The core concept for the Disney California Adventure park has its origins in two other abandoned theme park concepts, Disney's America and The Workplace. Disney's America in Virginia was intended as a "home base" for people visiting the nation's capital. The park would bring the story of America to life, inspiring guests to venture out and visit the real thing. Developed during the same period in the early-90s, The Workplace was a proposed concept for Walt Disney World, combining Walt Disney's idea of an industrial park on the property with "edutainment" and tours of working factories.
While neither of those parks came to fruition, some of the concepts developed for them eventually bore fruit at Disney California Adventure. Two direct descendants are the factory tours in the Pacific Wharf district.
Built into the old sardine canning plant, the Mission Tortilla Factory tells the story of tortillas, a staple of the Hispanic diet for centuries and an important part of California cuisine. The story begins with a series of murals and a pair of facades, one representing the Mission period and the other from the 1920s. Looking through portals within the facades reveals magical, "living" dioramas which demonstrate the labor-intensive process once used to make tortillas.
From there, we move into a modern, state-of-the-art Mission Foods production facility. Corn tortillas are being produced on one side, flour tortillas on the other. Sections of the machines have been cut away, so we can get an up close look at the fascinating mechanisms used to create these tasty treats. Best of all, if you time your visit right, you'll get to sample a warm tortilla hot off the line!
The cannery building across the way is now home to a sourdough French bread bakery, operated by the Boudin family.
Just inside is a gathering area where our tour begins. Take a moment to appreciate the photographs on the wall. They represent the history and heritage of the Boudins, a real family who have been producing their famous sourdough bread in California since 1849. Their facility in San Francisco is the oldest operating sourdough bread bakery in the state.
We're soon joined on screen by the hosts for our bakery tour, Rosie O'Donnell and Colin Mochrie. Through humor and history, they tell the story of the Boudins and the process of making their sourdough bread.
Every batch begins with a portion of the "mother dough" mixture originally developed by Isidore Boudin. The Boudins' bread making process, using this starter, has continued uninterrupted for more than 150 years.
The tour continues along a glass-walled corridor, as our guides take us through the "mixing and make-up" area and finally on to the ovens.
In the end, our on-screen guides turn things over to a demonstration baker in the actual facility, who is available to answer our questions, offer a small sample or even craft a special loaf in a familiar shape.
If a quick taste on each of these tours has whetted your appetite, the nearby restaurants of Pacific Wharf can satisfy that deeper craving. Cocina Cucamonga ("cocina" means kitchen; Cucamonga is a reference to Mission Foods' primary facility in Rancho Cucamonga, California) offers a selection of tortilla-based Mexican cuisine. Located at the end of the Boudin Bakery Tour, Pacific Wharf Cafe has fresh-baked loafs of sourdough for sale, along with delicious sandwiches and hearty soups.
