Good bye Pacific Wharf. Helo San Franokyo!
Have you seen Big Hero 6? It is a great movie with lots of heart. It takes place in the fictional city of San Franokyo. San Franokyo is a mix of San Francisco and Tokyo. You will recognize elements of both as you watch the movie.
The Imagineers of Disney have reimagined Disney California Adventure’s Pacific Wharf area as San Franokyo! You will see a Golden Gate Bridge that is more Japanese in feel. Dining areas are changing over to fit the theme as well. Some have changed and some are in the process of changing. Food locations are still open while the retheming is going on. When the process is complete there will be meet and greets with Baymax and Hiro and some new food offerings.
For the chocoholics out there, don’t worry!! Ghiradelli is still there serving delicious chocolate and ice cream treats! They have changed the signage and the animated art inside to fit the new theme.
Bounding Bakery is still there with a different name. You
can still take the bakery tour. Not all the signage changes are done yet.
When we went the bridge was not open for walking across. I’ve heard it is sporadically open to walk across. One friend said it was open one day and closed the next during a recent visit. You can enter San Franokyo from 2 areas in Cars Land. There is a area behind Filmore’s shop near the entrance to Cars Land. The other is a grand arch that leads you out of Cars Land near Flo’s outside dining area where you can sit and watch Radiator Springs Racers run. So if the Bridge is closed remember there are other entrances.
Overall this is a change in theme and signage that brings a new
fun look to this area. There will be some new food offerings as well as visits
with Baymax and Hiro. This reteaming should be completed in August but could
take a little longer to complete.
I’m going to take a moment and be honesty right now. I love the Big Hero 6 and
the fun idea of a city that is a mix of San Francisco and Tokyo. I was a little
underwhelmed with what I saw of the retheming that is done. It did not seem
like a wow moment when I saw it for the first time. It was more like, well that
is nice. Having had a couple days to think about it I think I understand my
reaction. The Pacific Wharf area was very much like a wharf area in Los Angeles
or San Francisco. It was one of my favorite areas to grab a bite and relax. It
very easily could have been a wharf in San Francico. It feels maybe a little
too real. I can’t fully honestly judge it yet because it is not finished. We
were there early in the morning and did not get to eat so I can’t tell you
about any changes there. I do know we enjoyed the food offerings in the old
Pacific Wharf.
