Disney S California Adventure

Until now, the scariest thing at Walt Disney Co.'s California Adventure theme park -- at least for company executives -- has been the sluggish attendance figures. With the unveiling this week of its newest thrill ride, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Disney hopes to change that. Dogged by complaints that it was built "on the cheap" with too few big attractions, California Adventure continues to fall short of meeting its original projections of attracting 7 million visitors a year.

Two nights at Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel: $441.60 Three tickets to Disney's California Adventure: $139.25. Dinner at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen: $117.12. A three-day weekend at the Disneyland Resort with your wife and two young sons: pricey. It felt wrong to be spending so much money on a vacation only 20 miles from home. But considering the rising price of gas or the cost of airline tickets for four, a family getaway farther away wouldn't have been much more affordable.

The state issued two citations -- one of them serious -- and fined the Disneyland Resort $18,350 Wednesday in the death last spring of an employee who fell 60 feet while working inside a theater at California Adventure. Stage technician Christopher Bowman, 36, died in May, having never regained consciousness from head injuries he suffered when he tumbled from a catwalk in the Hyperion Theater. He had been prepping the "magic carpet" special effect for the Aladdin show when he fell in late April.

A stage technician at Disney's California Adventure who fell last month while testing the magic carpet special effect for the Aladdin show has been declared brain dead, and his organs were to be donated late Monday. After a neurological review, doctors declared Christopher Bowman, 26, legally brain dead Sunday afternoon. He was to be kept on a ventilator until the donations were completed, said Kim Pine, spokeswoman at UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange.

A 36-year-old stage technician at Disney's California Adventure theme park remained in critical condition Wednesday after falling more than 40 feet while doing prep work for the Aladdin musical show. The man was working on a catwalk in the Hyperion Theater about 6 a.m. Tuesday when he apparently toppled off, suffering severe head injuries, internal trauma and a fractured pelvis.

Resplendently adorned camels, dancing snake charmers, jugglers -- they all took the spotlight at the party after the premiere of "Disney's Aladdin -- A Musical Spectacular" at Disney's California Adventure. Held under a chiffon-swagged tent, it was a magic carpet ride of a celebration for guests ranging from opera superstar Placido Domingo -- a pal of the musical's director, Francesca Zambello -- to "Hot Chick" movie headliner Rob Schneider.

Few theme-park shows rise above the level of mediocre summer stock theater. Ten, maybe 15 minutes of poorly sung or lip-synced pop or show tunes, padded with some awkward dialogue, and that's it. But a new musical based on Disney's "Aladdin" at California Adventure is raising the standard for theme park entertainment. This "Aladdin" packs six songs -- five from the movie and one original tune -- into a lively 40-minute show at the park's 2,000-seat Hyperion Theater.

Disney is counting on a new collection of kids' rides to draw more visitors to its troubled California Adventure theme park. Unfortunately, Flik's Fun Fair provides yet another example of the half-baked development that's made the rest of California Adventure so disappointing. Flik's Fun Fair is made up of four dressed-up kiddie rides in the re-christened A Bug's Land section of California Adventure.

Interest rates on short-term Treasury securities fell in the latest auction. The Treasury Department sold $15 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.610%, down from 1.630% last week. An additional $14 billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 1.580%, down from 1.635%. Both the three-month and six-month rates were the lowest since Aug. 5 when the bills sold for 1.600% and 1.555%, respectively. The new discount rates understate the actual return to investors--1.

Eighteen months after its grand opening, Walt Disney Co.'s California Adventure is struggling more than its counterparts, still trying to find an audience at a time when the nation's theme parks are grappling with how to attract patrons in a weak economy.