Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Trip Report, Pt. 1



Just a warning...this could be a long one. I'm still editing the 1,000 photos I took this weekend. Yikes! My trio of friends (aka the Gaggle of Gals) shacked up at the Grand California. I am still blown away by the beauty of this place whenever I see it. Just seeing the stained glass entry doors is enough to make me happy! There are so many cool things to view, that you can easily understand why I blew threw 1,000 photos. Did I mention that I took 1,000 photos?



As a great admirer of the Arts & Crafts style, this hotel is like dessert for me.



And the light fixtures...like manna from heaven.





Many hotels will spend a bundle on the lobby and common areas, but the rooms themselves are shortchanged; not so with the Grand Californian. The Arts & Crafts theme is tastefully done throughout the entire hotel.





One photo of the Gaggle of Gals and I was on my way!



As always, the Main Street Train Station was a welcoming site.



All aboard!



First up, I had to check out the revamped Penny Arcade & Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor. The Gibson Girl has been given more of an Art Nouveau styling. Looking lavishly detailed, I am sure many guests will love it.



Full of details (once again, the light fixtures!) that make the long waits much easier to take.



The charm of Disneyland's Main Street vs. its Orlando counterpart is that its vision of Main Street had a 1950's flair, vs. Orlando's 1970's gaudy version. With each remodel, Anaheim's Main Street seems to go more for the ornate and farther from the quaint. Just a matter of preference.





Some of the Penny Arcade machines can still be found, but with each remodel, there are more items to buy, and less items to marvel at.



This beautiful vintage Welte Band Organ is now a popcorn stand. Honestly, just how much money does Disney need? The Candy Palace's remodel has successfully crammed as much retail space as possible into what was once an attraction all by itself. The Penny Arcade has gotten the fuzzy end of the lollipop on this one. The worst part was the loss of seating at the Coke Corner. Just another semi-quiet spot that his bit the dust at the expense of squeezing out a few more dollars.

Before:



After:



Here are two 1960's photos of this very cool piece:





Mercifully, Esmeralda has survived.



I loved that they used the original Marc Davis Haunted Mansion stretching portrait images for the cards:



Strangely enough, I'd never noticed this detailing on the front of the machine.



Not so lucky was the Green Elephant. Sayonara—the pencil pushers need more money! Here is a shot from a few years back. So sorry that they chose to remove this great conversation-piece.



Next up: a trip to the Caribbean!

See more vintage & current Disneyland photos at my Disneyland website.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

What the heck?! The official Disney blog made such a big deal about how that orchestrion was being restored! Do you know if it plays, or is it just eye candy now?

Peace, love & Disneyland,

David

Gina said...

A friend of mine, who just recently came back from Disneyland, said that the Crystal Elephant was missing from the Gibson Girl eating area... I this true?

Daveland said...

David - It was playing the day I was there, but I do not believe guests can pick songs like they used to.

Gina - sadly, the green elephant is gone.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful photos! I especially love the ones of the Grand Californian. Gotta love those light fixtures ;) Looking forward to Pt. 2.

Connie Moreno said...

I agree with David. What the heck? And loss of seating at Coke Corner? Good grief.

K. Martinez said...

The Grand Californian looks absolutely beautiful. It's too bad about the Coke Corner losing seats. It's the one place I go to eat every visit and is great for people watching. Glad to see Esmerelda made it, but I'll miss the Green Elephant. Guess it's all about those dollars per square foot.

Anonymous said...

I have never been able to quite put my finger on what didn't really feel right about the new aesthetic of the Main Street changes until you pointed out how they are moving away from quaint and toward ornate/gaudy. It felt weird because while I appreciate all the effort and creative energy being put forth, I'm not entirely sure if it is going in the right direction. As you said though, it's a matter of preference.

Also, I truly hope they are planning to bring back the elephant elsewhere. It would be very unfortunate to lose that kind of detail.

TokyoMagic! said...

I'm hoping that popcorn display isn't attached to the band organ and can easily be moved away if they decide to. It looks horrible and yes, it just wreaks of greediness! I guess we should be thankful that it didn't disappear altogether. :-(