Inside Buena Vista Street



The new turnstiles for the park have been completed.

If you are an avid Disney fan such as myself, I am sure that you have probably been keeping a pretty close eye on whats been going on at Disney California Adventure. From the premiere of World of Color, to a new Little Mermaid dark ride, the park is getting a HUGE makeover infusing it with just more... well, Disney. The magic that the park has always seemed to lack is now being created all around guests. With phase 1 of the expansion scheduled to finish next summer (2012) with the completion of Cars Land and Buena Vista Street, construction is really starting to ramp-up. 

This week, Disney (via their Disneyparks Blog) released some new photos of what we can expect to see inside the stores and shops of Buena Vista Street. The new park entrance, modeled after the California Walt Disney himself encountered when he ventured to the Golden State, is set in 1920's and 30's. It is expected to be quite a spectacle, as Imagineers are paying excruciating attention to detail. Disney is getting their second shot at the park, and they want to get it right. Lynne Itamura, Senior Principal Interior Designer at Walt Disney Imagineering, says her team worked closely with the creative directors behind the project to make sure that the attention given to the outside of the street, translates to the inside of the shops as well. “Color is a very important design element,” Lynne says as she explains how design elements can help create separate spaces . “It creates mood and volume.” Elias & Co ( a Main Street Emporium style store) will have four seperate departments, each with different design and color. The accessories area (pins anyone?) will feature more soft, earth tones. Meanwhile, the jewelry section of the store will sparkle like the inside of a jewelry box.

Whats a trip to Disneyland without a stop for ice-cream? Disney has brought this aspect of Main Street USA into Buena Vista Street. Trolley Treats and Clarabelle’s Hand-Scooped Ice Cream will be the place to stop for a quick snack as you rush to grab that fastpass for World of Color, or on your way out of the park after a day filled with magic. “We had a great time talking about what would make this place say ‘ice cream,’” Lynne said, adding that guests will find the decor very “lickable... Although we really don’t encourage that,” Disney Imagineers seem to be having a ball doing what they do best. Having free reign on their creativity.