Wolfgang Puck and Robert Mondavi pull out of Disney's California park...

[BevReview Steve]

As a Disney theme park fan and food fan (I know, weird combination), this caught my eye yesterday....

As most fans agree, Disney's California Adventure park is quite a mess...

Puck pulls out of troubled theme park
Mondavi also exits; turns over winery to Disney officials

By Russ Britt, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 3:56 PM ET Oct. 1, 2001

ANAHEIM, Calif. (CBS.MW) - Wolfgang Puck Food Co. has closed its restaurant at Disney's California Adventure and the Robert Mondavi winery nearby has been turned over to park owner Walt Disney Co., it was revealed Monday.

Puck's restaurant, known as Avalon Cove, was suffering from slow business, as was the rest of the Disney park, which opened Feb. 8. Puck officials said they came to a "mutual" agreement with Disney (DIS: news, chart, profile) on closing the facility.

"I think it's really a Disney thing more than it is us," said Jannis Swerman, spokeswoman for Puck. "It was a mutual decision between both operations."

The Puck restaurant's last day of business was Sunday. Disney officials could not be reached for comment.

Napa, Calif.-based Mondavi has stopped operating the Golden Vine Winery, a centerpiece of the park, and turned over the operations to Disney. Officials at Mondavi's corporate offices would not comment on the exit. But it was confirmed by employees at the California Adventure facility, who did not speak for attribution.

"We have been in discussions with Disney to redefine our relationship," said Nancy Light, Mondavi spokeswoman. "We're really not ready to make a comment on this."

Disney has had trouble generating interest in California Adventure, a $1.4 billion park adjacent to its flagship Disneyland park in Anaheim. The company is trying to make the facility a resort like Walt Disney World by having attractions that will encourage visitors to stay for several days at a time.

California Adventure has not generated the business the company had hoped for, forcing Disney to beef up the facility through such attractions as a nighttime "electrical" parade featuring floats bathed in lights, and creating a simulated "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" attraction.

Disney does not offer attendance figures. Al Lutz, president of Disneyland watchdog site Mouseplanet.com, said the facility has trouble reaching a third of its capacity even on weekends.

There was no word yet on what Disney planned to do with the facilities. But Lutz says Disney is considering a number of new attractions in the hopes of generating more interest in the park.

Full story can be found here

I don't doubt it as a ex employee old Disney World. great place to visit,one of the worst places to work.