Paradise Pier

Image: Disney

Few fans were inspired by Paradise Pier, which – ostensibly – should've been the hallmark of California Adventure's opening day districts. The problems were plentiful, as the park's feeble attempt to recreate the state's modern boardwalks (like the Santa Monica Pier) came across as something more "Six Flags" than Disney. An entrance of metallic modern seashell towers invoked antique California, but with a modern twist. That same comparison to Disneyland's M.O. remains here – why would you and I pay big money to walk through a modern carnival pier of off-the-shelf rides?

Aspects of Paradise Pier did seem to recall classic California amusement parks, like the California Screamin' roller coaster acting as the land's backdrop (disguised as a wooden ride, but actually a state-of-the-art looping steel coaster with a launch), the Golden Zephyr (a classic bayside amusement) or the vintage, '70s-inspired brass face on the Sun Wheel.

Image: Disney

But other elements made it clear that – you guessed it – the time is now! Just take a look at the air-powered Maliboomer launch tower (nearly identical to a ride just a few miles away at Knott's Berry Farm), the classic yo-yo swings oddly placed into a neon, post-modern orange peel as if they were a roadside attraction, and the Mulholland Madness "wild mouse" steel coaster, zipping and zooming through its own steel lattice structure behind a giant cartoon map of Mulholland Drive, dutifully playing its assigned "role" of looking like a cheap carnival coaster (because... you know... it is). 

Altogether, Paradise Pier was a glowing neon amusement park of today, packed with flat stucco walls and striped circus awnings over games of skill and fast-food walk-ups.

With just a few simple, cosmetic changes, Paradise Pier is now set firmly at the turn of the century – residents of Main Street, U.S.A. might take a train to the coast to visit it! Neon lights were replaced with strung Edison bulbs and gas lamps glowing in the reflection of Paradise Bay. California Screamin's metallic, modern Mickey loop backdrop became an era-appropriate sunburst, and unfortunately for Beach Boys, the land's soundtrack swapped overnight to seaside strollin' ragtime music.

The bland, flat stucco exteriors of the land were replaced with Victorian facades of clapboard siding, including the elimination of a garish "Route 66" inspired area and its replacement with the elegant topiaries and arches of the Paradise Garden Grill area, featuring a pasta restaurant and a Mediterranean quick-service all centered around a bandstand for era-appropriate music.

As evidence of Disney's commitment to this land-wide re-theme, the troublesome Maliboomer launch tower was removed entirely. The park simply stronger with no ride there than with the Maliboomer. And then came the characters. Though Disney Parks fans tend to detest the oversaturation of Disney characters, one of the primary complaints aganst California Adventure was that it lacked the recognizable cast entirely. Brilliantly, Imagineers found ways to incorporate Disney's characters in the new Paradise Pier in period-appropriate ways.

Image: Disney

The Orange Stinger yo-yo swings were peeled. The ride was re-wrapped as the Silly Symphony Swings, a delightful homage to the 1935 Mickey short The Band Concert. Now, swirling guests would be caught-up in a wild vortex conducted by a 1930s Mickey Mouse atop the ride's canopy, all to the tune of the stirring "William Tell Overture" from the short.

The odd Sun Wheel with its modern brass face was similarly transformed into Mickey's Fun Wheel, adorned not just with the towering and iconic "pie-eyed" face of the classic character, but with an immense LED lighting package to shimmer in thousands of color variations and light shows at night. The Ferris wheel's cabins were wrapped in Victorian accents and stickered with other classic cartoon versions of Mickey's pals.

 

Similarly, the Mulholland Madness wild mouse coaster had its comic book, irreverent style removed. Now it’s themed to the 1940 short Goofy’s Glider and called Goofy’s Sky School, casting us as pilots-in-training with Goofy as our instructor. Though it's still inherently not a "Disney-quality" ride, at least it's more attractive to look at, and more thoughtfully presented.

The Games of the Boardwalk lost their eye-roll-inducing California puns and were instead themed after those same ultra-classic (sometimes forgotten) Disney characters – an obvious element of an early-1900s land.

