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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2002 |
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Please don’t call it the Hubcap. Sure, it’s at the hub of this theme park, and it’s a bulging, round, decorative object, much like the bowl-like disks that hide the lug nuts on old automobile wheels. But it has a real name. It’s the Sun Icon. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 Sun Icon |
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And please don’t confuse it with the other big sun at this park. The other one is the Sun Wheel, which is bigger, has a face, and is part of the ride. |
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PR image © Disney “A California Postcard” |
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The Sun Icon is part of something bigger too—the California Postcard entrance to Yester California Adventure. Huge letters spell the name of the state in front of the largest ceramic mural in the world and the Golden Gate Bridge. The California Sun shines at the center of the “postcard.” More accurately, the Sun Icon is supposed to shine. However, the Sun Icon faces north, so it’s backlit by the real sun. |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2002 The California sun at the center of the “postcard” |
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The Sun Icon in its own shadow would not look good, so there’s a solution. Giant reflectors follow the real sun and reflect sunlight onto the Sun Icon. Pretty cool idea, eh? |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2001 Reflectors on the north side of Sunshine Plaza |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 Reflectors on the south side of Sunshine Plaza |
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Too bad the reflector system usually doesn’t work. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2009 Wave Fountain between waves |
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There’s a fountain at the base of the Sun Icon, and it’s really a terrific fountain. Throw a coin in the fountain and make a wish. Your money will be put to good use. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2009 Wave crashing at the Wave Fountain |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2007 Supporting good causes |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2003 X for the X Games Xperience |
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You never know what you’ll see in Sunshine Plaza. Perhaps you’ll see a big letter X advertising the X Games Xperience, an extreme sports demonstration. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2010 Chef Showcase Stage for the California Food and Wine Festival |
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Or maybe you can catch a culinary demonstration in the Chef Showcase Stage tent during the California Food & Wine Festival. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2009 High School Musical 3 Pep Rally |
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Would you like to see a live show based on High School Musical 3: Senior Year? Just follow the incredibly loud music. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2010 Glow Fest |
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If it’s around dusk during Glow Fest, catch a colorful, high-energy show. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2008 Side photo of the Sun Icon |
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The photo above is a rare side view of the Sun Icon. But the next photo will make you say “ooh!” and “ahh!” And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for... the amazing... the colossal... the stupendous... the eighth wonder of the world... the backside of the sun! |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2002 The backside of the sun! |
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Yes, just head around the corner to Bountiful Valley Farm. From here, you can see the other side of the Sun Icon, or at least the top of it. And because this side of the Sun Icon faces south, you might even see it bathed in sunlight. |
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The Sun Icon and Wave Fountain at Sunshine Plaza lasted from the February 2001 opening of Disney’s California Adventure until their removal in September 2010 to make way for construction of the Carthay Circle Theatre. Here’s how the official website for Disney’s California Adventure described Sunshine Plaza when the park opened: The portal to all the major areas of Disney’s California Adventure park, the Sunshine Plaza is also a prime location for guests to rest or catch a parade. The plaza’s centerpiece is a 50-foot-tall sun (sitting atop a perpetual wave fountain), which glistens during the day and is lit by a dazzling spectacle of red, orange and yellow lights at night. |
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Concept art © Disney Concept art for the “California Postcard” entrance to Disney’s California Adventure |
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The “California Postcard” was an interesting concept, but it’s questionable how many guests realized they were walking into a giant postcard. Regardless of whether they understood the Imagineers’ intent, Sunshine Plaza failed to resonate with guests on either an emotional or aesthetic level. The unremarkable Sun Icon was “nice,” but hardly an iconic centerpiece for a Disney theme park. The more remarkable Wave Fountain might have worked well in another setting, but was lost in the hodgepodge of Sunshine Plaza. |
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Concept art © Disney Concept art for the Sun icon |
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The Sun Icon lacked the charm of Sleeping Beauty Castle, the splendor of Cinderella Castle, the grandeur of Spaceship Earth, the authenticity of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, or the creativity and artistry of the Tree of Life. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2004 Sunshine Plaza, the original “hub” of the park |
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After website editor Al Lutz previewed the new park in January 2001, he wrote, “The icon for the park, their Castle I guess, is a giant metal sun that looks like either a rather glitzy hubcap—or as one older couple I overheard say—like a jumbo-sized old radio microphone.” From that point on, “the Hubcap” became a common nickname for the Sun Icon. It was short, catchy, and descriptive. Many of the people who called it that probably had no idea of its real name. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2001 The Wave Fountain at night |
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In the same article, Lutz also offered his opinion of the Wave Fountain: “The one really outstanding feature of the Sun Icon area is the fountain under it—it creates waves that are shot up behind it in patterns. I liked this a lot.” |
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Trademarks of The Walt Disney Company, circa 2001 Original logos for California Adventure and the whole Disneyland Resort |
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Although the Sun Icon had Icon as part of its name, it was not used as the icon of the park. That honor went to Grizzly Peak—the mountain that looks like the head of the extinct state animal of California, the California grizzly bear (Ursus arctos californicus). The original logos for Disney’s California Adventure and the two-park Disneyland Resort both featured Grizzly Peak. Although both logos included a sun, there was no attempt to make it look like the Sun Icon. |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2003 Sun Icon and Grizzly Peak |
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Grizzly Peak survived the $1.1 billion makeover of the park and should remain part of Disney California Adventure well into the future. But Grizzly Peak is not part of the current park or resort logo. |
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Photo by RW, 2010 Dismantling the Sun Icon |
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Sunshine Plaza and all that surrounded it—including the Sun Icon, the Wave Fountain, the California Zephyr, and the Greetings from California souvenir store —did not survive the $1.1 billion makeover. The hub would get a new icon. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss / Concept art © Disney Sleeping Beauty Castle and the Carthay Circle Theater |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Carthay Circle Theater at Disney California Adventure |
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Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge opened June 15, 2012, at the end of the park’s new entrance street, Buena Vista Street. The theater replica with its 89-foot-tall tower is a perfect complement to the 77-foot-tall Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Park. |
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© 2011-2020 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated November 20, 2020 |
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