Disneyland CA Overhaul Announced
California Adventure Will Become More Fun for Children and Adults
Families taking Disneyland vacations have been disappointed with California Adventure. Disney plans to renovate it, putting in more fun rides and movie tie-ins.
Change is afoot at Disney! The LA Times reports today (Oct 17, 2007) that the much-maligned California Adventure part of the Disney theme park is going to be completely overhauled, at a price tag of some 1.1 billion dollars. A billion dollars! That's a lot of Mickey hats and funnel cakes.
Anyone who's cruised through the California Adventure side of Disneyland likely understands this decision: California Adventure is pretty boring, and hardly worth the price of entry. The plan is to totally gut and rehab the site, so that it will be divided into subsections like its more popular neighbor across the street. Disneyland Theme Park's layout is familiar and easy to navigate (with a map), after all - little kids play in Mickey's ToonTown, bigger kids flock to Frontierland, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, and (from experience) the Star Wars "ride." But California Adventure? Eh. There's a McDonalds in it, a pretty good Tower of Terror, and a place called "Corn Dog Castle." Classy! Tourists and families on vacation tend to pass through California Adventure once, but return again and again to the Disneyland Theme Park.
According to the LA Times, California Adventure will be restructured to mimic Disneyland's theme sections (such as the aforementioned ToonTown) and add more rides. New attractions will draw on Disney's popular Pixar animated movies like Toy Story and Monsters Inc. This builds on the several already existing "Bug's Life" features and attractions. The coming rides are planned to be much more fun and exciting as well - and rides are what the Disney theme parks do best. Replacing the "Route 66" type of California nostalgia is also a good idea; family vacations are (almost) all about the children, and children are too young to be nostalgic. Let them learn about the Gold Rush some other time.
Some Current California Adventure Attractions:
- Ariel's Disney Princess Celebration
- California Scream Cam
- Gone Hollywood
- Heimlich's Chew Chew Train
- It's Tough to be a Bug!
- King Triton's Carousel
- Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!
- MuppetVision 3D
- Playhouse Disney - Live on Stage!
- Princess Dot Puddle Park
- "The Magic of Brother Bear" Totem Ceremony
- Tuck and Roll's Drive'Em Buggies
Any family that has vacationed in Southern California knows that there is no shortage of fun amusement parks for children. Disneyland is, of course, the preeminent theme park in Southern California: It's a huge draw and the destination of choice for many, many tourists, with or without young children. With this massive overhaul, California Adventure could just be the Next Big Thing in the Disney family vacation itinerary.
Related, on Suite 101:
Best LA Amusement Parks for Kids
Family Friendly NYC Vacation Tips
 |
 |
 |
