History of Disney California Adventure

Parades & Events:

Since 2001, a few parades and special events have come and gone at Disney California Adventure. Here are a few of the more notable parades and events that have gone extinct.

Eureka! – The California Adventure Parade

Eureka opened with Disney California Adventure in 2001, and ran through Summer 2002, when it went extinct. I never saw it, and I’m not quite sure what to make of it. The photos make it look odd, as if it was an eclectic hodge-podge of ideas of all things related to California. Since this is essentially what the original Disney California Adventure was, it fit!

Eureka Parade Sun Float at Night

Eureka! A California Themed Parade

DCA 124

DCA 089

DCA 093

DCA 111

DCA 113

DCA 097

DCA 104

DCA 099

DCA 129

DCA 117

DCA 133

DCA 115

DCA 252

DCA 109

This video, however, piques my curiosity about Eureka. It appears to be a more beautiful, well-made parade in the video, albeit seriously lacking cohesion. Someday, perhaps some of these floats will be recycled (if they even still exist), and maybe we’ll see them in a parade that incorporates the cultural richness of California, plus a few Disney characters!

Disney’s Electrical Parade

It’s probably not quite fair to call Disney’s Electrical Parade an extinct attraction just yet. It no longer runs at Disney California Adventure, but due to construction, it pretty much couldn’t. Plus, it’s now running at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, which has SpectroMagic! waiting in storage to displace the classic Main Street Electrical parade.

Still, it’s no longer running at Disney California Adventure, so Disney’s Electrical Parade fits. Here are a few photos of it:

Disney - Disney's Electrical Parade - Dopey

Disneyland Aug 2009 - Disney's Electrical Parade

Disneyland Aug 2009 - Disney's Electrical Parade

Disneyland Aug 2009 - Disney's Electrical Parade

Disney - Hookah Smoking Caterpillar On A Mushroom

Dopey in his Mine Cart

Electric Light Parade

Once the initial grand reopening subside, I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney’s Electrical Parade returned to Disney California Adventure. Perhaps for Summer 2013?

Food & Wine Festival:

Much like Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival, Disney’s California Food & Wine Festival was a seasonal event held at Disney California Adventure. In late 2010, Disney announced that it would not host the 2011 and 2012 Disney’s California Food & Wine Festivals due to ongoing construction. The announcement was worded such that it gave the impression that the Festivals would return following construction, although it did not explicitly state that.

Food and Wine Festival

Food & Wine Weekends.

Disney's California Food & Wine Weekends.

Cat Cora cooks

Robert Irvine

I consider Disney California Adventure the “ambiance park” at Disneyland Resort, much like Epcot fills this role at Walt Disney World. Food & Wine Festivals are a great way to create an enjoyable ‘value-add’ to the theme park ambiance, and here’s hoping that the Food & Wine Festival returns to Disney California Adventure for 2013.

Explore the rest of Disney California Adventure on the next page! You can navigate to specific lands and changes via the links below, or take the full tour by simply clicking the numbers below!

Park Entrance
Sunshine Plaza
Paradise Pier – Part 1
Paradise Pier – Part 2
Golden State
Hollywood Pictures Backlot
Parades & Events
Cars Land Construction

42 Responses to “History of Disney California Adventure”
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