Disney California Adventure facts for kids
Grizzly Peak, the icon of Disney California Adventure
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| Location | Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, California, United States |
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| Opened | February 8, 2001 |
| Owner | The Walt Disney Company |
| Operated by | Walt Disney Parks and Resorts |
| Theme | California |
| Website | Disneyland Resort Homepage |
Disney California Adventure is a fun theme park located in Anaheim, California. It's right across from Disneyland Park and is part of the bigger Disneyland Resort. The Walt Disney Company owns and runs this park. It first opened its doors on February 8, 2001, and was originally called Disney's California Adventure Park. Later, on May 28, 2010, its name was shortened to just Disney California Adventure.
The park covers about 55 acres (22 hectares). It has five main areas, each designed to look like different parts of California. These areas show off California's culture, famous landmarks, and history. In 2009, about 6.05 million people visited the park. This made it the 11th most popular theme park in the world that year!
Contents
Exploring Disney California Adventure
Sunshine Plaza: Park Entrance
Sunshine Plaza is the main entrance to the park. It's designed to look like a giant California postcard. When you walk in, you go under a fake Golden Gate Bridge. This bridge cleverly hides part of the resort's monorail track. On the sides of the bridge, there are huge murals showing different California landmarks and mountain ranges. After the bridge, you reach the main plaza. From here, you can go to the Hollywood Pictures Backlot or the Golden State areas. Sunshine Plaza also has a copy of the California Zephyr train. This train holds two restaurants: Baker's Field Bakery and Bur-r-r Bank Ice Cream.
Paradise Pier: Boardwalk Fun
Paradise Pier is themed like an old-fashioned California boardwalk from the Victorian era. It's inspired by real places like the Santa Monica Pier and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The rides here, like California Screamin’, look like classic amusement park rides. California Screamin' recently got new music and a fresh coat of paint. Toy Story Midway Mania! is a cool 3D ride where you play interactive games.
Mickey's Fun Wheel (which used to be called the Sun Wheel) is a huge 160-foot (49-meter) Ferris wheel. It offers great views of Paradise Bay, a large body of water in the middle of Paradise Pier. World of Color is a spectacular show performed on Paradise Bay. It uses water fountains, water cannons, and colorful lights. The show projects scenes from many Disney and Pixar movies onto mist screens. It plays on certain evenings.
A part of Paradise Pier used to be themed like Historic U.S. Route 66. This desert road area started with a crashed fireboat called the S.S. rustworthy. Some rides there included Jumpin' Jellyfish and Golden Zephyr.
Golden State: Natural California
This area of the park celebrates the natural beauty of California. It has many plants native to the state. Golden State is divided into five smaller sections:
Condor Flats: Aviation Adventures
Condor Flats looks like an airfield from the 1940s to the mid-1960s. It honors California's pilots and engineers. The main ride here is Soarin' Over California. This ride makes you feel like you're on a hang glider tour over California's famous places. You can also find the Taste Pilot's Grill restaurant, a shop, and a water play area with a giant rocket jet that sprays mist. Look closely, and you might spot the number 47 hidden in different spots. This is a nod to 1947, the year the sound barrier was broken. The clock on the Fly 'N Buy Souvenir Shop is also stopped at the exact time Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier on October 14, 1947.
Grizzly Peak Recreation Area: Wilderness Fun
This section is themed like California's wild areas, such as Yosemite and Redwood national parks. A popular ride is Grizzly River Run, a fast river rapids adventure around Grizzly Peak, which is the park's main symbol. Nearby, you can explore the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. This is a playground area that used to have a show with characters from Disney's Brother Bear. There's also a special entrance to Disney's Grand Californian Hotel here.
Golden Vine Winery: Wine Country
This area is designed like Northern California's Napa Valley, famous for winemaking. You can find Wine Country Trattoria, a casual restaurant serving wines and Italian food. The former main attraction here was Seasons of the Vine, a film about Napa Valley. It closed in 2008 and became the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar. This new attraction shows off upcoming changes to the park. Guests can also try different wines for an extra cost.
Pacific Wharf: Coastal Delights
Pacific Wharf is based on Monterey's Cannery Row and San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf. This area has several restaurants, including Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill, Pacific Wharf Cafe, and The Lucky Fortune Cookery Chinese restaurant. You can also find a Karl Strauss beer truck and a margarita stand. This section also features the Mission Tortilla Factory, where you can see how tortillas are made. Another attraction is the Boudin Bakery Tour, which shows how sourdough bread is made.
