Condor Flats Needs More Personality. Planes, Anyone?

An unusual new Disney animated film is nearly upon us (the first non-Pixar feature film set in a Pixar world), and--no surprise--the Planes merchandise has landed ahead of the movie to begin the ballyhoo.

As usual for the Cars franchise, the little collectible die-cast characters are slickly packaged, and I love the backdrop for Skipper (shown above), as it looks like a ready-made Imagineering pitch for an upgrade to DCA's airstrip-themed Condor Flats.

This area, of course, holds the gigantic hangar-shaped show building for Soarin', the only real reason anyone ventures into Condor Flats. This land needs another ride and a big boost in the personality department.

It's got an appealing theme, and I love the ramshackle airstrip buildings on the Grizzly Peak side.

Perhaps, however, it's time to get rid of the giant rocket jet mist-blaster (which is an eyesore even when it's working) and really add some more charm (and much more shade) to the whole zone. I know I'm not the first blogger to point out that this would be a fantastic photo-op location for meeting the cast of Planes.

Any chance of the film's mythical Propwash Junction coming to life here in any form depends, I'm sure, on the movie's box office take. With or without the Planes crew, however, DCA's Condor Flats needs to become a truly beautiful and memorable destination, and not just the place you hurry through on your way to Soarin'.

The West Coast Sorcerer Hat

Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World are both "blessed" by giant sorcerer hats, each paying a tribute to the most famous sequence from Walt Disney's Fantasia.

The stylized West Coast version isn't nearly as controversial as its larger Florida cousin, mainly because it doesn't block the view of a beloved landmark. In Anaheim, the hat merely serves as a whimsical entry marker for the Disneyland Hotel. It essentially lets guests know they're leaving Downtown Disney and entering the hotel grounds.

It's a cute piece of pop art, and it sparkles effectively at night. It doesn't, however, quite fit the 60's retro theming of the DL Hotel's recent remodeling. If and when it's replaced with a different sort of entry symbol, I doubt many guests will miss it much, as it's always felt like a temporary place holder. Then again, who'd have guessed the Florida hat would have stuck around as long as it has!

California Screamin's Single Rider Shortcut

DCA's California Screamin' is one of the park's most efficient crowd-movers. With the ability to run five trains on the track at once, the massive coaster's wait times remain reasonable even on the busiest days. If you're touring the park solo, however (or don't mind temporarily splitting your group), the Single Rider Entry can cut your wait to just a few minutes!

The Single Rider Entrance is to the left of the Standby Line. A cast member will direct you through to this area, which is actually the ride's unloading side. A moment later, you'll be directed to the right, where you'll take an elevator up to the queue's over-the-tracks bridge.

The Bridge to Paradise Pier

Of the two entry paths to Paradise Pier, the main bridge delivers the most dramatic and fun sense of traveling back in time to an old-fashioned boardwalk. As you pass under the welcome sign, the atmosphere invites you to slow down, enjoy the moment, and pause to watch the coaster launch a few screaming trainloads up its first peak.

Disneyland Resort, due to its compact size, doesn't get a lot of opportunities to play with wide open spaces. Paradise Pier is an exception: it's one of the few spots on property where guests get a good look at an attraction (in this case, California Screamin') from a distance as they approach.

Once considered by many to be the worst idea ever shoehorned into a Disney park, Paradise Pier has blossomed into a charming, relaxing and beautiful corner of the resort. With room still available for another big attraction or two, the Pier's future looks brighter than ever.

The Evil Queen is Watching You

Fantasyland isn't all flying elephants and glass slippers. There's a layer of darkness and shadow lurking about, and thank goodness; without it, the heroes and heroines would have nothing to test themselves against!

Above the entry  to Snow White's Scary Adventures, a pair of red curtains opens every minute or so as the Evil Queen glares out in contempt at the happy crowd below, as she's been doing since the land's remodeling in 1983.

She hates popcorn, mouse ears, California Girls and -- probably most of all -- the dozens of strollers parked on her property.

Two Great Parks So Very Close Together

We've got two photos here -- two angles from the same spot, with Disneyland to the left...

 ...and DCA to the right.

Disneyland Resort regulars have come to know this Esplanade as a wonderful transition zone where Monorails zip past and great Disney instrumental music plays nonstop.

For any park fans who have never been to Disneyland Resort (or at least not since DCA was built), this is a quick visual demonstration that, yes, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure really are that close to each other. It gives park-hopping new meaning; I'm sure someone in better shape than me could literally hop on one foot from one park to the other...or travel by pogo stick.

