Exit Sutton

When Disney California Adventure, debuted, The Napa Rose restaurant was one of the few things that I was impressed with. It was different from anything else offered at the Disneyland Resort and a huge step above in both the culinary and customer service aspects of dining.



Andrew Sutton joined Disney in 2000 as the chef who oversaw the culinary portion of Napa Rose. Prior to joining Disney, Sutton spent seven years as executive chef at the Ivy Award-winning Auberge du Soleil in Napa Valley and five years with Dean Fearing at the five-star, five-diamond Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, Texas. The December 2006 image below shows Sutton at work:



Dining at Napa Rose’s Chef's table in 2013, Sutton consulted us about what we liked before preparing our meal.



I always enjoyed Napa Rose; the food was delicious, the plates were pieces of art, and the service was impeccable.





The one difference I noticed between Napa Rose and other comparable high-caliber restaurants was that you definitely got the feeling that they didn’t want you to linger. Courses came out quickly like clockwork and tables were turned over just as fast. Eat, enjoy, and leave.



Sutton’s success with Napa made him the culinary golden boy of the Disney Corporation. Soon after, he was given the Carthay Circle restaurant at Disney California Adventure. The theme of that restaurant was old Hollywood, to align with the newly added Buena Vista Street.



The food, however, looked like it had just come out of the Napa Rose kitchen. The customer service didn’t quite port over as well. It seemed like they were trying to mimic professional wait-staff but couldn’t quite pull it off.



Looking for ways to maximize profits in other areas of the Disneyland Resort, Club 33 received a makeover and Sutton was also part of that package. Bye-bye Chef Marcel, hello Napa Rose cuisine.



Club 33 or Napa Rose? Hard to tell. Long-time Club 33 members were not happy that the more traditional and hearty fare was replaced with larger plates and smaller portions. Sutton’s “fancy” is not really what the typical Disney guest is looking for, let alone familiar with.



Sutton was also tasked with the 2017 21 Royal private dining venture, which charged nearly 20K for a multicourse meal. Nope, never dined there, but I could make a very educated guess about what the plates looked like.

Did I like Sutton’s culinary choices? Heck yes. However, having the same chef for four different restaurants is the dining equivalent of selling Disney plush in every store at the resort. You remove the diversity of experiencing culinary choices that resonate with the environment you are experiencing. While the reasons for Sutton’s “departure” have not been made public, it isn’t difficult to surmise what occurred. The announcement came shortly after a massive restructure of the Disneyland Resort. I would guess that a mix of economics and a desire for new trends played into that decision.

See more Napa Rose restaurant photos at my main website.

“B” is for “Buena Vista Street”

When Disney California Adventure opened in 2001, the entrance area was known as the Sunshine Plaza. Gigantic letters spelled out the name of the state for the guests walking towards the turnstiles of Disneyland’s neighbor. Excitement ran high when the 55-acre theme park was added to the Disney portfolio in Anaheim. It didn’t take long for guests to figure out that this place was not created with the thought, care, and creativity that made Disneyland such an enduring favorite. The letters out front should have been C-H-E-A-P.



I drove two hours for this? I could have gone to the nearby mall.



Ooh…neon vomit. So charming!



The one appealing portion to me was the California Zephyr car which was repurposed as retail and (very basic) dining opportunities. Along with the retro styling of the info booth (patterned after the Union Stations of yore), there was a slight (VERY slight) feeling that you’d entered the past.



Once you saw the retail/food  offerings, any illusion you might have experienced was quickly shattered.

The city of Anaheim was not happy about the underperforming Park, which did not meet the tourism revenue projections that Disney had promised. In order to repair potential repercussions (and yes, some nasty ones were on the horizon for Disney), DCA went under a major overhaul less than ten years after its initial opening. This September 2011 photo shows a very happy site: the destruction of the Sunshine Plaza.



The new entrance, modeled after the long-gone Los Angeles Pan Pacific Auditorium gave an indication that Disney was going with a retro theme for their entry area, versus the Tacky Tourist one that had been initially adopted.



The reason this retro theme is so appealing is that it offers guests something they cannot experience: the past. DCA’s initial bomb can be chalked up to this: who would want to pay to see a cheaply done version of California when for the same amount of money, you could visit any one of the cities poorly represented all within driving distance? EPCOT succeeded because a plane trip across the ocean is not attainable for all; thus, being able to sample flavors and shopping from those countries within walking distance is appealing, even if they have been Disney-fied and boiled down to their lowest common denominators. 



I was immediately captivated walking down the newly opened Buena Vista Street (named after the road in Burbank to which Disney moved the Company in 1937) at DCA when it was unveiled in June 15, 2012. Yes, I was there!



