Rounding out the Golden State

At the opposite edge of Grizzly Peak is the Golden Vine Winery, celebrating Napa Valley and the California Wine Country. The main attractions here are the wine tastings and Wine Country Trattoria, a fine dining establishment that feels worlds away from a theme park, but there are also lots of little details around this area.

The main building of the Golden Vine Winery was inspired by California's Mission Period, with red tile roof and Spanish-style architecture. Nearby, an actual mini-vineyard is growing on a hillside. Look for the hawk perch, used to invite birds of prey to help control pests in the vineyard.

Depending on the season, you may actually spot grapes growing on the vines. These aren't plastic. They're the real thing. A sign nearby describes the common varietals grown in California, although the only vine grown here is Johannesburg Riesling, due to its resistance to Pierce's Disease. Anaheim was once a big wine-producing region, until Pierce's Disease wiped out the crop in the 1880s and farmers switched instead to oranges.

A theatrical attraction entitled "Seasons of the Vine" was once presented in the winery's barrel room, a dark space populated with oak barrels, an antique wine press and a cabinet filled with cooperage tools for barrel making. In the show, a vineyard host would welcome guests, and then proceed to open a pair of large doors at one end of the room, revealing an expansive vineyard beyond (actually rear-projected HD video). The scene magically dissolved into a seven-minute presentation on the craft of making wine.

Today, the former "Seasons of the Vine" theater is home to the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar, a preview center for all the new development now happening throughout Disney California Adventure. You can take a virtual peek into the Blue Sky Cellar at the preview site, here.

Around the corner from the winery is a nod to the Bay Area, with a row of classic Victorian residences reminiscent of those built in San Francisco in the early 1900s. The facades hosted a short-lived video game arcade during the park's X Game Xperience event in 2003. Today, they house expanded area restrooms built to handle the increased attendance driven by the addition of the World of Color nighttime spectacular on nearby Paradise Bay.

The focal point of the Bay Area district is the replica of the famous Rotunda from San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts. The original was created for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. The Disney California Adventure version served as the entrance to Golden Dreams, a film attraction which highlighted the people and events that helped shape the unique character of the state of California.

The film, shown in a large Art Deco theater, was hosted by Calafia, the "Queen of California," as portrayed by Whoopi Goldberg. The story covered ground from Native Americans and Spanish missionaries to Chinese railroad workers and Cesar Chavez, Gold Rush and Hollywood pioneers to visionaries like John Muir and Steve Jobs. The presentation concluded with a musical montage of famous faces and events (similar to that at the end of The American Adventure at Epcot), set to the song "Just One Dream."

Golden Dreams saw its last performance in 2008, but the Rotunda still stands. Soon, it will represent a transition from the Bay Area to Paradise Pier and the grand Victorian aquarium where guests will experience one of the park's newest attractions, The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure.

Redwood Creek Challenge Trail

Part of the Grizzly Peak Recreation Area, the story of Redwood Creek echoes that of many of California's wilderness treasures. This grove of young Coastal Redwoods and Incense Cedar was once inhabited by Native Americans, documented by early explorers, admired by conservationists and ultimately preserved for the future by the State and National Park Service.

The trail map near the entrance of Redwood Creek lays out the adventures ahead, with challenges for both body (net climbs, rope slides, suspension bridges, etc.) and mind (plaques throughout the trail expound on local flora, fauna, geology and more). On the map, you'll also notice the three lookout towers, each named for a prominent California peak: Mt. Whitney (the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States), Mt. Shasta (second highest peak in the Cascades and the source of the live Christmas trees once trucked down to Disneyland) and Mt. Lassen (the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade Range).

Setting off down the trail to the right, we first come to Wawona Walk ("wawona" is the word the Miwok people used for redwoods) and the stump of Big Sir, the remainder of a giant redwood felled by lightning ages ago. Big Sir, of course, is artificial, crafted by Imagineering artists in the model of the real thing. Nearby, however, is the Millennium Tree, an actual cross section of a 1000-year-old Sequoia, which had fallen naturally in a forest near Sequoia National Park. The slab is marked with signs, indicating some of the historical moments through which the tree had lived.

