Make your Disneyland Resort experience even happier with a visit to the newly expanded and reimagined Disney California Adventure Park. Disney stories and Disney Characters bring the California dream to life through amazing attractions, entertainment and dining! With 2 brand new lands - Cars Land and Buena Vista Street - Disney California Adventure Park is ready to shine like never before!
The 67-acre Disney theme park - built during the 'Disney Decade', a growth initiative of former Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner - was designed as part of a major expansion that transformed the Disneyland area and its hotels into the Disneyland Resort. Whereas the original 85 acre Disneyland Park contains eight themed "lands," Disney California Adventure is divided into eight themed "districts": Buena Vista Street, Hollywood Land, Grizzly Peak, Pacific Wharf, "A Bugs Land", Cars Land, Condor Flats, and Paradise Pier. Each district is meant to resemble various aspects of Californian culture and landmarks, both stylized and idealized.
In October 2007, the Walt Disney Company announced a $1.1 billion re-construction of the park (against its initial $600 million price to build) to counter initial criticisms that the park lacked the immersion, character experience, and timelessness of Disneyland Park. As a result of the initiative, each district was re-imagined to transform the park from a veritable spoof of modern California culture to a romanticized, idealized version of the state exploring specific time-periods and historic settings. For example, the park's Paradise Pier (originally a modern, seaside carnival-style wharf with comedic midway games and rides like Maliboomer and Mulholland Madness) was re-themed to a Victorian Era pier with flashing incandescent lightbulbs, classic midway games with Disney character references, and the Toy Story Midway Mania interactive attraction. The ambitious re-construction project began in December 2007 and was completed on June 14, 2012.
Buena Vista Street
Experience the vintage Los Angeles that Walt Disney discovered when he arrived in 1923. Stroll past charming interpretations of historic buildings - complete with Art Deco storefronts, Spanish-tile roofs, wrought-iron balconies, sparkling fountains and shade trees. Ride the Red Car Trolley, sip a coffee at Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe or enjoy an elegant meal at Carthay Circle Restaurant.
Buena Vista street is the first "themed district" inside the main entrance of the California Adventure Park. Guests enter Buena Vista street through the park's main entrance gate, which resembles the landmark Pan-Pacific Auditorium. Buena Vista Street, which takes its name from the Burbank street on which the Walt Disney Studios are located, leads guests into the park in an immersive recreation of early 1920s Los Angeles when Walt Disney first arrived with Mission and Art Deco facades housing shops and restaurants. A recreation of Carthay Circle Theater, which showcased the world premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 sits at the end of Buena Vista Street serving as the visual anchor for the district. Red Car Trolleys travel from the entry, up Buena Vista Street to Carthay Circle, then down Hollywood Boulevard towards the Tower of Terror.
Paradise Pier
Discover an exciting land filled with boardwalk thrills and Disney characters. Journey beneath the waves on The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel's Undersea Adventure, zoom above the pier on California Screamin', play the game that's a ride on Toy Story Mania! and learn to fly at Goofy's Sky School. After the sun sets, Paradise Bay springs to life with music, light and magic at the World of Color nighttime water spectacular.
Paradise Pier is themed to directly resemble a Victorian-era California boardwalk. It is an idealized and romanticized version of popular coastal boardwalks such as the Santa Monica Pier and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The district's attractions, such as California Screamin' (a launched steel roller coaster built to appear as a classic wooden coaster) resemble the timeless amusement park rides found at many boardwalks. Toy Story Midway Mania! is an interactive 3D attraction inspired by classic midway games. Mickey's Fun Wheel is a 160-foot-tall Ferris wheel overlooking Paradise Bay, a large body of water that dominates the Paradise Pier area. A hydrotechnic show, World of Color is performed nightly on the waters of Paradise Bay (using fountains, projection, and flame effects) and showcases a series of vignettes from numerous Disney and Pixar films.
The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure opened in 2011, and is a classic audio-animatronic based dark-ride. It is based on the animated motion picture The Little Mermaid. Paradise Pier also features Goofy's Sky School, a typical Wild Mouse roller coaster based on the 1940 animated Disney Short Goofy's Glider. As well, a wave swinger swing ride entitled Mickey's Silly Symphony Swings is based on Disney's The Band Concert short. King Triton's Carousel of the Sea is another fun and innovative ride in the Paradise Pier district, it's a classic merry-go-round surrounded by fan fountains that features sea creatures (sea lions, sea horses, dolphins, and whales) in place of traditional horses.
The Paradise Garden Grille and the Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta are two classic Victorian restaurants in the Paradise Pier district that are connected by an outdoor, shaded seating area built around a gazebo in which bands play daily.
Grizzly Peak
Blaze a trail towards Grizzly Peak for an outdoor adventure surrounded by majestic evergreen trees, roaring rapids and rugged mountains. Take a thrilling, spinning plunge on Grizzly River Run or explore wilderness paths, march across rope bridges, climb over rocks and zip down suspended slides at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.
Grizzly Peak is themed to California's wilderness and national parks with particular references to Yosemite and Redwood national parks. The main attraction of the district is Grizzly River Run, a fast-paced Gold Rush-esque river rapids ride around the summit of Grizzly Peak, the park's original icon. Nearby is the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail; an interactive playground area, which also includes a show featuring characters from Disney Pixar's Up. A special entrance to Disney's Grand Californian Hotel is also located in this area, used exclusively by hotel guests.
Condor Flats
Touch down on a remote desert landing strip where daring men and women design, test and fly innovative aircraft with the goal of breaking the sound barrier - and beyond! Tour the Golden State from high above on Soarin' Over California or book a musical tour on Minnie's Fly Girls Charter Airline.
