The fever passed, but there’s good reason why Eisner’s stomach may still feel queasy today. With attendance at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., essentially flat for more than a decade, Eisner has built an adjacent park-called California Adventure-that opens Feb. 8. The additional area, which together with the flagship park will now be called “the Disneyland Resort,” will either turn Anaheim into a stay-for-a-week vacation destination or an overpriced state fair.
California Adventure adds another 23 attractions and 55 acres to Disneyland, with much of it more upscale than the original park. The Grand Californian Hotel contains gourmet restaurants and rooms more expensive than the generations-old Disneyland Hotel. The brand-new high-tech rides include one called Soarin’ Over California, a breathtaking hang-gliding simulation, and The Grizzly River Run, a swirling whitewater-rafting ride. Nonthrillseekers can stroll a tony pedestrian mall called Downtown Disney or a miniature orchard called Bountiful Valley Farm. Says Eisner, “Entertainment has to have some sort of intelligence. Mindless rides are good for a certain age group but don’t hit the whole family.”
It may be the family’s wallet, however, that takes the real hit. California Adventure requires a separate $43 admission ($33 for children). That bothered recent visitors Betty and Russ Hicks, who saved for a year to pay for a three-day Disneyland visit with their son Zachary, 12. “That’s too much to ask of working families,” said Russ. “Every time you add the word ‘resort,’ it squeezes out average people like us.”
All the same, Disney expects the new area to draw an additional 7 million visitors its first year, bringing the theme park’s total annual admissions to nearly 21 million. Time will tell whether they’re correct in their estimation. Eisner may have built it, but it doesn’t mean they will come.
