Downtown Disney was built in 2001.
5 years earlier, I had gotten married, and my wife and I immediately got annual Disneyland passes for the next 5 years. We were there as they closed the parking lot and began construction of California Adventure. We were there when the clock hit midnight when 1999 came to an end. Yes, it was rather crowded, but it didn't feel overly so, and the only annoyance was that you had to take a tram to the new parking lot, and it appeared that they only 3 trams were running that night. Subsequently, our longest wait for any ride that night was the one to take us to our car.
After 5 years of holding those passes, we let them go. We had gone so often, and it was getting a bit boring (remember California Adventure and Downtown Disney were not there yet) and we came to this conclusion one day after spending a few hours there. It was what we did there in those hours that made us decide, and if you're curious as to what it was, you will need to ask for that particular detail. I can tell you it's not what you'd expect people to be doing at Disneyland.
Not long after, Downtown Disney opened and I can't tell you how soon we found the time to get there, but it didn't seem too long after it opened. My wife and I went for the food and the shops, but what we fell in love with was the musicians.
We first discovered Drew Tretick, a violinist who was stationed in front of Napoli's restaurant.
Over the years, we appreciated his performances of "A Time to Say Goodbye," "Somewhere in Time," and "Romantica." We got to chat many times, and he would indulge me whenever I requested he play "Flight of the Bumblebee," which would impress me greatly on some of those cold December nights.
The next musician we found was Brother Yusef, a blues guitarist and singer that had taken up residence across from where the House of Blues once stood.
This guy could play the blues, and even though I knew he wasn't playing with any tracks, there were times I was wondering how he getting so many sounds out of one guitar. I swear it sometimes sounded like other guitars were playing with him. In the video you'll notice some people taking a seat off to the side of him. That's not us, but that's where we would often sit for as long as his setlist was.
The last musician we came across was David Wayne, an acoustic guitarist who played with a Spanish-style and had set up camp close to the entrance to Disneyland.
I debated on which video of his I should use. I will say that, although I used this one, you should also check out this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oozQAUSlTOI
His performances were very impressive, and I used this video because he had a percussionist with him for many years, and that was how we first saw him perform. It wasn't until a few years ago when he would play alone. As I watched the video that is attached to the above link, I recall the many times we'd be walking through the crowd, approaching to where he was, and hearing that tune.
Also, his rendition of "Hotel California" always drew quite a crowd.
I got to chat with each of them many times, and the past few years they each had made it known that Downtown Disney was becoming a bit hostile towards them. I guess I can't say hostile, but it was quite clear to them that DD was not as accommodating to them as in the years past. One of the last conversations I had with Brother Yusef was when we went to see him at his normal place, and he was just sitting there (not playing) because DD had put Christmas carolers 20 feet away from him. His comment was that the downtown area is so big, why would they put them there when they know he's been there for many years? David Wayne, meanwhile, had been moved out of his position twice.
We enjoyed many nights, standing there, watching and appreciating these amazing musicians. Many times it was in the blazing heat of summer or the bitter cold of winter, and often we would make plans to go to DD, but would cancel because it was raining and we knew the musicians wouldn't be there.
It was not too long ago that I learned that Brother Yusef was no longer there and David Wayne was also done there. I hadn't seen Drew for a while. In fact, the last time we were there, David was in his spot.
It's quite odd to think that, even though they weren't there when we first married, they were there through most of our journey, and their end seemed to coincide closely to ours. And it saddens me to think of all those nights we enjoyed each other's company and appreciated these great musicians at DD are now only in the past, never to be experienced again.
But it seems fitting, I guess, that our eras should end at nearly the same time, because I couldn't imagine standing there and watching them with anybody else.
It was like they were ours.
Goodbye to that era. I will miss it greatly.