Photos of Disneyland's periphery

Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel

Paradise Pier as seen from the top level of Mickey & Friends Parking Structure.

Theory: If you make the surfboard big enough, guests will feel the surf atmosphere better.

This gimmicky Goofy-with-surfboard is in the middle of the entrance walkway of Paradise Pier.

White trellises and bare light bulbs recall the days of cheap beachside amusement parks.

This Japanese lantern and bamboo seem incongruous with surf atmosphere, but there's a Japanese restaurant inside this window.

Paradise Pier is a modern hotel that is intended to match the retro California theme of Disney's California Adventure. To implement this California beach-pier-surfing theme, there is a huge surfboard on the side of the parking building, a statue of Goofy holding a surfboard inside the main entrance, and white trellis with bare hanging lightbulbs in the driveway at the main entrance. This type of theme/architecture is a rather subtle one and I believe it's one that's too difficult to convincingly implement. However, I have to admit that I felt a bit of nostalgia from the white criss-cross trellis in the front driveway upon exiting the hotel once. As a kid I remember such white woodwork, usually painted with cheap paint that would come off in your hand if you touched it.

According to address data, Lamplighter Motel and Princess Motel were just south of this location, just north of Katella Avenue, on the same side of the street as Paradise Pier. (Presumably Paradise Pier is on the 1700 block whereas the 1800 block is south of Katella Avenue, and the addresses increase toward the south.) On one trip to the Disneyland Hotel in 1975, I remember this Paradise Pier location was merely a large empty field of tall, dry grass, and alongside the sidewalk were running around large ants of the same type I used to see in Indio as a kid. Recently it occurred to me I haven't seen that species of desert ant in Anaheim for decades. Maybe that's a sign that Anaheim doesn't have the open, natural areas that it used to, which ironically is the same era that Paradise Pier is attempting to recall by destroying the open fields around Disneyland.

The way it used to be... Lamplighter Motel used to be located approximately where Paradise Pier is now. Photo courtesy of Synthetrix [5-4-07]. A-frames, rock walls, wood shingle rooftops, and bright colors all identify this as mid-century. Photo courtesy of Synthetrix [5-4-07]. Lamplighter Motel [1978] 1759 S. West St. Anaheim, CA 92802 (714) 774-2136 Princess Motel [1978] 1769 S. West St. Anaheim, CA 92802 (714) 774-6427

Parkside Inn & Suites Maingate

V-shaped roof structures like this one by Parkside Inn's pool were popular mid-century motifs.

This is another old-fashioned looking motel, and it is in fact old. This used to be called Eden Roc Motel, and most of the building has stayed the same from the 1960s. V-shaped roofs and structures are seen all over the property.

The way it used to be... The name has changed, but the mid-century architecture has stayed the same at Eden Roc - Parkside Inn. Photo courtesy of Synthetrix [4-14-07]. The motel was apparently painted white at one time. Photo courtesy of Synthetrix [4-14-07]. The pool area also appears little-changed from these old days. Eden Roc Motel [1978] 1830 S. West Street Anaheim, CA (714) 534-3470

Created: February 24, 2007
Updated: May 4, 2007