WDI Imagineers did a fantastic preview of DCA Buena Vista Street and Carthay Theater at D23 Expo and provided tons of exciting infos about what will be DCA new entrance street next year. You'll see the full video of this preview panel but here is what they've announced.
First, Buena Vista Street will be divided into sections representing Los Angeles districts and towns, including Atwater village, Los Feliz area, etc and the Carthay Circle Theater is offset so you could be at new fountain and not see the Disneyland train station from DCA hub. Buena Vista Street is designed to tell the story of Walt. Believe it or not, but researches are showing more and more that people don't realize Walt Disney was a real person, they think it's just a corporate identity! WDI Imagineers believe that it's important to have people know Walt was a real person - you bet they're right!
Guest comfort will be a big issue in Buena Vista Street design and lots of new shade trees are going in. Landscape architects are designing what curbs look like, which kinds of trees will be present, where they'll be placed, etc and Imagineer Ray Spencer said that the largest oak tree that he has ever seen is being imported to Carthay Circle hub area.
Buena Vista Street is an idealized version of Los Angeles that never existed, except for the Carthay Theater and Pan Pacific. The two Red Cars will have different paint jobs. One Red Car will represent the 1915 style and the other will feature the later paint style. The Red Cars are modeled after real Red Cars. The Red Car Trolley wires will make a "visual cap" that keeps your eyes within the confines of the street, preventing you from looking outside of the area and to help create a completely immersive experience.
Five architects are involved in BVS architecture/facade design. The use of different architects on the project is to help create a look that the street was built by different people at different times. The quality level, detailing has to be on-par with Main Streets found in other Disney parks. Thousands and thousands of hours of work have gone into BVS planning and design work to the achieve authenticity, detail, accuracy needed to make the space believable. Buena Vista Street is an amalgam of Los Angeles stores and buildings, but except for the Pan Pacific Auditorium and the Carthay Circle Theater - which will be "home of high-end restaurant and lounge" - none of Buena Vista Street will be a recreation of anything specific found in Los Angeles, unlike the Hollywood Pictures Backlot facades. Tile and glasswork will be authentic to 1920's Los Angeles.
BVS interiors will be fully finished. All shops will be accessible via an interior "aisle"/corridor that will run through the shops, parallel to Buena Vista Street. This will be similar to how the shops are connected on Main Street, USA. Imagineers are working to create a lot of "transparency" for the shops. You'll be able to see through the shop windows into the stores, creating a greater sense of continuity from outside on Buena Vista Street to inside its shops and restaurants.
Elias and Co. is flagship store on BVS, similar to Disneyland's Emporium. Elias and Co's facade is inspired by early Los Angeles department stores, but not any one in particular. Big Rock Candy Mountain model will be on display at Trolley Treats. The model is based on attraction designed for an early Fantasyland attraction at Disneyland that would have been built where Storybook Land is now. Rock candy mountain will serve as a "metaphor" ... The model is not an exact replica of the Disneyland attraction concept. The model in Trolley Treats will feature some working trolleys on it.
Also, Guests won't be bombarded with characters on Buena Vista Street, but the names of iconic Disney characters from Walt's early career will be present as shop and restaurant names. The character-inspired names work as tribute and nod to Walt Disney's past, but also work as a story element, suggesting that Walt Disney may have been inspired by the places he saw and went to in Los Angeles when creating his characters for his animated films. Many of the characters won't necessarily be visible/present because many weren't created yet when Walt arrived in Los Angeles.
The Walt and Mickey statue - picture above - will have Walt and Mickey with suitcases, as though they've just arrived. Mickey is represented as Walt's muse. The new statue will be on ground with guests, not on a pedestal like at Disneyland. The reason it will be placed on the ground is because the story for Buena Vista Street is that Walt is coming to California to fulfil his dreams just like the rest of us. He's just one of us in 1920s Los Angeles, and anything is possible. Blaine Gibson's protégé of 30 years is responsible for sculpting the new Walt and Mickey statue. Blaine Gibson was the Imagineer who created Disneyland's "Partners" statue.
Finally, Department of Water and Power fountain in Pasadena served as inspiration for new hub fountain. Guests won't see fountain when the area opens for traffic between Condor Flats and Hollywood Pictures Backlot. The fountain will remain behind walls and won't be unveiled until the Buena Vista Street opening day ceremony in 2012.
And now, here is videos showing the BVS Imagineers preview panel, filmed by thebugger2000.
Picture: copyright Disney
Videos: copyright thebugger2000 whom i thanks a lot!
