The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (138 page)

[
FastView:
  DCA
is more fun if you’re not lugging backpacks and jackets everywhere.  Store items here and open your locker as often as you need to during your visit.  Don’t lose the secret code!
]

The
Buena Vista Street Lockers
, sandwiched between
Buena Vista Street
’s rest rooms and
Kingswell Camera Shop
, are readily located thanks to the giant golden key hanging above the doors.

If you–or someone in your party–is lugging big bags, heavy jackets, and assorted unnecessary stuff, this is the place to to secure
those items so they won’t slow you down when you’re exploring the park.  Locker rental prices range from $7 to $15, depending on the size of the locker–and
you can reopen them as many times as you need to
, all day, until park closing.

Don’t be one of those forlorn souls dragging gargantuan backpacks and massive parkas through
DCA
while the sun blazes.  Think it’s going to get chilly later?  Great; stow your parka and gloves in the locker all day, and dash over to retrieve them when it
actually
gets cold.

Did you buy a ton of souvenirs?  Store them in your locker so they don’t slow you down while you enjoy
the park.

To rent a locker, follow
the touchscreen instructions.  When you rent a locker, you’ll receive a little ticket with your locker number and “secret code” on it.  You’re well-advised to secure this in a safe place, so you can retrieve your belongings once your visit ends.  If you are absent-minded or tend to lose things, you might want to entrust the tickets with an organized member of the party (the same holds with park tickets and
FastPasses
).

Although the lockers are one of the few
Buena Vista Street
interiors largely unchanged since the days of
Sunshine Plaza
(aside from the addition of framed Pacific Electric Railway maps), the
Buena Vista Street Lockers
’ façade is a lovely new example of Art Deco architecture. 
Did You Know?
  Note the windows above the locker entrances. 
Prospect Dance Studio
reads one. 
Walk-In & Waltz Out
reads another.  The signs tell a story:  There’s a (fictional) dance school above the lockers.  This is part of the period theming that gives
Buena Vista Street
its richly layered feeling of being an inhabited place.  There really
is
a complex called
Prospect Studios
in the
Los Feliz
area, at
4151 Prospect Avenue
. 
ABC
was based here for 50 years, and then moved many operations to
Disney
facilities in
Burbank
and
Glendale
. 
Disney
bought
ABC
in 1996.
ABC
hits filmed at
Prospect Studios
have included
General Hospital
and
Grey’s Anatomy
.
Did You Also Know?
  On the staircase of the
Sepulveda Building
, near the lockers and above the rest rooms, is a striking red sign for
Lessing Kamen and James Counselors At Law
.  Remember that everything on
Buena Vista Street
has meaning related to the origins of
Walt
and the
Disney
empire.  The
Disney
lawyers on the sign are listed in chronological order of importance, rather than alphabetically. 
Lessing
worked on early
Mickey
copyrights–a subject of great importance for
Walt
, after having lost
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
! 
Kamen
is famous for kick-starting, in the early 1930’s, the division that became the
Disney
merchandising behemoth. 
James
handled international issues (
Disney
merchandise and film distribution) beginning in the late 1930’s.

Buena Vista Street Attractions

Carthay Circle Theatre

[
FastView:
 
A must-stop for
Disney
fans even if you’re not dining.  Enjoy the glamour of this elegant replica, and the
Disney
photos and memorabilia presented here.
]

Unveiled during
DCA
’s billion-dollar renovation, the
Imagineers
’ concept renderings of the proposed
Carthay Circle Theatre
were ambitious, showing a replica of the original Carthay Circle Theatre, a vanished icon of golden-age Hollywood.  As the structure took shape, first the towering steel skeleton, later the lovely exterior that was completed by the end of 2011, it became clear that the resurrected theater would be glorious indeed.  In design and scale it closely resembles the real theater, which opened at 6316 San Vicente Boulevard in Hollywood in 1926.

It was
at the Carthay that
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
premiered to great acclaim in 1937.  That was one of the pinnacles of
Walt
’s career–one of the first Everests he conquered.

Prior to that, the
Carthay was where, in 1929,
Walt
unveiled the first
Disney
Silly Symphony
,
The Skeleton Dance
.  Although not as well-known today as a feature-length blockbuster like
Snow White
, the innovative
Skeleton Dance
short was a crucial milestone in
Disney
’s evolution.

Mickey Mouse
had become a smash hit in November of 1928, and promised to remain so for some time, but
Walt
had learned not to put all of the studio’s eggs in one basket.  The
Alice
series had run out of steam after over 50 installments. 
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
had been essentially purloined by
Walt
’s former associate
Charles Mintz
. 
Walt
would do his level best to keep
Mickey Mouse
fresh and to retain ownership of the instantly famous mouse, but he knew it was important that the studio also branch out in different directions and have more than
Mickey
to offer audiences.

