DL Trip Report
December 19, 1998		    
       

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Before you go on...

1) If you haven't been to Disneyland recently, and are wondering what on earth I'm talking about: Disney's California Adventure is a $1.3 billion theme park being built right now in the old parking lot. They will also begin building Downtown Disney, a shopping and dining promenade like the one in Florida. Everything should be open in the year 2001.

2) Important Legal Stuff: With the exception of the panoramic picture, which was taken from the preview center, all the concept art below is Copyright The Walt Disney Company. I took photos of some of the concept art in the preview center and are posting them below. Keep in mind this is a not-for-profit site, and these photos are not for commercial use.

I took a walk through the DCA preview center during my trip. While I can't say I'm terribly excited about this park, it is BEAUTIFUL. The architecture and grounds look like they'll be great!

A view from above...


Above: A panoramic shot of DCA, shot from the observation platform next to the preview center. Grizzly Peak is the pile of dirt towards the right. I believe that big hole on the far right will become California Soarin'.

Here you go!

I'm just going to put up these photos and briefly describe them below each photo.


Left: The very cool looking Disney Animation building. Here you'll be able to get a preview of upcoming projects, and see how they do it!
Right: The Pacific Wharf area, reminicent of Monterey. I think it's dining and shopping only here. (!!)


Left: A photo of the model of Grizzly River Run, which seems to be a Disneyfied version of the old Intamin rapids rides. Besides the nice landscaping, I think the only thing that sets this apart from those 10 year old rides is a 30-degree drop while spinning.
Right: More concept art from this ride..


Left: This looks like the loading area for the Grizzly River Run.
Right: The Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, a kids play area. The big hollowed out log reminds me of the one at Magic Mountain.


Left: Two views of the Condor Flats area. You can see the entrance to California Soarin' on the top picture. You can also see the Grand Californian hotel in the background on the same photo.
Right: An interesting view of California Soarin'. This ride suspends riders over a huge Omnimax screen, giving you the sensation on flying. This sketch gives you an idea of how it may work.. IMHO, this is the only real innovative attraction at the whole park.

Above: The entrance to Paradise Pier, my least favorite part of the park. You can see the cheesy midway that Walt Disney avoided while designing Disneyland. On the right, you can see the California Screamin' roller coaster, which will have a LIM launch!

Below: The Sun Wheel (center) is a ferris wheel with a twist: as you can see, the cages can slide in and out of the wheel. On the right is the Orange Stinger, a cheesy swing ride popular at county fairs.

And finally....


Above: DCA's King Triton Carousel features sea animals instead of horses.

That's it for this time! I enjoy reading your feedback, so send some in! I don't have any trips back to Disneyland planned, but I will be at Walt Disney World in January!

menubar

All content and pictures are ©1998-1999 Jeff Keller and are for personal use ONLY!
If you want to reproduce these for any other use, permission from the author is required!