Feb. 5, 2007: Eureka! - The California Adventure Parade

[Werner Weiss]

The latest addition to the Yesterland website is Eureka! - The California Adventure Parade.

Link to Eureka! - The California Adventure Parade.

Did you see this parade when it was at Disney's California Adventure? Did you like it? What do you remember about it? Did Eureka! deserve to be axed so soon? Do all Disney theme park parades need to have Disney characters?

Please discuss it here.

[ni_teach]

The Eureka Parade was a very good parade. I saw it several times and enjoyed it each time. The major problem with the Parade was that it had ZERO Disney characters in it. I think that had they worked the Disney Characters into some of the floats it would have been more popular.

[Chernabog]

Dangit, I read the article and now I have that "Eureka! Eureka!" song running through my head!

I agree with Werner tho, and think that Eureka was way too disjointed in tone. There were people as chinese take-out boxes for chrissake. Certain elements were great, it just needed to be re-worked. And that song was catchy!!!

I seriously doubt characters would have helped anything for this particular parade. The tone was still off. "Mickey's Eureka Parade" would have made everything even stranger. Donald dressed as chinese take-out? Minnie as a giant fish? Blech.

Character parades are nice, but that's ALL Disney has now, and that's sort of sad.

Of course, back then I remember all of us wondering just what the heck kind of parade they could do in the California theme AFTER a parade celebrating the cultures and places of California? Well Disney never figured that one out either

[cellarhound]

Funny, it does not look anything like a Disney Parade... I can see why it didn't do well...

[Aladdin]

"Eureka!" was definitely one the best parades ever, at the DL resort.
Very imaginative, colorful, lots of different types of motion, something
distinctively different from one float section to the next. And to top
it off, the Music was lots of fun, just as energetic, and morphed from
one float to the next. No other parade blended the music together
from one from one float to the next, as well as Eureka!, since the MSEP.

And With all the Colors of "Eureka!", it looked especially beautiful after dark,
when the brand new, very expensive, state of the art, parade route lighting
showed off all the sparkles even more! Unfortunately, not too many people
were able to experience the night showing of this parade. This was because
management soon tried every possible way to increase attendance at DCA,
which included bringing the MSEP to the new park. Thus, "Eureka" was
restricted as a daytime only parade. It also meant the new expensive parade
lighting was useless, also.

In the article, you mention that

Somehow, the whole was less than the sum of its parts. It wasn’t clear if the parade was trying to be artistic, authentic, satirical, majestic, or silly (at times, it was each of these).

I completely disagree, that it was less than the sum of the parts. Obviously,
even you were able to distinguish the parade as having several different attributes. And cerainly the public was able to see that as well, I wouldn't
question the audiences ability to distinguish these.

However, you do mention two reasons why this parade disappeared so quickly, No familiar Disney characters, and lack of attendance at DCA. ABSOLUTELY.
And yes, I think they could have added some Disney Characters to this parade,
in proper costumes, and this parade could have lasted a while longer. BUT,
by Bringing the MSEP to DCA, which already had a huge history, and built in
fan base, plus pumping all those $$$$'s to get the MSEP working for DCA,
I'm sure management had pretty much given up on "Eureka!" by that time.
And THAT is really the sad part about this whole story. One of the best parts
of this seriously "disadvantaged theme park" was thrown aside.

[cellarhound]

Originally Posted by Aladdin

I completely disagree, that it was less than the sum of the parts. Obviously, even you were able to distinguish the parade as having several different attributes. And cerainly the public was able to see that as well, I wouldn'tquestion the audiences ability to distinguish these.

Nah, I think his analysis is fairly apt, actually... Just one more thing that seemed disjointed about the park... That also made the park seem even less Disney...

that doesn't mean what they tried to do wasn't honorable... It is just from looking at it, the whole "spirit of Eurika" themey type thing really doesn't work... It makes no sense to me or to everyone else... and I know it comes from the California Seal, but 1. who cares, 2. why make it a multi cultural thing when it is very grecian/romanesque, and 3. why build a parade based on it?