Condor Flats is themed after an airfield in tribute to California's pilots and engineers from the 1940s to the mid-1960s and the era's aeronautical achievements. The district's retaining walls are made up of old railroad ties, and World War II runways. The featured attraction of the area is Soarin' Over California, a ride that simulates a hang glider tour of California. Condor Flats also contains the Taste Pilot's Grill counter service restaurant, a shop, a water play area with a giant rocket jet that sprays mist, and Minnie's Fly Girls Show, featuring Minnie Mouse. The number 47 is hidden in various places as a reference to 1947, the year the sound barrier was broken. Also, the clock on the Fly 'N Buy Souvenir Shop is stopped at the exact time the sound barrier was broken on Oct 14, 1947 by Chuck Yeager.
Pacific Wharf
Escape to a waterside haven with diverse restaurant options, an open-aired dining area, refreshing California wines and sweet treats. Enjoy a delicious meal at Wine Country Trattoria, Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill, Lucky Fortune Cookery and Pacific Wharf Cafe. Afterwards, satisfy your sweet tooth at the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop or peek into the future of Disney Parks at Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar.
Pacific Wharf is based on Monterey's Cannery Row area, especially as depicted in John Steinbeck's novels, and also resembles San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf. This area includes the Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill, Pacific Wharf Cafe, The Lucky Fortune Cookery Chinese restaurant, Wine Country Trattoria restaurant, Mendocino Wine Bar, Sonoma Terrace, along with a Karl Strauss beer truck and a margarita stand. The area also features the Ghirardelli chocolate factory built to resemble the iconic San Francisco chocolate factory. The area also contains the Boudin Bakery Tour, which is a tour of the sourdough bread making process with Rosie O'Donnell and Colin Mochrie as video tour guides. The area is home to the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar, which opened in October 2008. Blue Sky Cellar is an attraction that displays the construction projects currently being worked on in California Adventure park.
Hollywood Land
The magic and romance of the Golden Age of Hollywood comes alive in this vibrant land filled with superstar attractions including The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!, Muppet*Vision 3D, Disney Animation and Turtle Talk with Crush. Experience unforgettable live entertainment like Disney's Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular and Disney Junior - Live on Stage! After dark, follow Alice down the rabbit hole for the Mad T Party - a dance party that recreates the manic energy of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland.
Hollywood Land is an area inspired by the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1930s. The area includes attractions based on film, television, theater and a subsection called Hollywood Studios which is designed to appear as an active studio back-lot. A version of the The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction from Disney's Hollywood Studios opened in Hollywood Land (then known as Hollywood Pictures Backlot) in 2004. The Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! attraction is also featured in the Hollywood Land district, the ride is based on the characters from Monsters, Inc.;. The 2000-seat Hyperion Theater located in the heart of Hollywood Land currently plays host to Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular. Disney Junior is currently held in Hollywood Land as well, it opened on March 25, 2011 and features "Jake and the Never Land Pirates" in the show.
Also featured since the park's opening is Muppet Vision 3-D, a show that also originated at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Both the Tower of Terror and Muppet Vision 3-D benefited from the many advances and new technology made available to the Imagineers since their original incarnations opened in Florida. This allowed the DCA versions to be technologically superior in certain aspects. The restroom facilities in Hollywood Land are designed in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright's Storer House, located in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles. The stamped concrete structure is typical of Wright's pioneering design.
"A Bug's Land"
Shrink down to the size of an insect and become an honorary bug at this whimsical land inspired by the Disney-Pixar movie A Bug's Life. Hop aboard Heimlich's Chew Chew Train, spin aboard Flik's Flyers or meet some tiny new friends at the 3D extravaganza It's Tough to Be a Bug! Little ones will find plenty of places to explore and play, including Princess Dot Puddle Park.
"A Bug's Land" is seen from the point of view of a bug, and the character of "Flik" from A Bug's Life. Oversized human items and foodstuffs are scattered around the land. This land features Flik's Fun Fair (a collection of themed, family and child-friendly attractions such as Fliks Flyers, Francis' Ladybug Boogie, Tuck & Roll's Drive 'em Buggies, Heimlich's Chew Chew Train, and Dot's Puddle Park) and It's Tough to be a Bug!, a 3D film based on the Disney Pixar film A Bug's Life. The land opened as the park's first expansion in 2002 to expand the park's family-friendly attractions.
Cars Land
Cruise into the newest land at the Disneyland Resort! Cars Land is an incredible 12-acre expansion inspired by the Disney-Pixar movie Cars. Get your engines running for 3 brand-new attractions: Radiator Springs Racers, Luigi's Flying Tires and Mater's Junkyard Jamboree. After your victory lap, stop in for a refill at Flo's V8 Cafe, Cozy Cone Motel and Fillmore's Taste-In.
Cars Land is a land spanning 12 acres and containing three attractions. The largest attraction, Radiator Springs Racers, is a dark ride that utilizes the technology of Epcot's Test Track. Based on Pixar's Cars films, the ride begins with a race briefing from Lightning McQueen and ends with an outdoor side-by-side dueling race to the Wheel Well Motel. With a budget at an estimated US$200 million, it's the most expensive theme park ride ever built. The other two attractions at Cars Land are family attractions with smaller height requirements: Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, a tea-cup-like attraction; and Luigi's Flying Tires, which is similar to the 1960s Tomorrowland Flying Saucers attraction. Cars Land also features a life-size model of Radiator Springs and several dining and shopping venues.
Disney California Adventure Area Hotels