New and renamed lands in Disney California Adventure

[AVP]

Disney is commemorating the 11th anniversary of the opening of Disney California Adventure by announcing that the park will have eight lands once the 5-year overhaul project is done this summer, officially deeming the Buena Vista Street main entrance complex a land, splitting the former Golden State area into three lands, and renaming the Hollywood Pictures Backlot to "Hollywood Land."

According to this morning's post on the Disney Parks Blog, the eight lands will be:

“a bug’s land”
Buena Vista Street
Cars Land
Condor Flats
Grizzly Peak
Hollywood Land
Pacific Wharf
Paradise Pier

During a conference call with investors Tuesday, President and CEO Bob Iger said that Cars Land will open in June. The exact opening date has yet to be announced.

Adrienne

[trypticon]

I prefer Hollywood Backlot over Hollywoodland, personally. It just seems like more of a location in my current opinion.

I did notice today that the maps on the Disneyland website have some attraction names a bit further away from their drawn depiction than they should be. There's maybe two in the Bugs Land of California adventure that aren't quite near the drawn ride. On the Disneyland map, the bullet indicating Donald's Boat in Toon Town is stuck way back on the right rear side of Small World in the trees. The actual boat is far to the left, where Toontown actually is.

That was off topic, but I found it humorous.

I really miss the train engine, and the shops that went along with it, in the sunshine plaza. I'm still angered that they took that away.

[TTFN92]

I prefer Hollywood Backlot over Hollywoodland, personally.

I agree.

[Malcon10t]

I prefer Hollywood Backlot over Hollywoodland, personally.

Not like we get a vote, but Hollywood Land? Yes, Backlot is a much nicer sound, and more realistic. Hollywood Land? Seriously?

ETA - ::::checking date::: Nope, not April Fools....

[jananafish]

But Hollywoodland is a real name too. I agree Hollywood Backlot sounds better but I guess I can understand their choice of "land" instead. I still think Carsland sounds silly. A long time ago someone suggested Radiator Springs which sounds pretty cool.

[soccerlady16]

I too agree, Hollywood Backlot has a better ring to it.
But I guess it,s a nod to the original Hollywood sign, which read, "Hollywoodland."

[dlfansx4]

I too agree, Hollywood Backlot has a better ring to it.
But I guess it,s a nod to the original Hollywood sign, which read, "Hollywoodland."

That was what I was thinking also.

I read this as the design concept for Buena Vista Street:

The shops and restaurants along Disney California Adventure's re-themed entrance promenade will pay homage to the Los Angeles that Walt Disney encountered upon his 1923 arrival.

And the Hollywood Sign was "Hollywoodland" until 1949 (I had to go look that up because I couldn't remember when it dropped the Land from the end).

[ogold72]

That was what I was thinking also.

I read this as the design concept for Buena Vista Street:

The shops and restaurants along Disney California Adventure's re-themed entrance promenade will pay homage to the Los Angeles that Walt Disney encountered upon his 1923 arrival.

And the Hollywood Sign was "Hollywoodland" until 1949 (I had to go look that up because I couldn't remember when it dropped the Land from the end).

So if they really wanted to be true to "40s/'50s California, shouldnt they call it "HollywoodLand...Land" ?

[olegc]

The Blue Sky Disney blog quite a while ago did a "decades" review of which decade each land would be representative of. It was kind of neat.

[MadasaHatter]

I like Hollywoodland better myself.

[dlfansx4]

So if they really wanted to be true to "40s/'50s California, shouldnt they call it "HollywoodLand...Land" ?

Hum....I never thought about it that way

I am curious to know why they picked it. Was it a nod to the original sign or just a common theme with the other "lands" around DLR?? But the first thing that entered my mind when I saw it was the sigh, which is kind of funny since the sign has said just "Hollywood" as long as I have been alive.

[olegc]

Hum....I never thought about it that way

I am curious to know why they picked it. Was it a nod to the original sign or just a common theme with the other "lands" around DLR?? But the first thing that entered my mind when I saw it was the sigh, which is kind of funny since the sign has said just "Hollywood" as long as I have been alive.

