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DISNEY’S CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE
Anaheim, California (Abbreviation: DCA)
Walt Disney Theme Parks
Park News - (4/14/08) A Screamscape reader sends in pictures (see sidebar) from the start of DCA’s Food & Wine Festival.
(3/31/08) Disney’s California Food & Wine Festival will take place this year from April 11th to May 5th, 2008 and includes various food and wine tasting events, seminars, special gifts and more.
(3/18/08) DLRtoday has posted a large update showing off Toy Story Mania, the Pixar Play Parade and even a video clip at the end of Fantasmic shutting down just before the finale when the Mark Twain didn’t make it’s appearance.
(1/9/08) For those of you who have never been to California Adventure, this new video will give you a quick tour of the entire park in just five minutes. See it now before Disney starts their massive multiyear construction project to update it all.
(1/4/08) Grizzly River Run is show scheduled for a brief refurbishment from 1/14/08 to 1/17/08.
(11/2/07) I’ve been informed that all plans to replace the Maliboomer with an old-fashioned style Parachute Drop tower are dead right now. This doesn’t mean Maliboomer is safe however… they may still opt to remove the ride as apparently it just isn’t doing it for park guests. (However, I still say that those claustrophobic “scream shields” are a big part of the dissatisfaction with this ride and that they should try running it without them for awhile. Otherwise, maybe try upgrading the ride to use the rare Tilt Seats S&S designed.)
(10/19/07) The latest buzz over the whole DCA renovation is just overpowering… so many rumors about so many projects, but we’ve also been warned that virtually nothing that has been presented so far is the true final design, as those are still being worked on day and night. There are still lots of things on the drawing board that may still happen… lots of attractions that may be removed or just rethemed to better fit the new direction of the park. This is especially true for many of the off-the-shelf Paradise Pier attractions like Mullholand Madness, Maliboomer and Orange Stinger.
Right now it seems very likely that the Maliboomer is on the way out, but there are also plans drawn up to give it a new look if they opt to keep it. It’s popularity has never been high on Disney’s list for some reason, though I can’t help but think that those ridiculous “Scream Shields” have a great deal to do with that. Madness…the small wild mouse coaster may also get removed, though there is artwork being shown off to CMs showing how it may be rethemed as Goofy’s Flight School instead. The giant Sun Wheel is staying of course, but insiders say that artwork being shown to CMs is showing a giant Mickey Mouse face being installed in place of the Sun and the ride being renamed Mickey’s Fun Wheel. In general though, the attractions that are 90% certainly on the way out are the Orange Stinger and the Golden Dreams show, the late will keep it’s exterior façade in place, but it will connect to the new Little Mermaid ride building.
For a peek at some of this great insider artwork being shown to CMs but not the general public, visit the MiceChat forums where a bunch of images have been leaked out for everyone to enjoy. They’re small, but there are lots of great details to be seen that will give you a better idea of how changes are being planned across the entire park.
(10/17/07) Earlier this morning Disneyland made a huge announcement about the future of the Disneyland Resort, with a heavy focus on how they will improve California Adventure. For starters guests will enter through the new Walt Disney Plaza area (details below), meanwhile the The Golden State area of the park will have several new dining opportunities added, along with new Food & Wine Festivals. A new preview center showing off artwork, models and other details about the expansion will open in late 2008 in the San Francisco Street area. In addition to these, details were also released for the Little Mermaid, Toy Story Mania, Cars Land, and the new World of Color show below.
Ride Rehabs - The following information is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate.
Corn Dog Castle will close 5/12/08 through 5/22/08
It’s Tough To Be A Bug will close 5/12/08 through 5/23/08
 2008 - Toy Story Midway Mania - (5/6/08) The Disney Geek crew sent in a couple of new shots of the Midway Mania area, including a distant peek at Mr. Potatohead. You can see more at their site.
(4/25/08) The June 17th opening date for Toy Story Midway Mania has been confirmed and is being printed on the park maps.
(4/24/08) From what I’ve been told June 17th has been mentioned as the likely opening date for Toy Story Midway Mania.
(4/10/08) A couple of videos showing off the crew testing the new Mr. Potato Head barker in front of Toy Story Midway Mania have been posted on YouTube and it looks great. The amazing figure moves so fluidly and can even remove his ear and stick it back into place.
(3/31/08) Disney Geek sent in two new shots of the Toy Story Midway Mania area as well as one showing off a view of the new sign. Check out their site for event more.
(3/28/08) A general update from California Adventure can be found at Westcoaster this week.
(3/26/08) CoasterDimension has posted a new construction update from Disney’s California Adventure, including a shot of the new “Toy Story Midway Mania” sign that has gone up over the building. I guess the rumor that the California version would keep the Midway Mania name did turn out to be true.
(3/18/08) The LA Times has reported on their sneak peek at Toy Story Mania and experience after riding the mock-up version of the ride at the WDI Concept Lab. It also mentions a bit about where we might be finding the higher value targets and some ideas on how to get a better score. Disney Geek also sent in two pictures taken around the new ride site and you can see more at their site.
