Your Guide to Buena Vista Street — Information, photos and more

[MasterGracey]

The New Disney California Adventure > Buena Vista Street


The long awaited relaunch of Disney California Adventure is upon us. This discussion links you to our guides and coverage of all the new attractions, shops and restaurants in the new Buena Vista Street.

Buena Vista Street welcomes guests to the adventure of a young Walt Disney stepping off the train from Kansas City and into 1920s Los Angeles, the beginning of a wonderful, inspirational period of his life. The dynamic themed environment transports guests to another era, along this boulevard of dreams.

Attractions:

Red Car Trolley: Lovingly modeled on the historic Pacific Electric Railway system, the Red Car Trollery runs through Buena Vista Street and into Hollywood Land, making multiple stops until it arrives at the Hollywood Tower Hotel. MORE INFORMATION

Dining:

Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge:

Located inside the stunning Carthay Circle Theater featuring a menu of hors d’oeuvres, salads, soups, California specialty entrees and desserts. Lounge serves appetizers, wine, craft beer and specialty drinks. Table service dining. Reservations highly recommended. MORE INFORMATION

Fiddler, Fifer and Practical Cafe: A diner-style restaurant serving soups, salads, sandwiches and beverages, including Starbucks coffee and teas. Quick service. MORE INFORMATION

Clarabelle's Hand-Scooped Ice Cream: A soda fountain and ice cream shop. Quick service. MORE INFORMATION

Mortimer's Market: Whole and cut fruits, bottled water and juices, and soft drinks. Grab-and-go / Outdoor vending. MORE INFORMATION

Shopping:

Elias and Company:

The largest shopping location on Buena Vista Street featuring apparel, watches, handbags, accessories and more.

Los Feliz Five and Dime: T-shirts, fleece, hats, figurines, souvenirs and more.

Big Top Toys: Innovative and interactive toys, games and plush inspired by Disney characters.

Trolley Treats: Packaged candy as well as signature items from the Disney candy kitchen.

Kingswell Camera Shop: Camera supplies, photo frames, batteries and headquarters for Disney’s PhotoPass.

Julius Katz & Sons: Home décor and seasonal merchandise.

Atwater Ink and Paint: Coffee, tea and other delectable treats to enjoy or take home.

Oswald's Filling Station: Sundry “road trip” vacation necessities: travel mugs, sunscreen, hats and more.

Entertainment:

Red Car News Boys: Newsies roll into Buena Vista Street aboard the Red Car Trolley, performing a variety of authentic period tunes. MORE INFORMATION

Five and Dime: A sextet of maverick musicologists longing for their big break. MORE INFORMATION

Citizens of Buena Vista Street: Some of Buena Vista Street's most eccentric personalities. MORE INFORMATION

For more Buena Vista Street coverage including photos, video and reviews be sure to check out
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MiceAge Coverage:

Dateline Disneyland 6/11 — Take a trip down Buena Vista Street: An overview of Disney California Adventure's new main entrance.

Dateline Disneyland 6/12 — A closer look at Buena Vista Street: An in-depth look at Buena Vista Street.

[MasterGracey]

The new Walt & Mickey statue is still undercover….




Buena Vista Street at night:

[lighttragic]

Simply Amazing!

[4Apples4Disney]

I can't believe it. Everything looks great!

[WorldDisney]

OMG STUNNING!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have to say even while we seen 90% of it on here and other places through pics and watching it up build up in front of our eyes, seeing it up close and behind the walls with all completed is just amazing!

And I love the town square area in the entry way and its a bit wider than I thought it would be. No not as big as the entry way in MS, but big enough! And I love there are benches on the street itself, something MS lacks for some odd reason. Maybe because of the parades I guess, but it is good to see.

I LOVE BVS park! Just a nice sit down area like the end of MS is and will be a great place to people watch and watch the trolly go by!

And that bridge, OMG! Its just beautiful! I remember reading a thread someone made saying how 'ugly' it was compared to the GGB and it was just a basic passageway. Its nothing basic about it. Its classy and just fits perfectly with the area, unlike the GGB which felt more kitsch than anything in its approach.

And its going to be an incredible place for night life just MS is now! CCT will have the lounge where you can have a few drinks and marvel at the place and I'm sure people will be there to watch the fireworks as well! Its going to be a great area!

And I notice no one EVER talks about the wires anymore!

[NettyVal09]

100% Awesome! Would love to enjoy the new DCA without a whole lot of people!

[SoCalFan]

BVS was so close to perfection, I LOVED it! My friend and I spent so much time enjoying the area and soaking it all in. I personally find it better than Main Street! I love the intimacy of it, it's really like a mix of the best aspects of New Orleans Square and Main Street. The Citizens of BVS are fantastic! The stores are so lavish yet simple and beautiful. Very elegant with great woodwork and wonderful lighting. The props that are up are brilliant but you can tell they got some more to go, so it could only get better! My favorite props were in the window of Los Feliz Five and Dime were there are piles of book on display, all of which inspired Disney creations: Wind in the Willows, Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Arabian Nights, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (with an antique diving helmet next to it which looked to maybe be a direct movie prop from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea), Mary Poppins, Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, and my favorite, Davy Crockett's Adventures which featured Grizzly Peak in the background on the cover!