The artistic and innovative
Silly Symphonies
, beginning with
The Skeleton Dance
, were an outlet for
Walt
’s restless creative spirit.  Through them he guided his animators toward increasingly sophisticated (though always energetic and entertaining) productions.

It was through
Silly Symphonies
that
Walt
and his team truly started to transform cartoons into an art form.  Although early
Silly Symphonies
like
The Skeleton Dance
baffled distributors and studio heads like Louis B. Mayer, they enchanted critics and audiences, and eventually paved the way for masterpieces like
Snow White
.

The
real Carthay Circle Theatre was one of the preeminent movie theaters of its day, and beyond
Disney
shorts and features, it hosted a legion of high-profile openings, including the west coast premiere of “Gone with the Wind.”  The gorgeous building, with its dreamlike, floodlit spire and hyperreal Mission-style architecture, is a perfect symbol of glamorous old Hollywood and of
Disney
’s monumental success.

Walt Disney
’s
Snow White
premiered at the original Carthay Circle Theatre in December of 1937, and the guest list included Hollywood luminaries like Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Paulette Goddard, Cary Grant, Ed Sullivan, and
Shirley Temple
,
just to name a few.

Snow White
’s premiere provided an early example of the
Disney
showmanship and imagination that would later become focused on creating
Disneyland
. 
Snow White
’s premiere was almost twenty years before
Disneyland
opened, but there were hints that
Walt
and his creative team would do well if they ever turned their hands to the construction of an immersive, live-action imagitopia.

They had t
wo blocks along the theater’s street converted into a replica of the
Dwarfs
’ forest domain, including the
Dwarfs
’ cottage, colorful yard-high mushrooms, and menacing anthropomorphic trees.  Female ushers dressed like
Snow White
.  Actors donned
Dwarf
costumes that, while primitive by today’s standards, were harbingers of future
Disney character
costumes.  On the whole, the spectacle of the
Snow White
premiere was an inkling of what
Walt
and his team would achieve once they expanded from the movie screen into the real world.

Flash forward to 201
3 and 2014.  Guests entering
Buena Vista Street
,
DCA
’s welcoming land, a sort of Los Angeles Main Street circa 1923, find their attention captivated by the
Carthay Circle Theatre
on the southeastern corner of
Buena Vista Street
’s central hub, the
Carthay Circle Plaza
.

The theater’s grand tower enchant
s and awes Guests.  Like the gleaming turrets of
Sleeping Beauty Castle
in
Disneyland
, the
Carthay
’s tower draws Guests deeper into the park.  Standing 89 feet high, the
Carthay Circle Theatre
is actually
taller
than
Sleeping Beauty Castle
.

Up close, the theater is stunning.  Every little details sweeps Guests back to old Hollywood–the painstakingly crafted tiles, the wrought
-iron work, the grand marquee.  Red velvet ropes add that final touch of VIP glamour.  A helpful Cast Member stationed at the main entrance can answer questions about the restaurant and lounge inside.

Beyond being beautiful, the theater conceals many little tributes to
Walt
and the
Disney Studios
.  Note the plaque outside the theater:
1901
. 
Walter Elias Disney
was born in 1901.  A
Hidden Mickey
is secreted in the terrazzo floor outside the theater entrance–and it will take sharp eyes to find it.  Perhaps a tad bit easier to find is another
Hidden Mickey
woven into the elaborate wrought iron work above the marquee.

The
Carthay Circle Theatre
’s lavish interior–custom woodwork, plush drapes–houses the
Carthay Circle Lounge and Restaurant
, a four-star dining and beverage venue with a classic Hollywood theme, a menu developed by
Napa Rose
Executive Chef
Andrew Sutton
, and a kitchen run by
Napa Rose
Chef Gloria Tae
.  The restaurant is managed by somellier
Joy Cushing
.

Also within the building, though not open to most Guests, is the
1901 Lounge
, an extension of
Disneyland
’s exclusive
Club 33
.  The opening of the
1901 Lounge
was among numerous
Club 33
policy changes for 2012.  (As mentioned above, 1901 is the year
Walt
was born.)  Members and their guests who have been privileged to visit the
1901 Lounge
report a serene atmosphere, delicious drinks (with fashionable
ice spheres
rather than ice cubes), decent tapas, outstandingly attentive service, and many, many
magical Disney
touches.

Treasured
Disney
photos, sketches, posters, and caricatures adorn the walls in the shuttered precincts of the elite
1901 Lounge
.  In front of the marble-topped bar, chair backs are emblazoned with the names of key
Disney
family members, (
Walt
and
Lillian
and
Roy
), and
Ub
for
Ub Iwerks
, a vital, pioneering member of the
Disney
animation team.