I mean, like the way people don't get the "steping into the postcard" thing, the whole "spirit of eureka" thing people didn't get either...

[seenoevil]

I loved this parade! The floats and music were wonderful! Artistic, Authentic, Satirical, Majestic, or Silly...isn't California all those things?

[anime_goddess]

Hmmm... not a single California Indian anywhere in the parade. What a surprise (actually, not really). And no, Hispanic culture doesn't count.

[JohnReimer]

Originally Posted by Chernabog

Dangit, I read the article and now I have that "Eureka! Eureka!" song running through my head!

My replay loop started as soon as I saw the article's title! I never thought of it as a "catchy" tune though I liked it, but clearly it has some power over us.

Originally Posted by cellarhound

that doesn't mean what they tried to do wasn't honorable...

They DID try their best, and it's the only parade I've ever made a point of going out of my way to compliment to Disney. It was a calculated risk I think, and they were committed to it at least at the beginning, so kudos to them.

I personally loved it, but I don't know that WE know whether it was successful or not. It's the rare parade that will drive attendance. And attendance at DCA was suffering from many things other than the parade.

In a parallel universe where Eureka! was performed in a fully fleshed out theme park that attracted the hordes, I'd be interested in seeing how it is viewed THERE.

John

[Werner Weiss]

Originally Posted by Aladdin

And With all the Colors of "Eureka!", it looked especially beautiful after dark,
when the brand new, very expensive, state of the art, parade route lighting
showed off all the sparkles even more! Unfortunately, not too many people
were able to experience the night showing of this parade. This was because
management soon tried every possible way to increase attendance at DCA,
which included bringing the MSEP to the new park. Thus, "Eureka" was
restricted as a daytime only parade. It also meant the new expensive parade
lighting was useless, also.

I never saw Eureka! at night. I can imagine it would have been much more impressive and beautiful at night.

[Athlonacon]

DCA was unique in that it departed from the Disney characters and was its own kind of theme. Of course, then A Bug's Land came in and started the steady conversion of the park to Pixarland. DCA needs to return to its roots, ditch the Pixar theme, and start creating original entertainment again. It might not have been very good in the beginning, but at least it was original. The California theme really does work, it just needs the proper investment for people to realize its true potential. But if it keeps on evolving into the Pixarland its becoming, people will never realize its current potential.

[sir clinksalot]

We loved Eureka. Bring it back!!!

Thanks for the walk down memory lane.

[Aladdin]

Originally Posted by Werner Weiss

I never saw Eureka! at night. I can imagine it would have been much more impressive and beautiful at night.

And the special lighting fixtures installed along the parade route did
a beautiful job, with the changing colors. Could just about have a show
with just the lights alone. Of course DEP lets the floats light
themselves, and Block Party Bash only runs during the daylight
hours, so all that sophisticated light is not even being used. Just
ironic that one of the very FEW things DCA splurlged on isn't being
used.

[PragmaticIdealist]

I loved "Eureka!". Steve Davison did a great job, and the street festival was one of the best things about the new park. In fact, the parade helped justify D.C.A.'s existence in the same way Soarin' over California and Golden Dreams do.

[PragmaticIdealist]

I am so sick of hearing people gripe about no Disney characters.

If said people want those characters, they are all over Disneyland. Why does the concept for the second park have to be perverted just to entertain the kiddies? I know that there were several children who loved all the color, dancing, and upbeat music in "Eureka!", and this expectation that it had to force Mickey and company into it just to satisfy the few people who don't know any better and can't appreciate something for what it is is neither creative nor imaginative.

Ultimately, that imagination is what defines Disney,... not overgrown rodents with bowties. And, incidentally, "it's a small world" doesn't have Disney characters in it, either, and most people seem to be able to find value in that attraction. The concept for "Eureka!" is almost identical to the one employed by that 1964 celebration of cultural pluralism.