(3/11/08) Disney Geek sent in a neat looking night shot of the Toy Story Mania area. You can see more on the various construction projects going on around the ride here such as a bunch of small little roofed structures along the water’s edge by the coaster’s launch track. I’m not sure if these are for something or just new general shade structures.
(2/28/08) Disney Geek sent in a new picture of Toy Story Mania and you can find more at their site.
(2/14/08) Several new pictures showing off the latest Toy Story Mania construction can be found at Disney Geek this week. They’ve got some good pictures show off just how the look of the entire boardwalk is changing from it’s old midway games look to something that matches the new ride.
(2/13/08) The Orlando Sentinel posted some new details about Toy Story Mania over the weekend. They tell us that the story behind the ride is that Andy received a new toy playset of carnival midway games and while away the various Toy Story characters have decided to assemble the carnival together under his bed for their own enjoyment. The ride will feature four original songs and six carnival games: A practice Cream Pie Toss game (hosted by Rex), Hamm n Eggs (hosted by Hamm), Darts (Bo Peep & Wheezy), Baseball Pitch (Green Army Men), Ring Toss (Buzz and LGMs) and an old west themed shooting gallery finale hosted by Woody, Jessie, Prospector and Bullseye). At the end scored will be displayed as well as the record holders for the hour, day and all-time high score.
(2/12/08) A fairly long but detailed article talks about the development of the Toy Story Mania concept and just what kind of surprises we can expect to see inside. They’ve also got a picture of the giant Mr. Potatohead animated figure that will be at the entrance of the ride, some time-lapse video showing the building of the ride and more.
(1/29/08) Disney Geek has added new construction photos of Toy Story Mania.
(1/24/08) For some reason I’ve been thinking that guests riding Toy Story Mania would be walking down a long hallway into the guts of the main show building before they would board the ride itself. After all, this is pretty much how Disney did it when they added Indiana Jones and had to get people from the park to the ride building out behind Pirates and Jungle Cruise. However as this video on YouTube points out, you can actually see the Toy Story Mania cars running through an outside portion of track near the entrance to the building. Looks like they’re moving at a good clip too.
(1/18/08) Disney Geek has sent in new construction photos from Toy Story Mania to enjoy. Jump on over to their site to see a bunch more. You can also find a few more shots posted to Westcoaster this week as well.
(12/26/07) Disney Geek sent in two new shots of Toy Story Mania and you can see more here.
(12/13/07) Westcoaster has posted a new Toy Story Mania construction update.
(12/5/07) Disney Geek sent in two new shots of Toy Story Mania under construction. Click here to see more.
(11/28/07) An all preview site for the new Toy Story Mania ride is now online, complete with some artwork, photos taken inside the ride showing off the new ride vehicle as well as the “Spring Action Shooters” you’ll be using to take down the various targets. From the look of it… your weapon of choice appears to be mounted to the car and you fire it in pretty much the same way you begin a game a pinball, hence the “Spring Action Shooter” name. There is also a brief video about the ride as well, so check it out.
(3/12/07) We’ve heard there is bit of a struggle over the final name the attraction will have at California Adventure when it opens next year. Disney World is fine with keeping the Toy Story Mania name since it will fit into their plans to rename the park next year, but forces on the west coast want to keep the original Midway Mania name since it will better fit the theme of the “midway” area the ride is going into and the planned animated Mr. Potato head figure acting as a midway barker at the entrance to lure in the guests. Chance are they will keep the announced Toy Story Mania name in place. Speaking of the entrance of the ride, local sources tell us that the new entrance building added to the park side of the coaster will have a similar look as the nearby Ariel’s building with a classic Victorian era styling.
(1/29/07) Disney officially announced Toy Story Mania! over the weekend for both California Adventure and the Disney-MGM Studios theme parks, both to open in 2008. According to the press release, "“Toy Story Mania!” will set a new standard for the interactive ride/game technology pioneered in the “Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters”  attraction. Donning 3-D glasses, guests shrink to the size of a toy, and hop into fanciful ride vehicles that travel and twist along a colorful midway-themed route. Upon arriving at each game booth, they will aim for animated targets using their own special on-board "toy cannon."
As guests score points, they will be cheered on by favorite "Toy Story" friends like Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Hamm, Bo Peep and the Little Green Men. Hidden targets garner players extra points and lead to different levels of play. The energy of the characters, the competition with other riders and the hilarious, unpredictable game action make this a unique experience that families will want to try again and again.
The attraction features games that audiences of all ages and skills -- from beginner to serious gamer -- can enjoy. No matter how many times guests return to ride and play, they can be sure every ride-through will be different. Players pair up and sit side-by-side for a friendly competition that delivers an ever-changing variety of targets and surprises.
2008 - Pixars Play Parade - (3/18/08) The LA Times has posted a review of the new
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