Yeah, the “Hyper-Highway” didn’t really jive and didn’t feel artistic or fantastical in the right way, and then just 3 years after it debuted 9/11 basically required it to be all be retrofitted with tents and bike racks and gates anyway.
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But just because this area A) didn’t resonate and B) wasn’t in the park doesn’t mean it wasn’t a carefully-curated space designed by real artists and architects! A first impression for generations(!) of entering guests! Kinda wild!
So we’ll see what’s next, but in the meantime, kinda cool to be able to step into living history and actually look carefully at a space most of us have spent 27 years just passing through like a neutral zone.
Here’s Martha Schwartz Partners’ page on this project if you’re interested in learning more or want to see their other projects across the globe! https://msp.world/projects/disneyland-esplanade
Weird! I didn't know about this at all and can't say I noticed that was the intention of any the remaining features when I was couple of years ago! Seems a real shame, it feels so ordinary now.
Yeah in retrospect it was very “‘90s” and definitely could never have lasted to today. Instead they neutralized it with earth tones, which is a better fit with existing circulation spaces. The original design was a VERY bold opening act… like, more saturated than Disneyland. Hahah
The design changes necessitated post-9/11 sucked but it was disappointing to see how long it took all the parks to design the security checkpoints efficiently.
Even Universal in Hollywood has a weird double-back path that's less than inviting.
Which is also going away thanks to the new hotel. It took till 2027+ but we may actually get permanent post-9/11 security infrastructure at southern California parks! 🤣
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Even Universal in Hollywood has a weird double-back path that's less than inviting.