Also located on the Circle is the Fiddler, Fifer and Practical Caf�. Disney�s 1933 Silly Symphony The Three Little Pigs featured Fiddler Pig, Fifer Pig and Practical Pig. A staggering success at the time, Walt said of it, �At last we have achieved true personality in a whole picture.� The cartoon was not only a success in theaters; it proved a marketing bonanza for licensed products during the depths of the Great Depression. (It should be noted that Hollywood Boulevard had an actual caf� named the Pig �n Whistle. Opened in 1927, it can still be found, decorated with bas reliefs of a piping pig, next door to the American Cinematheque�s Egyptian Theater.)

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The Three Little Pigs
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The Pig 'n Whistle as it appears today on Hollywood Boulevard
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Of course, the centerpiece of the new entrance is the Carthay Circle Theater, located at 973 Carthay Circle. Even before it was the site of the 1937 premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the real Carthay Circle Theater was a Los Angeles landmark. Built in 1926 by developer J. Harvey McCarthey, it drew attention to his upscale residential Carthay district, which he opened in 1922. A site for many important Hollywood premieres, the Carthay Circle eventually lent its name to entire area, despite the fact that the district does not feature a circle. The Carthay Circle Theater stood at 6316 San Vincente Boulevard until it was demolished in 1969. A small scale replica of the Carthay Circle Theater can be found on Sunset Boulevard in Disney�s Hollywood Studios theme park in Florida.

	A rendering of California Adventure’s proposed Carthay Circle Theater	Aerial view of the historic Carthay Circle Theater
Carthay Circle Theater replica on Sunset Boulevard in Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Wending their way through the new Buena Vista Street and Carthay Circle are the Red Car Trolleys. Evoking the Pacific Electric cars that once knit together Los Angeles, the line advertises stops at Buena Vista Street, Carthay Circle, Hollywood Boulevard, and the Hollywood Tower Hotel. Intriguingly, early renderings show a car with a stop identified as Radiator Springs, although no plans have been announced to expand the line beyond the Hollywood Tower Hotel.

	Historic Hollywood Red Car	Red Car mock-up used in Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Red Cars parked backstage at Disney-MGM Studios in 1989	Red Car inspired vending location on Sunset Boulevard in Disney’s Hollywood Studios	Jolly Trolley in Disneyland’s Toontown is clearly inspired by Red Cars
Model of the proposed Red Cars in the Blue Sky Cellar	Rendering depicts red Car rounding the Circle in Disney California Adventure	Newsboys 'perform' on 'Radiator Springs' bound Red Car in rendering proposal

It is plain that many of these �businesses� will be opening their doors to eager guests. Others may be merely window dressing. And whether or not the Carthay Circle Theater will be offering daily showings of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a matter of speculation. Regardless, Buena Vista Street will offer a very different reception to Disney California Adventure for years to come.

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--Text and Pictures by Doug Marsh
-- Posted January 14, 2010