What did they knock out to build California Adventure?

Katems

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 30, 2005
Does anyone know what was removed to make way for California Adventure? I am assuming a bunch of hotels? I find it so interesting that they actually cut around the Candy Cane Inn and allowed it to stay... I always stay at Candy Cane so I'm very grateful. I'm just wondering if Candy Cane had some special relationship with Disney that they allowed it to remain. I mean to actually slant the borders of the park so it stays is pretty telling, in my opinion. This is very obvious on this map:

http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=33.810371&lon=-117.909833&z=16&m=b
 




The area around Disneyland is interesting. You'll notice it isn't just the Candy Cane Inn but also the Alpine Inn and a few other hotels and even some convenience stores. They just don't own that part of the block.
 
there were motels along most of the southern edge of the property along Katella, except for an entrance that was usually closed.

not sure if Disney had to buy back that property or if there were leases that expired.
 
I miss the days of getting there early and parking within a few feet of the Disneyland ticket booths. The old parking lot was huge. The trams had stops throughout the lot.

I take every new visitor i bring and catch the tram at DTD for a round trip to share the memory of anticipation of entering Disneyland. Plus it extends our DTD visit on our day off. the three triggers that I have arrived close to the magical gates were the fragrance of the Ontario stockyards, the Matterhorn punching a hole in the sky and waiting for the tram.....with no doors!!!!.....carnival rides have doors.....that fast moving tram was on the edge of living!!!!!
 
...I find it so interesting that they actually cut around the Candy Cane Inn and allowed it to stay... I always stay at Candy Cane so I'm very grateful. I'm just wondering if Candy Cane had some special relationship with Disney that they allowed it to remain...
My guess is the special relationship was Disney wasn’t will to pay whatever Candy Cane was asking. Remember, DCA was done on the cheap- to the point of pitiful (given the ticket prices) when it first opened. Heck, now that I think about it maybe Disney didn’t even consider purchasing more land at the time!
 
We stayed at the Hilton a few times and entered Disney property through that parking lot.
 
We always stayed across the street on Katella either at the Magic Lamp or its sister property, the Magic Lantern. You could get a large room with a separate bedroom and a kitchen for $25/night. You'd run across the street and go directly into the main entrance to Disneyland, but it was a long walk across that parking lots and the trams didn't want you riding on them. That was along time ago, obviously.

ETA: The sister property was the Magic Carpet. I think they became the Anabella at some point, but we went in the '70s and my memory is a bit foggy on details.
 
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It was the parking lot, and the main (only I think) entrance to drive in. You used to be able to park in the Eyeore lot, basically where the gates to DCA are and walk right up to DL. It flooded, badly, when it rained hard in SoCal. Fun memories sloshing through that parking lot in the rain when I was in high school!

It was also a road that went from the main drive in entrance through the parking lot and over to the lot behind PP for overflow, but there was a tram. That's from 20+ year old memories and 3 kids ago so that may not be 100% correct of a recollection.
 
If you look at the Eeyore section - that is where Indiana Jones showroom (the interior of the ride) is. There is an Eeyore sign in the queue projector room from that section.

upload_2018-4-14_20-27-1.png upload_2018-4-14_20-28-18.png

upload_2018-4-14_20-29-0.png
 
We always stayed across the street on Katella either at the Magic Lamp or its sister property, the Magic Lantern. You could get a large room with a separate bedroom and a kitchen for $25/night.
The was such an awesome place to stay. It was a total dump by today's standards, but having a kitchen and a separate bedroom for those prices (I paid $35/night) made it the best place to stay in the area for us.

I was so bummed when they built the Annabella. When people post they are sad to see Annabella go, my first thought is that it should have never been there in the first place. :sad2:
It was also a road that went from the main drive in entrance through the parking lot and over to the lot behind PP for overflow, but there was a tram. That's from 20+ year old memories and 3 kids ago so that may not be 100% correct of a recollection.
The tram used to stop in several parts of the parking lots. I don't think we ever had to wait for a tram. We would just keep walking until we saw one and we would go the nearest stop. We always considered that the first ride of the day.

I do still think of the tram as the first ride of the today. Only now, it comes complete with a really big line and often a wait.

The memories......... Funny how much I miss that parking lot (and the strawberry fields at Toy Story lot), yet DCA is my favorite park now.
 

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