The Paradise Pier Retheme that NEVER Happened

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Van Eaton Galleries, InsideTheMagic, • PART 2: "Walt Disney's...
DCA Commercials, CowMissing, • Disney's California Ad...
Incredicoaster, LMGVids, • [2019] Incredicoaster ...
World of Color, LMGVids, • [2019] World of Color ...

[@OffhandDisney]

Who knows, maybe there's some blue sky concept art out there somewhere of a re-opened PeopleMover.

[@BrianCannan-em1nk]

California Adventure was kind of a mess. Only Michael Eisner could think, “Why would people go to actual California when they could go to a theme park about California IN California?”

[@realestateunplugged6129]

The California theme was never the key problem. The problem was the large areas of under themed lower budget areas. There were a lot of good bones, but unfortunately about half the park needed to be rebuilt and some of that cheap quality still endures in aspects Pixar Pier and Hollywoodland. But overall I think they've really built the quality of the park up and have done a lot to make this park very impressive and unique. But again, it wasn't so,much the California theme that was a problem at all.

[@carminecdinoproductions]

That’s the retheme we should’ve gotten! Keep the Fun Wheel, the Sea Carousel, the Silly Symphony Swings, Toy Story Midway Mania, the Sky School coaster, and the other stuff with everything kept intact with the Victorian boardwalk theming! Retheme the many stores and restaurants, the boardwalk games, and the California Screamin’ coaster to a Disney Villains themed coaster, remove the Mali-boomer and replace it with a different drop tower ride, relocate the Jumpin’ Jellyfish ride in favor of the sandcastle play area and have it rethemed to Finding Nemo, etc.!

[@morganmeetsmedia]

I think Pizza Om Mow Mow is a reference to the old song “Papa Om Mow Mow” which was either doo-op or beach rock depending on the version. I’m most interested in that name because putting Pizza in the title makes me think of the D&D scene at the beginning of ET where they order a pizza and then request that song for Dee Wallace from the radio station. (I always thought it was sly bribery since we later learn they were not supposed to be ordering pizza 😂)

[@BrianCannan-em1nk]

Chernabog is the best Disney villain. Remember when they had villains?

[@brentparker7359]

Before Incredicoaster was announced, my armchair idea for a California Screamin' retheme was to set it in a Turn of the 20th Century World's Fair with an animatronic Ludwig Von Drake pulling the lever on his newfangled electromagnetic launch device.

[@host_theghost507]

Unfortunately, California Adventure's biggest flaw cannot be fixed: the layout. The classic Disneyland map is so elegant and walkable that it's been replicated in every single park: there's simply no way to improve on it. It's so easy to understand that you don't even need a map. There's always a landmark (or "weenie") to guide you, and the wheel-and-spoke layout ensures you can always find a direct path to wherever you're heading. Compare all that to California Adventure, which appears to have been designed on the IKEA principle of forcing you to walk past all the merchandise. Pixar Pier is a long way from the entrance. Not to mention that there are multiple chokepoints where human traffic piles up. I love some of the rides but the overall experience is just too awful.

[@josephmelendez3327]

One of the difficulties I have with enjoying Pixar Pier is that we also fully have Cars Lands, and until it was demolished, It's Tough to Be a Bug/A Bug's Land (though Bug's Land had it's own issues). Now with San Fransokyo in between Cars Land and Pixar pier it's feels even lass as though the Pixar stuff is in a contiguous geographic area of the park. When the IP described by the land can't even be contained in the land, it just feels like lazy IP promotion, rather than a cohesive theming.

[@SammyNail]

The Victorian re-theme is better purely because it woulda had artwork of Disney AND Pixar characters drawn to match the theme. Pixar Pier looks like they had a portfolio of standard issue Pixar images and just slapped em everywhere. Not to mention then the hotel could be a West Coast Boardwalk instead of a Pixar Holiday Inn.

[@FleshGolem420]

I really wonder how many of these documents are floating around out there, and how many were created but never saw the light of day outside the company.

[@mushieslushie]

I think they essentially did do this retheme, but it was scaled way back and also included Midway Mania. They rethemed the entire pier area, and the boardwalk games when Toy Story was added.

[@eddiec9756]

My ears perked up when you said Studio City and started describing were Ventura Blvd meets Laurel Canyon with the Panera Bread, Bookstar, and First Republic Bank. I was like... that's my street, that's my town. I went inside to see the Millennium Falcon and star wars things they had a few months ago when I got back from the DCP.

[@michaelsullivan3581]

At least they made the "Mickey's Wheel Of Death" part of it! Brilliant find Vice Admiral Schmidts! I shall have to dally upon this "proposal" for a tad bit! Very interesting!

[@Imagineer183]

Just fyi, the Van Eaton galleries are open to the public, not only invitees. And they do it in Burbank, they do it pretty often. You should catch the next one! It’s like a little LA secret.

[@ThoosieJP]

The log flume was based off of Old Boat Chute rides where you go down a drop. Splash, then get tugged back up backwards

[@Coaster_Universe]

That boat ride is definitely inspired off the old Chute The Chutes that operated at many parks including Luna Park in Cleveland Ohio.

[@antifagoat6591]

It sounds like the "trip back in time" concept was used for Buena Vista Street, so it could tie into (old) Hollywood. Not gonna lie though, if California Adventure was themed around different time periods in the golden state, I think people would have enjoyed it a lot more, especially if every Disney character you see was also "retrofitted" to that time period. Here are some ideas that just popped in my head:

[@hales0022]

With the exception of the villains land it sounds like old town in Knott’s berry farm…which is literally down the street. No wonder it was scraped

[@rosslovesdisney3829]

I like how it’s Pixar Pier. It fits the California theme better than villains since Pixar is at least based in Emeryville, CA near the Bay Area. At the end of the day, I think that’s why it’s Pixar Pier now.