Disney’s California Adventure 2005 Walk Through - July 18, 2005

Most of my trip to California in July 2005 was spent at Disneyland park celebrating the 50th anniversary, but I did spend a day at Disney’s California Adventure to see what’s new. Mostly Tower of Terror.

In this 2005 home video you will see…

0:09 Paradise Pier Hotel. This hotel opened in 1984 as the Emerald Hotel of Anaheim. The name changed to the Pan Pacific five years later. In 1995 it became the Disneyland Pacific Hotel, and then Paradise Pier Hotel on Dec. 15, 2000. On Jan. 30, 2024 it reopened as Pixar Place. The hotel tower contains an actual 13th floor, which is rare for hotels.

0:19 California Screamin’. This opening day attraction was the first Disneyland Resort ride to have an inversion. In 2009 the Mickey silhouette behind the inversion was changed to a sun. On Jan. 8, 2018 the ride closed and was rethemed to Disney-Pixar’s The Incredibles. The Incredicoaster opened on June 23, 2018. It uses linear induction motors to launch the coaster from 0 to 55 miles per hour in 4.5 seconds.

1:21 Maliboomer. This “off the shelf” opening day ride, purchased from S&S Worldwide Inc. closed on Sept. 7, 2010. The area was used as a smoking section and a character meet and greet. The Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind attraction opened there on June 28, 2019. The Maliboomer had three 180 foot drop towers, making it the highest DCA attraction on opening day.

1:57 King Triton’s Carousel. This was an opening day attraction and closed on March 5, 2018. To match the theming of “Pixar Pier” the carousel was rethemed as Jessie’s Critter Carousel and reopened on April 5, 2019. King Triton’s Carousel was designed by Disney and built by D. H. Morgan Manufacturing. The 47-foot carousel featured 56 sea creatures and 2 benches. Guests could ride a sea lion, fish, otter, seal, dolphin, whale, seahorse or flying fish. No two creatures were alike, and each one was hand carved. Since it had sea creatures and not horses, this would be classified as a merry-go-round, but Disney called it a “carousel”. One of the dolphins was located in Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel lobby.

2:15 Strips, Dips ‘n’ Chips. The best “bet” by the beach, this fried foods stand served boardwalkers from Feb. 2001 to Sept. 2006. Boardwalk Betsy’s scary winking face was on the sign.

2:36 P.T. Flea Market. A gardening shop called Santa Rosa Seed & Supply was in this octagon building before it became P.T. Flea Market in Fall 2002. It closed on Sept. 7, 2010 and moved to Paradise Gardens. The space became the entrance to Cars Land.

2:45 Block Party Bash. This daytime parade ran from May 5, 2005 to Jan. 6, 2008. It was the first parade at DCA to feature “Party Zones” where the parade would stop, excite guests, and then move on. In 2005 this parade had 60 dancers, 30 electric scooters, 16 acrobats, and 12 pairs of jumping stilts. It was moved to Disney’s Hollywood Studios where it ran from March 14, 2008 to Jan. 1, 2011.

4:43 Flik’s Flyers. Eight food containers spin around hanging from leaf balloons stitched together by Flik. This ride’s total saturated fun is 100% (according to the topping container). The ride mechanism is a “Samba Balloon” from the Zamperla. It was redesigned to Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind and moved to Pixar Pier.

4:54 The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Added on May 5, 2005 this Hollywood Pictures Backlot attraction thrilled guests until Jan. 2, 2017 when it changed to Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT!, which opened on May 27, 2017.

5:05 Francis’ Ladybug Boogie. The six ride vehicles all looked like Francis from A Bug’s Life. The ladybugs boogied along two turntables switching off in between to make a figure eight, around both turntables. It was similar to Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree and Alien Swirling Saucers.

5:35 Tuck and Roll’s Drive ‘Em Buggies. Guests drove around in these pill bugs designed to look like Tuck and Roll. There was a Q-tip trapeze overhead to go with the circus theme. The car had two gas pedals, one for the adult and one for the child. This ride was built by Majestic Manufacturing Inc. in Ohio. These cars got their electricity from the floor, not an overhead grid.

5:50 Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train. Passengers traveled on a five-car Heimlich caterpillar as he chew-chews his way through various foods. Pixar’s Joe Ranft provided the German sounding voice of Heimlich.

6:40 Flik’s Fun Fair. This land featuring off-the-shelf amusement rides opened on Oct. 7, 2002. It was sponsored by Kodak. The land was themed after the 1998 Pixar film “a bug’s life”. It closed on Sept. 4, 2018, and was replaced by the Avengers Campus.

7:19 Bountiful Valley Farm. This small farm across from It’s Tough to be a Bug. A Bug’s Life characters were added in 2002. Caterpillar tractors sponsored the area until late 2006. It closed in 2010 to make way for Cars Land.

REFERENCE:
The ultimate authority in extinct Disneyland: https://www.yesterland.com/