If they did want to be true to timelines - then Hollywoodland would be the correct reference to the exact time period Walt started creating pictures (and the decade that the DCA land is in).

[iceman559]

Why does this thread remind me of the Cars Land thread from a few months ago? :P So much talk again about the Hollywood Land name!

[disney42dude]

Hollywood Land is better. It's new theme is 1930s Hollywood; not a Hollywood "studio" or "backlot." More changes will be made in the future to tie in the new theme.

[dban3]

The use of the word "Land" in describing a couple of these areas is a bit of a stretch. Pacific Wharf is a food court. Condor Flats? 1 attraction, 1 restaurant, 1 gift shop, (and coming soon: song and dance Minnie), a little leaguer with a pretty good arm could throw a baseball from one end of it to the other. Grizzly Peak? 1 attraction and whatever that Redwood Trail thing is - never been in there... When it comes down to it, as dumb as the names are, Hollywood Land and Cars Land (along with Paradise Pier) are conceptually pretty well developed "Lands". I'm surprised they didn't list that string of facades of San Francisco building fronts as a "Land" - that's an area definitely worth exploring - maybe the biggest and best restrooms in the park.

[oregontraveler]

The use of the word "Land" in describing a couple of these areas is a bit of a stretch. Pacific Wharf is a food court. Condor Flats? 1 attraction, 1 restaurant, 1 gift shop, (and coming soon: song and dance Minnie), a little leaguer with a pretty good arm could throw a baseball from one end of it to the other. Grizzly Peak? 1 attraction and whatever that Redwood Trail thing is - never been in there... When it comes down to it, as dumb as the names are, Hollywood Land and Cars Land (along with Paradise Pier) are conceptually pretty well developed "Lands". I'm surprised they didn't list that string of facades of San Francisco building fronts as a "Land" - that's an area definitely worth exploring - maybe the biggest and best restrooms in the park.

whatever happened to the land of make-believe... Actually dban, you make a good point. And that accord, I would suggest some of the new 'lands' be downgraded to 'districts'

[Bytebear]

I hope in the years to come Hollywoodland does transition from just a backlot. They should add a Brown Derby and some of the old icons of old Hollywood. I hesitate to suggest a chinese theater, since you can just drive up the road and see the real thing, but they should make it like stepping back in time.

[IllusionOfLife]

I would personally love to see them rework the exterior to Muppet*Vision to make it look like The Muppet Theatre from The Muppets (aka, The El Capitan). Removing the giant sky mural and replacing it with a proper facade for the Hyperion Theater is on my wish list for Hollywood Land as well.

[cstephens]

I would personally love to see them rework the exterior to Muppet*Vision to make it look like The Muppet Theatre from The Muppets (aka, The El Capitan).

But isn't the El Cap already on the landscape picture at the end of Hollywood Boulevard at the photo op?

[IllusionOfLife]

But isn't the El Cap already on the landscape picture at the end of Hollywood Boulevard at the photo op?

Indeed, which is why item number two on my wish list was to get rid of the giant painted side of a building and replace it with a real facade for The Hyperion

[danyoung]

The use of the word "Land" in describing a couple of these areas is a bit of a stretch.

My first thought was that New Orleans Square is pretty small, but it's a land unto itself. But overall I can see what you mean. Perhaps "land" is a bit grandiose for some of these areas.

[fairestoneofall]

According to this morning's post on the Disney Parks Blog, the eight lands will be:

a bugs land
Buena Vista Street
Cars Land
Condor Flats
Grizzly Peak
Hollywood Land
Pacific Wharf
Paradise Pier

I'm with everyone else in thinking that Hollywood Land sounds lame. But, the think that amuses me about the Golden State area being split is that I already referred to them in a similar manner. If I was meeting someone I would say "I'll meet you at the Warf" or the pier, etc.

[iceman559]

My first thought was that New Orleans Square is pretty small, but it's a land unto itself. But overall I can see what you mean. Perhaps "land" is a bit grandiose for some of these areas.

