Disney California Adventure, the second theme park in the Disneyland Resort complex, is undergoing a face-lift and renovation. The most recent addition of World of Color and the upcoming Cars Land are integral parts of this changeover, but some find the re-vamping of the park’s main entrance area to be the most important in terms of making the park really feel like a Disney original.
The entry to the park will be changed to represent a California town reminiscent of the era when Walt Disney first arrived in Los Angeles. A busy “Buena Vista Street,” will lay the background and the “stage” will include period and arts-and-crafts architecture shops and storefronts.
The centerpiece of the new entry will be the Red Car Trolley, which, though battery-powered, will travel along tracks and will be connected to decorative overhead wires via “power poles.” The style of the trolley will harken back to the Pacific Electric Railway that used to run throughout Southern California in the 1920s.
Once it’s revealed in 2012, the Red Car will travel from Disney California Adventure’s main entrance past the Carthay Circle Theater and through the new “Hollywoodland district” before stopping at the Tower of Terror and reversing direction.
According to the LA Times, “early concept art by Walt Disney Imagineering envisions using the Red Cars as a stage for entertainment, including a paperboy-themed show with performers in period costumes.”
