The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (207 page)

Greetings From California

[
FastView:
 
Defunct.  Now
Los Feliz Five & Dime
,
Big Top Toys
, and
Elias & Co. 
This entry has been retained as it might be of interest to readers who want to learn about
DCA
history.
]

“Greetings From California!”  So read literally hundreds of thousands of postcards that visitors to California have sent back home to friends and family over the decades.  Since it first began to boom in the the mid-1800’s, thanks to the gold rush, and the late 1800’s, thanks to bold, if controversial, entrepreneurs and boosters like the Chandlers, California has always been marketed as a rich, lush paradise, an image that has drawn dreamers, workers, filmmakers, families, farmers, real estate speculators, veterans, and industrialists for well over a hundred years.

Even
people who don’t want to settle in California want to visit it, and they send postcards depicting gorgeous beaches and orange groves and movie palaces to their loved ones–“Wish you were here!”

Greetings From California
was
DCA
’s equivalent of the
Emporium
, a massive retail space subdivided into linked segments that specialized in particular merchandise, from
Disney
-themed hats to
Disney
pins
, clothing to candy.

The theme at
Greetings From California
was plenitude.  In every section, there was a wealth of choices.  Wanted a hat?  You stopped by the
Disney
lid section in the northern end of the store and chose among dozens and dozens of models, from
Ear Hats
to peaked caps to
Sorcerer Mickey
hats.

Want
ed a
Disney
pin
?  There was an almost bewildering selection of pins, lanyards, starter sets, and cases.  Wanted a
Disney
bracelet or keychain?  The racks and bins were overflowing.  There were oceans of
Disney
clothes for all ages and sizes.  There were
Disney
kitchen utensils and aprons and wine stoppers.  There were
Disney
pens, pencils, and art supplies for the budding animator in your group.  There were enough
Disney
books and DVDs to start a small library.

If your sweet tooth
was calling you, you visited the circular candy shop at the southern end of the shop and tried not to drool as you explored the 360 degrees of tall shelves bursting with boxes of
Disney
cookies and bags of pretzels, taffy, and non-pareils.  And, oh, yes, there was a massive glass candy counter in the center of the room offering fudge, toffee, and the like.

Greetings From California
served as the
Disney Photo
center at
DCA
.  You brought your
Disney PhotoPass
here to have prints made or to purchase a
Disney Photo CD
.  Or, if you were taking your own pictures, you dropped in if you needed more film or a disposable camera (this was before cell-phone cameras became ubiquitous).

Disneyphiles
and shopaholics could easily spend an hour browsing in this store, there was so much to see.  It was replaced by the
Los Feliz Five & Dime
,
Big Top Toys
, and
Elias & Co.
when
Buena Vista Street
opened in summer 2012. Aesthetically and thematically, the new shops are far superior.
Greetings From California
’s décor was hit or miss, some of it charmingly garish, like the candy shop, much of it simply loud, tacky, and out-of-place at a
Disney Theme Park
.

A
lthough the style has changed to a classier golden-days-of-L.A. style, the abundant wares are still available. 
Imagineer
renderings had hinted that
Elias& Co. Department Store
, named for
Walt
’s father, would be elegantly Art Deco. The reality surpasses the promise. 
Did You Know?
  Where do you go for photos and photo supplies on
Buena Vista Street
? 
Kingswell Camera Shop
, across the street from the
Los Feliz Five & Dime
.  And where do you go for candy?  Good old
Trolley Treats
, across from
Elias & Co.
Ghost Vision:
  A commenter on YouTube shared this ghost story about
Greetings
:  His/her father works at
DCA
, and has a coworker who claims to have seen the spirit of a little girl in
Greetings From California
.  Why would a small ghost linger in this spot? 
DCA
used to be the vast
Disneyland Parking Lot
.  As reported by Mark Pinsky in a September 15, 1985 article in
The Los Angeles Times
, a seven-year-old Torrance girl fell under a Santa Barbara tour bus in the parking lot on the previous day, Saturday, September 14.  This tragic occurrence lends credence to the commenter’s tale of a youthful spirit.  No word on whether the ghost has been spotted at the
Five & Dime
,
Big Top Toys
, or
Elias & Co.

Grub:

Baker’s Field Bakery
(L, D, S)

[
FastView:
 
Defunct.  Now
Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Café
.  Presented here as historical information.
]

Baker’s Field Bakery
was named for
Bakersfield
, one of the largest communities in California’s San Joaquin Valley.  There was a deeper significance to the name
Baker’s Field Bakery
than the obvious word play; the San Joaquin Valley is California’s leading agricultural region, and one of the bread baskets of the nation.  In San Joaquin County an impressive 80 percent of the farms are still owned by individuals or families, not corporations.

The
Baker’s Field Bakery
was one of the park’s tributes to California’s astounding agricultural production.  The bakery’s façade was one of
Sunshine Plaza
’s handsome
California Zephyr
train cars–the
Silver Platter
, to be precise–and many of those who migrated to California by train–or car, or boxcar, or on foot–were attracted to the richness of California’s soil, the promise that it would yield almost limitless seas of grain, vegetables, nuts, and fruits.  California continues to be an agricultural powerhouse in the nation and the world.

