Paradise Pier

Paradise Pier is a themed land at Disney California Adventure, Disneyland's sister park, which are all part of the Disneyland Resort. Its appearance is based on that of Victorian boardwalks that were once found along the coast of California. Despite its name and the presence of a nearby man-made lake, Paradise Pier is not actually a pier, but merely a waterside area of the park. The roller coaster California Screamin' sprawls across much of it, with various other attractions and forms of entertainment scattered around it.

A new attraction, Toy Story Midway Mania!, opened on June 17, 2008. The attraction is the first in a series of theming upgrades to the land and park as a whole. This was followed by changes to the Sun Wheel to become Mickey's Fun Wheel and new Games of the Boardwalk in 2009. In 2010, World of Color and Silly Symphony Swings were added. To complete the Paradise Pier makeover, Disney opened Goofy's Sky School and The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure.

Attractions and entertainment

• California Screamin'
• Games of the Boardwalk
• Golden Zephyr
• Goofy's Sky School
• Jumpin' Jellyfish
• King Triton's Carousel
• The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure
• Mickey's Fun Wheel
• Operation: Playtime!-featuring the Green Army Men
• Silly Symphony Swings
• Toy Story Midway Mania!
• Disney's World of Color

Restaurants

Panorama of lake at Paradise Pier

• Ariel's Grotto^[1]
• Bayside Brews^[2]
• Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta^[3]
• Corn Dog Castle^[2]
• Cove Bar^[2]
• Don Tomas
• Hot Dog Hut
• Paradise Garden Grill^[4]
• Paradise Pier Ice Cream Company^[2]

Shops

• Boardwalk Bazaar (formerly Man Hat 'n' Beach)
• California Scream Cam
• Embarcadero Gifts
• Midway Mercantile
• Point Mugu Tattoo
• Sideshow Shirts
• Seaside Souvenirs
• Treasures In Paradise

Former rides and attractions

• Disney's LuminAria

- A holiday themed pyrotechnics show on Paradise Bay. Guest were invited to design holiday greeting cards at a special LuminAria greeting card making station inside the park, in which select cards would be used and presented during the actually show. The show was only presented during the holiday season of 2001, due to the intense amount of smoke the show would generate, and its proximity to park guests. Although the show was never resented again after 2001, a mirrored "island" structure which was used in the show remained in the center of "Paradise Bay" for several years.^[5]

• Disney's Electrical parade

- Disney's Electrical Parade was the last version of the Main Street Electrical Parade in the west coast which opened with Disney California Adventure in February 2001, and was shipped to Florida in 2010.

• Maliboomer

- A "space shot" ride which shot rides up a 180-foot tower. The ride was closed and removed in 2010 and replaced with a park.^[6]

• Mulholland Madness

- A "wild mouse" rollercoaster themed to California freeways. The ride was closed in 2010 and re-themed as "Goofy's Sky School".^[7]

• Orange Stinger

- A swing ride inside a giant orange peel structure, which featured seats shaped like bees, and an orange scent inside the ride. The bee shaped seats were removed shortly after park opening due to being damaged from seats bumping into each other, and the orange scent was discontinued after it was attracting real bees. The ride was closed in 2009 and extensively remodeled. The giant orange peel structure was completely removed, and the ride was renamed "Silly Symphony Swings".^[8]

• S.S. rustworthy

- An outdoor play area themed to a run-down fireboat, which was located in the "Route 66" section of Paradise Pier. A portion of the play area adjacent to the Orange Stinger/Silly Symphony Swings was closed and demolished in early 2010 as part of that attraction's renovation. The main play area closed on September 7, 2010, and was demolished; its site is now used as seating area for the Paradise Garden Grill and Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta restaurants.

• Sun Wheel

- Ferris wheel inspired by Coney Island's 1927 Wonder Wheel, which featured swinging and stationary gondolas and a large replica of a sun face in the center. The ride closed in October 2008 and reopened as Mickey's Fun Wheel on May 8, 2009.^[9]

• Rockin' The Bay Concert Series

- A Series of concerts on Paradise Bay.^[10]

• Lilo and Stitch's Luau

- A small show featuring Lilo & Stitch.^[11]

• Rockin' California Screamin'

- In 2007, as a promotion for the park, "California Screamin'" was given a temporary new soundtrack by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

• Original Games of the Boardwalk

- The "Games of the Boardwalk" original consisted of 7 games. 3 of the games were later removed as part of the park's expansion.^[12]

