The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (208 page)

Bur-r-r Bank Ice Cream
(S)

[
FastView:
 
Defunct.  Now
Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Café
.  Presented as a part of
DCA
history.
]

Bur-r-r Bank Ice Cream
occupied one of the three streamlined
California Zephyr
train cars along the northwest edge of
Sunshine Plaza
.  The ice cream shop was housed in the orange and silver engine (train cab 804-A, donated on August 6, 2011 to the Western Pacific Railroad Museum to make way for
Buena Vista Street
) just west of the
Baker’s Field Bakery
.  Although the ice cream parlor and bakery had separate entrances, their interiors were connected.  So if some people in your party were hankering for coffee and baked goods, and some were craving ice cream, it was easy enough to split up to order and then gather again, when every had their food and drinks, at one of the tables inside or outside.

With its neighbor the
Baker’s Field Bakery
,
Bur-r-r Bank Ice Cream
presented one of the most dangerous challenges to Guests’ diets in the park.  Sure, there was usually a churro stand and popcorn stand in the center of
Sunshine Plaza
, but popcorn is fairly low-cal, and one can steel oneself to rush past the churro cart.  But the silver gleam of the
California Zephyr
cars, the warm aroma of coffee and pastries and the sweet scent of vanilla drifting from the bakery and ice cream parlor–those were very difficult to resist!

The odd spelling (“Bur-r-r”!) wa
s meant to suggest a shiver, as from the delightful chill of ice cream.  The reference, of course, is to
Burbank
, the Southern California city where
Walt
and
Roy
built their most elaborate studio complex in the late 1930’s, having obtained funds based on the phenomenal success of
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
. 
The Disney Studio
in
Burbank
, on
Buena Vista Street
, is still the
Disney Company
headquarters.  My sister-in-law has worked there in the legal and later licensing divisions.  By all accounts it’s a lovely facility, and always has been since employees moved there in 1940;
Walt
built it with employee comfort in mind.

Whereas one c
ould have considered the
Baker’s Field Bakery
, with its rich atmosphere and plenitude of treats, as a
DCA
counterpart to
Disneyland
’s
Blue Ribbon Bakery
,
Bur-r-r Bank Ice
Cream
was in no way a
DCA
version of
Disneyland
’s
Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor
.  The
Gibson Girl
is spacious and elaborately themed in a way that
Bur-r-r Bank Ice Cream
never attempted.  The
California Zephyr
touches in the décor were nice, especially the four clocks presenting the current time in Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, and New York, but the environment never fully immersed you in another time and place to the degree achieved by the
Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor
.

The menu wa
s simple.  Beverages were limited; you could purchase juice, milk, or soda for between $1.59 and $4.19; if you wanted anything else, you headed next door for the far more extensive beverage selection at the
Baker’s Field Bakery
.

Bur-r-r Bank Ice Cream
served up single or double scoops in regular, waffle or dipped waffle cones, with the price creeping up based on how fancy your cone was.  To summarize:

There were nine flavors of ice cream, seven different toppings, and three types of dipped waffle cone.  Toppings were 89 cents each.  It was up to you–and your budget–what you ordered and how you blended and customized it for the perfect combination:

Bur-r-r Bank Ice Cream
also served four different ice cream sundaes:  The
Mint Sundae
($5.49), the
Mocha Sundae
($5.49), the
Strawberry Station
($5.49), and the
Chocolate Chip Cookie Hot Fudge Sundae
($5.79).  In addition to its special features, each sundae always included two scoops of ice cream, whipped cream, and a cherry.

Once you ha
d your treats, you sought inside seating next door at the
Baker’s Field Bakery
, or there were plenty of tables just outside near the heart of
Sunshine Plaza
.

