A Fresh Welcome

Earlier this year, Disney's California Adventure was re-dedicated and became a brand new park! Not only was this exciting for Disney fans and Disneyland Resort visitors, but for this Princess it meant there was a brand new plaque!

As you can see, the plaque is situated on the new flag pole as you enter California Adventure. Let's have a closer look:

Disney California Adventure

To all who come to this place of dreams...Welcome!

Disney California Adventure celebrates the spirit of optimism and the promise of endless opportunities, ignited by the imaginations of daring dreamers, such as Walt Disney and those like him who changed - and were forever changed by - the Golden State. This unique place embraces the richness and diversity of California...its land, its people, its stories and, above all, the dreamers it continues to inspire.

Dedicated February 8, 2001

Michael D. Eisner

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

The Walt Disney Company

Rededicated June 15, 2012

Robert A. Iger

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

The Walt Disney Company

It's World Famous

The queue area of Radiator Springs' Racers in Disney's California Adventure is fantastic. And with the recent popularity of Cars Land, many people get to experience the queue in its entirity!

But be sure to check out the popular area welcoming you to Stanley's Oasis.

There is a sign behind, which is welcoming us all to Radiator Springs!

The Mysterious and Miraculous World Famous Radiator Springs

This Is It!

Nature's Own Fixer Elixer! Free! Fill Up And Cool Down!

Looking closely we can see some of the cures of the Radiator Springs.

Removes Rust, Stops Leaks, Eliminates Squeaks & Rattles, Relieves Red-Hot Radiators, Restores Dull Paint To Original, Turns Off The Odometer, Cures Road Rash, Soothes Irritated Brake Pads, Heals Hoses

Pit Stop

Phew, what a fun week having a look around some of Radiator Springs, over in California. Today we'll have a small pit stop and have a look at some more interesting detailing.

Be sure to keep Radiator Springs clean!

Have you all noticed this week's post titles have something in common? Top marks for any of you who know how they all link!

Perfecto

It looks like Cars Land is going to be just as rich a place for signs as Main Street U.S.A.. Take, for example, this fine sign near Luigi's Flying Tires.

Fettucini

Alfredo

The All-New

Cuscino D'Aria

Like riding on air

Great piece of marketing for some new tyres - I wonder how much it costs to advertise in Radiator Springs?

Race Your Own Way

Continuing our tyre-themed week here at DF'82, we find further detailing in Cars Land at Disney's California Adventure to hint to the fact that Luigi loves his tyres.

Although these wheel trims look a little, um, naked without Luigi's help!

You Buy One Tyre, I Give You Seven Snow Tyres For Free

Hopefully you are enjoying this brief exploration of Cars Land over at Disney's California Adventure as much as the Royal Family are!

Further details from the Luigi's Flying Tires attractions shows that even the shrubbery is of a cars-theme.

They Say Look At Me, Here I Am

As you would expect from Luigi's Flying Tires, the entire queue area is themed around tyres.

Take these plant 'pots' for example. Notice anything different about them?

As Luigi would say, you don't want the black walls, you want the white-walls!

Luigi Follow Only The Ferraris

If there is one place that this Princess cannot wait to explore, it is Cars Land, over at Disney's California Adventure. But to wet our appetite for all that the Land offers, Chuck from The Disneyland Gazette has been doing some exploring for us...

One of the newest attractions in the 'Adventure is Luigi's Flying Tires, which just happens to be located at Luigi's Casa Della Tires.

And if you are lucky enough to visit this area, be sure to check out the lighting fixtures in the queue area. They are modelled after everything Casa Della Tires has to offer!

Remember how we say to Always Look Up? Another example of Disney Imagineering at its finest.

Calling All Wilderness Explorers

The Redwood Creek Challenge Trail in Disney's California Adventure is a great place for children (and adults!) to exert some excess energy and explore the area.

But when you visit, remember to watch for some of the Wilderness Explorer signs, scattered throughout the trail.

Russell might even be nearby, so keep an eye out for him too!

River Run Refurb

I love to see attractions when they are stripped to their bare (or in this case, should I say bear?) essentials. Just last month, the Grizzly River Run attraction in Disney's California Adventure was temproarily down to have some essential maintenance carried out on the river rapids ride.

When else would you get to see a rapids ride without any rapids?

Exiting the Games

When you leave Toy Story Midway Mania over at Disney's California Adventure, you are most likely discussing your scores, good or bad. But don't forget to have a look at this hidden treasure, as you exit the attraction.

As you can see, after being the size of a toy for the Mania games, as if by magic we have now returned to the size of a regular human. But what is that?

