The 8 Steps That Led to Disney's First EPIC Fail in the US Theme Park Market

Friday, December 19, 2014 - 04:03

5. Disney had to figure out a new parking situation

Image: Disney

Because California Adventure would require Disneyland’s ample parking space, the Walt Disney Company obviously had to figure out something different for the massive amount of transportation that needed a place to go. They built a multi-story parking garage at the corner of Ball Road and West Street. Known as the “Mickey and Friends” parking structure, which can hold an impressive 10,000 vehicles.

6. California Adventure was initially targeted at adults

Image: HarshLight, Flickr (license)

The original plan was for California Adventure to be geared towards adults while Disneyland was primarily focused on kids, but that obviously didn’t stick. Like the majority of theme park fans I think that’s a good thing, since childlike wonder is such an important aspect of everything Disney. Obviously a lot of adults (like the majority of the people reading this article) have plenty to enjoy at the current parks, too.

7. Disney needed for hotels to prepare for the demand of California Adventure

Image: Disney

Construction of Disney California Adventure started in 1998, three years after Michael D. Eisner’s initial summit. When it did, the construction of California Adventure was joined with Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel, as well as renovations for the Disneyland Hotel and Disney Pacific Hotel.

8. Disney California Adventure drew a lot of criticism early on

Image: Loren Javier, Flickr (license)

California Adventure could hardly be deemed a success early on, especially according to attendees. Disney expected it to be jam-packed when it opened in February of 2001, but attendance was less than what they planned for. Reasons cited included poor reviews from early visitors, lack of focus in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot, a large number of off-the-shelf attractions and too many stores and restaurants compared to the amount of attractions. The biggest one, though, was what theme park fans predicted from the beginning: California Adventure didn’t have enough appeal for children, the core customers for most things Disney. The lack of goodwill would turn around over the next decade, thankfully, but like the first Anaheim park (read about Disneyland’s disastrous opening here) California Adventure had some serious issues it had to address. Hopefully I'll write more about that soon.

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