NOS is definitely pretty small, but it has a lot in that space. PotC, HM, BB, Club 33, all the other restaurants and shops, and a train station. Personally, I think Critter Country is actually even smaller. If you exclude the walk around the front of Splash Mountain, it's smaller than NOS and doesn't really have much. What, two attractions, a restaurant and a gift shop? Oh, and a meet and greet.

Now, who's the say what a "land" consists of though? I mean, we're pretty much comparing it to the originals: Adventureland, Frontierland, etc. When Adventureland opened with the park, wasn't the only thing in it pretty much the Jungle Cruise? Didn't Frontierland open with only with pack animals, a shooting gallery and one or two shops? When Disneyland first opened, the only truly developed lands (as we would define them today) were Fantasyland, Tomorrowland and Main Street. So should we say that Walt was wrong in naming two of the original lands that we still know and love today?

Granted, it's slightly different here in that, for instance, Pacific Wharf doesn't really have room to expand or anything, but still. Personally, I think of a "land" as a "themed area". Pacific Wharf has a distinct theme from the other places in the park. As do Buena Vista Street and Condor Flats. Just because they may not have much in there doesn't mean it isn't a distinctly different portion of the park. And in that respect, does it really make a difference whether we call them "districts" or "lands" or even just "areas"? If it were a case of two areas having similar theming yet considered separate lands, then that's be one thing. I mean, let's say they decided that Hollywood Land was really two different lands. The part towards the front entrance being "Animation Land" and the further back portion being "Live Action Land" or something. Then, I would totally agree that they shouldn't be separated, but Hollywood Land as a whole is themed unlike any other portions of the park. Thus, I agree with the distinction that it, or any other part of the park with distinct theming, is its own land.

[dban3]

a bugs land
Buena Vista Street
Cars Land
Condor Flats
Grizzly Peak
Hollywood Land
Pacific Wharf
Paradise Pier

The more I think about it... whether you call them lands, districts, areas, or whatever, DCA has now got it right (well maybe a miss with Monsters Inc.) with the theming for the most part - unlike that park across the way where

Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes are technically in Critter Country

Pirate's Liar is on Frontierland's Tom Sawyer Island when the heyday of pirating and the American frontier are about 200 years apart.

Winnie the Pooh really needed to be a Fantasyland ride

There is nothing Tomorrow about Finding Nemo

The Matterhorn is dubiously part of Fantasyland (but has what is known as a Tomorrowland side)

The children's themed ToonTown has Roger Rabbit Cartoon Spin based on a movie that maybe small kids shouldn't see

And once a year Santa Claus takes up residence in the old west.

[iceman559]

Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes are technically in Critter Country

I think that can fit. At least it's not uterrly weird.

Pirate's Liar is on Frontierland's Tom Sawyer Island when the heyday of pirating and the American frontier are about 200 years apart

I agree. They really should "move" it to NOS (which would work with the pirate theme) since it really boards in NOS anyway.

Winnie the Pooh really needed to be a Fantasyland ride

What's wrong with it being in Critter Country? It's not like Brer Rabbit et. al., are real. I think that Pooh Bear would fit equally well in both Fantasyland and it's current home in Critter Country.

There is nothing Tomorrow about Finding Nemo

Amen! Nor is there anything "Tomorrow" about Autopia or BLAB.

The Matterhorn is dubiously part of Fantasyland (but has what is known as a Tomorrowland side)

Even worse, it was originally PART of Tomorrowland! At least they fixed that :P

The children's themed ToonTown has Roger Rabbit Cartoon Spin based on a movie that maybe small kids shouldn't see

True, and the cartoon-themed Splash Mountain is based on a movie that was rumored to be banned and that Disney refuses to re-release due to supposed racist undertones.

And once a year Santa Claus takes up residence in the old west.

Hey, he lives in a super cold environment most of the year! He deserves some relaxing warmth in the old west desert!



Oh, and one thing I find interesting. On the current DCA map that Disney has online (here), they list "Buena Vista Street" coming soon, but don't mention any of the other changes. I'm sure this is just because of how guests are being shoved away at the entrance, but it reminds me of the park's original days when Walt made had future attractions put on the maps very early!