I think that might have just been where we were playing all those Midway Mania games with our Toy Story friends!

Tiles Under The Sea

Looking around the queue area for Ariel's Undersea Adventure in Disney's California Adventure, you will notice some beautiful details. We have already looked up, so now, let's look around.

Specifically, look at some beautiful tile work that has been produced, in an effort to make us feel like we are about to go, Under The Sea.

Going Undersea

One of the newest additions to Disney's California Adventure park is The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure attraction, which opened earlier this year.

The queue has some beautiful details, as does the entire ride load and unload area, which we will look at here at DF'82 in the future. For the meantime, going completely against the usual motto of Always Look Up, in this case, remember to look down. As you may find some beautiful and interesting details as you enter the queue area for Ariel's Adventure.

Read All About Them

On the last Royal Visit to Disney's California Adventure park in Anaheim, the Park could have been mistaken for Construction City, due to all the workings that are happening in the area.

However, in true Disney style, the construction walls are adorned with highlights of what we can look forward to from the 'new' park! Let's take a moment to wet our appetites at what's to come...

Remembering DCA

With all the changes to Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim, the park will look like a completely different park by this time next year.

So let's take a trip in the time machine and visit the park pre-construction, to have a look at the plaque situated in front of the Sunshine Plaza (and you know how DF'82 loves plaques in the different Disney Parks!).

To all who believe in the power of dreams...welcome!

Disney's California Adventure opens its golden gates to you.

Here we pay tribute to the dreamers of the past...the native people, explorers, immigrants, aviators, entrepreneurs and entertainers who built the Golden State.

And we salute a new generation of dreamers who are creating the wonders of tomorrow...from the silver screen to the computer screen... from the fertile farmlands to the far reaches of space. Disney's California Adventure celebrates the richness and diversity of California... its land, it's people, its spirit and, above all, the dreams that it continues to inspire.

Michael D. Eisner

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

The Walt Disney Company

February 8, 2001

Blast From The Past

If you are an avid reader of DF'82, I hope you will remember that one of our mottos here is to Always Look Up. And if you have visited Disney's California Adventure in the past few years, you may have noticed this sign on the way to the Hollywood Tower Hotel:

This sign will be recognisable to all Disney aficionados as the sign from the original Disney Studios, Hyperion Studios (as you can see below).

A great piece of imagineering, and it will be interesting to see if it is still there after the refurbishment of Disney's California Adventure over the next few years.

Enjoying A Moment In A Bug's Land

Today's Enjoying A Moment is in Disney's California Adventure, specifically in A Bug's Land. One of my favourite little areas to escape the hustle and bustle!

Having a Wheel-y Great Time

We like to approach all the different Disney Parks around the world here on DF'82, so today let's take a quick trip over to fashionable, trendy California! And specifically Disney's California Adventure.

If you are a follower of Disney theme parks, you will know that Disney's California Adventure (or DCA, as it is known) is undergoing some major renovations and updates. Once the Imagineers have finished spreading their Pixie Dust, the magic is going to be unbelievable!
But part of the Adventure has already been updated - some of Paradise Pier to be exact. And if you head towards that area of the park you will know right away one of the changes - the Sun Wheel has now became Mickey's Fun Wheel.

The centre of the Wheel no longer has the Sun (a symbol of Paradise Pier) but has the Classic Mickey-Head, as seen on original Walt Disney Mickey Mouse cartoons.

If you are unfamiliar with the Fun Wheel, it is a great family attraction based on Ferris Wheels from fun parks and touring fairgrounds. It has two sets of cars - ones that are designed to swing around a separate track within the wheel, and the other set are 'stationary' which gives a more sedate ride on the wheel. The ones that move on the wheel can actually get surprisingly fast and brings a fantastic thrill-ride element to a notoriously 'boring' ride. This Princess, however, prefers to stay a little bit more fixed on this attraction...

This wheel is actually one of only three similar spinning wheels in the world today - the other wheels are in New York (at Coney Island) and in Japan. The Fun Wheel has a 500-foot circumference, with 24 gondolas each accommodating up to 6 people. A great hidden Disney detail is when you look at the wheel across the lagoon, it looks like Guests board the attraction underwater! Another great detail by Imagineers. As I said, the Fun Wheel is part of the regeneration programme of Paradise Pier. Along with this update, there has been extra attractions and games added to the Paradise Pier area! There are some great new games-stalls, which have fun, family friendly side-show attractions, like you would find in a traditional fairground area. We will have a look at this area in a future DF'82 post.