The theme of Hollywoodland is nothing that hasn’t been tried before. Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida, Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris, and arguably every Universal theme park in the world have all adopted versions of the “movie studio” theme. And there’s a good reason: it’s cheap. When you have to simply theme plywood walls as backdrops from a movie studio, you can conveniently explain away un-themed, partially themed, or unattractive views as being intentional. After all, a working movie studio isn’t going to theme things that the camera doesn’t see, right? Unfortunately the entire idea behind Walt Disney’s Disneyland was to provide an immersive experience where guests would see and experience everything from all angles. And this is where the movie studio theme just comes off feeling cheap and half-baked. An underwhelming offering of attractions in Hollywoodland doesn’t help. When the area opened in 2001, it was originally called Hollywood Backlot Pictures and was filled to the brim with shops and restaurants. Unfortunately the lukewarm response to the park in its first few years meant many of these building closed down – and several sit empty and unused to this day. The only true ride was the now-infamous Superstar Limo – which lasted less than a year due to extremely negative guest feedback. The 2012 re-imagining rethemed the land slightly, and added the Red Car Trolley, but this corner of the park received the least amount of focus, and it shows. The jewels in this land have all but been removed – the Hyperion theater – which hosted several Broadway-style musicals including a brilliant run of Aladdin – has sat mostly untouched since the Covid pandemic. And the Animation building, which houses the once-incredible Sorcerer’s Workship has seen 2/3 of this attraction removed as well. Today the land feels empty and hollow. Rumors abound that it will be the next Disney California Land to be completely replaced with a land themed to the Avatar franchise. If true, that can only be a step in the right direction, as Hollywoodland never really saw its golden era, and today needs to step into a long overdue retirement – the worst land in Disney California Adventure park.

In seventh place in our list is a land that most guests probably don’t even realize exists. Paradise Gardens Park is the portion of Paradise Pier that did not receive the Pixar Pier re-theme of 2018. Likely the reason simply boils down to budget, as Disney spent a pile to re-theme the other side of the pier. And as a result, Paradise Gardens Park area still retains the turn-of-the-century charm of the 2012 Paradise Pier re-theme. Originally themed with bizarre and border-line cringy attractions and theming like Burger Invasion, Orange Stinger, and the S. S. Rustworthy, Paradise Gardens Park took several steps forward during that renovation, and landed on its feet with a Victorian-era seaside charm. The land stretches from the Silly Symphony Swings over to the Little Mermaid dark ride, and includes several attractions, rides, and themed spaces. The majority of the rides, while nicely themed, are pretty mediocre. Goofy’s Sky School is a mostly-unthemed wild mouse style coaster. Golden Zephyr is nice to look at…but just OK to ride. And Jumping Jellyfish is perhaps too tame even for kids. The land does contain the viewing area for the World of Color nighttime show, and wins points as this is one of Disney’s best show backdrops in the world. It also has a fantastic and large food area in Paradise Garden Grill. It's not really a bad theme whatsoever, but in a park that has basically seen IP and characters added to almost every land, it now feels slightly out of place, and inconsistent with the rest of Pixar Pier. Overall, it’s an often-overlooked themed area that looks good on the surface, but doesn’t contain much beneath. As a result, it sits in second-to-last place on our list.

While lacking any rides or true shops, San Fransokyo Square is a bit of an odd area to consider to be a full-fledged “land”. Yet Disney does so, and we’ll go with it. Originally the Pacific Wharf, the area took heavy inspiration from Monterey, California’s Cannery Row, and the food focus was inspired by the cuisines of coastal California, including a Boudin Bakery and Ghirardelli Chocolate Store. In 2023, Disney decided to inject the area with an IP-overlay based on Disney’s 2014 animated film Big Hero 6, and give the entire place a heavy Asian-inspired touch, with sights, sounds, and menu items in sort of a Japan-meets-California mash up. And surprisingly, it works, for the most part. J-pop tunes blare over the sound system, Katakana writing adorns nearly every building, and the menu items pop with eastern-infused innovation and creativity. It results in some of the best food in the entire Disneyland resort, and the plentiful seating along the waterfront makes for an enjoyable place to slow down and take in the ambiance. And while it certainly could use a Big Hero 6 themed dark ride buried in one of those buildings, it still mostly delivers a fun and cohesive experience, and is the sixth best “land” in Disney California Adventure.

