Two DCA Soundtracks Surf onto iTunes

Another blast of Disney park music recently hit iTunes and Amazon MP3 -- this time in the form of a DCA time capsule duo! First up: Music From (the original) Disney's California Adventure!

 

Wanna relive the early days when DCA kind of sucked eggs -- yet still had some genuine gems to offer? This long out-of-print park CD has been digitally resurrected! Here, preserved for the ages, you'll find the fun score to the infamously awful Superstar Limo ride (the music deserved better), and a pair of DCA "welcome" songs that -- in a nutshell -- sum up everything icky about the park's original attempts at being "edgy." As if in penance, this album's priced to move at $7.99!

Despite the few flops, there are several fantastic tracks here, many of which made the jump to later park albums, such as the scores for Soarin', California Screamin' and Seasons of the Vine. Great extinct show pieces include the finales from Steps In Time and Lights, Camera, Chaos plus nine minutes of music from the unusual Eureka! parade.

Monsters, Inc. at DCA

Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue is an odd duck of a ride, but a fun experience. Its arrival at Disney California Adventure transformed the site of a short-lived, terrible, embarrassing opening day attraction (Superstar Limo) into a likable retelling of the Pixar film, Monster's, Inc.

As much a patch-job as an original attraction, the Monsters, Inc. dark ride inherited Superstar Limo's vehicles, track layout and flat cutout-style entry facade. Although the stylized front succeeds in helping guests find the ride in its tucked-back corner of DCA's Hollywood Land, I'm not a fan of the "temporary" vibe it creates. If future plans for this area of the park include keeping Monsters, Inc., I hope the Imagineers come up with a different approach for the exterior.

The logical transformation of the old limousines into Monstropolis taxi cabs resulted in a unique quirk for the resort: DCA and Disneyland each now have their own taxi-themed dark ride. Unlike Roger Rabbit's spinning, crazy whirl through a blacklight Toontown noir, however, the Monsters, Inc. dark ride is a slower, gentler journey through a fairly straightfoward narrative, following blue collar monsters Mike and Sulley as they try to return human toddler Boo to her bedroom closet's door. The on-ride "dangers" are very mild, and the film's scariest-looking character, Mr. Waternoose, isn't included at all.

As far as I know, it's also the only Disney dark ride that takes you through a factory restroom, resulting in a true "What the..." moment.