2016 will mark an anniversary for a certain theme park. Yes, Magic Kingdom will be celebrating 45 years in October. Yeah, Tokyo Disney Sea will have its 15 year anniversary in September. But, here on the West Coast of the United States, we get to celebrate first.
It’s Disney California Adventure’s (or DCA as some like to call it) 15th anniversary! Opened on February 8, 2001, this little park that could has become a beloved place to visit at the Disneyland Resort. It was the cause of the first major expansion of the whole resort. Downtown Disney was added with the project, as well as the Grand Californian. Though it had some hard beginnings and an eventual overall reconditioning, this theme park has been host to unique experiences and great rides.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be counting down the time until February 8 when DCA will have its 15th year milestone. We’ll look at past attractions, shows and atmosphere.
It’ll seem odd, but we’re not starting at the beginning yet. We’ll save that for later. First we’ll look at something we’ve already covered. Yeah, I know, kinda a cop out.
Golden Dreams was one of the first attractions to close specifically for the revamp of the park to become Disney California Adventure (notice the difference, eh?). The attraction opened with the park, and closed in September of 2008. It was located where the Little Mermaid attraction is now. It was a great introduction to what the park was about originally, though it didn’t sit at the entrance.
Is it missed now? Well, perhaps. It was a nice film to sit and watch especially in any hot weather. But, compared to having a full ride attraction that grabs the attention of kids a little better, it’s not one that is devastating to lose.
For more of a retrospect, check below for a link to our full history of Golden Dreams, including a video of the last showing of the film. And keep checking here for more looks back at the theme park!
