Disney to Revamp California Adventure

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By GARY GENTILE, AP Business Writer
Wed Oct 17, 2:11 PM ET


LOS ANGELES - The Walt Disney Co. will overhaul its disappointing California Adventure theme park to add more attractions based on Pixar animated movies and draw closer ties to Walt Disney, the company said Wednesday.

Disney did not disclose the cost of the project. but it will exceed $1 billion, according to a person familiar with the plans who was not authorized to speak publicly about it.

The figure eclipses the original cost of California Adventure, which opened in 2001.

The overhaul is designed to bolster lagging attendance, which in some years has barely reached half the numbers of neighboring Disneyland.

In 2005, Disneyland drew 14.5 million visitors, an 8.5 percent increase over the previous year, while California Adventure drew only 5.8 million, a 3.6 percent increase. Figures for 2006 were not immediately available.

Poor attendance forced Disney to tweak California Adventure almost from the time it opened.

Tourists balked when Disney initially charged as much to attend California Adventure as it did for Disneyland, which had many times the number of rides and attractions.

Since then, California Adventure has largely failed its initial purpose of making the Anaheim parks a multi-day destination. Eventually, Disney had to offer discounted admission packages known as "park hopper" tickets.

A single day's adult admission to either park is now $66. A "park hopper" ticket that allows visits to both parks on the same day is $91.

As part of the overhaul, Disney will expand the park with a 12-acre section based on the Pixar film "Cars."

It will also replace some of the park's less popular sections with new attractions based on the Disney film "Little Mermaid" and the Pixar film "Toy Story," the company said.

The project will also include a new plaza greeting guests that more resembles the iconic "Main Street" at Disneyland, and a new interactive attraction will also tell the story of company founder Walt Disney.

The overhaul will take several years to complete.

The park was the brainchild of former Disney CEO Michael Eisner and includes sections dedicated to various California attractions.

The famous Disneyland monorail travels over a reproduction of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and other sections evoke the memory of 1940s Hollywood.

The park was originally designed to appeal more to adults and included a restaurant sponsored by a winery. None of the iconic Disney characters, including Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, made appearances in the park at first.

The park was also built with economy in mind, importing several rides and attractions that had already debuted at Walt Disney World in Florida.

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