The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (135 page)

Sam Andreas Shakes
(S) (Closed Autumn 2010)

[
FastView:
 
Defunct. Included here for historical interest.
]

Like its neighbor,
Bountiful Valley Farmers Market
,
Sam Andreas Shakes
was a casualty of the
Cars Land
development.  Guests paid from $3.00 to $4.50 each for mouth-wateringly delicious ice cream, and shakes so thick and creamy that your straw or spoon stood up in them.

The menu wa
s simplicity itself.  Guests chose among plain or chocolate-dipped ice cream cones or cups, or one of the inventive frappes. 
Sam Andreas Shakers
were super-thick vanilla ice-cream shakes with Guests’ choice of
Blueberry Crumble
,
Candy Coated Chocolates
,
Cookie’s n’ Cream Crumbles
, or
Date
flavor. 
After Shakes
were rich chocolate or vanilla shakes topped with whipped cream.  The
Shaker O’ Mud
was a milk shake densely layered with bits of chocolate cookie and crowned with gummy worms.

For Guests who
like ice cream or milk shakes and were on a vacation diets (that is, not worrying about calories) this shake shack was a must-stop during their visit. 
Sam Andreas Shakes
’ hours could be unpredictable, but it was typically open in the late morning and remained open until evening fell.

Though some locals miss
Sam Andreas Shakes
, with
Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop
now open at
Pacific Wharf
, there are even more delicious treats available in this region of the park.
Did You Know?
  “Sam Andreas” is a play on San Andreas, the name of the famous tectonic fault that runs the length of California.  The San Andreas Fault is 800 miles long and periodically rattles the landscape and the nerves of California’s residents.  Geologically speaking, a “fault” is a place where two vast plates of the earth meet and sometimes abrade each other.  That’s what causes earthquakes. 
Did You Also Know?
 
Sam Andreas Shakes
was one of the few places at either park to serve milk shakes. Now, the
Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Café
at
Buena Vista Street
serves up Starbucks blended coffee drinks, the
Taste Pilots’ Grill
serves whipped-cream smothered
Sound Barrier Shakes
, and the
Ghirardelli Soda Fountain
at
Pacific Wharf
is the last word in luxe milk shake concoctions. 
Kid’s Eye View: 
I loved the shakes!  They were so good, and usually the service was impeccable.

“a bug’s land” Character Meetings and Performers

Flik
and
Princess Atta
of
A Bug’s Life
are sometimes on hand in
DCA
for meet-and-greets.  Guests not only meet the famous ants, but can get their autographs and pose for photos with one or both of the insect duo.

In the early days of
“a bug’s land”
Guests could see live entertainment on the
Farmers Expo
stage.  Most notably, Guests were sometimes treated to the
Ugly Bug Ball
, a dance-a-palooza hosted by
Madame Butterfly
.  (The
Ugly Bug Ball
was actually a tune written by the endlessly talented
Sherman Brothers
for
Disney
’s 1963 live action film
Summer Magic
.)

Eventually t
he
Ugly Bug Ball
took its last bow, the
Farmers Expo
was sealed and converted to a
backstage
area, and now it’s sometimes as tough to find
Flik
and
Atta
as it is to be a bug.  But
Flik
and
Atta
do still make infrequent appearances.  If these heroic ants are “the bees knees” to your little ones, check the park
Times Guide
to see if
Flik
or
Atta
will be greeting Guests during your visit.

Guests who want to
be certain to see
Flik
should catch
It’s Tough to Be a Bug
, which
Flik
hosts, or watch
Flik
and
Princess Atta
in
DCA
’s
Pixar Play Parade
, which also features adorable caterpillar
Heimlich
, who, in the excitement of the parade, has rather gone to pieces!

Buena Vista Street

Buena Vista Street At-a-Glance

Amenities:
 
Buena Vista Bugle
,
Chamber of Commerce
,
First Aid
,
Lockers

Attractions:
 
Carthay Circle Theatre
,
Red Car Trolleys
,
Storytellers Statue

Gear:
 
Atwater Ink & Paint
,
Big Top Toys
,
Elias & Company Department Store
,
Julius Katz & Sons / Julius Katz Shoe & Watch Repair
,
Kingswell Camera Shop
,
Los Feliz Five & Dime
,
Oswald’s
,
Trolley Treats

Grub:
 
Carthay Circle Lounge and Restaurant
(L, D, S),
Clarabelle’s Hand-Scooped Ice Cream
(S),
Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Café
(B, L, D, S),
Mortimers Market
(S)

Buena Vista Street Introduction

Buena Vista Street
.  Little did the author–and many other Guests–suspect how beautiful this new land would be.  We knew
Buena Vista Street
would be an improvement on
Sunshine Plaza
, the kitschy land
Buena Vista Street
replaced.  We knew
Buena Vista Street
would be themed to 1920’s Los Angeles and Hollywood.  What we didn’t imagine was that after getting
Sunshine Plaza
so wrong, the
Imagineers
would get
Buena Vista Street
so very, very right.