The path along Redwood Creek bears the imprint of branches, leaves and animal tracks. Listen closely, and you can even make out the sounds of the wildlife in the surrounding forest. There's the croak of frogs, the chatter of bluejays, the howl of a coyote and the roar of a mountain lion. Inside Big Sir, listen for woodpeckers and squirrels by day. At night, though, the sounds change to those of hooting owls and fluttering bats.

Between the Mt. Whitney and Mt. Shasta lookout towers is the Sequoia Smokejumpers training challenge. This rope slide course would be used by the park rangers to keep fit and ready in the event of a forest fire. It's certainly one of the most vigorous challenges along the trail and not for everyone.

Younger explorers may be more drawn to the Squirrel Scramble rope mesh bridge or Shake-A-Log, a climb-through hollow log suspended by ropes, that sways just enough to make negotiating it really fun. My boys (above) certainly enjoyed it! They also liked the Cliff Hanger, where they were challenged to find the right foot and hand holds to traverse a granite outcropping... under the watchful eye of a Redwood Creek Ranger, of course.

Also fun in this area are the Rock Slide and Boulder Bears, a collection of granite boulders that just happen to resemble climbable bear cubs. When Disney California Adventure was new, these cubs and the nearby Hibernation Hollow served as the sole tributes to the California Black Bear. With the November 2003 release of the animated feature Brother Bear, the animals took on a larger role, with characters from the film making appearances in this part of the park (okay, so a little liberty was taken, considering the story of Brother Bear takes place in what would today be part of Canada or Alaska).

Hibernation Hollow (which originally featured just a few Native American pictographs and the growl of an unseen inhabitant) became Kenai's Spirit Cave. Visitors are invited to step inside and place a hand on the paw print to magically discover a personal animal connection.

Back outside, a carved graphic reveals the qualities you and your animal bond have in common.

Performances of "The Magic of Brother Bear" are showcased in the Ahwahnee Camp Circle. Ahwahnee means "deep, grassy valley" in the Miwok language and was the original name for the valley now known as Yosemite. The circle is the place where Native American legends and stories are told... and where the totem of moose brothers Rutt and Tuke come to life via simple animation and the simply hysterical voices of Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas.

It's the perfect place to relax after some of the physical exhilaration of the rest of the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.

Route 49 Past Grizzly Peak

According to the WDI Show Information Guide, a storytelling resource produced by Imagineering Show Writers with every new project, "Grizzly Peak Recreation Area is a celebration of the rugged natural beauty found in California's towering redwoods, granite mountains and whitewater rivers. Inspired by the magnificent state and national parks in the Sierra Nevada region, this area offers guests a taste of the Golden State's natural treasures."

The main passage through the Grizzly Peak Recreation Area is Route 49, a reference to the actual Highway 49 that travels north and south through some of the historic mining areas of California. The number 49, of course, is a nod to the "Miner 49ers" who flooded the area during the 1849 gold rush.

Details found on the main road, as well as a scenic side path running along the base of Grizzly Peak, help reinforce the idea of a state park, while signs and steel roadside barriers give visual clues to the fact that we're supposed to be traveling along a highway.

For more on Grizzly Peak's history, from Native Americans to the Gold Rush and modern thrill seekers, click here.

For a fun look at some details inside the area's Rushin' River Outfitters (along with a personal connection), be sure to check out Reilly Williamson's recent article over at WEDway Radio.

(Trash) Canned Art

Artistry and craftsmanship are the hallmarks of the Disneyland Resort. Everything is beautifully done, including the trash cans. Take a look at these examples of detailed and hand-painted cans, each a work of art that helps tell the story of the setting in which it's found.

