Entertainment at Disney California Adventure

Here are my thoughts on the entertainment (shows, parades, etc.) at Disney California Adventure.

Buena Vista Street

Red Car Trolley News Boys - I never timed it right to see a full performance of this show (plus it was too hot to stand out in the sun for long enough) but what I did see was fun. Plus it was an easy way to see Mickey up fairly close if you didn't want to wait in a line to actually meet him.

Five & Dime - Like a lot of the groups in Disneyland Park this group was good to add atmosphere but I wasn't interested enough to stop and watch them.

Hollywood Land

Mad T Party - This was definitely targeted at the younger adult audience and is probably the closest thing Disney has left to the old Pleasure Island. I think it would have been more fun if I hadn't been by myself, but I still had fun. My only complaint was that the first time I went the band wasn't playing as scheduled (there was just the dancers and DJ). The band was my favourite part, so I'm glad I was able to go back another day.

Pixar Play Parade - This was fun and got to see lots of Pixar characters. I wasn't prepared for the fact that many of the floats squirt water and I ended up quite wet. I had plenty of time to spare before the parade so ended up camping out about an hour in advance. This wasn't really necessary but it did mean I got a front row spot in the shade.

Frozen Singalong - The focus of this was the audience singing along to Frozen songs using clips from the singalong version of the movie. There were live actors tying everything together but they weren't nearly as entertaining as the production at the Royal Theatre. It was a nice place to cool down in the middle of the day though.

Aladdin - This was a good show but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't read reviews that led me to expect something absolutely amazing. Certainly the flying carpet was impressive and the Genie was funny but it wasn't on par with a full-blown musical like Wicked. Mezzanine level near the front was a good choice to get a good view of the carpet.

Cars Land

Cars characters - In general I haven't commented on the character meet and greets, but the Cars characters were very noticeable because they had to drive through the streets to reach the meet and greet area. The characters were life-size and quite impressive to see, and I also noticed that there seemed to be a different car out each time I went past.

Paradise Pier

World of Color - I saw this twice. The first time I got a fastpass at park opening and got a Blue fastpass. I arrived in the fastpass area just before 9 for the 9:45 show (only show of the evening) and was able to get a place on the rail on the bridge. The second time I didn't get a fastpass and only showed up 10 minutes before the show but was able to stand on the bridge just behind the fastpass area, so the view was almost as good. I never saw the original version of World of Color so I can't compare it to the new version but I enjoyed it. My favourite part was the Star Wars segment.