Originally Posted By TP2000 Oh.... my..... Gawd. It DOES remind me of Great America! But, it's Great America back in 1976 when it was themed and kept clean.
Originally Posted By Daannzzz Yes and the SSS construction looks a little more beefy and solid. I am not a hug fan of them spending all this money to retheme this particular ride though. I would rather them have start putting this phase (buying carnival rides that even a traveling carnival has) behind them and just built a park.
Originally Posted By socalkdg <<<<<The park will inherently still be California-themed (Los Angeles, Hollywood Land, Route 66, etc). They're not going to change the name.>>>>> Plus you will have a nice representation of 4 major areas of California: beach, desert, mountains, and the city.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Well, specifically Los Angeles and Hollywood. Where is San Francisco? Please don't tell me that those phony looking houses across from Mermaid are an adequate representation.
Originally Posted By Britain Well, that's the problem with the California theme. It begs the question about "What's important about CA that needs to be represented?" "Wha!? No San Fran!?" If the theme instead were "A Disney Nostalgia Trip through CA" then the oversights wouldn't matter so much.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <Plus you will have a nice representation of 4 major areas of California: beach, desert, mountains, and the city.> Exactly. <Where is San Francisco? > I'm still hoping they'll create a proper "SF Square" (think "the NOS of DCA"), which I'd hoped might replace the ill-fated old "Route 66" sub-area of the Pier, but plans don't call for that, and with CarsLand taking up most of the old lot, it's hard to think where such an area would go. With the GG Bridge representation also being replaced, it's hard to imagine that arguably America's most picturesque city (which would seem such a natural for the imagineers) will have only those "row houses" as representation.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt I think it's kind of ironic that Northern California is represented at DCA in such a huge way (Grizzly Peak, the Winery, and the Cannery Row-ish Pacific Wharf) and then San Francisco gets these really lousy looking row houses that don't look anything like the buildings that you see here. The beautiful Palace of Fine dome will be almost unrecognizable after it has been adorned with a mermaid motif and annexed in with the new LM attraction. It's a shame I tell ya. If the Imagnineers were to create a San Francisco area where would they put it now that Carsland is taking up most of the available space. Maybe A Bugs Land could be sacrificed? San Francisco would certainly make a better transition ToT from that side of the park.
Originally Posted By Britain That's what I'm trying to say. It's only "a shame" if the explicit theme of the place is California. But nobody goes around saying "Fantasyland is completely devoid of a tribute to Spain! Spain is such a major part of Europe! Look you got English, French, Italian, Swiss, German architecture! Where's Spain!?" They aren't ripping out the CA theme, but they aren't focusing on it anymore. The characters come first. That's the way it is.
Originally Posted By tashajilek "Maybe A Bugs Land could be sacrificed? San Francisco would certainly make a better transition ToT from that side of the park." Wow, that would fit in perfect! But they arent going to out all the kiddy rides.
Originally Posted By believe >>>>>Plus you will have a nice representation of 4 major areas of California: beach, desert, mountains, and the city.<<<<< There's not much "beach" at Paradise Pier. They should have a sandy beach section that you can actually walk on. Maybe some beach chairs and umbrellas. Kind of like Rico's place in Hanna Montana.
Originally Posted By Moon Waffle What they really should do is put a San Francisco area in place of Burger Invasion/SS Rustworthy/Mulholland Madness. A long time ago someone had a GREAT idea of enclosing MM and theming it to Lombard Street in SF, with all of its twists and turns. Of course, with the low capacity that Wild Mouse coasters have, that would probably create 3 hour waits all day long...
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "They aren't ripping out the CA theme, but they aren't focusing on it anymore. The characters come first. That's the way it is." Couldn't that be said of pretty much all the Disney parks though? Haven't we all been questioning the company's directive to include characters in every nook and cranny at the resorts for several years now?
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Wow, that would fit in perfect! But they arent going to out all the kiddy rides." They might consider it since Carsland and TLM will have areas with interactive kid-friendly stuff and Paradise Park will have an interactive fountain. I don't see why some of those kiddie rides in A Bugs Land couldn't be relocated somewhere in Paradise Pier.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <They aren't ripping out the CA theme, but they aren't focusing on it anymore.> Well, if anything they're underlining it compared to recently, which has been ALL character stuff. There's nothing "character" about Buena Vista Street, the replica of the Cathay Circle, or the redcars, all of which are quintessentially California. Add in the very desert-y and car-culture-centric Cars Land, and they're actually underlining the CA theme quite a bit. Of course, none of the above changes have happened yet, but they're coming. <What they really should do is put a San Francisco area in place of Burger Invasion/SS Rustworthy/Mulholland Madness. A long time ago someone had a GREAT idea of enclosing MM and theming it to Lombard Street in SF, with all of its twists and turns. > That was me (and thanks). And that's what I meant by making "SF Square" in the old Route 66 area. It could have extended from the current row houses and Dome all the way to those far-corner restaurants - enough space for some winding streets with quintessentially SF-style architecture, interesting shops and (in my master plan) a two-story restaurant with the ground floor being a high-end "foodie" place (of the sort DCA wanted originally but didn't get the crowds to sustain) with indoor/outdoor seating so everyone could see the cool concoctions, and an upstairs for a mid-level Chinese or pan-Asian sit-down place. Then enclose MM to make "Lombard Lunacy" and you've got an atmospheric area that would be perfect for lingering in, as NOS is now. In my earlier "master plan" (before LM was announced) I'd have taken the space they're using for LM and made a Silicon Valley-inspired ride (using Tokyo Pooh's ride system if possible) that was kind of a Tron/ATIS hybrid with your vehicles being "bits" of information breaking apart and coming together in a giant ride-through computer.
Originally Posted By barboy2 ///made a Silicon Valley-inspired ride/// Well my 'master plan' would have included a different valley(but very Californian feature nonetheless). I give you, "Silicone Valley" aka the San Fernando Valley----- complete with a behind the scenes tour.
Originally Posted By believe oh yah and mine would be "RockNRoller Coaster" with Huey Lewis and the News (they are from NorCal - or Journey) and they would be going up and down the hills of San Fran!
Originally Posted By Britain I'll grant you that there's no character emphasis in Buena Vista Street. But the changes there have more to do with the money that Disneyland's emporium and other Main Street shops make. WDI has successfully made the argument that a more detailed and appealing row of shops will slow people down on their way in and out and they'll spend more money. Of course, we also know that a better entrance has a psychological effect on guests which creates greater feelings of joy at the parks. But the bean counter boys are only going along with this plan because of the money that could be made from retail. So characters? No, but money? Yes. And in the end, that's the only reason Disney has been placing the emphasis on the characters recently. They (meaning their merchandise) make the money.
Originally Posted By Britain So, going back to my original point, unless there's a monetary reason to create a San Francisco area, they're not going to do it. And they are definitely not going to tear out popular kids stuff (Bugs Land) just because DCA is 'missing' a San Fran area.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "So, going back to my original point, unless there's a monetary reason to create a San Francisco area, they're not going to do it." That goes without saying. Nothing gets built at Disney's parks if it doesn't justify the expense. "And they are definitely not going to tear out popular kids stuff (Bugs Land) just because DCA is 'missing' a San Fran area." Management will rip out anything if it is prudent for the company to do so. Since A Bugs Land opened there have been major kid-centric and/or family attractions added to the development pipeline, not to mention the recent additions of WoC and TSMM. Therefore, it isn't a stretch to say that A Bugs Land is a non-essential section of the park. Besides, who says that a San Francisco area can't have attractions in it that appeal to kids?
