Disney California Adventure Visitors Guide

Disney California Adventure opened in 2001 adjacent to the original Disneyland Park with a shared entrance plaza. The two parks along with Downtown Disney and the three Disney hotels make up the Disneyland Resort.
The Park has a few rides in common with Hollywood Pictures Backlot at Disney World in Florida and other parks, but many of the rides are unique to California Adventure.
When it opened, the second park had significantly fewer rides than Disneyland, making it hard for some people to justify spending the money, but with constant expansion, California Adventure has been increasing value for money, and with the completion of Cars Land in 2012 it became about even with Disneyland for number of different rides and experiences you can have at the park.
Although Disneyland still has a few more rides, California Adventure has more extreme rides that appeal to teenagers. It also has some of my favorite rides overall, including Soarin' Over California, Toy Story Mania, and the Radiator Springs Racers. A Bug's Land focuses on the youngest visitors. There are also great shows, parades and interactive experiences to keep the whole family entertained.
Time Needed: Try to give it a full day if you can, especially in high season. You can hit the highlights in half a day if that's all you have or easily spend two or more days to fit in everything at a leisurely pace (use FastPass and Ridemax to reduce wait time in lines).
Age Level: All Ages