Now that DCA is finally a fantastic park, this area generates a unique, surreal atmopshere in the morning as guests line up at the opposing turnstyles, glancing over their shoulders and wishing they could somehow enter both parks simultaneously.

During the recent holiday season's busiest days, the lines for the two parks met in the middle.

Downtown Disney: Getting Better All the Time

In the "old days" before Downtown Disney, most family's Disneyland visits began with the tantalizing view of the main entry across the vast expanse of the parking lot (now the site of DCA).

I still miss the fun of approaching the park from the front, but I must admit that the new entry route through Downtown Disney is growing on me. It really is a beautiful and lively creation, and it actually provides a smooth transition from the real world to the fantasy realms of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.

And it definitely provides a more enjoyable walk at night than the old parking lot ever did.

VALENTINE SEASON FUN -- Be sure to check out This Happy Place Blog, a truly terrific site where Estelle Hallick is presenting the Disney Love Meter -- a series in which different writers present their thoughts on some classic Disney couples. I feel very honored to have been invited to contribute, and my look at Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet can be found there right now. I can't wait to see the rest of the entries!

The Happiest Plaque on Earth

To millions of Disneyland guests, this plaque (and its twin above the other entry tunnel) signals the official start of vacation. From this point onward, it's okay to act like a kid, talk to ghosts, pretend you can fly and hug a mouse.

If your family's anything like mine, you've passed underneath this sign while in the middle of an agreement (or friendly argument) about which ride to hit first. For my group, it's Space Mountain nine times out of ten.

Splash Mountain: A Tony Baxter Masterpiece

 

How many people have passed through the barn door entry to Splash Mountain since its 1989 opening? One thing's for certain: no one who enters this incredibly fun (and mega-popular) adventure leaves without some free Splash Mountain water as a souvenir.

I've always enjoyed the way the building provides a smooth transition from reality (well, Disneyland reality) into the ride's animated fantasy world. The queue winds through the convincingly real-looking barn setting while written quotes from the Br'er Rabbit tales foreshadow the adventure up ahead. Before guests know it, they've stepped from the barn into the "underground" rabbit burrow tunnel leading to the loading platform.

From that point on, it's a world of singing geese, evil plots, bees, laughing places and scary drops. The getting-soaked finale actually draws you more completely into the story; it's the price you pay for escaping the fox's lair!

Tony Baxter, the genius and magician behind Splash Mountian, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Star Tours, The Indiana Jones Adventure, Disneyland's New Fantasyland and much, much more recently announced that he's moving from full-time Imagineering to more of a consulting and mentoring role. Tony, thank you for all the great memories, fun, thrills and true magic you've given the world. You have worked wonders and delighted and inspired millions of people. You are amazing.

DCA Early Birds

Passholders and resort hotel guests wait patiently (sort of) about fifteen minutes before the DCA gates open for Extra Magic Hour -- an hour before the general public is allowed in.

You can bet about 95% of these folks are heading straight for Radiator Springs Racers or the RSR Fastpass machines.

I'm a park early bird, and always arrive at the gates well before opening to secure a spot in line for the rest of my group. I often wonder, while hiking through Downtown Disney at dawn, if I might be a bit too early--doomed to appear awkward standing alone at the gate. In all my years of visiting Disneyland Resort, however, I've never been the first to arrive. There's always somebody--usually many somebodies--ahead of me. We all stand waiting, chatting and watching the sun creep above the horizon as the crowd quickly grows bigger and louder.

That anticipation of waiting for the gates to open has actually become one of my favorite vacation traditions. I wouldn't dream of missing it!

Indiana Jones Fastpass

Today we take a look at the Fastpass waiting time display tower for the Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye -- and what a wild, goofball, ramshackle-looking construction it is. Disneyland's Adventureland is more or less themed around the idea of Western civilization sticking its nose into places and situations where it doesn't belong, and that goes double for the Indy ride's entry area.

What a gloriously intentional mess this thing is. By all rights, it should look awful, but its crazy angles and mismatched materials make it all the more fun to look at. It's also a great foreshadowing of the chaos that awaits ahead, and a clue that the archeological camp you're about to enter is not run by the best-funded or most well-organized explorers on Earth. Call me paranoid, but if you put your trust in those guys, there's a very good chance something is going to go horribly wrong...

Grizzly River's Bear With No Name

This gigantic bear, all geared up for white water escapades, silently guards the entry to Grizzly River Run at Disney California Adventure.

It's an impressive sculpture, and a puzzling one; considering all the time, effort and talent that went into its creation, it's odd that the bear has no name, no backstory (beyond his gear), no merchandising presence, and -- as a result -- little impact on guests' memories of DCA.