Inside, the
Baker’s Field Bakery
was decorated with brass rails, dark wood, display cases containing plates, silverware, menus, and tickets from actual
California Zephyr
trains, and bold, colorful murals celebrating California’s history.

Guests queue
d between the brass rails in the center of the floor.  It could be a bit confusing; some Guests drifted in and ambled right up to the broad counter, not understanding that they needed to take their place in line.  While you waited, you could study one of the large menu boards posted high above the long counter.

The extensive, spotlessly gleaming glass counters
were bursting with traditional
Disney
bakery fare like black-and-white-frosted
Mickey Cookies
, Nestlé Tollhouse Cookies, chewy chocolate brownies, and iced or chocolate-dunked crispy treats, but there was so much more.  People who love bread and baked treats (there are many in my family!) gravitated here as soon as they entered the park, especially for the specialty treats you wouldn’t find in every resort snack shop–the red velvet cupcakes, for example.  The health-conscious and those on a diet eschewed the rich food and bought an apple or
parfait
instead.  Guests paid between $1.60 and $5.00 for each treat.

The
Baker’s Field Bakery
also prepared a simple selection of salads and sandwiches for those who wanted an actual meal.  The
Cambria Classic Salad
was $7.49, the
Chicken Caesar Salad
$8.49.  The
Ham
,
Turkey
and
Roast Beef Sandwiches
sounded pricey at $7.99, but they were tasty and filling.  Kids could order a
Kid’s Turkey Wrap
or
PB&J
for only $5.99; carrots and a small beverage (juice, milk or water) were included with their meal, and so was a
fun straw
that changed color when you placed it in a cool liquid.

Like all good bakeries, the
Baker’s Field Bakery
was fragrant with the scent of coffee as well as pastries; it drew you in from outside on cold days.  Indeed, this was where you found the best selection of beverages at
DCA
.  Beside standard juice, milk, soda, and water, the
Baker’s Field Bakery
brewed up a wonderful selection of iced and hot coffees, including specialty drinks like the
Malibu Mocha Frappe
(which is now served at
Schmoozies
in
Hollywood Land
.  Whether you were craving a plain old cuppa joe, or an
Espresso
, or a more elaborate
Café Mocha
or Café
Latte
, or even a
Caramel Macchiato
, you found it here.  Just as at
Starbucks
, at the
Baker’s Field Bakery
you could order extra dashes of flavor for your caffeinated beverage at 49 cents a shot–how ironic that this location later became
Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Café
, an establishment that proudly serves
Starbucks
beverages, the first at
Disneyland
to do so!

Not a coffee drinker? 
That was OK.  Cocoa and hot cider were both on the menu, as well as a wide selection of teas that you wouldn’t find anywhere else at
DCA
.  Hot teas included
Darjeeling Namring
and
Strawberry Kiwi
, among many others, and if you were an iced tea aficionado you could choose between
Peach
or
Raspberry Ice Tea
.

Beverages ra
n a wide gamut price-wise, from $1.59 for a simple serving of milk up to $5.29 for the
Malibu Mocha Frappe
.  When you received your food and beverages, you chose one of the few indoor tables or stepped outside where there were a multitude of tables providing excellent views of
Sunshine Plaza
’s center.  There were shaded tables, and tables exposed to the sun, depending on your preference.  Any table was a great spot to gather with your group, chit-chat, sip and nosh, and maybe watch a parade go by.

I
was
very
interested to see how, and even if, the
Baker’s Field Bakery
would be incorporated into
Buena Vista Street
when it replaced
Sunshine Plaza
.  Posters hung around
DCA
in early 2011 hinted that it would become the
Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Café
.  The bakery was drastically enlarged, beautifully remodeled and re-themed, and improved upon the delicious menu.  The
Imagineers
did themselves, and
Walt
, proud. 
Did You Know?
  The most popular ice cream in Bakersfield is sold at
Dewars Ice Cream & Fine Candies
, a family-owned and operated shop that was profiled on Huell Howser’s PBS program “California’s Gold” in 2002.  (R.I.P. Huell; the beloved KCET personality passed away in January 2013.)  Known for their rich ice cream and tasty taffies and chews,
Dewars
has been in business since 1909 and operates out of a real old-fashioned soda fountain in Bakersfield. 
Dick Cook
, a high-level
Disney
exec, patronized
Dewars
frequently when he was a kid.  Years later
Cook
was instrumental in converting the defunct C.C. Brown ice cream parlor next door to the
Disney
-owned
El Capitan Theater
into the charming little
Disney’s Soda Fountain & Studio Store
.  What ice cream does the
Disney’s Soda Fountain
stock? 
Dewars
, naturally–Bakersfield’s best.  It wasn’t just ice cream that was imported from Bakersfield, it was tradition and know-how, too. 
Dewars
soda jerks trained Cast Members at
Disney’s Soda Fountain
so that they’d make milkshakes and sundaes the old-fashioned way.  The menu even features treats inspired by classic
Dewars
’ sundaes and shakes. 
Disney’s Soda Fountain & Studio Store
is located at 6834 Hollywood Boulevard, right next to
Disney
’s
El Capitan
. 
Dewars Ice Cream & Fine Candies
has two shops in Bakersfield at 1120 Eye Street (the original ice cream parlor) and 9530 Hageman Road #K. 
Kid’s Eye View:
  [The bakery] is OK.  It’s not great, it’s not bad.  It’s good.