List of Themed Lands in Disney California Adventure, at Disneyland Resort

When Disney California opened in 2001, becoming the second component theme park in Anaheim’s Disneyland Resort, it could seem hard to believe that originally the area it stood on was a parking lot for the original Disneyland for four decades.

And even when it was planned to make Disneyland a multi-park, the first idea for remaking the parking lot in 1991 was as WESCOT, the West-Coast EPCOT. Plans fell through however, and Disney went with theming the new park on California history and culture; thus was DCA born. Here’s a list of its current themed area, along with pertinent info.

1. Buena Vista Street – the entrance area, though it’s one of the more recent expansions in Disney California Adventure (2012); themed after Los Angeles in the 1920s; has a narrow-gauge rail connection to Hollywood Land
2. Paradise Pier – statistically the largest themed area in all Disneyland Resort, themed after waterfront boardwalks like in Santa Cruz; its façade, dominated by Mickey’s Fun Wheel, took Grizzly Peak’s place as the icon of DCA; while active, it’s being renovated into Pixar Pier, to be completed in mid-2018
3. Grizzly Peak – themed after the natural beauty of California’s national parks and wilderness areas; it was originally the iconic image of the DCA until it was replaced by Paradise Pier (soon Pixar Pier)
4. Pacific Wharf – themed after California’s commercial and industrial waterfronts like Fisherman’s Wharf and Cannery Row; filled mainly by restaurants and bakeries
5. Hollywood Land – originally called Hollywood Studios Backlot, this area is a throwback to the Golden Age of Hollywood’s motion picture industry; its Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror attraction was renovated into Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!, the first Marvel attraction in a Disney theme park in North America
6. A Bug’s Land – the first expansion which opened in 2002, themed after the Disney-Pixar film A Bug’s Life; set to close this summer 2018 to be remodeled into a Marvel-themed land
7. Cars Land – opened in 2012 and themed after another Disney-Pixar animated franchise, Cars; its primary feature is a recreation of the film setting of Radiator Springs, with associated themed rides and attractions
8. “Marvel Land” – set to open in 2020, this will be the new form of A Bug’s Land following its mid-year closure this 2018