Golden Dreams
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| Golden State |
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featuring the Magic of Brother Bear |
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- This article is about the film at Disney's California Adventure, for the song "Golden Dream" played in The American Adventure and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln see Golden Dream (song).
Golden Dreams is a film about the history of California that is a featured attraction at Disney's California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It opened with the park on February 8, 2001. It stars Whoopi Goldberg as Califia, the Queen of California.
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[edit] Synopsis
Guests enter the theater which is a replica of Bernard Maybeck's Palace of Fine Arts, a famed San Francisco landmark constructed for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition.
As the show begins, two tall statues of a goddess-like woman on both sides of a screen are lighted. Then the statue on the right "comes to life" via the technology of projection systems. The statue, played by Whoopi Goldberg, introduces herself as Califia, the Queen of California. Califia, goes on to say she is the spirit within California and inspiration to many famous Californians. She appears in different ways in different scenes.
During the course of the show, the film takes place in many different time periods of California's history. The film is noted because it does not paint a fictionalized or sanitized version of history. Scenes featuring Native indians living peaceful life on the shore, are followed by the same indians being held captive by Spanish missionaries and conquistadors.
After the establishment of California, there are more events shown in the film such as the troubles endured by Chinese laborers working on the railroad and the miners of the 1849 gold rush. The immigration issue faced by Japanese people seeking to live in the United States, more specifically California, is also shown in the film. The story continues into the 20th century, with the stories of William Mulholland, the hardships of those seeking a new life during the Great Depression, film producers of the 1930s, and women working for the effort of victory in World War II.
After the war, thousands of people moved to California to seek good living, sunny weather, and suburban life. The new luxuries of freeways, amusements (more specifically - Disneyland), and easy life are shown. After the 50s, the turbulent 60s and its counterculture is shown. After the 60s, the technology boom of the later part of the 20th century is shown with the story of Steve Jobs and the creation of the personal computer.
The end of the film is a montage of notable events and Californians, and a message of discovery and imagination is given to all by Califia, who goes back to being the statue.
[edit] Future Location
Recently, there has been talk amongst company officials that "Golden Dreams" will move from its oversized theater to a smaller theater at the entrance as part of a plan to redesign the entrance and plaza. In the planned retheming, the Golden Sun and fountain would be removed and a theater built in the vicinity. The area would also be rethemed to Spanish architecture similar to the California missions and old train stations, as it would have been the way Walt Disney would have seen the stations on his journey to California.
[edit] Attraction facts
- Grand opening: February 8, 2001 (Opened with Disney's California Adventure)
- Designer: Walt Disney Imagineering
- Seats: 350
- Show length: 22:00
- Seating: Theater chairs
