Credit: DisneyDisney California Adventure is about to become something brand new, and it looks like its transformation into an homage to the beloved animated sci-fi film Big Hero 6 (2014) is just about finished.
All the way back in September 2022, the Walt Disney Company announced that the iconic Pacific Wharf, originally themed as a reference to the real-life fishing industry of the Monterey, California area, would be transformed into San Fransokyo Square, as seen in the Academy Award-winning Big Hero 6.
More views of the ongoing work on San Fransokyo bridge at #DisneyCaliforniaAdventure. #BigHeroSix#dapsmagic pic.twitter.com/ddTVdLzROd
— Daps Magic (@DAPs_Magic) June 30, 2023
As you can see, the iconic hybrid of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and Japanese unique Torii architecture (commonly seen at Shinto shrines) is nearly complete.
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Previously, the Pacific Wharf area of Disney California Adventure has largely served as an outdoor food court and included restaurants like the Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill, Lucky Fortune Cookery Chinese Wok, Mendocino Terrace, and Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop, among many others. It is currently unknown whether the restaurants there will be rebranded or replaced due to the new Big Hero 6 theme.
Credit: Disney
Pacific Wharf is just one area of Disney California Adventure (itself a theme park within the sprawling Disneyland Resort in Anaheim), but the complete rebrand is still a pretty big deal, particularly as it is one of the prime entry points to the entire Park. It also helps to bring attention to Big Hero 6, a movie that was both critically acclaimed and the highest-grossing animated film of 2014, but seems increasingly forgotten with the ascendency of the Marvel and Star Wars brands under the Walt Disney Company umbrella.
Big Hero 6 follows Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter), a young robotics prodigy in the futuristic city of San Fransokyo, a dreamy fusion of San Francisco and Tokyo. Hiro teams up with his brother’s healthcare robot Baymax (Scott Adsit, in order to investigate the mysterious circumstances behind his sibling’s death. As one can expect, the movie becomes a sci-fi adventure in which Baymax emerged as a modern Disney Animation icon.
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The film was followed by Big Hero 6: The Series, which aired for three seasons on Disney XD and directly followed the original plot. It also received two spinoff series primarily featuring Baymax, the most recent of which premiered on Disney Plus.
Clearly, there is an appetite for more Big Hero 6 content, even if the long-speculated sequel film has not yet come to be. But fans of Baymax at least will have Disney California Adventure and San Fransokyo Square. The new, rebranded area is expected to be open to the public at some point this summer and seems to be coming soon.