Ultimate Guide to Disney California Adventure

Intro

I was in the Los Angeles area with a few goals in hand:

• Check what’s new in Disneyland and DCA since my last visit.
• Check the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival.
• Check the recommendations from Keith Eat the Menu, in both parks, and some areas in the LA region.

I had already checked a couple of restaurants, explored the OG park, Disneyland in my last post, and now it was DCA’s turn.

Avengers Campus

When I park hopped from Disneyland, the first land I explored was Avengers Campus. As I have said multiple times in these posts about Disney parks, one of the things have attracted me the most if the ability to visit Marvel and Star Wars related lands.

I had a Lighting Lane scheduled for WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure, so I hoped in line and rode it.

This ride is a lot of fun, but it is definitely a work out on the arms.

Keith Eats The Menu

I had already tried some food in Disneyland as recommended by Keith from the Try Guys, in one of his videos, but now, it was the turn of Disney California Adventure, to see what I was going to eat, and if I agree with his choices.

First off, we had the Impossible meatball from Pym Test Kitchen. I had not tried this dish before, but I found it a little bit spicy. I ate the entire “meat”, but did not like the pasta that much. I am not going to agree on this one with Keith.

Next up, and in a very different land, I tried the Udon noodles from Lucky Fortune Cookery at San Fransokyo Square. Again, too many carbs, although this time, I tried to finish it all. I found it very filling, but not in a good way. I prefer to have more protein in my food, and some of this ended up in the garbage at the end unfortunately. I did not see the point in saving it for later.

One thing I did like a lot was the Clam chowder from Aunt Cass Café, also in San Fransokyo Square. It reminded me of Provincetown in Massachusetts. Also, the bread bowl was iconic, and delicious too. I ate the whole thing in one seating, including the bowl lol. Reminded me also of Crepes and Waffles in Colombia.

Lastly, as part of Keith’s The Best list, I tried the Birria Tacos from Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill, San Fransokyo Square. OMG, this was the best of everything, but I was already so full. I saved them for later and warm them and they were great. I always like birria tacos wherever, from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. The consome was exquisite, and of course I ate it all on the spot. 100% recommend this spot.

San Fransokyo Square

As you could see, many of the Keith’s recommendations where located in this new land, and it’s because it’s full of very good culinary locations. I have never seen Big Hero 6, so I do not have any attachment to this franchise, but I liked the new themes and motives of the area. Last time I was in DCA it was a completely different land.

Here, you can visit the Bakery Tour, and sometimes they would offer you free samples of the bread they make.

And the iconic bridge is probably one of the best additions to this area. Really love the mix of all of these cultures in just one part of this already amazing part. I am going to have to see Big Hero 6 to get more familiar with San Fransokyo.

… and with Baymax and Hiro. Baymax is very famous in Disneyland Shanghai and Tokyo Disneyland, I remember seeing him everywhere there. He also makes an appearance sometimes in the Nighttime Spectacular at Disneyland here in Anaheim, but I did not have the luck to seeing him this time around.

Two last rides

Time to go back to the rides, and one I had never done (that I remember), was The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure at Paradise Garden Park. It is really cute. I had a group of “goth” adults in front of me in the line, drinking a lot of alcohol and clearly one of them was already drunk. Not good, but did not let it affect my experience before the ride.

Last ride, before heading back to Disneyland on Day 01, was of course Incredicoaster at Pixar Pier. Really nice having a Lighting Lane for it, and being able to ride it really quick. The next day was about to be a real mess for this roller coaster.

Day 02 and Grizzly Peak

The starting park on Day 02 was going to be Disney California Adventure, even though I was able to check a bit of it on Day 01. My plan was to jump to Disneyland in the afternoon, just for a bit, and then come back for the night shows at this park.

It was a very crowded day today, but was able to snatch a Lighting Lane for Soarin’ over California. I like that the visuals for this ride used a real helicopter to capture the best videos of the landscape of California, and not VFX like in the newer version of Soarin’.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, today was a little bit chilli. I only packed shorts, but thankfully I brought a hoodie, that I wore the entire day. I guess I am use to the Orlando heat. And I could tell it was crowded because Grizzly River Run, a water ride I would not do even on a warm day, was packed with this cold weather lol. Good luck to them I guess.

Hollywood Land

Ever waste a Lighting Lane on Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!??? Because that is exactly what I did lol. They had the Lighting Lane closed because the wait was so low, but at least I got to tap, and then choose the next one. I do not remember being on this ride, but it is really cute, and would recommend as a filler option.

