ANAHEIM – Visitors to Disney California Adventure now have an additional “natural scenic” area to visit in the area known as Grizzly Peak.
The Grizzly Peak Airfield opened Friday in the area previously known as Condor Flats.
For the past few months, the area was closed as it received a makeover for its new look. No longer does it look like an airfield from the 1950s, the beginning of the jet age. Now it looks like an airfield that’s part of a National Parks scenic area.
“By introducing Grizzly Peak ‘Land of Scenic Wonders’ in this expanded way, we have been able to create a nostalgic and inviting environment reminiscent of our treasured National Parks,” said Brian Scholz, executive producer for Walt Disney Imagineering.
The runway is still there, along with a control tower that looks like it belongs in a forest. At the end of the runway, there is now parked an airplane that is more reminiscent of those used to patrol for fires by park rangers. There’s also a 1950s-era Rambler station wagon parked next to the souvenir stand that has been renamed “Humphrey’s.” The name is based on one of Disney’s cartoon characters, Humphrey the Bear. For now, Scholz says there are no plans to bring back Humphrey as a walk-around character.
The area has a feel of standing within one of America’s scenic areas. There are signs giving guidance to visitors for a variety of recreation activities such as rafting, camping and more. There is even an old-fashioned pair of gasoline pumps in front of Humphrey’s. Old-fashioned because the price of gas on the pumps is something very old-fashioned – cheap.
Another reason Scholz gave for the change was to add additional shade and seating areas, something that was previously lacking in Condor Flats.
Part of the upgrade to the area included changing the projectors in “Soarin’ Over California” to digital projectors – replacing the IMAX film projectors that were used since the park opened in 2001. According to Scholz, advances in laser illumination technology allowed Disney to upgrade the projectors without a sacrifice in the quality of the show.
As to whether or not there will be a new show in the future inside the theater, Scholz only said that there have been no plans announced at this time.
To learn more about the new look of the area, click on the slideshow.
Contact the writer: meades@ocregister.com