Hollywood Pictures Backlot: Movie Magic
Hollywood Pictures Backlot looks like old Hollywood streets and movie studios. It has attractions based on Hollywood, television, and movies. A version of Tower of Terror opened here in 2004. The Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! ride is based on characters from Monsters, Inc.. The 2000-seat Hyperion Theater currently shows Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular.
Muppet Vision 3-D has also been here since the park opened. Both the Tower of Terror and Muppet Vision 3-D used new technology that wasn't available when the original rides opened in Florida.
The sign at the entrance of Hollywood Pictures Backlot has two ceramic elephant sculptures. This is a tribute to a huge set built for the 1916 Hollywood film Intolerance. The bathrooms in this area are designed like the Storer House by Frank Lloyd Wright in the Hollywood Hills.
"A Bug's Land": Tiny World Fun
"A Bug's Land" makes you feel as small as a bug, just like Flik from A Bug's Life. You'll see giant human items scattered around. This area features Flik's Fun Fair, It's Tough to be a Bug!, and the Bountiful Valley Farm. All are based on the Disney-Pixar movie A Bug's Life. This land opened in 2002 and has many kid-friendly rides. These include Flik's Flyers, Francis' Ladybug Boogie, Tuck & Roll's Drive 'em Buggies, Heimlich's Chew Chew Train, and Dot's Puddle Park.
Live Entertainment and Shows
Characters
You can find many Disney characters throughout the park. They greet visitors, play with children, and pose for photos. Some characters have specific areas where they appear, but you might also see them walking around.
World of Color
World of Color is a new nighttime show at Disney California Adventure. It was created by Walt Disney Creative Entertainment. This show uses more than 1200 fountains, lasers, lights, and fire. It also has high-definition projections on mist screens, similar to those used in Fantasmic! at Disneyland. The show is expected to change regularly and have special versions for Halloween and Christmas.
Pixar Play Parade
The Pixar Play Parade features colorful floats and characters from Disney·Pixar films. You'll see characters from Monsters Inc, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Finding Nemo, A Bug's Life, and Cars.
ElecTRONica
Disney's "ElecTRONica" is an interactive nighttime dance party in Hollywood Pictures Backlot. It's themed to Disney's film, Tron: Legacy. ElecTRONica features lights, music, and projections. Live DJs have performed here, including Giang Star, Michael Paul, Adam Auburn, and Josh Billings.
Park Improvements and Expansion
When Disney California Adventure first opened in 2001, it didn't attract as many visitors as Disney expected. People had a few reasons for this:
- Some early visitors said the park didn't have enough "Disney-quality" attractions.
- There weren't many rides for young children.
- The California theme felt a bit odd since the park was already in California.
- Fans thought some rides in Paradise Pier were too generic, not what they expected from a Disney park.
- Some felt the park was built "on the cheap" with fewer attractions and less detailed theming.
- Many guests complained that a ticket to California Adventure cost the same as Disneyland, but had less to offer.
Because of these comments, Robert Iger, Disney's chief executive officer, admitted that the park had "been challenged."
To make the park better, The Walt Disney Company announced a big plan on October 17, 2007. They would spend $1.1 billion to expand and improve Disney's California Adventure Park. These plans were shown to visitors at the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar. Disney listened to what the public said. Some attractions that people didn't like were removed or redesigned. New rides and experiences with more Disney characters and stories were added. On May 28, 2010, the park's name was officially shortened to Disney California Adventure. This new name and logo started appearing on June 11, 2010. The World of Color show also premiered on this date as part of Disney's Summer Nighttastic.
Images for kids
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The original entrance of California Adventure, pictured in 2010
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Golden Dreams, a movie formerly featured at the park
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Entrance to the Hollywood Pictures Backlot
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The California Screamin' roller coaster
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Disney Animation building
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Disney California Adventure logo
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Mickey's Fun Wheel (6991796036) (cropped).jpg
Mickey's Fun Wheel
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OpenStreetMap image of Disney California Adventure
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Victorian style architecture in Paradise Pier
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The Carthay Circle Theater
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Paradise Pier as it appeared in 2005.
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A view of the park from a hotel room
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Grizzly Peak in 2009.
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The original "Hollywood Pictures Backlot" sign in 2008.
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Flik's Flyers in A Bug's Land
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Cars Land
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Radiator Springs Racers
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Paradise Pier as it appeared in early 2006
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Electrical Parade in 2006
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Grizzly Peak
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View of the park in 2012.
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Buena Vista Street during the partial reopening in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic (January 2021)
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Hollywood Land in 2010
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See also
In Spanish: Disney California Adventure Park para niños
