|
Oh, So Fortunate Souls
By the way, that Little Mermaid ride is really shaping
up to be quite a spectacular show. While we explained why WDI hesitates to call
this an "E-Ticket" because of the modern thrill ride connotation that old term
now has, this Little Mermaid attraction for DCA has become a grand E Ticket
experience in the 1960's sense of the term. Bob Weis, the chief Imagineer
brought back to head the DCA makeover project, refers to Mermaid as "DCA's Small
World", and the comparison is very appropriate.
The ultra-detailed show building themed
to a grand seaside pavilion with attached store and water play area sets the
tone for what's inside, and the huge, lavish show sets will simply blow
people away. The animatronics are everywhere in this ride with one musical
production after another, and the Ariel figures in the show are said to be some
of the most sophisticated ever produced. Ariel's red hair alone is considered an
entirely separate animatronic, because it requires so much machinery and
computing power to get it to seemingly flow and float as she sits on a clamshell
and sings to passing tourists. (Remember, this attraction mostly takes place
"under the sea," so the imagery and special effects bring that to life.)
So for now, the current financial situation means
little for DCA's short term expansion and additions coming in 2010, and the hard
work of John Lasseter and company to secure the big financing over a year ago
puts the last two phases of the DCA makeover on stronger financial footing that
its sister parks back east. The other parks, on the other hand, still have some
work to do on getting things to pencil out in Burbank.
Preview Center Preview
Not coincidentally, the four components of "Phase
One" for DCA match up fairly well with the four phases planned for the new Blue
Sky Cellar preview center opening in two weeks in DCA. Spoiler Alert: For those who want to be
surprised when they walk in the old Seasons of the Vine theater,
you'll want to
skip ahead via this link. But for those wondering what attractions, concepts and artwork will
be on display for the first eight months, read on.
The preview center, now cleverly christened as the
Blue Sky Cellar, has actually been finished and ready for the public for almost
a month. As we told you in a September front page editor's note, the original opening
was pushed back by the marketing folks so as not to muddle the message
about the Celebration campaign for '09. Then Miley's drama-filled Sweet 16 birthday
party (full of ticketing headaches and frenzied tweens and their mothers
giving grief to the poor CM's who had to work the event) booted the center's debut back
another two weeks. But finally, by October 16th for annual
passholders and October 20th for the general public, people will be
able to head inside and see what's been sitting there since early September. And
what you'll find is actually one of the nicest and well-themed Disney preview
centers in recent history.
This blurb recently popped up in
the park map handouts
The mood and ambience of the original "barrel room"
has all been retained. But the look is now of a creative and high tech exhibit
plopped down in the middle of the wine country. After you pass through the big
doors and turn past the entryway, the space is split into two distinct levels.
On the upper level that used to be the theater seating, you will immediately be
drawn to a detailed model under glass of the completed makeover of Paradise
Pier. The cheap and modern minimalist decor approved by Paul Pressler and
Michael Eisner back in the
late 1990's is gone, and the ultra themed Victorian look of Midway Mania has
swept from one end of the pier to the other. Around the large Pier model are
some smaller models of architectural mock-ups of the remade midway games, with
explanations of how Imagineers use these types of models to fine tune the scale
and overall look of a facility during the design phase.
The back wall of this
space is dedicated to some artwork and concept sketches of the new Midway Mania
ride that opened in June. Although this attraction was budgeted and approved
back in 2005 by Matt Ouimet, the look and feel of the facility is so radically
different from the cheap DCA appearance that preceded it that WDI is lumping this ride in
with the "new" DCA offerings coming from the billion dollar makeover budget.
On
the west wall of this space where the faux barrels were once pointed out by Mondavi employees before the little grape movie began, interactive touch screens
have been incorporated into the barrels that offer trivia games and some
historical perspective on Walt and his thoughts on theme park design. The wine
gags flow freely in this space, and visitors will get a kick out of reading the
relabeled barrels that are actually a subtle jab at the original DCA practice of
simply filling the park with puns and word games instead of quality attractions.
On the opposite wall of this upper level the artwork
and sketches are dedicated to the changes coming to the northern edge of the DCA
lagoon, with the new viewing amphitheater to be built to accommodate 9,000
people for World of Color shows. The amphitheater and advanced concepts for the
show itself are rendered in sketches and copies of original blueprints.
