Plaza Gardens vs. Fantasy Faire

I was so upset when I found out that the Fantasy Faire was going to replace The Carnation Plaza Gardens, the historic musical venue that fit in perfectly with the Main Street, U.S.A. theme. Most turn-of-the-century towns boasted a bandstand where folks gathered to listen to music and to dance. This type of facility would have been the heart of any town's social life. Even at Disneyland, The Plaza Gardens were once a vibrant area, which sadly seemed to lose a bit of gas as the years went by. The food service counter was removed, the amount/quality of entertainment seemed to decrease, and other than the weekend swing dancing, this area seemed to be a very large "parking lot" for those weary from a day of walking through the park. That adds up to a very expensive place to sit for the bean counters!

Enter the Fantasy Faire. These are the most recent construction shots from my visit during the Tinker Bell Half Marathon weekend.



It is shaping up quite nicely, and I am sure that once it is done, it will be a perfectly lovely spot.



Still, I have so many regrets that the Fantasyland theme is spilling out past the borders of the Sleeping Beauty Castle. Over at DCA, The Blue Sky Cellar Preview Center for Imagineering has an exhibit with a model and the plans for Fantasy Faire.



When it comes to models and miniatures, I absolutely go nuts. It was so cool to see this scaled down version of what would inhabit this space.













There is a video looped throughout the day, with Imagineers discussing the project.



Pointing to the Herb Ryman map that "sold" the Disneyland concept to the banks, Imagineer Kim Irvine uses that as proof that Walt intended the boundaries of Fantasyland to extend beyond the castle. Even though it might seem plausible at first, if you look at the map, you'll notice that yes, the castle is surrounded by a wall. Not a row of buildings, but a wall that separates Fantasyland from the other lands.



One could deduce that each land was to have definitive boundaries so as to keep the theming inside of those boundaries. This is where my main objection to Fantasy Faire lies. It makes the distinction between Fantasyland and Main Street even more blurry; yet, one could also argue that the Snow White Wishing Well does the same thing, and I can tell you right now I don't want to give that area up! So what's a Disneyland admirer to do?



First, I think it's time for the Imagineers to stop trying so hard to tie the "Walt originally intended" phrase to each project. The fans who are stuck in the past and don't want any changes aren't going to believe it, and the newer fans who love change and newfangled attractions, well...they probably don't care what Walt would have done because that was over 60 years ago and times (and people) have definitely changed.

Looking at the plans and attempting to be positive, I actually found much to like. Apparently, there will be a few cool animatronic features on display, such as this Figaro (from "Pinocchio") and bird animation:



Clopin's Music Box appears to showcase an interesting little dancing man, in the same vein of the Buddy Ebsen animatronic that spawned the whole durn thing. Clopin is a character from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."



There will also be a slight nod to the former location in the crest medallion which bears the initials "CPG."



The Royal Hall is where guests will be able to greet the Princesses. Personally, I have always preferred the element of surprise; will I run into a favorite character/princess, and if so where and when? Toontown kind of killed that with the addition of Mickey's House. I find that meeting Mickey becomes a lot less special when you know exactly where and when to find him. Still, for those who have made a big sojourn to Anaheim for their little darling to meet Mickey Mouse, it's nice to know that your hard-earned money hasn't gone down the drain and that you have a guaranteed photo opp at your finger tips.



The Royal Theatre is the rethemed Plaza Gardens, and will feature two shows a day. One will be about "Beauty and the Beast," the other about "Tangled." Supposedly swing dancing will still be brought back here at night. Notice the sign for Maurice's Treats.



The day I was at Blue Sky, there was an Imagineer that had worked on the project standing nearby, answering questions. I remembered that I had seen a sign for a fictional restaurant in one of slides that bore a similar name. It turned out to be "Mauri's Lobster Dinners" at Fowler's Inn.