Image: Loren Javier, Flickr (license)

Then came the brilliance of the land's new anchoring attraction, Toy Story Midway Mania! The interactive ride - cleverly and appropriately set among the boardwalk's midway games - allows guests to step into interactive classic carnival amusements like "Break-the-Plate" and "Ring-the-Bottle" alongside Toy Story characters... And in fitting with the land's new time period and style, it's housed in a gorgeous seaside ballroom, not unlike those that true 1800s boardwalks were often built around.

Across the Bay, an elegant building modeled after a 1910s style aquarium appeared where the Golden Dreams theater originally stood. Entered via a sea foam-colored recreation of the Palace of the Fine Arts, the aquarium building is (of course) home to The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, a classic dark ride based on the beloved film The Little Mermaid. The clever use of a gorgeous aquarium to house the ride is perhaps one of the finer architectural elements of Paradise Pier.

And of course, each night, the waters of Paradise Bay come alive with World of Color, the park’s Fantasmic-sized, character-packed nighttime extravaganza with includes hundreds of fountains, water screens, flamethrowers, misters, and fog. The emotional show is a must-see and on par with Disney’s best nighttime offerings.

Cars Land

The undisputed highlight of the park’s 2012 rebirth is the astounding Cars Land. Following in the "Wizaring World" model debuted just two years earlier in Florida, Cars Land is a to-scale recreation of Radiator Springs, the Route 66 town from the film. Based on the Disney and Pixar film series Cars, the unlikely source material built what must be one of the most impressively immersive themed land in any U.S. Disney Park... an absolute centerpiece of California Adventure's new identity.

Cars Land perfectly recreates the sleepy desert town of Radiator Springs from the film in surprisingly accurate scale. Every building from the film is there – you can eat at Flo’s V8 Café, step into Luigi’s Tires for the astounding, trackless, spinning Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters family ride, check out Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, and meet most every vehicle from the film live and in person.

However, the most impressive thing about Cars Land is not just the perfectly recreated town, but the massive, endless Cadillac Range that wraps around it. The towering peaks (as in the film, vaguely shaped like Cadillac tail fins) are perhaps the most stunning and picturesque backdrop in any park, as they soar a hundred feet into the distance.

The best way to see them is on the land’s E-ticket (and, by far, the now-signature ride of California Adventure), the Modern Marvel: Radiator Springs Racers, a high-energy dark ride / thrill ride combo borrowing the technology behind Epcot’s Test Track. The ride – which some say rivals Disneyland's undisputed Modern Marvel: Indiana Jones Adventure – Temple of the Forbidden Eye or Tokyo's Journey to the Center of the Earth for Disney's most impressive modern dark ride – is a must-see and Fastpass typically sells out within an hour or two after park opening. 

Putting it all together

Was California Adventure a perfect theme park? Of course not. But after its re-opening, it did represent something magnificent: a total rebirth; a complete transformation. Not just new rides and shows and restaurants, but a new core story; a new identity. California Adventure was flawed at its foundation, and Disney Imagineers tackled the problem head on. They dismantled the park’s stories and settings to their rivets and rebuilt a park that meets and even exceeds Disney's best. Few could’ve imagined that just a decade earlier.

California Adventure was a testament to what can happen when designers do it right. Compare the park's opening map in 2001 to its map after its rebirth, just 15 years later. The changes are practically innumerable. You'll see new rides and shows, but there's so much the map can't show: the new alleys and details and design elements that recast the park as a historic, reverent land of habitable stories. 

From the Carthay Circle Theater to Radiator Springs; the Hollywood Tower Hotel to World of Color; Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, Grizzly Peak Airfield, Pacific Wharf, Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular, and the Golden Vine Winery… Disney California Adventure was – truly – a new park with a new identity and a new spirit. No longer a spoof of California, the park was now a celebration of its history, legends, landscapes, food, car culture, entertainment, and industries.

But most importantly, it was a perfect companion and complement to Disneyland, crafted from the same concept: both parks depicted reverent, idealized, romanticized places that people yearn to see. Disney California Adventure deserved its spot across from Disneyland. And that is saying something.

So why, just a few years later, would Disney change course yet AGAIN? And why do some say that Disney is actively undoing the $1.2 billion it just spent to fix California Adventure?