Expanding Disney's California Theme Parks the right way...
 |
| Concept art for Carsland coming to Disney California Adventure in 2012. Image (c) Copyright Disney. |
As many of you may, or may not be aware, I've been an avid theme park goer ever since I was a kid. As a huge fan of cinema, and with a passion for writing, theme parks, to me, are a similar representation of escapism that I am such a fan of, but with theme parks, you have an opportunity to see your dreams manifest themselves in a physical reality within a physical space.
It's one thing to watch Star Wars on your widescreen TV. It's another to experience Star Tours at Disneyland, to get a feeling of what it would be like to exist in the Star Wars Universe.
 |
| Concept Art of Star Tours 2, coming to Disneyland in 2011. Image (c) Coyright Disney. |
Disney has always been the best at delivering that escape from reality with such an attention to detail that their experiences are almost always nothing short of impressive. The only exception to this rule was the introduction of Disney's California Adventure (DCA) in 2001 as a sister park to the original Disneyland across the esplanade.
If you've been to DCA over the past year or so, you may have experienced a nice addition to the park in the World of Color lagoon show, but you will also have noticed a massive amount of construction happening all around you.
 |
| Word of Color at Disney California Adventure. |
So just what is going on, and why?
Put simply, Disney is investing about $1 billion to rectify the $1 billion mistake they made with their original concept for California Adventure. Before we look at the future, here's a brief synopsis of what went wrong originally:
California Adventure was the first Disney theme park to be built following the construction of Disneyland in Paris, which at the time, was called EuroDisney. EuroDisney was a lavish, epic recreation of Disneyland on a much larger scale, with an astonishing attention to detail and a seemingly limitless budget to bring Disney to life in Europe. Having been to this Disneyland, I can honestly tell you that the park truly is magnificent.
 |
| Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland Paris as taken by yours truly. |
 |
| Another perspective on Thunder Mountain at Disneyland Paris. |
Unfortunately, the concept of "EuroDisney" was alienating to a local French population filled with a tremendous sense of national pride, who felt that Americans were capitalizing on their country to make a buck. As a result, the park initially was a bomb, with long-lasting financial ramifications for Disney. They invested so much into a park that no one was going to.
After much research and time, Disney reinvented EuroDisney as Disneyland Paris, with a different take on marketing and attractions to let its French population know that this wasn't an "American Disney" on their soil, but rather, a "French Disney" which served as a beacon for travelers from all over Europe to experience. Reconceptualizing the park turned it into a huge success, but it took many years and the reinvention for the park to turn a profit.
In the midst of this transition, Disney was interested in opening two companion parks to their existing Disneylands in both Anaheim, CA and Tokyo, Japan. Thinking they were learning from their mistakes in Paris, they chose to partner with Oriental Land Company, which would assume the bulk of the financial risk, in creating Japan's sister park, Tokyo DisneySea. In Anaheim, Disney took on the full financial burden, but decided on a concept where they would invest fewer dollars up front, then once the crowds flocked to the park, they would use their profits to expand from there.
Thus, Disney's California Adventure was born, a park rich in shops and dining, and light on rides and immersive theming.
As a point of comparison, Oriental Land Company, in conjunction with Disney, invested $2 billion to create DisneySea, a park many consider today to be the signature theme park experience in the world - even more prominent than Disneyland itself.
 |
| The icon of Tokyo DisneySea. Instead of Cinderella's castle, a magnificent volcano. |
In Anaheim, Disney originally invested $1.6 billion on their expansion. Doesn't seem that far off, but here's the kicker: In Japan, all $2 billion went into the creation of the theme park itself. In Anaheim, $1.6 billion went not only to the theme park, but also to the construction of Downtown Disney, the Grand Californian hotel, the massive Disney & Friends parking structure, and new roads, freeway ramps, and infrastructure. In total, it is speculated that only approximately $600 million went towards California Adventure itself.
What a difference $1.4 billion can make in a theme park experience!
The results: DisneySea turned a profit after one year of operation. California Adventure took many, many more years before it saw the return on its investment. Ironically, Disney found itself in the same hole as it was in with EuroDisney, but for very different reasons. They underestimated a local California population that was thoroughly uninterested in a park themed to a modern California. They also didn't consider vacationer demographics. For example, in Florida, 70% of the theme park goers come from out of state tourists, with 30% being the local population. In Southern California, it's the complete opposite - 70% of theme park attendees are made up of the local population, with only 30% coming from tourists! Yet, California Adventure was a park geared towards that 30% tourist population! Its no wonder the park has struggled ever since its opening!