I had
hoped that when this district was converted to
Buena Vista Street
, a sleek, classy Art Deco land reminiscent of early Los Angeles, and
Clarabelle’s Hand-Scooped Ice Cream
was built, that the new ice cream parlor would be designed in the vintage style of C.C. Brown’s, the landmark Hollywood ice cream parlor that opened its doors in 1929.  After C.C. Brown’s went out of business,
Disney
, which owns the
El Capitan Theater
next door, revived and refurbished the ice cream parlor and opened it as
Disney’s Soda Fountain & Studio Store
. Well,
Clarabelle’s
is
not
a vintage soda fountain, but it
is
lovely and old-fashioned, and serves
Dreyer’s
ice cream, and the most delicious, hand-crafted ice cream bars I’ve ever tasted.  So, I have no complaints.  Like many Guests, I do not miss
Bur-r-r Bank Ice Cream
.
Did You Know:
  When
Walt
designed his house in
Holmby Hills
, he didn’t want anything too fancy or anything big enough to require servants.  The only real extravagance he indulged in was installing a working soda fountain for his two daughters,
Diane
and
Sharon
, and it was a luxury meant not for them alone but as something they could use to entertain their friends. 
Kid’s Eye View:
  I love their ice cream, but sometimes their service is whack.

Sunshine Plaza Character Meetings and Performers

When
DCA
first opened, it lacked
Disney
characters, but Guest outcry was so fierce that that situation was quickly remedied.  Soon you could frequently find
Mickey
or
Minnie
in
Sunshine Plaza
to greet Guests, especially during special times of the year like Halloween, and during the holidays you might even have seen
Santa Claus
there, albeit in Cal-approved surfer garb.

For the most part,
Disney
characters didn’t hang around
Sunshine Plaza
unless there was a special event or holiday being celebrated, but
Sunshine Plaza
was nonetheless one of the best places to see characters.  Why?  Because it was the first or last stop for
DCA
parades.

There wa
s a large gate just south of the
Disney Playhouse – Live on Stage!
building, a gate that opened periodically to allow parades in or out, depending on where they originated.  This gate masked one of
DCA
’s extensive
backstage
maintenance, vehicle, and Cast areas.  There was enough room in the area beyond the gate to accommodate dozens of performers and massive floats.

Parades
often paused at the center of
Sunshine Plaza
, presenting a show to the Guests that often ringed the area in thick crowds, sitting on the ground and standing many-deep to catch a glimpse of the entertainment.

Over the years,
DCA
Guests have been able to see dozens of
classic
Disney
characters
like
Peter Pan
and
Cinderella
in
Disney’s Electrical Parade
, and newer favorites like
Lightning McQueen
,
Buzz Lightyear
, and
Mr. Incredible
,
characters from the Disney-Pixar canon
in
Disney’s Pixar Play Parade
.  When they were in vogue,
DCA
’s popular
High School Musical
parades treated Guests to the songs of the phenomenally popular
HSM
movies, although the talented young performers who sang the songs and engaged the Guests in interactive dances didn’t actually play the iconic roles of
Troy
,
Gabriella
,
Ryan
,
or
Sharpay
.

Glow Fest
, launched as part of the resort’s
Summer Nightastic!
on June 11, 2010, introduced Guests to world-music performers and dancers, and in winter 2010-2011,
ElecTRONica
treated Guests to hip electronic music, DJ’s and dancers.

As
part of
DCA
’s extensive overhaul, parade routes were reconfigured, and parades were reconsidered, some even retired. 
Buena Vista Street
’s central plaza is now the site of marvelous live entertainment by
Five & Dime
and the
Red Car News Boys
.

Parkwide Attractions

Parkwide Attractions:
Disney’s Electrical Parade
(RIP 2010)
,
High School Musical 3:  Senior Year:  Right Here!  Right Now!
(RIP 2010)
,
Pixar Play Parade

Disney’s Electrical Parade
  (Discontinued at
DCA
.  Moved to
WDW
in early summer 2010.)

[
FastView:
 
Defunct at
DCA
.  For years, this was an important
DCA
attraction.
]

On July 3, 2001,
Disney’s Electrical Parade
made its
DCA
debut.  For many Guests it was, in the famous phrase repeated by baseball great Yogi Berra, “déjà vu all over again.”  The
Electrical Parade
, like the proverbial cat,
has had many lives in many
Disney Theme Parks
, and some Guests have seen it in different decades at different parks around the globe.