Disney California Adventure Ride That Helped Redefine Park CLOSING DATE Announced!

While there have been several new additions headed for Disneyland that were recently announced, certain attractions have recently had to say goodbye. We reported last year on the closure of a hidden gem attraction at Disney California Adventure. At the time, I remember thinking specifically about this new closure that was just announced today as a possibility but I quickly pushed it out of my mind hoping that it wouldn't happen.

Now, we have received news that another Disney California Adventure attraction will be going away as construction begins for a major upcoming project in the park. Keep reading for the closing date of the attraction that was announced.

We will share everything we know so far about this upcoming change below, as well as our overall thoughts on this change and its impact on the park as a whole.

Disney California Adventure Attraction Closing Soon

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Disneyland Resort Officials have shared the following information about this closure with us. To make way for the construction that will be starting for the expansion of Avengers Campus, Disneyland officials said that the Red Car Trolley barn will be removed and Disney will “discontinue operation” of the Red Car Trolley attraction in early 2025. The Avengers Campus construction will introduce two new rides, including the long-awaited e-ticket Avengers ride and a surprise new attraction.

After originally publishing this article we followed up again with Disneyland and asked a spokesperson for clarification on if this is a permanent closure. They reiterated that they look forward to sharing more information in the future and wouldn't confirm if this is a permanent closure. This initial closure news was shared so that they could inform Cast Members working on the attraction of the upcoming closure.

Disney has now shared that the last date of operation for the Red Car Trolley will be February 8, 2025, as it closes to make way for the Avengers Campus expansion. We can assume based on the phrasing of this announcement that the closure will be permanent, but previously Disney had said that it could come back in some form.

We're disappointed to see this going away, as it removes one of the key kinetic elements from Buena Vista Street. As Disney California Adventure has been shifting its focus over the years to intellectual properties, the California theme for the park has been slipping out of focus. While our disappointment is not necessarily over losing the ability to ride the attraction or the California itself, the trolleys themselves are a major part of the atmosphere as you enter the park, and it's a less exciting area of the park without them.

Disney also made the surprising announcement that they would be removing the Rivers of America in Magic Kingdom to make way for the reimagining of part of Frontierland for the new Cars attractions, a move that many fans are lamenting as it is a huge change to the park's atmosphere. That leads us to discuss the impact of Red Car Trolley on the atmosphere of Disney California Adventure.

How Did the Red Car Help to Redefine Disney California Adventure?

Disney's California Adventure opened in 2001 as a park that was very un-Disney. It lacked placemaking and heartwarming Disney “magic”. The entrance area specifically was cold and a jumbled mix of buildings that created no emotion. In 2007, Disney leadership acknowledged this and set the park on a transformative push to remake Disney California Adventure into a true Disney Park. That meant creating an entrance area that could match Main Street in Disneyland Park.

Disney leaders empowered Imagineers to go big on this new section of the park that wouldn't directly drive new revenue but would increase the perception of the park and attempt to put it on the same level at the original across the esplanade. They understood how important the atmosphere was for the tone of the Disney experience.

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Buena Vista Street and the opening of Cars Land redefined Disney California Adventure and forever changed the way that we viewed the park. It wasn't just about the big Radiator Springs Racers ride within Cars Land. It was about the change in the feeling of the park and the new atmosphere being created. All throughout there was thoughtful changes even beyond these two new lands such as the redefining of Condor Flats as Grizzly Peak Airfield or the reskinning of Mulholland Madness into Goofy's Sky School. All of these changes on top of Cars Land and Buena Vista Street with the Red Car Trolley turned this into what felt like a brand new theme park. Disney California Adventure was redefined.

The closure of the Red Car isn't just about removing something that people could ride on an experience at the parks, it's about removing something that brings life to the area and calls people further into the next adventure.

The trolley also was home to the Red Car Trolley News Boys which was a cute show that played back and forth with the Five and Dime show.

I hope that the leadership both here at Disneyland and at Walt Disney World can understand that there are things in the parks that aren't about the amount of people who actually get onboard and ride. Sometimes it is about adding to the bigger atmosphere. Hearing the Red Cars sounds bring Buena Vista Street to life. It may be too late for the Red Car Trolley, but I hope Disney considers this further in other decisions. There needs to be a conscious effort to keep the “park” part of the “theme park” alive so that these are wonderful spaces that are nice to just be in.

We understand that space will always be limited at Disneyland, but had hoped that creative solutions could be reached to continue to maintain unique offerings like this one. We can only hope that future park expansions won't create too many casualties of critical elements for the atmosphere and feeling of the parks.

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