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Disney shops to reflect Walt’s history

Disney’s California Adventure Reimagined: Fourth in a series

Whenever I walk into Disneyland, I always look up at the second-story window advertisements along Main Street USA where Walt Disney paid tribute to the unsung heroes instrumental in the Anaheim theme park’s creation. The hand-lettered accolades give the make-believe street — which is mapped in the Orange County Thomas Guide — a certain charm and authenticity.

Across the way at Disney’s California Adventure, the central esplanade has all the appeal of a supermarket parking lot. A complete face-lift of the main entrance, part of a $1.1-billion makeover of the entire park, should bring some magic to the soulless space.

According to artist concept sketches, each store along the re-themed California Adventure main street (lower case for now) will carry a historically significant hommage to Walt Disney’s past. Here’s a rundown of the shop names and their subtexts:

Western shop façades
* Mortimer Market — Disney’s original name for Mickey Mouse before his wife, Lillian, persuaded him to change it
* Carolwood Trains, Craft & Hobby — Name of Disney’s miniature railroad in the backyard of his Hombly Hills home
* Horace’s Pawn Shop — Animated horse friend of Mickey Mouse and boyfriend of Clarabelle Cow
* Julius & Sons Tailors — Animated cat considered Disney’s first regularly recurring character
* Clarabelle’s Corner Café — Animated cow friend of Minnie Mouse and girlfriend of Horace Horsecollar

Eastern shop façades
* Oswald’s Gas & Oil — A pre-Mickey Mouse animated rabbit created by Disney
* Seward’s Five & Dime — Early Disney animation studio in Hollywood
* Doc Sherwood Apothecary — A retired doctor in Disney’s hometown of Marceline, Mo., who paid the young artist to draw pictures of his horse, Rupert
* Kingswell Camera — Early Disney animation studio in Los Feliz
* Elias & Co. Dept. Store — Disney’s middle name and the name of his father

A preview center in the San Francisco section of California Adventure featuring scale models and artist sketches of the planned renovation is set to open in late 2008.

You can find all the blog entries in our California Adventure Reimagined series here.

— Brady MacDonald / Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

[Photo: Disney]

This entry was posted on Friday, November 9, 2007 at 1:53 pm by Brady MacDonald and is filed under Disney's California Adventure, Disneyland, Family & Kids, San Diego, Theme Parks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

One Comment on “Disney shops to reflect Walt’s history”

Kango Anaheim Says:
November 10th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
I just loved reading this! To me, the history behind the founding of Disney is as compelling as the parks themselves. What a fascinating story! I can’t wait to see the ‘documentation’ you write of.

Of course, Disney isn’t the only game in town. Here’s a link to some of my favorites.

[Editor's note: The commenter, aka Tom, is Kango's "enthusiastic new customer service agent." If you check out their site, let us know what you think of the content and functionality by posting a comment below.]