Don't Forget About Buena Vista Street

While a lot of the noise on Disney forums and discussion boards coming out of this weekends preview days was about Cars Land and how great it is (with a few issues here and there), the talk about Buena Vista Street seems to have fallen into the background. That area of the park was also allowed to be previewed by a select few, so few in fact that those who purchased the 4 hour preview time were allowed into Buena Vista Street anytime as opposed to the scheduled block of hours you were committed to for Cars Land. For many, it was all about Cars Land.

Well there will be a few of us that when we do get to see the expanded Disney California Adventure first hand, the majority of our time will be spent right on Buena Vista Street. While I do look forward to seeing Cars Land, day and night, and look forward to the amazing Radiator Springs Racers attraction, I just know that when it comes down to it, probably most of my time will be spent on Buena Vista Street just like over at Disneyland where I'm a Main St. kind of person. I visit the other "lands" in Disneyland but my heart lives on Main St. And that's how I picture myself on the new Buena Vista Street, at least that is my hope.

Mrs. DisneylandTraveler is a shopper. Me, not so much. But now there are wonderful sitting areas around the stores, shops, and restaurants as opposed to the concrete slabs of the old Sunshine Plaza. There's a fountain and the soon to be unveiled statue of Walt and Mickey circa 1920's. I see myself spending quality time in these seating areas watching people and soaking up the atmosphere. For me, it's as good as any ride.

The Carthay Circle Restaurant is absolutely beautiful inside based on the pictures I have seen. I am still working the angles to get Mrs. DLT in there when her first glance at the menu turned out to be not so inviting. The new Fiddler, Fifer, and Practical Cafe looks stunning and quite spacious inside, but again a menu which features horseradish on the roast beef sandwich and sauerkraut on the turkey sandwich would not come up on the good side of Mrs. DLT. They do have a Starbucks though, a Mrs. DLT favorite. I would hate to think that of all the new dining adventures in the remodeled front part of the park we ended up at Taste Pilot's Grill for a chicken sandwich. It is certainly possible.

I'm not sure about the walk around characters or the "Newsies" semi-impromptu singing performances, I don't need any of that to add to my enjoyment. Just like over at Disneyland, I can take or leave the Dapper Dans and certainly have little use for the Mad Hatter running around like he runs the place. A view from a nice bench, hopefully with some shade from a nearby tree, along with some pleasant music looping in the background is all I need. I'm pretty easy to please.