The Trolley was beautiful, loved the stop. And the tilework...holy smokes! So beautiful throughout the land, especially the murals (my favorite tile mural was on Chamber of Commerce building which had an old touring car in Angles National Forest with Mt. Wilson and it's observatory in the background). We spent a nice amount of time sipping some great coffee from Starbucks just soaking in the atmosphere in BVS park. FF&P Cafe is so beautiful and the great amount of seating and great and spacious private booths was a pleasant surprise. The big oak outside the cafe was great and that is definitely my favorite little corner of BVS. I also liked the use of skylight atriums throughout the cafe and other buildings like Elysian Arcade.

[mratigan]

We need some before and after shots
got in to day OMG this great I liked it better than cars land

[MactheMan]

I see micechat matches Buena Vista Street's BEIGE color scheme

...lots of BEIGE...

I guess all they can hope for with DCA is for it to be as unoffensive as possible. I never knew there were so many different shades of BEIGE out there.

[Santo]

I see the News Boys performed outside the Cathay Circle theatre during the previews -- did they usher all the non-preview guests away or was that open to everyone, as it seems the construction fences were still up in the Buena Vista St trolley video..

[pussnboots]

I see micechat matches Buena Vista Street's BEIGE color scheme

...lots of BEIGE...

I guess all they can hope for with DCA is for it to be as unoffensive as possible. I never knew there were so many different shades of BEIGE out there.

And here you thought that the world was a carousel of color...

[sir clinksalot]

I'm sure this has been posted before, but in the interest of time, can somebody who has been to BVS outline where the new stores are in relation to the pre-existing DCA 1.0 stores? Some of the stuff from the Project Tracker doesn't seem to match the pictures I'm seeing.

This is what I can gather, but not sure how accurate this is.

Dining:
Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge:
Kind of obvious, old Fountain, Sun area.

Fiddler, Fifer and Practical Cafe:
Is this where the bakery and Engine Ears Toys was? At least the seating area?

Clarabelle's Hand-Scooped Ice Cream:
Burrbank Ice Cream?

Mortimer's Market:
Old Stroller Rental Area

Shopping:
Elias and Company:
Greetings from California

Los Feliz Five and Dime:
Part of Greetings still right?

Big Top Toys:
Under the bridge

Trolley Treats:
Part of Engine Ears?

Kingswell Camera Shop:
Old Photopass location that was in Greetings

Julius Katz & Sons:
Under the Bridge?

Atwater Ink and Paint:
Part of Elias and Co.

Oswald's Filling Station:
Old entry gates right?

[MasterGracey]

I'm sure this has been posted before, but in the interest of time, can somebody who has been to BVS outline where the new stores are in relation to the pre-existing DCA 1.0 stores? Some of the stuff from the Project Tracker doesn't seem to match the pictures I'm seeing.

This is what I can gather, but not sure how accurate this is.

Dining:
Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge:
Kind of obvious, old Fountain, Sun area.

Fiddler, Fifer and Practical Cafe:
Is this where the bakery and Engine Ears Toys was? At least the seating area?

Clarabelle's Hand-Scooped Ice Cream:
Burrbank Ice Cream?

Mortimer's Market:
Old Stroller Rental Area

Shopping:
Elias and Company:
Greetings from California

Los Feliz Five and Dime:
Part of Greetings still right?

Big Top Toys:
Under the bridge

Trolley Treats:
Part of Engine Ears?

Kingswell Camera Shop:
Old Photopass location that was in Greetings

Julius Katz & Sons:
Under the Bridge?

Atwater Ink and Paint:
Part of Elias and Co.

Oswald's Filling Station:
Old entry gates right?

Pretty close!

East Buena Vista Street:

Oswald's: Old turnstile space
Chamber of Commerce (Guest Relations) and First Aid: Same location as previous Guest Relations
Los Feliz Five and Dime: Northern half of Greetings! from California
Elias and Company: Southern half of Greetings! from California. Elias and Co. Jewelry Dept. is in the space formerly occupied by the Greetings Candy Shoppe.
Big Top Toys: Between Los Feliz and Elias and Co., in the space formerly occupied by Greetings' PhotoPass area.

West Buena Vista Street:

Restrooms and Lockers: Same location
Mortimer's Market: Corner of former Stroller/wheelchair rental area
Kingswell Camera Shop: Behind Mortimer's Market, in the former stroller/wheelchair rental area
Julius Kats and Sons: Engine Ears Toys and under the bridge
Atwater Ink and Paint: Engine Ears Toys
Trolley Treats: Engine Ears Toys
Clarabelle's Hand-Scooped Ice Cream: A portion of the Baker's Field Bakery
Fiddler's Fifer and Practical Cafe: Baker's Field Bakery and Bur-r Bank Ice Cream + new, expanded dining room space.

Keep in mind that a lot of this is hard to make 1-to-1 comparisons. They completely gutted all of these buildings and started completely over with just the steel frames. The Clarabelle's and Practical Cafe area, specificially, is also hard to gague because they built onto the existing building after they removed the train facade. The Cafe's dining room is more or less completely in newly-built space that wasn't there before. And with the Stroller Rental location gone, there was a lot of new space to add Mortimer's, Kingswell Camera, and some of Julius Katz

[sir clinksalot]

^ Awesome, thanks MasterGracey. I didn't think they built anything new, I didn't even think of the train facade. It just made logical sense that they used Engine Ears Toys for that pretty large seating area.

The 24th can't come soon enough!!!

[WorldDisney]

Sir Clinksalot,

Here is a GREAT schematic of how BVS is laid over the old entrance that was posted on Mouseinfo last year:

Buena Vista Street Schematic - MouseInfo Photo Gallery

It shows exactly how the new area took up the old area space but it doesnt give you the names of anything, just the blue prints! But MasterGracey is pretty accurate with what was done.