Cars Land

Cars has its own land in Disney California Adventure, when there is a whole area for Pixar, the Disney division they are part of. Anyways, they are coming to the East Coast with vengeance, and taking the entire Rivers of America section of Magic Kingdom. Like… are they kidding me? I am not attached to this franchise at all, and I am sure that it has many fans, but literally draining one of the iconic sections of MK for Cars sounds like a crime. The ride in Cars Land is very fun though, not going to lie.

Avengers Campus… again

I came back to Avengers Campus on Day 02, and of course I had to go see Tom Holland again…

After that, I went to see the meet and greet with Spider-Man himself, since the show with the jumping robot was not functioning today.

Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival

It was finally time, after checking all the food from the Keith Eat The Menu recommendations, I had to go eat the best food at Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival. The park was busy today not only because it was the weekend, but also because of this famous festival that happens during this season in DCA. Music, nice shows and the best food are the ingredients for a fantastic time in this park.

First off, and starting with one of the best options, AsaDos from Cluck a Doodle Moo. OMG. Spicy but just what I needed. A full plate of delicious protein with the best Hispanic flare. I ate this so fast. 100% recommended.

Now, for something sweet, I went to get the Strawberry Shortcake from Clarabelle’s. It seemed like it was a very famous dessert part of the festival, since whoever would come into this restaurant would get it. I am not a fan of fruity desserts, since I prefer more Chocolate flavors, but I did enjoy this one.

I knew this next one was going to be huge, but I did not imagine the scale. The Thai Burrito from Studio Catering was enormous, and after taking a bite, I had to put it back in the Ziploc bags I always carry in case I need to pack some food for later. I mean, the flavors did not really make sense for me. Was it edible? Yes. Would someone really like it? Yes. So even though I like Thai food and flavors, and burritos, I just found this one very odd. I ate it all but would probably do not order it again in the future.

Next, I got the Chicken wings from California Craft Brews. Very popular spot. Long line. But the wings were amazing. I liked the sauce a lot, but it was so difficult to find a spot to eat them. I knew this ones I was not going to save for later. I ended up eating on top of a trash can lol.

Continuing with the amazing Hispanic food offerings in this festival, I got the Tres Leches Cake from Mercado de Antojos, not far from the previous spot. Definitely, 100% recommend. Great addition, and it seemed it was very popular. Some kid effusively asked me where to get it, and I had to come up with my very American way to pronounce Mercado de Antojos lol. I still pointed at the spot, in case they did not understand me.

I picked a lot of food from this festival before coming, but I promise that the list is almost over. Also, I ate these dishes in 2 days, AND, saved some of them for the next day. They were definitely not small as I was expecting, like for example the Chicken Taquito from Paradise Garden Grill, was not tiny at all. I had to kinda save for later, although I ate it the same day before the night show.

Last, but not least, even though I did not know I was actually going to get it, I bought the BBQ Burger Bao from LA Style. And I’m glad I did, cause it was amazing. A little bit of spice, but a great bao as always.

While I was eating all that food, I got to enjoy the Cookin’ with the Jammin’ Chefs show, literally in the middle of the biggest crowd. But I got to see Chip and Dale, Goofy and Daisy dance and enjoy the festival as well.

Pixar Pier

Like I mentioned before, Incredicoaster was about to be a mess, but I got my Lighting Lane, and I was heading to Pixar Pier, one of the cutest part of this park.

The crowds were huge, and by now the weather was amazing. I had to remove the hoodie.

Even the characters were out and about trying to do some crowd management.

Got in line for my Lighting Lane, only for them to send us all back due to the roller coaster crashing all the time. They gave me this pass that I could use later on without losing the right for the Lighting Lane, since I had already tapped and chosen another ride for later.

Finally after a few hours, the ride was back on, and with my belly full of all those festival dishes, I got on the roller coaster.

As always, the best ride in this park. And now, to celebrate finally riding it on my last day in Disneyland Resort, I got the Jack-Jack Cookie Num Nums. I never had it before, even though it is a staple of this park, and let me tell you when I devoured it so fast.

Saw Mickey having a meet and greet in the front of the park, and I had already spent way more time than I expected. I needed to check Disneyland for the last time, before coming back tonight for the World of Color show.

World of Color

A fantastic way to end my trip to the Disneyland Resort, World of Color definitely hit in the feels, and made me cry just a bit. It was fantastic.

I was not expecting the music from Encanto, and there it was Casita being reflected on the water fountains.

Then Star Wars…

And then Avengers and the Marvel characters. Wow, what way to finish my West Coast adventures. Loved every second of it, and cannot wait to come back. I will be in Los Angeles hopefully in August, probably not for Disneyland again, but I will be back in the OG Disney park, trust me.