Disney Theme Park
and a
Disneyland
sibling, because I was told so.  But entering
Sunshine Plaza
I saw no pictures, signage, characters, or décor that showed this was a
Disney
park.

Both consciously and subconsciously my mind groped for an explanation
of the cognitive disconnection, leading to a general sensation that something was off.  This is a disorientation that many Guests felt during their first and subsequent visits to
DCA
from its
Opening Day
onward.

The small-scale
Golden Gate Bridge and the enormous, iconic metal sun sculpture at the plaza’s heart were impressive, as was the studio district of
Hollywood Pictures Backlot
and old-time
Paradise Pier
.  But not only did these lands lack an obvious connection to
Disney
, they didn’t have the imaginativeness of
Disneyland
, its extraordinary level of detail, or coherent storytelling.

Kids and their parents were particularly disappointed.  Not only were
Disney Characters
and
Disney
themes absent, there simply were almost no attractions or shows aimed at kids.

Guests griped. 
For
this
they’d paid the same entrance fee that
Disneyland Park
charged?

An additional problem: 
DCA
’s layout was less than optimal, a series of
cul-de-sacs
and broad loops that were confusing for first-time or infrequent Guests.  There wasn’t an easy and obvious flow to the lands and the connecting paths.  And with no in-park transportation, no equivalent of the
Disneyland Railroad
, few benches to rest on, and little shade, walking
DCA
was murder on the feet.

* * *

After a lot of research about Guests’ issues with
DCA
, I like my sister’s incisive analysis best.  An essential problem?  What can
Disney
possibly build next to
Disneyland Park
that’s going to be an equal or bigger draw than
Disneyland Park
itself?

There’s nothing wrong with the idea of a theme park dedicated to California
–but why was
Disney
the company to build it?  And why put it right next door to
Disneyland Park
? 
Any
park would suffer by comparison to
Disneyland
, and few Guests want to pay the same entrance fee for a second park as they pay for the far superior
Disneyland Park
.