• Golden Dreams

- A film presentation hosted by Whoopi Goldberg about the history of the state of California, with a focus on the contributions of individuals and particular ethnic groups. The attraction was located in "The Bay Area" section of the park. As a result of declining attendance, the movie had its last public performance on September 7, 2008, and the theater building was demolished in July 2009. "The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel's Undersea Adventure" was built on the former theater's site and opened on June 3, 2011; the current attraction is part of Paradise Pier. The replica of the Palace of Fine Arts rotunda that stood at the entrance to Golden Dreams was repainted and still stands at the entrance to the present-day attraction.^[13]

Former shops and restaurants

• Burger Invasion

- A former burger restaurant which was sponsored by, and served McDonald's food. After the sponsorship was not renewed in 2010, the building was closed and renovated in 2011. The location was renamed "Paradise Garden Grill", with a new Mediterranean inspired menu.^[14]

• Pizza Oom Mow Mow

- Was renovated in 2011 and renamed "Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta".^[15]

• Dinosaur Jack's Sunglass Shack

- A Route 66 themed sunglass shop inside a pink dinosaur shaped building, located next to "Muholland Madness". The building was painted green in 2009, and was later completely demolished in 2011.^[16]

• Avalon Cove By Wolfgang Puck

- A fine dining restaurant sponsored by Wolfgang Puck. The sponsorship was dropped eight months after the park first opened due to low revenues. The restaurant is now called "Ariel's Grotto".^[17]

• Souvenir 66

- a Route 66 themed souvenir stand. The located was repainted and re-themed in 2011, and renamed "Seaside Souvenirs".^[18]

• Malibu-Ritos

- A counter service food location serving burritos. The restaurant closed permanently in 2001 only a few weeks after park opening, due to low park attendance, yet sat empty for several years. The empty location was permanently removed in 2006 to make way for "Toy Story Midway Mania!".^[19]

• Pacific Ocean Photos

- A photography studio and shop selling photos of park guests. The store was demolished in 2006 to make way for "Toy Story Midway Mania!".^[20]

• Reboundo Beach

- A "pay-per-play" game involving shooting basketballs into hoops. The game was removed in 2010 to allow construction of seating for the "Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta" restaurant.^[21]

• Boardwalk Betsy's Strips, Dips 'n' Chips

- A counter service food location serving fried foods, located under the loop of "California Screamin'". The location was demolished in 2006 to make way for "Toy Story Midway Mania!", with the restaurant's menu being made available at Bountiful Valley Farm, before being permanently retired from the park in 2010.^[22]

Re-Imagineering and expansion

Paradise Pier during World of Color construction

When the park first opened in 2001, Paradise Pier originally resembled a modern seaside amusement park, similar to that of the Santa Monica Pier, or Santa Cruz Boardwalk. As part of the Disney California Adventure Park $1.1 billion expansion project, Paradise Pier was re-themed to evoke the charm of Victorian era seaside amusement parks of the 1920s. The first change was the addition of Toy Story Midway Mania!, which opened on June 17, 2008. The boardwalk games were then re-themed to incorporate more familiar Disney characters (completed on April 7, 2009), and the Sun Wheel was transformed into Mickey's Fun Wheel with a new color scheme, new lighting effects, and a "pie-eyed" Mickey Mouse face replacing the original sun face (completed on May 4, 2009). Following these changes, the "Route 66" area was completely re-themed, with the "S.S. rustworthy", and "Dinosaur Jack's Sunglass Shack" being completely demolished. The Orange Stinger underwent extensive re-theming to become Silly Symphony Swings, based on Walt Disney's short film "The Band Concert". Silly Symphony Swings opened on May 28, 2010. Cosmetic changes have also been made to California Screamin': the Mickey Mouse silhouette was altered to represent a sunburst pattern, with the large Paradise Pier sign that once sat below now hanging above the loop.

Walt Disney Imagineering created World of Color, a new nighttime spectacular featuring fountains and projection effects, for Paradise Bay. An area on the northern waterfront was repurposed into a viewing area for the show, known as Paradise Park. World of Color premiered on June 11, 2010, and plays nightly.

After much anticipation, The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure—which replaced Golden Dreams—finally opened June 3, 2011. As of November 2010, Mulholland Madness was closed and reopened July 1, 2011, as "Goofy’s Sky School", based on Walt Disney's short film "Goofy's Glider". On the other side of Paradise Bay, Maliboomer was removed and replaced with a park.

References