The former wine cellar, now
preview center
As you
work your way down the ramp to the lower level, near where the big barn doors
used to open up to the movie screen, the walls are full of sketches for the
remade Route 66 area of the park and the plans to repurpose some of the existing
carnival rides with better themes and quality upgrades. The opposite corner is a
space dedicated to the new Red Car trolley that will take DCA visitors from the
newly rebuilt main entrance, through the Hollywood section, and on to the edge
of the Cars Land expansion area. There isn't anything else related to the main
entrance makeover, only the Red Car is displayed in model and sketch form for
this first phase of the exhibit.
Now that you've made it down to the lower level of the
cellar, the small stage and movie screen are nowhere to be found. Instead, a
smaller and more elaborate exhibit space is found that opens up an additional
fifteen
feet of space on the northern end of the building. This area is carpeted and
decorated like a fancy Napa Valley wine tasting room, complete with upholstered
furniture and sturdy wooden cocktail tables.
Off to the left is a rather
touching exhibit about Walt Disney and his love for the art of Imagineering. Old
pictures of Walt tromping through new Disneyland attractions in the 1960's,
complete with hard hat, are set besides newer pictures of the current crop of Imagineers working on DCA. On the opposite wall is a large and dramatically
backlit map of DCA circa 2012. This new map has the look and feel of the beloved
Disneyland park maps of the 1960's, and judging by the map the park we love to
hate already looks much better by 2012.
The northern wall of the lower level, flanked by
antique wine cabinets and dark velvet curtains, is dominated by a huge 100 inch
flat screen TV. The TV will be continually playing a 7 minute film that takes
you through the design process and thinking behind DCA's billion dollar makeover
plan. The film obviously glosses over the struggles and corporate drama that was
all caused by the cheap park approved by executives who have long since "left" the company, but it does a pretty good job of laying out the
challenges faced by DCA and where the current team of designers want to take it.
Walt Disney Co. executives
speak during a news conference, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007 in
Glendale, Calif., where they announced plans to overhaul the
California Adventure theme park. Shown, from left, are Jay
Rasulo, Chairman, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts; Bob Iger,
Chief Executive Officer, Walt Disney Company and Bob Weis,
Executive Vice President, Walt Disney Imagineering. In
foreground is a model of the proposed $1 billion-plus
project. Photo/Caption: Nick
Ut/Associated Press
As is to be expected, there are the obligatory shots of Bob Iger and Jay Rasulo on
staged visits to
the Imagineering model shop in Glendale, where they inspect models and future DCA concepts for the camera with
pasted-on expressions of excitement. Rasulo, who
notoriously has very little experience or interest in the theme parks and
attractions he oversees, looks the most uncomfortable in his filmed segments.
That this film is played directly next to pictures of Walt excitedly looking
around Disneyland construction sites in a hard hat only makes the current
suits look even more out of touch when its their turn to mug for the camera on
their rare field trip down the freeway to Glendale. But we shouldn't be too hard
on Iger, because he at least has given John Lasseter free reign to remake DCA
into something far more worthy of its status as next door neighbor to
Disneyland.
The Blue Sky Cellar will be staffed with Guest
Relations tour guides who have been specially schooled with scripts and talking
points by WDI. But you can bet there will be plenty of Imagineers quietly
milling about the place in those first few weeks, eavesdropping on the comments
coming from the park visitors as they get their first look at the goodies. This
current exhibit, which really won't be too informative for the hard core Disney
fans who pick message boards clean for the latest rumor, will run through the
spring of '09. Then the center will close for a few weeks, the current exhibit
will be cleared out on the upper level, replaced by a new exhibit focused on the new
main entrance and further refinements to Paradise Pier, which should open by next June.
The center is also planned to be used for company PR events, and you can bet
some of the first folks entertained there this fall will be the local Anaheim
and county politicians. While TDA tries not crow over their victory, they are
genuinely working on healing the rift with Anaheim caused by the Anaheim city
council's now infamous relationship with a failed housing developer last year.
The barrel room theme and antique wine country furniture is more than just
décor, and the big cocktail tables will be full of real glassware for these
types of schmoozy events. No word yet on whether or not the Guest Relations
hostess staffing the door will let you in with a glass of wine from the bar
across the patio, if you want to recreate the corporate cocktail party scene
yourself.
|