Then again, when DCA first opened, the 2001 powers-that-be aimed for the park to be as unlike Disneyland as possible, and that extended to a lack of Disney characters or traditional storytelling. Our grizzly friend here might have fallen victim to that somewhat pixie-dust-free approach to park design.

Today's DCA bursts with charm, personality and Disney/Pixar characters. I say it's time to give this wonderful statue a name, a backstory, and some more visibility as a character on the ride itself and on the park merchandise. He's a white-water-rafting grizzly bear in a Disney park! Someone in charge needs to let the Imagineers and product designers go wild with the concept.

The Pooh Effect: Why Disneyland Needs a New Audioanimatronic Show

Critter Country's dark ride, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, features one of Disneyland's best attraction entries. To long-time fans, the structure's also a bit heartbreaking, for this lovely covered bridge once led to the Country Bear Jamboree.

Walt Disney World lost its Mr. Toad ride to Pooh. Disneyland lost the Country Bears.

For many Disneyland fans, the decision to gut two technologically miraculous audioanimatronic theaters (Disneyland had two identical Country Bear theaters for double capacity) to build a C-ticket dark ride seemed -- to put it nicely -- short-sighted. And, no, hiding Max, Buff and Melvin in the ride as an Easter egg for fans didn't help things...well, okay, maybe it helped a little.

That's all DL history now, and nothing's going to bring the Country Bears back to Disneyland. Pooh's a cute dark ride with a (usually) very short line and a lovely inherited covered bridge.

Looking forward, however, I hope the powers-that-be at Disneyland address a certain issue: since the Bear's departure, the park completely lacks the magic of a large-scale audioanimatronic stage show. The Bears, Carousel of Progress and the later America Sings used to be a huge part of the Disneyland experience -- a special layer of wonderment that now only exists on a smaller scale in the excellent Enchanted Tiki Room and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.

Disneyland Resort could use a big new audioanimatronic show; it's the type of attraction that only Disney can pull off at that level of excellence, and younger west coast fans have never seen one.

And now I'm suddenly looking across the Esplanade toward Cars Land, and picturing how awesome it would be to have a musical automobile review with the Radiator Springs crew performing hits from the 50's and 60's....I'd be first in line.

After Hours: Pirates of the Caribbean

Here's one Disneyland tip to remember: enter Pirates of the Caribbean one minute before closing. You just might get a boat to yourself (and have empty boats ahead and behind). Twenty minutes later, you'll exit into a strangely deserted and wonderfully dark, quiet incarnation of New Orleans Square, Frontierland and Adventureland.

The simple, quiet fun of seeing Disneyland after closing, if only for a wonderful few minutes, makes staying past midnight worthwhile despite aching feet and heavy eyelids.

The entry to Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean is secretive and understated to begin with; after closing it's absolutely poker-faced. A first-timer could mistake the place for a shop or restaurant. Who would guess these simple doors lead to a moonlit bayou and the most epic-length theme park ride on Earth?

I think a lot of life-long Disney fans get hooked during quiet moments like this.

The Amazing Alternate Entrance to Cars Land

It's officially called Lost Wheel Arch, and visitors often describe this scene with one word: "Wow." Photos don't do justice to this alternate Cars Land entrance; the view is an absolute jaw-dropper in person. You feel as if you're about to enter an amazing  painted illustration -- but it's all really there, full of life and sound. The racers keep roaring over the hill in the distance. Real birds are making nests in the cliff faces.

The funny thing is, a lot of  people miss this view because of the archway's out-of-the-way location.

There are three entries to Cars Land. Nearly everyone arrives for the first time via the main Route 66 entrance leading guests straight through the heart of Radiator Springs.

The other two entries sit at each end of Cross Street, the road that intersects Route 66 underneath the famous blinking yellow light (and Filmore was right; every third blink is slower).

The hike from Bugs Land will lead you past a funny billboard from the finale of Cars 2 (yes, he's now Sir Tow Mater), but the Pacific Wharf entry offers the incredible view.

In a leftover design problem from DCA's quirky original layout, this spectacular entry to Cars Land is hidden from most guests. To find it once you've reached the Pacific Wharf area, you have to wind your way through the forest of outdoor dining tables between the Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill and the Lucky Fortune Cookery. Many folks, just yards away from discovering the stone archway, turn left and head back out to the Cars Land Main Entry, never knowing they're missing the greatest sight in all of Disney California Adventure.

If you arrive early in the morning to ride Radiator Springs Racers (highly recommended) you have to use the Main Entry, and that's a fantastic sight in itself. If, however, you arrive in DCA later in the day, I suggest heading down to the lesser-known Lost Wheel Arch path. Day or night, the view is one of the best thing's Disney's ever created.