In the years since California Adventure first opened, Disney has seen a complete overhaul of its upper-level management: A new Chairman and CEO, new heads of their theme park divisions and imagineering departments. In short, everyone responsible for the original California Adventure are no longer with Disney, so with no one hanging onto their pride, the new regime at Disney has taken over the reigns to reinvest in California Adventure to finally turn it into a worthwhile destination.
What changes are coming? Answer: A lot! Are the changes really going to be a difference-maker? Answer: Absolutely!
Instead of a park themed to a modern cutesy cheesy "best of" that California has to offer, California Adventure is transforming into a "Walt Disney's vision of California" as seen through his eyes when he first moved to the state.
 |
| A recreation of the Carthay Circle Theatre, circa 1926, where Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered, comes to California Adventure. |
The entry plaza, which has already removed the ridiculously lame tile mural, the sun icon, and soon the Golden Gate bridge recreation, all designed to resemble a shot from a postcard, will be transformed into a 1920's era vintage "Main Street". Hollywood Pictures Backlot will become "Hollywoodland" reminiscent of the early days of Cinema.
Paradise Pier has already seen the removal of its cheesy stores, the awfully-themed Orange Stinger and Maliboomer, in favor of a feel of a period seaside amusement park. Anchoring this transition will be the introduction of The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure, which is essentially a moving "dark ride" using a vehicle mechanism similar to Haunted Mansion to take you on an underwater journey with Ariel.
 |
| A birds-eye overview of the new show building for The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure coming to California Adventure in 2011. |
But the biggest expansion comes in the form of Carsland, a complete recreation of Radiator Springs as featured in the Pixar film, Cars. Carsland represents one of the most epic expansions in the history of any Disney theme park, with a level of detail expected to be on par with Disneyland or with DisneySea in Japan.
 |
| A closeup showing the incredible detail of the volcano at DisneySea. |
Impressively, the rockwork and "mountains" being constructed are on a scale apparently larger than the massive Icon of DisneySea in Tokyo, namely, the large volcano that looms above all else in the park.
 |
| The soon-t0-be "Cadillac Range" mountain peaks and a glimpse of the track for Radiator Springs Racers in Carsland at California Adventure. The workers in the foreground give a great sense of scale of this massive new addition. |
Most importantly, Carsland gives California Adventure that which it has desperately needed from Day 1, namely, a true world visitors can "escape" into and let their imagination run wild. The major E-Ticket ride of the new land is Radiator Springs Racers, with a ride vehicle system identical to "Test Track" at Epcot Center in Orlando, yet with the environmental feel of a Big Thunder Mountain. It's going to be a fast-paced exciting journey through the textured environment of Radiator Springs, complimented by smaller-scale child-friendly rides, and the usual assortment of themed stores and restaurants.
Universal put Disney on notice last year with the introduction of its Harry Potter land at Islands of Adventure in Orlando, a new land, with a massive ride in Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, that is of a scale and calibre unlike anything I have personally experienced in all of my years as a theme park goer.
Disney will attempt to replicate this scale with Carsland. While the movie Cars doesn't have the rabid fan-base that Harry Potter does, and while the concept of Cars does skew to a much younger demographic, and therefore won't have the cult-following that Harry Potter land in Orlando is experiencing, it will give us a unique, fresh perspective within the park, along with its own version of a thrilling new ride concept, to get us excited about going to California Adventure.
In short, Radiator Springs Racers is going to be the first must-experience ride in the history of California Adventure. That, in my book, is an amazing leap forward for the park, and a massive step in the right direction.
And by the way, let's not forget Star Tours 2 coming to Disneyland in 2011. And rumors are circulating about bringing a new, modern version of the PeopleMover back to Tomorrowland, a new E-Ticket ride themed to the new version of Tron coming to theaters later this year, as well as Disneyland's own massive land expansion, rumored to be in the Frontierland section of the park.
Disney's California parks are finally getting the love and effort that they deserve, which we expect, and the future is going to be incredibly exciting for people all of ages!
- Jeremy
Jeremy Howard is the Founder and CEO of Real Estate Dynamic (www.RealEstateDynamic.com), the most progressive and influential Social Club for entrepreneurial real estate professionals on the planet. He is also the Broker & President of several successful prestige real estate brokerages, is a published author with a tremendous passion for writing and cinema, and an avid snowboarder.
www.jerhow.com
