I was sitting back and munching on my fresh tortilla during a recent visit to Disney’s California Adventure (DCA). As I looked around I was amazed at all of the construction walls that lined the walkways. This observation inspired me to revisit the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar. I just wanted to be reminded on how extensive this park’s transformation is going to be.
I first visited DCA on its opening day – February 8, 2001. I remember it well. My boss was sympathetic and knew my mind wasn’t on the job that day. I was monitoring the Internet and noticed that the huge crowds promised by the media were not materializing. So I drove down to Anaheim to hang with something like 9,000 of my dearest friends.
Disneyland’s younger, smaller sibling has changed a lot since it opened its doors to the public. But this series is not the story of Disney’s California Adventure. Instead, this is a story about protecting one’s investment.
Michael Eisner and Frank Wells took over the Walt Disney Company in 1984. At the time, Eisner saw the potential in aggressively expanding the supply of Disney hotel rooms at Walt Disney World. So the Walt Disney Company change a long time policy of focusing on a successful theme park business, charging a premium for its limited number of hotel rooms, and allow the local economy to benefit.
In 1986, the Golf Resort was renamed the Disney Inn and added 150 rooms. The Grand Floridian Beach Resort and the Caribbean Beach Resort we both completed in 1988. By 1989, Michael Grave’s Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin were added to the lodging roster. The beautiful Robert AM Stern designed Yacht and Beach Club Resorts opened in 1990. On the drawing boards were a number of new resorts.
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