Surf Swell Beach
Area Description and Map by Sharon&Susan
Introduction
Disney started development on a new Beach Party movie for theaters in 2005 and tasked the Imagineers with creating an area themed to those type of movies from the 1950's and 1960's. To fit in with the rest of Disney Studios, in-universe the studio is shooting the movie on-location on a beach near Los Angeles!
Eventually that movie after years of development hell was released in 2015 as a Disney Channel Original Movie titled Teen Beach Movie starring Jake Paul and Maia Mitchell. For Teen Beach Movie 2, Jake Paul was replaced with Ross Lynch due to his Youtube related controversies.
Area Description
Music
Surf Swell Beach is based on the many Southern California beach cities that were used as shooting locations for the many movies in the 60's Beach Party genre. Otherwise known as filming on location! The area is split into two halves: the small fictional beachside city of Surf Swell Beach and the beach itself.
Business in Surf Swell Beach has only started booming since the surfers arrived, so many new businesses here have started in whatever structures can be reused. Sitting on a slight hill, guests get a great sight of the lagoon and cliffs from the main street. The city also serves as a biker hang out spot especially in Annette's and the mechanic's shop, a group that is looking for new members for the new race in the Rebel Motorcycle Race of a Lifetime!
There's also the main beach area, where they're currently filming a new Beach Party movie, thankfully the film making is only going on in the indoor amphitheater (where you can watch the making of Mickey and Minnie Mouse in Beach Party Palooza) and the observatory for now, so you can walk the beach without any disruptions (except for rails stopping guests from walking into the water). The Surf Swell Observatory near the rocky, Californian cliffs is currently the filming location for a monster movie (based on a true story?) and they're looking for extras on the Creature Feature Boats. And while the road to Cucamonga may be blocked for now, the Pacific Pier takes guests to a city all the way across the Pacific Ocean.
Entrance
Between the Preview Center and the Art of Animation in Maroon Studios is the exit to the entire studio. Guards are off duty and the red gates are open allowing you to leave easily. For the first time guests are able to get a close view of the Earful Tower! As a side entrance it doesn’t drop you off on a major street, but between the border of LA and a major Californian beach city known as Surf Swell Beach. The plants on the brown dirt are small and tumbleweed like and there’s a sign ahead on the right alerting us to the name of the town. But it’s blocked by a 60’s style van covered with film equipment. Thankfully painted on the side of the van is the name of this area: Surf Swell Beach.
Landmarks to Watch Out For (Not listed anywhere else)
The Old Well-Seya Bank
One of the first buildings built in Swell Surf City, when the Great Depression hit the Well-Seya Bank closed. Now the old, stately building serves as a meetup spot for many due to it's nice, shady overhang, you may even see some beach locals and even a few Hollywood movie stars like Mickey Mouse or Minnie Mouse in surf getup getting ready for filming down there at the beach!
The grand clock tower on the building, painstakingly maintained by the city, is still in operation, because it's hard to remember the time when you're having so much fun! Whenever the bell chimes at the top of the hour, it plays a snippet of the Beach Boy classic, Surfin' USA.
Restrooms
Located in a cobblestone building near Seaside Souvenirs, they're... restrooms what else do you expect? On the second floor are the remote offices for BJQ Studios who are filming Beach Party Palooza at the Surf Sell Beaches. There are usually tons of motorcycles parked outside near this and the mechanic's shop across the street, who knows what's going on inside, maybe they're getting ready for a race?
Shakespeare Castle Inn
In-between Annette's and the mechanic's shop, the Shakespeare Castle Inn is the most popular lodging establishment in all of Surf Swell Beach. First floor is brick with the two top floors being themed to an Edwardian cottage. Right now a film company is currently renting the entire hotel with film equipment and clothes from the new beach movie being filmed are on the hotel's balconies.
The Golden Surfboard
On the beach stuck forever in it's sands is the legendary golden surfboard. Only guesses have been made of its origin like it being the board of the inventor of surfing, King Tut. Others say that King Tut didn't invent surfing, so it couldn't have been his, others just say it's fun to think about and stop ruining our fun!
Anyway it's a nice thing to take a picture next to. Just don't give it any offerings, despite how much that sounds like a good idea, it caused Paul Hennings to lose the surf championship in '59. Either that it or it was that mirror he cracked on Friday the 13th...
Volleyball Net
On the beach there's a volleyball net for the use of some surf-swell amusement! Actually it was put up for the film by the film crew, but everyone on the beach liked it so much that they kept it. Occasionally Rickie the surfer will play with guests a good game of volleyball.
Pacific Pier
Home of the Wipeout Wheel, this boardwalk takes guests across the Pacific Ocean to a city across the sea. The boardwalk games are here with the classic games represented. like the basketball shoot, soak the clown, miniature horse racing, and of course the devious ladder climb. Win any of these and receive a prize for your great skill!
There's a lookout point across from the Wipeout Wheel where you can get a good view of the lagoon and the cliffs where motorcyclists are speeding about. Watch out for the waves that crash against the boardwalk that might get you wet. Second best view in the beach behind the Wipeout Wheel
The end of the boardwalk transitions into a recreation of the Horai Bashi bridge with a sign above the guests welcoming them to Toho Town.
Who to Meet (Streetmosphere Characters)
Rickie: A brash surfer who speaks heavily in surfer slang. Skips school to hang out at Surf Swell Beach with his friends, but despite not having school smarts has a good heart, Can also sing really well and plays the guitar and preforms down at the Old bank with his band of Surfer Pals. Hates all greasers because they try to get rid of the surfers off "their beach" and especially hates Danny Stainton.
Danny Stainton: The leader of the biker gang who is as dumb as a sack of bricks, but knows how to be a good leader. Very proud of his motorcycle and shows his motorcycle parked near the bathrooms and points out all the "cool" things about it. He also will often complain to guests about not getting royalties from the studio filming for "obviously" basing Pete's character off himself, confronting the director quite often.
Professor Hawkfield: A scientist studying the tourists to see what makes them tick. She’s only studied computers the size of fridges so she may be confused on a few things when it comes to knowing anything about the broad human species. Often breaks up arguments between Danny and Rickie by telling them that they’re both stupid. At night she sets a telescope at the beach for guests to look at the distant stars and planets (maybe waiting for a Creature From Beyond the Stars?).
Director Armstrong: The director of Beach Party Palooza currently filming at the nearby beach. He's trying to ink a deal with Rickie, after discovering him, to be the main star of his next movie "The Invisible Bell Bottoms of Bellzer Beach", but Rickie doesn't quite understand what he's proposing (comedy ensues). Armstrong and Professor Hawkfield do a special effects demonstration after the last show of Beach Party Palooza at the end of the day causes a light show using the lights on the Pacific Pier bridge and the Wipeout Wheel.
There’s also a water skiing show on the lagoon that includes a grand finale where the water-skiers literally "jump the shark".
