Monday, January 3, 2011

Letter Go...

Wiped away from the errors of the past...





Today is the last time to take pictures of those letters...

Tomorrow the C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A letters and parts of the front entrance will go behind walls for removal. Over the next year and a half we will have to be re-directed through various temporary entrances which will be a pain. Come summer next year the entrance that should have been there from the beginning will finally be there. Gone will be the hub cap, gone will be the shopping area that looked like something you'd find at your local mall, gone will be the bathroom tiles.

And also gone are most of the Suits and Bean Counters that actually thought this was a brilliant idea...

22 comments:

Joe Shelby said...

I liked the murals. Everything else could go, but I wish they'd found a way to keep them, because they were quite beautiful.

I'm also not too keen on the retro movie queue entrance (a-la DHS at WDW), as to me it feels too much like a subway station, which all stopped using those queues for a reason.

Connie Moreno said...

It's an exciting time for those of us that believed in this Park from the beginning...I remember listening to Tony Baxter talk about the possibilities...

Anonymous said...

I look forward to the new entrance. Although I am thinking it is going to look a lot like Hollywood Studios in Florida. I liked the letter however and have many a memory of taking pictures of my kids as they grow with the letters. :)

Anonymous said...

So any word on when they're going to get to work on the second park to need the most work? Hollywood studios??

Tom said...

So long letters!

I liked the letters and the entrance murals (and not to mention the Bur-r-r-rbank icecream train!), but I'm sure that what will come, will be very good and probably better when you look to the overall picture.

So I'm not sad to see them go, because they make way for something better :)

I just hope we will see them back somewhere or at least a small "homage" to them, that would be cool!

nojarama said...

H-U-R-R-A-H!!!

Doopey said...

"the entrance that should have been there from the beginning" -- basically, a copy of the entrance to DHS in Florida. I kinda wish they had come up with something a little more original.

Anonymous said...

It's going to look better, but sentiments to the effect that they could've come up with a specific and more unique entrance (other than coming so close to DHS at WDW) are valid. This is WDI... they SHOULD be able to come up with something amazing that harmonizes with the rest of what's planned for BV Street.

The tile mural beautiful? Ugh. For some, perhaps, but not as an entry statement. It would've been nice as a corridor/transition between lands, perhaps. Maybe from the central plaza to somewhere else, or over closer to the Wharf.

The BIG question is - how do you take the Wharf area, and that postage stamp homage to San Francisco - and tie them together so they look like more of a whole? There's a way to do it, but I doubt it'll be done.

Anonymous said...

I always thought a mission style brown stucco and trellis structure covered in vines ala the queue for ToT would look nice in the front of the park. A warm welcome into the new Buena Vista Street.

Alas though we get what we get, can't wait to see it!

Anonymous said...

Umm... Tony Baxter was one of the 'suits" that thought this park was a brilliant idea.

Anonymous said...

Good! I hated the letters and everything about the entry. Now they need to replace just about everything else in the park to make it worthwhile.

Honor Hunter said...

"Umm... Tony Baxter was one of the 'suits" that thought this park was a brilliant idea."

Umm... No, he wasn't. I don't know where you got that idea, but he was involved in the WestCOT project. He was NOT in charge of DCA. Barry Braverman was stuck by Paul Pressler with that unenviable task.

Baxter is on record disliking the project and actually suggested making it all part of Disneyland. He wanted to make it "One Park, One Ticket experience." He in no way thought it was a brilliant idea. In fact, he didn't think of it AS an idea at all.

Sorry to burst your bubble...

AlanKeno said...

I want to buy two A's, the L and the N!

Signed,
Alan

AlanKeno said...

I want to buy the two A's, the L and the N.

Signed,
Alan

ArchtMig said...

I completely agree with the negative sentiments regarding simply redoing the entrance they did for Disney/MGM. Lazy, lazy lazy effort on the part of WDI. I thought DCA was supposed to have an identity all its own. Now everyone is going to think DHS before they even walk through the turnstiles. Nice going, WDI.

All that being said though, my extreme disappointment with the turnstile structure will be left at the turnstiles as soon as I push through them and immediately have my spirits uplifted by the rest of Buena Vista Street and beyond.

Anonymous said...

"Sorry to burst your bubble..."

A typical snyde and derogatory remark from a typically arrogant disney insider.

Commander Cody said...

So sorry to burst your bubble is a horribly hurtful offense for you? Wow, what a wuss. Grow a pair.

If that's the harshest thing he's said I don't think you should get your panties in a wad.

Anonymous said...

I thought the giant sun was kind of nice.

Anonymous said...

Nope, not hurtful at all. But after working as a contractor at WDI I found this to be the typical disney insider attitute. The typical attitude towards fans and guests was even worse.

You need to get a clue "commander cody" (is that the really the handle that you call youself? who needs to grow up and grow a pair here?).

BTW- I met Tony Baxter while I was working at WDI, he was just as pompous as the rest of the "suits" and he DID voice his support of DCA the year that it opened. If he actually did not support it, I assume he didn't want to rock the boat. He too coulda used a pair cajones, just like you pathetic wannabe disney geeks.

Ryan Rydan said...

The sun was nice? As compared to what? Isit an equal to the castle? Or the Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom? Or the volcano at Disneysea?

No, it's a cheap hubcap not worthy of a Disney theme park.

Anonymous said...

"just like you pathetic wannabe disney geeks."

A typical snyde and derogatory remark from a typically arrogant WDI contractor.

Tony Baxter is a master at playing the political game. It's helped him survive this long in a world where old-school quality was shown the Disney door long ago.

Anonymous said...

I'm very excited about the new entrance. As far as it looking like DHS, only a very small percentage of guests will notice that, and I'm willing to bet that most will have annual pass in hand when passing through the gates. Your general vacationer/tourist won't notice, and if they do, they won't think of it as something to gripe about.