Paradise Gardens Park

Paradise Pier is a themed "land" at Disney California Adventure. 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.

Re-Imagineering and expansion
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 $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.

Attractions and Entertainment

 * California Screamin'
 * Games of the Boardwalk
 * Golden Zephyr
 * Goofy's Sky School
 * Jumpin' Jellyfish
 * King Triton's Carousel of the Sea
 * 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!
 * World of Color

Former attractions and entertainment

 * Disney's LuminAria
 * Disney's Electrical Parade
 * Maliboomer
 * Mulholland Madness
 * Orange Stinger
 * S.S. rustworthy
 * Sun Wheel
 * Rockin' The Bay Concert Series
 * Lilo and Stitch's Luau
 * Rockin' California Screamin
 * Original Games of the Boardwalk
 * Golden Dreams

Restaurants

 * Ariel's Grotto
 * Bayside Brews
 * Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta
 * Corn Dog Castle
 * Cove Bar
 * Don Tomas
 * Hot Dog Hut
 * Paradise Garden Grill
 * Paradise Pier Ice Cream Company

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