Disney's California Adventure

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Disney's California Adventure Park is a Disney theme park, adjacent to Disneyland. It opened on February 8, 2001. It is the second attraction in the Disneyland Resort, and the seventh Disney park built.

This 55 acre theme park was constructed as part of a major expansion that transformed the Disneyland area and its hotels into the Disneyland Resort and consists of five areas: Sunshine Plaza, Hollywood Pictures Backlot, The Golden State, A Bug's Land and Paradise Pier. Each area is meant to resemble various aspects of California, its culture, landmarks and history. Disney's California Adventure currently has 34 attractions in the theme park.

Contents

[edit] Concept and construction

In 1991, Disney announced the plan to build a second gate in Anaheim, WestCOT, a west coast iteration of Epcot, in place of the existing Disneyland main parking lot, but due to various reasons the project was canceled in 1995, which led to the idea of Disney's California Adventure, a park to celebrate and pay tribute to California, providing a similar experience to stepping inside a California postcard. DCA was part of the plan to expand the one park property and convert it into a greater, multi-day vacation resort destination which would be able to appeal to a greater audience - similar to Walt Disney World Resort.

The construction of DCA began in 1998, as part of the Disneyland Resort expansion project which included the new theme park, the Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, Downtown Disney, and the renovation of the Disneyland Hotel and the Paradise Pier Hotel, and was completed in 2001. DCA occupies the site of the former parking lot for 5,000 vehicles, and parking is now provided in the multi-level "Mickey and Friends" parking structure, giving space for more than 10,000 vehicles.

[edit] Park layout

[edit] Sunshine Plaza

The main gate entrance is designed to evoke a sensation as if one were stepping into a California postcard. After guests pass the giant letters spelling out California, they will pass beneath a mock-up of San Francisco Bay's Golden Gate Bridge, which serves to disguise a portion of the resort's monorail track. Flanking both ends of the faux Golden Gate Bridge are two massive murals depicting the vast mountain ranges in California. A few meters into the park from the main gate is Sunshine Plaza that serves as an access hub to all of the park's other themed lands. At the end of the path, there is a fountain featuring a large metal sunburst designed to reflect solar rays into the surrounding area. Sunshine Plaza is also home to a replica of the California Zephyr, which houses the plaza's two counter service restaurants: Baker's Field Bakery and Bur-r-r Bank Ice Cream. The plaza is also home to two of the park's biggest souvenir shops, Greetings from California and Engine Ears Toys. There are no attractions in Sunshine Plaza.

[edit] Paradise Pier

Paradise Pier is themed after a California boardwalk, based on popular coastal boardwalks such as the Santa Monica Pier and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. In October 2008, the Sun Wheel attraction in this area closed to be made over as "Mickey's Fun Wheel" scheduled to open in Spring of 2009 as part of a major makeover that will include a new Water Fountain show in Paradise Pier, "World of Color" scheduled to open in the Spring of 2010. A section of Paradise Pier is themed after the Historic U.S. Route 66, a desert road area that starts with Paradise Pier's crashed fireboat the S.S. rustworthy. This area will be re-themed in the years ahead as Route 66 will be given it's own personal land in the form of Radiator Springs which will open in an entirely new area of the park in 2012.

[edit] Attractions

  • California Screamin': Modeled after a traditional Boardwalk wooden roller coaster.
  • Maliboomer: A drop ride that launches 180 ft. in 4 seconds.
  • Mulholland Madness: A mini-coaster modeled after Los Angeles's Mulholland Drive.
  • Silly Symphony Swings: Opening April 2010.
  • Golden Zephyr: An old fashioned spining "swing" ride on Buck Rogers style rockets.
  • King Triton's Carousel of the Sea: A carousel of sea creatures.
  • Jumpin' Jellyfish: A mini-drop ride
  • S.S. rustworthy: A model of a ship, which is a play area for kids.
  • Games of the Boardwalk: Boardwalk-like pay games
  • Toy Story Midway Mania!
  • Disney's World of Color in March 2010.
  • The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Adventure in June 2011.

[edit] Golden State

This land allows guests to experience California's natural settings. It is further divided into five sub-lands:

[edit] Condor Flats

This sub-land is themed after the aviation industry.

[edit] Attractions
  • Soarin' Over California : Riders "soar" and "swoop" over famous California landmarks.

[edit] Grizzly Peak Recreational Area

This sub-land is themed after California's wilderness, such as Yosemite and Redwood national parks. This area features Grizzly Peak, the park's icon. A special entrance to Disney's Grand Californian Hotel is also located in this area.

[edit] Attractions
  • Grizzly River Run: Riders ride down rafts on white water rapids.
  • Redwood Creek Challenge Trail: A play area for kids, featuring a Mount Shasta wilderness-like setting and suspension and wire bridges. It also features rock climbing and a Brother Bear scene cave. It is also designed for adventurous adults.

