Back in 2001, Disneyland Resort opened a second theme park gate – Disney California Adventure – dedicated to the Golden State and all its glory. In the early days of operation, the park suffered from a lack of entertainment and inspiration, and an unavoidable comparison to the masterpiece across the street named Disneyland. But after a rocky start, Disney California Adventure has been slowly improving to where it is now considered one of the great theme parks in the country.
Cars Land – opened in 2012 – rivals any other intellectual property (IP)-themed land in the world, which is quite a feat among competition including the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and Pandora: The World of Avatar. The 2021 opening of Avengers Campus has made the park the go-to place for full-on Marvel immersion. With even more expansion on the horizon, the future looks brighter than ever for Disneyland’s second gate.
But now is the time to take a look at the best existing attractions in Disney California Adventure, along with a few overlooked attractions as well.
Incredicoaster
Let’s launch this list with a bang – or a loop, to be exact. Incredicoaster – originally opened as California Screamin’ in 2001 – has all the thrills of a major amusement park roller coaster, with the added dimension of Disney theming. A thrilling initial launch quickly escalates guests to speeds approaching 55 mph, and takes them through a two-and-a-half minute series of twists, turns, climbs, dips, and the only full upside-down inversion in the Disney Parks to date.
As with most Disney Parks attractions, the theming is what separates Incredicoaster from similar coasters of its kind. The ride’s storyline has the Incredibles chasing after Jack-Jack, after he escaped to take some of his happily mischievous superpowers out for a test drive. As guests wind their way around Pixar Pier, the on-board sound system follows the frantic chase by the rest of the family. Of course, all’s well that ends well, and Jack-Jack didn’t cause any harm after all.
Pro Tip: If you still have your stomach after riding Incredicoaster, reward yourself with a deep-dish chocolate chip cookie from Jack Jack Cookie Num Nums, located nearby to the exit.
Radiator Springs Racers
Cars Land just may be my favorite IP-themed land in a Disney park. The striking beauty of the painted desert-inspired American Southwest and the charm of the little town of Radiator Springs just burst with life and character. And Radiator Springs Racers sits at the heart of it all. Guests can race through Ornament Valley just like Lightning McQueen, speeding down (and up, and around) Route 66 at exhilarating speeds approaching 40 mph.
EPCOT’s Test Track may be the genesis of Disney’s fast-car attraction, but Imagineers combined the best part of Test Track’s thrill with the colorful, happy, and amazingly realistic looking landscape from Cars, to create the perfect immersive attraction.
Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!
Hanging out with the Guardians of the Galaxy is never dull. Even when forced to break free from Taneleer Tivan’s prison-like museum showcase, this space-forged family knows how to do it with pizzazz. Mission: BREAKOUT! took a once creepy and foreboding Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and turned it into a party! Instead of getting struck by lightning into another dimension, guests work with Rocket Raccoon as he tries to bust his friends out from the Collector’s museum of unwitting treasures.
Mission: BREAKOUT! features incredible special effects, glimpses of our favorite Guardians family, music inspired by the film soundtracks, thrilling free-fall drop sequences, and six different storylines, adding a measure of re-rideability to this outstanding attraction.
WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure
Nothing is ever easy in Peter Parker’s neighborhood. When the always-entertaining Parker loses control of his buggy Spider-Bots, he must sling into action as Spider-Man to collect them all before they escape and wreak havoc in Avengers Campus. Of course, guests are pressed into action to help! Immersed in a blend of physical sets and virtual environments (a fancy term for screens), guests hop aboard a WEB (Worldwide Engineering Brigade) Slinger vehicle armed with nothing but their wrists to help weave a web to trap the Spider-Bots.
This frantic attraction can be a little tiring to guests, but Disney affords them the opportunity to purchase upgrades to assist with their performance. Truth be told, Disney has been criticized for opening the door to this pay-more-to-play-better approach to a Disney Parks attraction, but the attraction is quite a bit of fun even without the upgrades. Even more fun than the upgrade is the ability to purchase one of the little Spider-Bots to take home. They make adorably creepy pets!
Grizzly River Run
The grizzly bear is the symbol of California, and an appropriate mascot for the Grizzly Peak area of Disney California Adventure. The grizzly’s distinctive profile can be seen at the top of the mountain overseeing this neighborhood.
Here, you and seven of your closest friends will bob your way down Grizzly River. The journey starts by drifting along a lazy river, passing the rusty remnants of an old mining company. But after rumbling up to the top of Grizzly Peak, it’s time for a wild ride down the other side. Riders bob and spin through the raging current, careen through a mountain cavern, and plummet down a perilous bedrock slope before drifting back to base camp.
Your clothing ensemble will be completely at the mercy of the river current, as you’ll get wet from the front, back, side, and above. This is one of only two rides in the Disneyland Resort theme parks specifically designed to get you very wet. The other is the former Splash Mountain in Disneyland Park, scheduled to reopen as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in November 2024. Not everyone is up for this degree of waterlogging, but if you enjoy getting wet (and cooled off), then you will love this trip.
The attraction offers lockers, and you’re gonna need one! Phones, wallets, change of clothes, Donald Duck plush – stuff it all in there! You’ll be happy you did. For folks who don’t wish to get wet, there is a nice, dry viewing platform where you can watch the rest of your party get drenched.
Soarin’
“Soarin’ to tower. We are ready for takeoff.” These words, delivered memorably by the velvety smooth voice of Patrick Warburton, might be the sweetest words you’ll hear when you visit Disney California Adventure. Just don’t forget to store your “ little beauties” (Mickey Ears) under your seat before takeoff.
