California Adventure Had a Birthday?

I guess February 8 was the 23 year anniversary of the opening of Disney's California Adventure. A theme park disaster only "bested" by the Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris. The same year, Tokyo Disney Resort got the magnificent Tokyo Disneysea. That says a lot about the company's priorities, doesn't it? 

The public outcry for building a cheap and cheap looking park next to Walt Disney's personal masterpiece next door was heard- and mostly ignored for years. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Bugs Land made minimal impact. Finally, CEO Robert Iger admitted it was a "Brand withdrawl", and new plans were put into place to give it Disney quality.

When the new DCA opened, things looked promising. A sparkling new Buena Vista Street and an incredible Cars Land made things look as it the Imagineers were given the go ahead to dream big. The results brought in the crowds.

Then, things turned around, and the park became a dumping ground of mismatched changes. 

Nowadays, does anyone notice or care that Robert Iger no longer talks about "Brand withdrawal"? He should. It's happening every day at the company we all love.

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The history of DCA is fascinating! Explore it all through the concept art created for the park. Start here at Bargain Basement Imagineering. Then go onto Imagineering a New Dream- this is when things get a lot better! It's all part of a multi-part exploration of the park through the years.