For the life of me, I couldn't remember where I had seen that image, and I asked the Imagineer if he knew who came up with the name for Maurice's Treats? He was extremely sheepish, and shyly admitted that it was his idea, as if I was going to burn him at the stake for doing so. I quickly let him know that wasn't my intention, but rather I was trying to figure out if the name "Maurice's" was inspired by a vintage sign at the park or by something else. He explained the name came from Belle's father in "Beauty and the Beast."

Naturally, there will be a retail opportunity, Fairy Tale Treasures.



That's it for now. What are you thoughts on the changeover?

See more vintage & current Blue Sky Cellar photos on my Blue Sky photo web page.

Current Park Update

At my most recent trip to the park, both sides seemed to be covered with construction walls. Although a little disheartening to see the park in that state, it does feel good to know that it is being taken care of refurbished. Over at DCA, it was pretty amazing to see the large body of water near Paradise Pier drained. I hadn’t realized how much real estate that was! The buzz for the World of Color water show is good, so I am looking forward to the final product on that one.



I also checked out the Blue Sky Cellar Preview Center for the first time. This is great that Disney has dedicated so much space to show guests what is coming down the pike; a very smart idea to generate interest and reminiscent of the showcase that used to be located in Town Square. There is quite a bit riding on the new DCA remodel; the City of Anaheim will be watching this closely, as they have not forgotten the bait-and-switch of the original concept. Here are a few shots of what you can see at Blue Sky:



Naturally, Walt is right at the entrance to lend a little authenticity and historic perspective to the project; I’m just waiting for the day when an audio-animatronic version of him is created just for this purpose.



Strangest to me was the fact that the most coverage seemed to focus on the Paradise Pier area. I have always felt that this was the weakest area of California Adventure. Simply re-theming it to Disney and changing the decor does not seem to be enough. I am hoping that there is some element of "wow" that will occur once this section is completed. In watching the video that breathlessly tells how the Orange Stinger will be transformed into a theme that focuses on the 1935 Mickey Mouse short, “The Band Concert,” I couldn’t help but feel that potentially I was being "marketed" into believing that this "new" attraction was more than it actually was. Again...I will do my best to reserve the judgments until it is open. Here are some photos of the model for the "new" Paradise Pier area and the "new" Boardwalk Games, which will now be themed to Disney/Pixar films:









Here’s the new entrance; gone are the letters that guests love to have their photo taken next to; what will happen to the beautiful tile murals is (apparently) still unknown:



Call me crazy (and you probably already have), but one of the things I’m most excited about is the Red Car Trolley that will greet guests at the entrance!





For a little perspective, here is an overall map of what the new DCA will look like:



I’m not a patient person, so having to wait for all these changes is difficult; still, having the preview center makes it much easier! Meanwhile, back at Disneyland...the area that was formerly the House of the Future then Alpine Gardens then Ariel’s Grotto was recently converted into Pixie Hollow. The first few times I attempted to photograph this area I gave up, as the line was at least an hour long. On this visit, I got there early and only had to wait about 30 minutes. So what’s this area about? With the recent video release of "Tinker Bell" (and a very good chance of more sequels), Disney took the opportunity to push Tink & her fairy friends with this meet and greet area.

On the plus side, this area is much more elaborately themed than its predecessor, picture here:



And the current photos:



The idea is that as you wind around the queue, you are supposed to get the feeling that you are shrinking to the size of Tink. There is lots to see in the queue, including various statues, tiny homes, and cool plantings.





My favorite part was the way that the Matterhorn was framed in at one point in the queue:



At the end of the line, you get to meet Tink & her fairy friends (the day I went was a slow one, so only Silvermist was there) and have your photo taken with them. I opted to take my own photo, thank you.





Is it worth the wait? For a child...yes. It’s akin to having your kid wait in line at a department store to see Santa. From what I observed, the cast members really took their time with the little girls to talk to them, and the guests seemed to be entranced. So...if you’re a parent with a small child, I would recommend this meet-and-greet. On the down side, although the area is beautifully landscaped, I did miss the King Triton fountain, which still has the water feature but no King.





Naturally, there’s a shopping area at the end of this "attraction." Well, that does it for today’s update. See more Disney California Adventure photos at my website.