Disney's California Adventure Park

Disney's California Adventure Park (commonly referred to by its initials, DCA) is a theme park in Anaheim, California, adjacent to Disneyland Park and part of the larger Disneyland Resort. It opened on February 8, 2001. The park is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company.

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. Most of them are meant to resemble various aspects of California, its culture, landmarks and history.


Park layout

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.

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. Paradise Pier's attractions consist of the classic amusement park rides found in many boardwalks such as the California Screamin’, the Maliboomer, and the Orange Stinger. Toy Story Mania!, an interactive attraction inspired by classic midway games and Disney's California Adventure Park's newest attraction, featuring Pixar characters, opened on June 17, 2008.

In October of 2008, the Sun Wheel 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 Summer 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. Notable attractions are the Jumpin' Jellyfish, Golden Zephyr, and Mulholland Madness as well as the Sunglass Shack in the shape of a giant roadside attraction dinosaur.

Golden State

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

Condor Flats
Soarin' over CaliforniaThis sub-land is themed after the aviation industry. The featured attraction here is Soarin’ over California, a ride that simulates a hang glider tour of California. Also in this area is the Taste Pilot's Grill counter service restaurant.

Grizzly Peak Recreational Area
This sub-land is themed after California's wilderness, such as Yosemite and Redwood national parks. Attractions include Grizzly River Run, a fast-paced river rapids ride around Grizzly Peak. Nearby is the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail; an interactive playground area, which also includes a show, housed in an amphitheater featuring characters from Disney's Brother Bear, The Magic of Brother Bear. A special entrance to Disney's Grand Californian Hotel is also located in this area.

The Bay Area
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 7th, 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.

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 30th, 2008 to be converted into the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar, which opened in October of 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.

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. This sub-land also features attractions such as the Mission Tortilla Factory, which features a tour on how tortillas were once made, and showcases working corn and flour tortilla machines. Another attraction is 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.


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. A version of the Tower of Terror attraction from Disney's Hollywood Studios opened in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot in 2004. Recently, a new attraction, Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! based on the characters from Monsters, Inc. opened in the attraction building that housed Superstar Limo. The 2000-seat Hyperion Theatre currently plays host to Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular.
Also featured since the park's opening is Muppet Vision 3-D, a show that also originated at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

The entrance to the area with the sign Hollywood Pictures Backlot featuring two ceramic elephants sculptures atop columns. 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 opened the same year, 2001) which also has elephant sculptures atop columns.


"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. This land features Flik's Fun Fair, It's Tough to be a Bug! and the Bountiful Valley Farm, based on the Disney-Pixar film "a bug's life". The land opened in 2003 and offers various kid-friendly rides and other attractions. Such rides including Fliks Flyers, Francis' Ladybug Boogie, Tuck & Rolls Drive em' Buggies, Heimlichs Chew Chew Train, and Dots Puddle Park.