At Disney's California Adventure, we travel from a bug's land with art inspired by the Disney-Pixar film a bug's life to the shores of Paradise Bay and the brightly-colored cans of the Paradise Pier oceanfront park. Near Mulholland Madness, it's the story of California car culture, where road signs and related graphics are most appropriate. Step around the bend into Golden State, and you'll first find yourself in the Grizzly Peak Recreation Area, styled after the National Parks of California. Further still, the area becomes Condor Flats, the Mohave desert headquarters for breakthroughs in aviation with cans inviting you and your fellow pilots to "Drop Your Debris."

Across the esplanade at Disneyland, the cans are more traditionally painted, but no less beautiful. From the filigree of Main Street and Fantasyland to the tropical prints of Adventureland and the refined lines of New Orleans Square, the work on the trash cans throughout Disneyland Park is top notch. It's especially interesting to see how the Jiminy Cricket icon has been worked into designs on recycling bins... completely original designs that complement the adjacent trash cans, but are unique unto themselves.

The Story & History of Grizzly Peak

The Grizzly Peak area celebrates the rugged natural beauty of California's Sierra Nevada region. According to Native American legend (and Disney storytelling), A-ha-le the Coyote once met Oo-soo'-ma-te the Bear on top of the mountain. Coyote asked Bear to watch over and protect the land, but one day people came and tried to chase Oo-soo'-ma-te from the mountain. The great Grizzly Bear was strong and held his ground. When A-ha-le saw this, he turned the Bear into stone so he could never be driven away.

Many years later, a German emigrant named Jakob Probst stumbled upon gold in these hills and quickly staked a claim. He ultimately sold his claim to the Eureka Gold & Timber Co., which set up operations up and down the Grizzly River.

The mining company built several structures in the area, including a company office and employee store which are still around today. The stamp mill and water wheel sit alongside the river, along with the wooden ore trestle that once carried ore downhill from the mountain's mines.

By the 1950s, the mines were tapped out and Eureka Gold & Timber Co. closed for good. Years later, the office and company store were reopened to serve the needs of outdoor sports enthusiasts coming to Grizzly Peak for hiking, fishing, kayaking, mountain-biking and whitewater rafting.

Much of the land once controlled by EG&T was turned over to the government and became the Grizzly Peak Recreation Area, a state park that appeals to visitors with its natural beauty and thrilling Class V rapids.

Grizzly River Rafting Company was founded by a group of whitewater rafting enthusiasts who decided to convert their weekend hobby into a full-time occupation.

They purchased and renovated several of the old mining buildings as a booking office, housing for guides, a repair shop for rafts, and a dock for rafters to "put in" at the river's edge. Examples of the original mining equipment still exist. Some of which have even been pressed into use, such as the ore trestle, running in reverse now to carry rafts up to Grizzly Summit (Note that the elevation is listed as 1401 ft, a reference to the address of Walt Disney Imagineering at 1401 Flower Street in Glendale).

Once aboard the rafts, the journey starts off peacefully enough. We spot ancient petroglyphs, carved into cave walls by the mountain's earliest inhabitants, and hear the wind roaring through the canyon like the growl of the great Bear of legend.

Next thing we know, the pace has quickened. We sweep around Bristlecone Bend and suddenly splash down Bear Claw Falls toward the darkness of Eureka Mineshaft #13. Re-emerging into the sunlight, our raft bounces through Pinball Rapids and past Frog Jump Falls on the way to the Sluice Channel, where the river seems to drop out from under us. Our raft catches a snag and spins wildly into Geyser Gauntlet and on to River's End.

The spin you experience on Grizzly River Run is actually the result of a happy accident. During test runs in a mocked-up flume at the Imagineering facility, the raft really did get snagged on something unexpected, sending riders spinning out of control. Everyone enjoyed the ride so much, they set to work figuring out a way to ensure every raft on the finished attraction would spin down the final drop every time. The end result is one of the most fun and surprising whitewater raft adventures ever created.