Sunshine Plaza
was replaced because it was universally agreed that a land having virtually nothing to do with
Walt Disney
, or
Disney
in general, was
not
a good entrance land for a
Disney
park.

Buena Vista Street
promised more
Walt
and more
Disney
.  Guests visiting the park prior to June 2012 dutifully endured barricades, construction fencing, and meandering detours around the new land while it was being built.

Over the barricades,
Guests caught tantalizing glimpses of new rooflines, and heard a cacophony of hammers and drills and heavy construction equipment.  Heavy iron girders, the skeleton of a replica of the
Carthay Circle Theatre
, began to rise where the
Sun Sculpture
had stood.  It became clear that the
Imagineers
were not simply going to slap new facades on the old structures to create
Buena Vista Street
.  This was a major endeavor. 
Sunshine Plaza
had been razed.  Great things were afoot.

Everyone
was already eagerly anticipating the
Cars Land
grand opening of June 2012.  As the impressive scope of the
Buena Vista Street
project became clear, anticipation began to build for
Buena Vista Street
’s grand opening as well.

Along with many others,
I obtained tickets for
Annual Passholder Sneak Previews
of
Cars Land
and
Buena Vista Street
.  My main interest was
Cars Land
, but I was curious to see how extensively
Buena Vista Street
had been renovated.  I expected pretty exteriors, pleasant landscaping, and re-dressed interiors.

Early
in June 2012–the day of the first sneak preview—my sister and I arrived at the park quite early.  Guests attending the
Sneak Previews
were issued bright wrist bands color-coded to indicate the time of one’s event.  Our sneak preview event would begin at 6 pm.

Our plan
was to spend hours in the open portions of the park (
Condor Flats
,
Grizzly Peak
,
Paradise Pier
, etc.), and then attend the
Cars Land
preview at 6 pm, and then, finally, to swing briefly through
Buena Vista Street
before leaving
DCA
for the day.

Much to our surprise, the moment my sister and I pass
ed through the turnstiles into
DCA
, smiling Cast Members standing in front of the fence screening
Buena Vista Street
waved us over.

“You’re
Sneak Preview
Guests,” said the Cast Members, observing our wrist bands.  The CMs gestured to a simple plywood door in the wooden fence that screened
Buena Vista Street
from view.  “Come on in!”

We demu
rred, explaining we would be in the 6 pm preview group, many hours hence.

“
That’s OK,” said one of the CMs.  “Six pm is only for
Cars Land
.  You can visit
Buena Vista Street
all day.”

“All day?  Like,
right now
?”  I couldn’t quite take it in.  It seemed too good to be true.

“Sure.  Right now,”
said the cheerful CM.

He smile
d like a genie granting a wish, Santa giving a child a toy, the good witch
Glinda
of
Oz
telling
Dorothy
that she knew the way home all the time.  The CM pushed open the simple plywood door in the wooden fence ...

In my years of research and recreation at
Disneyland
, there have been many
magical
moments, but this was
the
Oz
moment.  This was stepping from a black-and-white, work-a-day world into a Technicolor jewel box of a dream.

Buena Vista Street
is a masterfully crafted little world.  It took my breath away.  When my sister and I stepped through the doorway into this astonishing little realm early on that June morning, we appeared to be the only Guests there.

Buena Vista Street
was a town.  It was a place.  It had dimension and depth.  Here was a service station, here a fountain, a flag pole, a trolley stop, and a trolley, and there was the main street, and its many shops and plate glass windows, and in the distance, through the overpass of a graceful bridge, there was a larger town square, and the pale stone tower of
Carthay Circle Theatre
.

I had thought
Buena Vista Street
would be a pretty collection of shops and eateries.  It was, instead, a
community
.  And, as with
Disneyland
’s
Main Street
, the moment you entered
Buena Vista Street
’s precincts, you felt at home.

* * *

Disney
has been creating gasp-inducing, “Welcome to
Oz
” moments for many decades now.  They are past masters in the art of astonishment.  (It is fitting indeed that
Disney
released
Oz:  The Great and Powerful
(March 8, 2013). 
Walt
was a wizard of sorts, and he hired wizards, and they all have that drive to greatness where spectacle and
magic
are concerned.)