[edit] Bayside

This sub-land is themed after the California Bay Area. It used to feature Golden Dreams, a film about the history of California, starring Whoopi Goldberg housed in a theatre. Its last showing was on September 7, 2008. Outside of the theatre is a mural and a replica of the Palace of Fine Arts. The Bay Area also includes an avenue of houses similar to the Victorian architecture of many townhouses found in San Francisco. The main area is scheduled to be converted to "The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Adventure," with construction expected to start in 2009.

[edit] The Golden Vine Winery

This sub-land is themed after Northern California's Napa Valley and the winemaking industry. Included in this area is Wine Country Trattoria, a casual table service-dining restaurant which features wines and Italian foods. The former main attraction in this area, Seasons of the Vine, a film showcasing Napa Valley and the changes throughout the seasons, housed in a wine cellar-like theatre, closed on March 30, 2008 to be converted into the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar, which opened in October 2008, that features the upcoming changes to the park. The exhibits will be rotated every few months until 2012, when the major park improvement project is scheduled to be finished. Guests also have the opportunity to taste several wines for an additional price.

[edit] Pacific Wharf

This sub-land 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, along with a Karl Strauss beer truck and Margarita stand.

[edit] Attractions
  • Mission Tortilla Factory (opened February 8, 2001) : A close-up look on tortilla production.
  • The Bakery Tour (opened February 8, 2001) : A presentation on how sourdough bread is made and about the Boudin Bakery.

[edit] Hollywood Pictures Backlot

Hollywood Pictures Backlot is an area styled to appear as Hollywood boulevards and movie backlots, with Hollywood, Television, and movie-themed attractions. The entrance to the area with the sign Hollywood Pictures Backlot featuring two ceramic elephants sculptures atop columns is a homage to a huge set constructed for the epic 1916 Hollywood film Intolerance directed by D.W. Griffith. This homage is echoed at the Hollywood and Highland entertainment complex in Los Angeles, which currently houses the Academy Awards ceremonies at Kodak Theatre which also has elephant sculptures atop columns.

As you enter, there are bathrooms on the right. They are in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis house located in the base of the Santa Monica Mountains. The stamped concrete structure is typical of Wright's pioneering design.

This area is the most reminiscent of Disney's Hollywood Studios, in many aspects, shares the same theme, and features four of the same attractions.

[edit] Attractions

  • Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!: A dark ride that goes through the scenes of the movie Monsters Inc.
  • Twilight Zone Tower of Terror: A drop ride based on the TV series The Twilight Zone.
  • Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular: A musical of Disney's movie Aladdin at the Hyperion Theater.
  • Playhouse Disney - Live on Stage!: A show in which visitors can meet the Playhouse Disney characters live. Refreshed in Early 2008.
  • Muppet*Vision 3-D: A 3-D show featuring the Muppets in 3D.
  • Muppet Mobile Lab: Join Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker on their latest experiments.
  • Disney Animation
    • Turtle Talk with Crush: A show in which one can interact with Crush in Finding Nemo.
    • Animation Academy: A presentation on how to draw Disney characters.
    • Character Closeup: An exhibit featuring the "Toy Story Zoetrope" where visitors can view concept art and models of Disney characters.
    • Sorcerer's Workshop: An exhibit featuring the "Sorcerer's Workshop" where visitors can create their own animation, "Beast's Library" where visitors can find out which Disney character they are most like, and "Ursula's Voices" where visitors can record their own voice into a scene from a Disney animated feature.
  • The Hollywood Backlot Stage: The Park's performing center

[edit] "A Bug's Land"

"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. The land opened in 2003 and offers various kid-friendly attractions.

[edit] Attractions

  • It's Tough to be a Bug!: A 3-D film on how life is for an insect.
  • Bountiful Valley Farm: A water play area for kids about California's irrigation system.
  • Flik's Fun Fair
    • Flik's Flyers: A swing ride in which visitors swing in over-sized food boxes.
    • Francis' Ladybug Boogie: A ride similar to Mad Tea Party in neighboring Disneyland, except ladybugs are used instead of tea cups.
    • Heimlich's Chew Chew Train: A train ride in which visitors see how Heimlich finds food.
    • Princess Dot Puddle Park: A water play area for kids
    • Tuck and Roll's Drive'Em Buggies: A bumper car ride

[edit] Performance Corridor

The Performance Corridor is the primary parade route through the park, currently from the Sunshine Plaza area to the Route 66 area near the Orange Stinger. This route is subject to change due to the scheduled changes in the parks offerings.

The Disney's Electrical Parade is offered on peak periods, this traditionally consists of the Easter/Spring Break period, summer months, and last few weeks leading up to New Years.

The Current performances are:

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