Is That All There Is? DCA 23rd Anniversary

I had the opportunity to visit Disney California Adventure on May 18, 2001, just a few months after it opened (hard to believe it’s been 23 years!). I was part of a behind-the-scenes tour of all the dining facilities that were part of the Disneyland Resort second gate. One of the dining managers in my department was friends with Mary Nivens, who was Senior VP at the Disneyland Resort at the time, thus our tour. What did I think about DCA? As soon as the tour was over, I went home. I didn’t ride a single attraction nor did I take any photos. If you know me, that speaks volumes. I kept thinking of the Peggy Lee song, “Is That All There Is?”

It wasn’t until April 2002 that I returned with camera in hand and began to document the second gate. True to Walt’s quote about change, none of what you see in these photos remains at DCA today. Below, you can see the stationary California Zephyr, on of my favorite aspects (designwise) of the new Park.



Because of their ownership by Disney, there was significant cross-promotion going on for ABC programs, especially the soap operas.



One of the restaurants at DCA was titled, “Soap Opera Bistro,” featuring themed dining areas based on the sets from your favorite ABC soap operas.



These tile murals at the entrance were gorgeous.



An overhead view showing the first incarnation of Paradise Pier, before Pixar took over.



These imposing elephants at the Hollywood Pictures Backlot were an homage to the ones used in D.W. Griffith’s silent epic, “Intolerance” (1916).



Whoopi Goldberg in DCA? That’s right. Where the Little Mermaid attraction now resides, guests once entered a theatre to watch a film entitled “Golden Dreams,” starring Whoopi as Calafia, the Queen of California. She lost her thrown when the theater was torn down for Ariel in July 2009.



Was there ever a need for Fastpass for It’s Tough To Be A Bug!?!



Over at the Hyperion Theatre, a Reader’s Digest version of the Broadway show Blast! was playing.



In 2004, I returned for my birthday and posed with Minnie in the Condor Flats area.



The Tower of Terror was the first big draw to be added to the Park in 2004, followed by Monsters, Inc. This aerial view is from August 2006.



In other news, I just realized that DCA, James Dean, and Lana Turner also share the same “birthday.”





See more Disney California Adventure photos at my main website.

The ABC-TV Deal

In order to get the capital needed to fund Disneyland, Walt and Roy Disney signed with ABC Television (ABC President Robert Kintner on left, ABC Vice President Sidney Markley on right) on April 3, 1954. The first photo shows the actual signing; photo #2 is the warm and fuzzy image of Walt posing with stuffed versions of his animated characters, being taped by (what else?) an ABC-TV camera.



For the first five years, Disneyland was owned by Disneyland, Inc., which was jointly owned by Walt Disney Productions, Walt Disney, Western Publishing and ABC. ABC had first dibs on the "Disneyland" television series in 1954. By 1960, Walt Disney Productions bought out ABC, Western Publishing, and Walt Disney's shares.

In 1996, The Walt Disney Company acquired Capital Cities/ABC, and renamed the broadcasting group ABC, Inc.. This relationship could be seen with many cross-promotional efforts when DCA opened, such as ABC Soap Opera weekends (April 2002 shot with Erika Slezak from "One Life To Live"):



and the short-lived Soap Opera Bistro (also April 2002 photos):





See more vintage & current Disneyland photos on my Disneyland web pages.