The trolley at the entrance added an element of movement that was missing before. It shuttled guests from the entrance to the Hollywood Tower of Terror Hotel (remember that attraction?).



Appropriately themed 1930’s characters like Officer Blue were found here.

The architecture of Buena Vista Street was inspired by the Los Angeles/Hollywood area of the 1920’s/1930’s. You know, the buildings that get torn down to be replaced by mixed use high rises and parking lots.



The main retail store, Elias & Company looked like the Department Stores of yore:



Other retail stores mimicked the shops one would have found back in the day with appropriately themed retro window displays.





A cool vintage car at a gas station…oh wait, it’s actually a place to buy plush.



The center hub has this beautiful fountain; a great place for meeting the friends/family…



and a statue of Walt and Mickey, as they might have looked when they first arrived in California. A nice play on the Partners Statue at Disneyland’s Central Plaza.



The showstopper of the new area was the scaled recreation of the Carthay Circle Theatre (yup, demolished years ago for a parking lot) that once held the premiere of “Snow White” in 1937. For DCA, it was a restaurant and lounge.





The interior was lavish:



…and the food delish!



For the report card, was it an improvement? Definitely! And yet, a large portion of the remodel seemed just as hollow as its predecessor. Once you walked through the doors of these impressively detailed historic façades, the same bland food, beverage, and retail opportunities that you found elsewhere awaited your wallet here. Would it have been that much extra work to create an old fashioned ice cream soda shop with a counter, vs. the standard winding queue where you can get…wow, a Dreyers cone/sundae? Or a department store that perhaps offered a section with vintage clothing in addition to the cheap t-shirts and other crap that’s normally sold onsite?



C’mon, Disney…go the extra step or two and show off the creativity that used to be your hallmark!

See more DSC Buena Vista Street photos at my main website.

Carthay Circle Comparison

The original Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles opened in 1926 and was demolished in 1969 (the indignity!). Thanks to Disney Theme Parks, guests can now enjoy slightly smaller scaled recreations of the movie palace on both coasts. How’d the Disney team do on its versions? I’d say very well. Compare this 1953 shot of the original theater vs. the Carthay Circle Restaurant at Disney California Adventure, which opened in 2012:



They really did a great job on the marquee grillwork, too...except for that one time when they blinged it out for the Diamond Anniversary!



The WDW version was built first; sadly (but not surprisingly), they chose to make it a gift shop. The vertical neon marquee did not exist on the original, but thanks to good vintage design, it works.



See more original Carthay Circle Theatre photos at my main website.

Lunch at Carthay

When you're doing a VIP Day at Disneyland, lunch has to be at some place special, too. The Blue Bayou has been the previous standby, but this time, I chose Carthay Circle on Buena Vista Street in DCA. Although most of my coworkers are familiar with the Parks, most said they never would have noticed that the building had a restaurant inside. They just assumed it was like that Abe Lincoln place on Main Street! As if that were a bad thing…



Oh light fixtures…bestill my heart.





The soup appetizer was tasty…



and so was the pasta entrée; just wish there had been more of it. Probably just as well. No need to lapse into a food coma with such a big day ahead at the Park.



No, Matt was not examining his hands after committing a crime. He was just seeing what a mess they were after he inhaled the wings. Total food porn.



Thumbs up to the waiter who made our lunch an experience. He took the time to describe everything and to make our meal fun. Kudos!



Turns out I have the exact same buffet in my house; without the granite/marble countertop.



The 60th glitter was visible just outside the window.



I probably won't post again until later on Friday, so to all my readers, hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving and have much to be thankful for.

More Carthay Circle photos at my main website.

60th Anniversary Trip, Pt. 18

I am starting off the week with the grand finale of my most recent trip with a selection of evening shots. This is when the park looks most magical in my estimation. Well, all except those plastic blue diamonds that are strewn throughout the park.



So glad the Magic Shop is still here; Main Street could use a little more retail variety like this as opposed to the plethora of plush it serves up.



The Wooden Indian still stands on Main Street, even though the Tobacco Shop is long gone.



Inside the Disney Gallery, an artist was sketching up a custom drawing for a guest.



This particular artist must have been on break.



For sale was this tribute to the Haunted Mansion's Tightrope Girl:



LOVE this piece which does double duty for Big Thunder Mountain and Nature's Wonderland:



It's always hard for me to leave Disneyland; I typically take my time and snap a few last minute shots. One step forward, two steps back.



I happened to catch the engine pulling into the station at the end of the evening.





I decided to snap one of the DCA entrance…



and through my viewfinder saw that they were putting a little bling on top of Carthay.



One more year and all of that crud will be gone.

More Disneyland photos at my main website.