The Disastrous History of Disney’s California Adventure - Part 1

Explore the troubled history of Disney’s California Adventure. From the Burbank Disney Park, its origins as Westcot, to the original abandoned plans for the Disneyland Result, and what led to one of Disney’s Worst Theme Parks.

Adi Goldstein - Mysterious Thoughts

Thanks to Davelandweb for digging up the amazingly detailed initial conceptual rendering of the original California Adventure.

INFORMATION SOURCES:

Yesterworld: The Disastrous History of Disney’s California Adventure - Part 1

VIDEO SOURCES:

“The Imagineering Story: The Midas touch”

“The Imagineering Story: Hit Or Miss”

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[tvforeverus]

I can’t think of a better way to spend an evening than quietly watching this new video from Yesterworld in a dark room all by myself!

[BacchaeOphanim]

Me: *Already well familiar with the disastrous history of Disney's California Adventure *
Also me: Oh boy, a video on the disastrous history of Disney's California Adventure! *click*

[blakeeeee]

Eisner's voice crack at 7:09 sums up his last 5 years as Disney CEO

[dletetdchanel]

Disney: “yo dawg i heard you like california so we put california in california so you can california while you california”

[Morbos]

I wonder if there was anyone ever that actually decided "I don't need to see the Golden Gate Bridge, Hollywood, Yosemite, etc. because I've already been to California Adventure"!

[MrLlamajockey]

It's really tragic how the death of Frank Wells seemed to cripple Eisner. Despite his faults, Eisner was creative in his early days and seemed to encourage that in the Imagineers. After the one-two punch of the EuroDisney rough start and Wells' death, he seemed to get lost. If Wells was still alive, I wonder how quickly Eisner would have bounced back.

[Mistardmuster]

as someone from California, DCA in its original form will always hold a special place in my heart. Grizzly river run and the Redwoods mockup are two of my favorite attractions, moreover than many at Disneyland. I love looking at photos of the old Condor Flats area and wish they had been able to keep the aspect of California flight test in the park though the aesthetic was definitely really boring.

[YesterworldEntertainment]

Hey All! Hope you enjoy the first part of this 2 part series exploring the History of California Adventure! This was initially going to be one longer episode, but I soon realized it'd have to be nearly 40 minutes to cover everything I wanted to get into...so I figured it worked better as 2 episodes that stand on their own. Part 1 deals with the Origins of DCA, the abandoned initial vision & why it was doomed to fail. Part 2 will pick up when Disney's California Adventure opened in 2001, and will be a deep dive into how the park appeared/could be experienced, because there's a shocking amount that is nowhere to be found today. We'll then cover Disney's "Oh crap we have a floundering theme park we gotta fix this!" quick fixes, and of course DCA's ultimate redemption.

This subject has been in the works for quite some time (I began writing it in last March believe it or not). And in a true testament to my obliviousness, when I started this up again a month or so ago I didn't even realize the episode would be coinciding with the parks 20th Anniversary! So while it seems planned, trust me when I say it's just a happy coincidence :) I hope you enjoy the episode, and look forward to Part 2 in the coming weeks!

Mark

[cupriferouscatalyst]

There's something ridiculous in hindsight about building a California-themed resort in California to bring in all the tourists who came to see the whole state. Imagine landing in, say, London, only to drive to a London-themed resort outside of London. Inside you can see a replica of the Big Ben, the London Eye, Greenwich Observatory, etc. There's actors playing the roles of typical London residents, overpriced fish n chips on every corner, and a boat ride you can go on called the Thames Experience. Meanwhile, the actual City of London is only a few hours away, but instead the expectation is that you spend your whole trip at the resort and then hop on a plane back home, thinking to yourself "wow, I really got to experience all the best London has to offer".

Edit: is that the Santa Barbara mission at 11:34?

[ExplorerDS]

Superstar Limo is undoubtedly the biggest skidmark on Disney theme park history. Even if it hadn't tanked, it would've become outdated in 5 years.

[ryanahr]

Every time I see DisneySea mentioned I wanna cry a little. I love all things ocean related (especially ocean based mythology) and this place is on my bucket list but I'd kinda like to have a version of it that doesn't require some poor translator having to babysit me or having to rely on a translator app and possibly miss things

[LaurenAnyone]

I’m still grateful I was able to see Cali Adventure in 2001 when I was a kid. I remember how dead it was and eerie walking along the deserted pathways with the beach boys playing in the background haha.

[SammEater]

I love how everything wrong with the parks at that era can be traced back to Eisner and EuroDisney. It is almost a running joke now.

[Dreaklock]

What a disgrace that Westcot never happened (the original grandiose idea for it). That looked amazing.

[lampcrow]

I believe a wise philosopher once called this park a "California-themed theme park located in the already California-themed California." I heed his words, just as I heed his words about powerful rats.

[jaquesspot]

I really will never forgive them for the Tractor Yard, 7 year old me was inconsolable upon arriving and it not being there.

[MatecaCorp]

Honestly, the original plans for DCA and the included resort revitalization were really not that bad. If they had just gone with that instead of the visibly lazy final version I think the project would have had a chance at success.

As a side note, I honestly I think that if Walt had lost Roy (Essentially his equivalent to Wells) and then Disneyland became a failure he would have spiraled too.

[Flashc]

This was an interesting video, and I can't help but think of this Grunkle Stan quote from the S1 Gravity Falls episode "The Time Traveler's Pig" after the end of the video: "There she is Mabel, the cheapest fair money can rent. I spared every expense."

[shinkoryu]

In and of itself a water park themed after Yosemite isn't an awful idea and might have been really cool if it was actually finished, but couched in the concept of "giving consumers all of the experiences of California so they don't actually have to go elsewhere in California, " it's just laughable.

"I want to go to a beautiful natural wonder and experience the raw majesty of nature. But this loud, bustling theme park where I have to stand in a line for two hours to actually do anything and the animals are all animatronic is just as good!" Said no one ever.

[Agent_]

"GUYS! LETS BUILD A CALIFORNIA THEME PARK IN CALIFORNIA!" - Some big brained individual