Most of the time, guests will experience Soarin’ Around the World, which takes guests exactly where it sounds – on an aerial tour of our world, with breathtaking views of the Taj Mahal, Great Wall of China, Eiffel Tower (albeit a slightly curved version of it), and several other famous locations. The attraction is a treat for the human senses. Bruce Broughton’s score (which adopted much of Jerry Goldsmith’s previous Soarin’ Over California music) lifts guests as much as the mechanics of the ride.
Sometimes, for limited time engagements, guests can still experience Soarin’ Over California, which begins over San Francisco’s sprawling Golden Gate Bridge, followed by glides through Yosemite National Park, Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe, Palm Springs, San Diego harbor, Malibu, downtown Los Angeles, and finally a triumphant flight over Disneyland Park.
Disney “Smellitizers” are working overtime in this attraction, offering aromas of jasmine, fresh grass, and ocean paradise breezes in Soarin’ Around the World, and the beloved orange grove smell in Soarin’ Over California. Both iterations of Soarin’ are among my favorite Disney Parks experiences.
Toy Story Midway Mania!
Pixar Pier is exactly what it sounds like – a seaside-feeling carnival area themed to favorite Pixar films and characters. Unfortunately, much of this section of the park is filled with forgettable off-the-shelf carnival rides. But Toy Story Midway Mania! Stands alone as a remarkable exception. Load up for the rootinest, tootinest shootin’ game in Andy’s room. Toy Story Midway Mania! is – at its core – an absolute joy. The music, the spinning, and those pop-trigger guns make this the most delightful version of a shooting attraction I’ve ever personally experienced.
Guests slide their way through several carnival-style arcade rooms, including Hamm & Eggs, Buzz Lightyear’s Flying Tossers, and Woody’s Rootin’ Tootin’ Shootin’ Gallery, to name a few. The challenges increase in difficulty, but no worries for smaller guests. Every room includes many easier targets that even the tiniest of hands can hit. Warning: your wrists may feel a little sore after you’ve pulled the pop string several hundred times!
If you are stuck in the attraction queue, fear not. Kids and adults alike will enjoy the riffings of Mr. Potato Head, who charms the crowds in the outdoor portion of the queue as a carnival barker of sorts.
Don’t Skip These Overlooked Attractions
Disney California Adventure has its share of blockbuster attractions, but don’t skip these other experiences when looking to round out your day.
Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters
Hop in your car and…dance? In Disney’s first attraction in the United States with a trackless ride system, that’s exactly what these tiny roadsters do best. In this off-beat (yet quite “on-beat”) attraction, Luigi’s Casa Della Tires storage yard has been transformed into a little piece of Italy, boasting some traditional “dances” from the old country. Some of the tunes in rotation include “The Tire-antella,” “Mambo Italiano,” and “Rollicking Night and Day,” among others. Fun Fact: The tiny cars dancing around Luigi’s yard are Disney Imagineering’s own fictional brand of “Frizzante” roadsters – modeled after 1950’s Italian rear-engine micro-cars.
Many guests pass right by this whimsical outdoor attraction while sprinting between Radiator Springs Racers and Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree. But if you stop and listen to the music, you’ll be “driven” to stay for a dance or two. Each car in the dance has its own distinct personality and dance moves. Between the music variety and the different auto personalities, guests can expect a different experience every time.
Pro Tip: During the holidays, this attraction gets all gussied up to celebrate Luigi’s Joy to the Whirl. The whole extended family of roadsters celebrate the season in style with festive dances to tunes sung by Luigi himself!
Pixar Pal-A-Round
A typical ferris wheel offers very little thrill, aside from a mild excitement associated with the height guests reach at the peak. But Pixar Pal-A-Round takes a typical ferris wheel and ratchets up the anxiety ten-fold. Formerly known as Mickey’s Fun Wheel, the Pal-A-Round offers guests two choices when riding – a standard gondola bucket for a nice relaxing spin, or a bucket that slides back and forth as the wheel spins, adding a moment of terror every time the wheel takes another spin.
The sliding buckets certainly aren’t for everyone – I’ve heard them referred to as “swinging cages of death!” But rest assured – they are perfectly safe (just a little panic-inducing)!
Redwood Creek Challenge Trail
Theme parks are often maligned for making guests wait in long lines to experience all they have to offer. But at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, kids of all ages can stretch their legs in a forest-themed play area near Grizzly Peak. The Challenge Trail offers many activities, simulating a trail in a redwood forest, with a large network of stairs and rope bridges, a traverse rock climbing wall, a zip-line, side-by-side slides, tire swings, and even an amphitheater.
Adding to the fun, the Challenge Trail area is themed to the 2009 Pixar film Up, centering on the Wilderness Explorers – Russell’s scouting organization from the film.
There you have it – my favorite attractions at Disney California Adventure, along with a few that often get overlooked.
This attraction list may not be as long as the jam-packed list of favorite attractions in Disneyland Park, but that won’t be the case for long. At D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in August 2024, Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro unveiled plans for two new blockbuster attractions in Avengers Campus, an Avatar-themed land with a new attraction, and the first ever ride themed to the 2017 Pixar film Coco. Quite possibly, the best is yet to come!
Have you visited Disney California Adventure? How do my picks stack up to yours? Reach out with a message on social to let me know what you think: Instagram Facebook X
If you’d like to check out my favorite attractions in all four Walt Disney World theme parks, see my lists for Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Are you interested in visiting Disneyland and experiencing all these attractions for yourself? Reach out to Facts and Figment Vacation Planning to get the ball rolling. My travel planning services are absolutely FREE to you, and I can help you score the best, hardest-to-get deals to make your vacation more affordable and magical!
