Few theme parks have undergone such radical reimagining as Disney California Adventure Park. When it first opened its teal turnstiles in 2001, guests were treated to a unified, if bland theme of West Coast kitsch, including a soap opera bistro and the short-lived Superstar Limo (feat. odd caricatures of Drew Carey and Regis Philbin, among other celebrities). Now, nearly two decades later, the park is a fusion of wildly different franchises and eras: Buena Vista’s classic 1920s Southern California architecture; Hollywood Land’s combo of Golden Age history crossed with Monsters Inc., Frozen, and Marvel lore; Cars Land and Pixar Pier’s devotion to all things, well, Pixar; Pacific Wharf’s homage to Cannery Row eateries; Paradise Gardens Park’s beachside feel; and Grizzly Peak’s nod to the infrastructure and landscape of the state’s national parks. And, in 2020, Disney will expand the area between Hollywood Land and Cars Land with more superhero-themed attractions as it builds out a proper Marvel-themed land.
Disney California Adventure has long since strayed from the cohesive vision that drove its development during the early 2000s, but its disparate parts make up a very entertaining, family-friendly whole. While its sister park has gotten the lion’s share of attention over the last year, especially with the celebrated expansion of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Disney California Adventure has also upped the ante in order to attract its share of guests. Here are just a few of the ways it’s plussed its own guest experience—and why you should give it a second look during your next visit to Anaheim.
1. Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind
Image: Josh Sudock, Disney
One of the longest holdovers from the park’s initial theming, Paradise Pier received its highly-anticipated overhaul in the spring of 2018. While not nearly as innovative or expansive as Toy Story Land—a Toy Story-themed area with footholds in Paris’ Walt Disney Studios Park, Hong Kong Disneyland, Shanghai Disneyland, and Orlando’s Disney’s Hollywood Studios—the newly-renamed Pixar Pier has provided a refreshing update to some of Disney California Adventure’s less-cherished attractions.
One year later, the park premiered its first “new” attractions: Jessie’s Critter Carousel and Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind. Both of the vibrant spinning rides were designed with a slightly younger demographic in mind; the Carousel was a refresh of the park’s original King Triton’s Carousel of the Sea, which sat underneath California Screamin’ (now the Incredicoaster) from 2001 to 2019, while Emotional Whirlwind borrowed the skeleton of Flik’s Flyers, a hanging-balloon spinner ride previously stationed in ‘a bug’s land.’
Anchored by the Incredicoaster’s moderate thrills at one end and Emotional Whirlwind’s colorful nod to Inside Out’s spectrum of anthropomorphized feelings, Pixar Pier has continually proven one of the most popular and enchanting parts of the park over the last year. In much the same way that Cars Land provided an engrossing homage to Pixar’s franchises, its blend of kiddie attractions, family-friendly thrill rides, creative dining options, and Easter egg-laden theming makes it a can’t-miss destination.
2. Mickey’s PhilharMagic
Image: Bob Owen, Flickr (license)
Of the seven lands scattered throughout Disney California Adventure, Hollywood Land is perhaps the strangest. The buildings and overall feel of the land lends itself to a classic interpretation of Hollywood’s Golden Age, but its attractions and characters have spanned everything from the Muppets, Playhouse Disney, and Monsters, Inc. to Aladdin, Frozen, Alice in Wonderland, and an ever-expanding cast of Marvel superheroes and villains.
Even with its rapid turnover rate and conflicting theming, however, the land has played host to some of the most engaging and entertaining attractions in the resort—The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror/Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout!, live Aladdin and Frozen shows at the Hyperion Theatre, and Tim Burton-esque Alice in Wonderland dance party included. In April of 2019, they added another crowd-pleaser: Mickey’s PhilharMagic.
Thematically, Mickey’s PhilharMagic may be tied most closely to the nearby Animation Academy building, but it’s a welcome addition even so. A popular, albeit underrated attraction at the Magic Kingdom, Hong Kong Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris, the 4D-enhanced film features Donald Duck getting into various shenanigans with Lumiere, Ariel, and Simba after he dons Mickey’s iconic sorcerer cap. The show is cute enough on its own, and offers a relatively short wait time and air-conditioning—both enormous benefits during crowded, 90-degree SoCal summers.
3. Soarin’ Over California
Image: Jeremy Thompson, Flickr (license)
It’s no secret that Disney loves to play on the nostalgia of its previously-shuttered attractions, shows, and parades—particularly those that were immensely popular in their heyday. Take the Main Street Electrical Parade, for example: after its initial closing in 1996, it was revived at the Disneyland Resort for two separate limited-time engagements in 2017 and 2019 (the latter run expected from August through September).
Given the anticipated popularity of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Disney has been equally transparent about their need to pull guests over to Disney California Adventure. In addition to the slate of new attractions and overlays at Pixar Pier, Hollywood Land, and Paradise Gardens Park, they’ve also decided to revert Soarin’ Around the World to the original Soarin’ Over California film for a limited time.
To some, this may feel like a step back. Soarin’ Around the World may not have flooded riders’ senses with the signature scent of artificial California-grown oranges and Jerry Goldsmith’s heart-lifting score, but it made more narrative sense for the installations in Epcot and Shanghai Disneyland. Perhaps more to the point, its captivating views of the Matterhorn, the Great Wall of China, and the Eiffel Tower far eclipsed those of Redwood Creek, the PGA West Palmer Course, and L.A. traffic jams.
On the other hand, it’s nice to see Disney switch things up every now and then… even if they’re only incentivized to do so in order to balance out peak summer crowds between the two parks. Whether they might create additional films for the space remains to be seen, but the flexibility to do so certainly seems to be there, as does the audience demand.
4. Tale of the Lion King
Image: Disney
Disney California Adventure has tried a lot of different tacks to compensate for heavy blackout dates and Star Wars hype over at Disneyland: repurposing old ride vehicles, rebooting fan favorites, and transplanting less-popular attractions from other Disney Parks. With the Tale of the Lion King, however, they created something brand-new for the park.
Outside of its obvious promotional tie to The Lion King (2019), though, this is an odd choice for Disney California Adventure. More of an interactive musical revue than straightforward theatre, the new show combines familiar songs like “Circle of Life,” “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King,” and “Hakuna Matata” with choreographed dances, live instrumentation, and occasional bits of narration. There are no costumes or illustrations reminiscent of the 1994 film; if anything, it hews closer to the puppet-heavy Broadway staging or that of Animal Kingdom’s Festival of the Lion King. (And there’s no question that the beautiful, tree-framed stage seems more suited to the landscaping of Animal Kingdom than Paradise Gardens Park.)
Despite the mismatch in theming, Tale of the Lion King is a nice change of pace for the park. There’s a noticeable lack of live entertainment in the back half of the property; aside from Operation Playtime! – featuring the Green Army Patrol, the bulk of its street shows (Red Car Trolley News Boys Show, Five & Dime, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Dance Off!) perform exclusively on Buena Vista Street and Hollywood Land.
On some level, it may be difficult to look at Disney’s promotional ploys without feeling a little jaded, but for what it’s worth, Tale of the Lion King has been exquisitely produced and performed given its relatively limited staging and run. Even if it’s doomed to close at summer’s end, there’s still some hope that Disney can bring that level of high-quality pageantry to their next production—whatever it may be.
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Now that Black Spire Outpost is open for business, what features and attractions keep you coming back to Disney California Adventure? What would you like to see Disney add in the months to come?
