but did wonder if something that fed off that whole mess might get featured.
I didn't recognize Wonderland.... just the name. Hell, all those hills, in their native state, look like that. Hollywood, and even the San Fernando valley down 5, I don't remember as being much different WAY back then as it is now... the congestion I mean. Now around Disneyland, well, that I remember well surrounded by orchards, fields. One of my cousins, (although a generation older than me), married a guy from the Long Beach area and farmed down there.... in what today is nearly the heart of the city.
I think your area was not long ago fairly 'native' wasn't it?
You know Los Banos, right? I never had reason to visit there much, even though it's only an hour drive from me. Woolgrowers, (The Basque Restaurant and still open), my only reason to visit there at all....... BUT..... and I guess this was about 5 or 6 years ago, a grandson had a game north of town so we traveled that direction thru Los Banos to reach the baseball field.... I was shocked. Huge housing projects, just enormous... home after home after home. When I got to the baseball field I had to inquire of some locals and it was all new..... people who ran from the real estate costs of the Bay area..... now computing over Pacheco Pass every work day. Wow.
Actually here where I live... a good 3 hours from the Bay, a developer once submitted a plan for a housing project here... yeah, MY home town, 700 people... All meant for people escaping the real estate prices of the Bay area.... imagine that, a 3 hour commute... without traffic. The plan fell thru, (we locals celebrated).