Look Out Disneyland Here We Come

Daddy I'm Hungry, California Adventure

As the song goes, "You make the change.  You rearrange me till I'm sane." Pink Floyd.

I'll miss the Wave Fountian and California songs the most

Across the way from Disneyland, where we parked when I was a kid is a separate theme park initially named California Adventure.  I wrote about the park in Time Machine Travelogue on March 30th's post.  The new park was not an overwhelming success.  There were some grand ideas.  Soon after they opened things started closing.  Most of them were restaurants. You literally could not walk a hundred yards without finding an eating place.  Restaurants were tucked into every corner.  The first time we went to California Adventure we planned to eat at more economical sites.  Saving our big ticket meals for Downtown Disney.  I'm sure that the reasoning was to give as many guests as possible options.  If you were spending four days at one of the Disney Resort Hotels, you wouldn't eat every meal at California Adventure.  The park also had shorter hours not opening until 10:00 AM and closing at 9:00PM.  So the grab and go was mostly the type of restaurant.  Of the different areas of California Adventure, the Hollywood Studio is a good place to stare.  There was a spot we passed up the first time we went there and that was a mistake because it soon disappeared.  Hollywood and Dine, clever play on words eh. It was themed to be a commissary located on a Hollywood Studio's back lot.  However, it was just a food court.  You travel hundreds of miles and spend hundreds of dollars to eat at food court.  I don't think so.  Like all mall food courts it offered different food choices. They all had clever names though.  There was a burger joint called Wilshire Bowl.  If you want pizza, the Villa Carpi would be there for you.  Hungry for Chinese food?  Then, Don the Beachcombers would be your stop.  If you wanted a $8.00 tuna fish sandwich step up to Schwab's Pharmacy.  You never know you might be discovered by an agent and made a movie star.

A very good dog

Cross pollination corperaton style

We walked away and opted for Award Wieners, a gourmet hot dog stand and the french fries were great.  At the time it had very limited sidewalk seating, but an area that was part of the Muppets 3D attraction's queue was reassigned for table seating. Originally, they had Soap Opera Bistro.  It was like dinner theater with the backdrop of ABC daytime soap operas. Scenes and sets from familiar daytime shows were used by actor/ wait persons serving up food and involving the guests in the drama. Port Charles, All My Children, One Life to Live, and General Hospital were the shows that were used.  It too closed and reassigned as a stage show. Now no food is served there.

Wolfgang where did you go

Many changes have happened in the Paradise Pier region of California Adventure.  The legendary Wolfgang Puck was a Southern California chef.  So with his name recognition a restaurant at California Adventure seemed like a great idea.  They built a lavish interior setting and the food I'm told was phenomenal.  We knew that we were returning with the sponsor, my mother, in December so we would wait.  Bad idea it was doomed to failure.  Most restaurants suffered this fate and soon Wolfgang was gone.  It went through a change and became Ariel's Grotto, a character dining experience.  We have been to this dining spot when my daughter was into Disney Princesses, especially Ariel.  They have a unique menu option.

All the characters are dressed in sailor attire

For a single price you receive a starter, main course, and dessert item, and you have different choices in each category.  You get to mix and match while characters like Mickey, Minnie, and Chip and Dale circulate mingling with guests for photos.  When you arrive, Ariel, seated in a clam shell, is there for personal photos.
At one time, there was an agreement between Disney and The McDonald's Corporation.  You remember all those toys given out in Happy Meals?  There was a couple of McDonald's french fries places in Disneyland.  Burger Invasion was a limited menu McDonald's at the west end of Paradise Pier.  It was closed when the mutual agreement was dissolved in 2007.  However, Paradise Pier was changing.  Pixar was taking over.  One of the best changes was the opening of Toy Story Midway Mania.  To make room for this addition two walk away food service spots needed to be closed.  Malibu-Ritos and Strips Dips "N" Chips were removed.  The chicken strips and fish and chips were moved to Bountiful Valley Farms.  My family enjoy the chicken strips and the fish and chips.

If you're hungry for this go to the Stage Door Cafe in Frontierland

Ooo fried food

Never ate here and now its gone

I wonder what they will replace it with

I always thought they were not from this Earth 

The have reassigned the area where Pizza Oom Mow Mow and Burger Invasion and replaced them with Paradise Garden and Grill and Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta.  I haven't had an opportunity to eat at them when we went to the parks for One More Disney Day on Leap Day this year.  The choice for us on the afternoon and evening we spent at DCA was the newly reopened Corn Dog Castle.  It was a great treat to take the edge off while you're waiting for one of The Wonderful World of Color water and laser show.  And it was fantastic and cold on the February Night.

Pizza pizza everywhere

Couldn't they just put in a different attraction

My wife's sister could believe over $30 for five corn dogs

My wife always takes first bite

 The food court concept did not disappear when Hollywood and Dine closed down.  The Pacific Wharf area was a food court al fresco.  There is no inside dining but there are plenty of outdoor seating.  Also in that area is a beer wagon and a margarita shack.  The margarita place was named Rita's Baja Blenders. The anchor restaurant is the Pacific Wharf Cafe`.  It is reminiscent of the restaurants of Monterey and San Fransisco.  The San Fransisco sour dough bread has been famous for over a 100 years.  The best bakery for it in the City is Boudin Bakery.  Thousands of people have carried home sour dough from Boudins all over the world.  Airports have seen the arrival of loaves of this bread around the United States and many countries of the World.  They, of course, have clam chowder served in a hollowed out bread bowl along with sandwiches and salads.  Also, they serve breakfast and have great breakfast pastries.

Take a couple of loaves back to your room or home

Something strange also occurred in this area.  They stayed with the with the food court concept, however the restaurants switched sides.  They serve food court styled dishes.  Luckily, I live in California and have many locally owned restaurants that serve much better food of these genres.  The Mexican food place is called Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill.  I have seen plates ordered by others and the food is appealing looking. I suppose you could grab a margarita or a beer and have a relaxing break.

Try the carne asada and chicken tamale

The other mainstay of every mall food court is Chinese food.  At one time they had a gourmet fortune cookie window connected with the restaurant.  However, I didn't see it anymore now that they have switched sides.  The Lucky Fortune Cookery is like many mall places.  We all have eaten at restaurants like Panda Express which this food resembles.  Traditional rice bowls contain rice and a choice of entrees.  Chicken, beef, or tofu is served with different sauces like Teriyaki, Mandarin orange, spicy Korean, and Thai curry.  However, with so many food choices I think I could find something better.

Pacific Rim Foods

With all the current retheming that is going at what used to be called California Adventure and now called Disney California Adventure is an area known as Condor Flats.  In that area, the is an excellent food choice, Taste Pilots Grill.  They have good old fashioned American cuisine.  Barbecued ribs, Angus hamburgers, and french fries and onion rings.  It also a short from the Grand Californian Hotel so it is a good first stop when you reenter the park after your swim.  The put in space-age self-serve electronic kiosks so that you could place your order.  I don't know if these will be removed now that the area will be reassigned.  One thing that has already flown away is the rocket busting through the front of the building.

Where good taste is rocket science

As we get ready for our annual Summer visit and the opening of Cars Land, we will get pictures ready to show the transformation to the new Walt Disney's era California.  Please comment if you want any special pictures or information.Try these links