20 years ago today, what was then called Disney’s California Adventure opened its gates to the world. The sister park to Walt Disney’s original Disneyland, the park had high expectations, and was the biggest part of the largest expansion to the Anaheim resort since the original opened in 1955. With Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Spa and the new Downtown Disney district opening weeks prior, a visit to the Disneyland Resort would look nothing like it had before. Where guests once saw a parking lot, they now saw a towering mountain that looked like a grizzly bear dominating the skyline. Approaching the gates of Disneyland, they could look back and see the tops of the Golden Gate Bridge, acting as a new gateway.
The morning of February 8th, 2001, there was a lot of blue and bleachers for the opening ceremonies that would reveal to the world the highly-anticipated new park. A new esplanade had been constructed between the entries to both parks, setting the stage for the ceremony and welcoming media from around the world that had descended into this new plaza to witness the gates of the new park opening to the public.
The ceremony was….different. Which was the point. Disney’s California Adventure was not Disneyland. It was different. The park had more attractions that skewed older, more elegant dining offerings, even a winery. Perhaps that’s why the ceremony was filled with abstract pomp and circumstance in its early moments, with a walking “sun” and lots of different ribbon dancers representing ocean waves. Other dancers carried banners emblazoned with different words like “Explore” and “Culture” and “Dream,” words that exemplify the spirit of California that was being celebrated in the new park.
Guests of the early version of the park may recall that there was a different entrance when the park opened than there is today, indicative of a postcard one might buy while visiting California, at least, when it was viewed from afar. Up close, everyone just saw giant letters spelling out “CALIFORNIA” with a smaller version of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was the reveal of those letters during this opening ceremony that created the first truly memorable moment of the celebration. Those aforementioned banners all came together as a sun rose over the backdrop causing “the tide” of ocean wave dancers to ebb and reveal the letters at the entrance of the new park.
As the letters were revealed, one man is left standing alone as the dancers move off stage, Roy E. Disney. After an introduction, he approaches the microphone and gives a speech, honoring his father and uncle, excited to embark on this next “Golden Dream” for the Walt Disney Company. Michael Eisner and Mickey Mouse then come out and dedicate the park:
“To all who believe in the power of dreams…Welcome! Disney’s California Adventure opens its golden gates to you. Here we pay tribute to the dreamers of the past…the native people, explorers, immigrants, aviators, entrepreneurs and entertainers who built the Golden State. And we salute a new generation of dreamers who are creating the wonders of tomorrow…from the silver screen to the computer screen…from the fertile farmlands to the far reaches of space. Disney’s California Adventure celebrates the richness and the diversity of California…its land, its people, its spirit and above all, the dreams that it continues to inspire.”
After the speech, the dancers come back and more of the blue backdrop is pulled back, revealing the full entrance of Disney’s California Adventure, concluding with a pyrotechnic display from the surrounding mosaic, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the tops of the signature letters that had been revealed moments before. But the ceremony isn’t over yet. There are special guests in attendance who are among the first to enter the new park. Invited to the park were Art Linkletter and Buddy Ebsen, who were both present at the opening of Disneyland in 1955, with the former actually hosting the festivities that day live to affiliates around the country. Original Mouseketeers, Sharon Baird, Bobby Burgess, and Tommy Cole were also present, along with notable Disneyland opening day Cast Members, Marty Sklar and Dick Nunis. The two first guests to Disneyland, Kristina Graef and Michael Schwartnerr, were present but they were not the first guests into the new park. That title would go to Nicci Klepper and her family. Nicci was in the Special Olympics and was featured in the opening day attraction, Golden Dreams.
After the introduction of those special invited guests, the announcement came thanking everyone for attending, and Disney’s California Adventure was now open.
Throughout the days surrounding the opening of the park, there were dedication ceremonies for individual attractions. Arguably one of the most entertaining was that of MuppetVision 3D in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot which featured then-president of the Disneyland Resort, Cynthia Harriss along with Kermit the Frog.
A ceremony also took place for the aforementioned Golden Dreams, featuring an appearance from Bob Iger several years before he became CEO of the Walt Disney Company, along with Whoopi Goldberg who played the role of Califia, the Spirit of California in the new attraction.
Notably, one of the lengthier individual dedication ceremonies took place for the ABC Soap Bistro, with many Soap Stars in attendance for the proceedings. For being one of the longer ceremonies, there is a hint of irony in the fact that the restaurant would go on to be one of the more notoriously short-lived offerings of Disney’s California Adventure.
And we would be remiss to not showcase the dedication ceremony for what would become the park’s signature and most popular attraction, Soarin’ Over California. An attraction that would prove so popular, it would be recreated at Disney Parks across the globe and then replaced later with a new film, Soarin’ Around The World. That said, there are so many who prefer the California original that it periodically returns to the original hangar in Condor Flats (now the Grizzly Peak Airfield).
While media descended from around the world to capture and provide coverage of these dedication ceremonies, for many folks, their first introduction came on ABC’s The Wonderful World of Disney, which showcased an opening special starring some favorites from some of the network’s hit shows.
The special is a non-traditional look at the offerings of the new park falling under the guise of Spin City stars Richard Kind and Barry Bostwick attempting to meet Disney’s “Big Cheese,” Michael Eisner. After illegally parking in front of the letter C at the park’s entrance, two security guards (Whose Line Is It Anyway?’s Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood) tell Barry and Richard they will escort the pair to Mr. Eisner right away. Barry and Richard however want to explore the new park, and escape the security guards. Colin and Brad start hunting through the park, causing a disturbance amongst soap stars at the ABC Soap Opera Bistro (“Bobbie Spencer!”) and climbing through the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail to find the two celebrities.
Richard and Barry evade the guards in Disney Animation, where they get a lesson in Character Design (Richard was the voice of Molt in A Bug’s Life, you know), by flying high with Chief Flight Attendant Patrick aboard Soarin’ Over California, with some pro rafters on Grizzly River Run and underground with John Lasseter in the theater for It’s Tough to be a Bug.
Courtesy DisneyParkVideos
It was on Paradise Pier where the two guards finally caught up with Barry and Richard, as they returned to the station after their spin on California Screamin’, and escorted them to Michael Eisner, who had no idea what they wanted in the first place. Turns out, Michael isn’t the “big cheese,” that would be Mickey Mouse, who showed up saying he wanted to take Barry and Richard on a tour through the park, first stop: California Screamin’.
The show concludes with Michael and Mickey walking into the park, with Eisner saying “I think this is the start of a beautiful new park.”
It took a lot of time, and even more effort, but it was.