There was likely no Disney theme park entryway more uninspiring and generic than the original entrance to Disney’s California Adventure, Sunshine Plaza. The concrete-heavy opening act was littered with cringy puns, tacky decor, and uninspired offerings. Truly, most of what was found here was no different from what you might find at dozens of SoCal outdoor shopping malls. It set the wrong tone from the beginning, and felt about as uninspired as it possibly could. Thankfully, this was one of the first areas to be addressed as part of the massive 2012 overhaul of the park. Sunshine Plaza went under the knife, and was peeled back all the way to the studs, and the result couldn't have been more night and day. Now, in Buena Vista Street, visitors are whisked back in time to a 1920s-era Los Angeles, and everything is in perfect complimentary character. At the end of the land lies the majestic Carthay Circle Theater, a replica of the now-extinct theater that premiered Walt Disney's 1937 classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. And inside is one of Disney’s best restaurants anywhere. The rest of the land is alive with characters known as the “Citizens of Buena Vista Street”, and they add a touch of realism, to perfectly complement Mickey and pals dressed in retro costumes at various meet and greet spots throughout the land. There's almost no fault with this re-imagined entryway, other than the recent removal of the charming Red Car Trolley attraction. We'd argue that this land’s conversion transforms Disney California Adventure park more than any other, and that even today it does a great job of transporting guests to another time and place. As a result, Buena Vista Street sits comfortably in fifth place on our list.

We’ll get this out of the way: Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! is the most fun you can have in this entire park. It’s several steps above its predecessor – the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – and it’s just an absolute delight from start to finish combining a thrilling ride, great story, and all the fun and humor of Star Lord and his cohorts. It’s far more enjoyable than it has any business being, and almost constantly surpasses guest expectations. The other attraction in this land – Spiderman: WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure (What is it with these lengthy names, anyway?) – is the completely opposite. This attraction is repetitive, uninspired, and quite frankly, has been done better in countless other places – including the fantastic Toy Story Mania ride just a few steps away in this same park. That ying-yang combination of attractions are the anchor to Avengers Campus. And while this land has been decried by fans as cheap and tacky due to its industrial/campus setting, there’s no denying the immersion that comes from the steps Disney has taken to bring the land to life. The place is crawling with live action superheroes and baddies – regularly rotating them out for the latest Marvel movie or series – and that keeps things feeling so fresh and “lived-in” that even if you don’t care about rides, the land is enjoyable on its own for the vibrant feel that these characters bring. It’s the complete opposite of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: it’s a land with something always actively happening, and surprises around every corner. Throw in a couple of good places to grab a bite that are well in-theme – and the merchandise stores to boot – and Avengers campus rises to the challenge of holding its own as the fourth best land in Disney California Park.

In 3rd place on our list is yet another land in this park that has seen multiple transformations over the years. Originally Paradise Pier, a modern day take on classic California seaside piers, the original version of this land was like much of this park: a pun-filled offering, reflecting Disney's best attempt to be both modern and trendy. The land was peppered with many off the shelf carnival rides, and even included some upcharge classic carnival test-your-luck games. The anchor attraction here was California Screamin’, a large, lengthy steel roller coaster, themed as a wooden coaster. While there is no denying the thrill that these rides and attractions provided, they just didn't feel Disney at all. Fast forward to 2012 when Paradise Pier was updated with a retro feel, and rethemed to reflect a California seaside pier of the early 1900s. Appropriate theming, décor, and music were installed. Several areas were completely revamped, and the land finally felt like it had an identity. Paradise pier could hold its own with the rest of the park. Then, in 2018, Disney decided to go a step further, and rethink the area one more time by overlaying Pixar characters into many of the attractions, restaurants, and shops on the southern side of the land. California Screamin’ became the Incredicoaster, Ariel's Grotto became Lamplight Lounge, and Mickey's Fun Wheel became the Pixar Pal-A-Round. It was a fun update, but it honestly just felt completely unnecessary. Paradise Pier wasn't broken, and Pixar Pier felt like a quick attempt to overlay Disney IP into a land that already worked. Fortunately, the end result was not a step backward, but more of a lateral move, and the land continues to this day to impress. And so there’s quite a history here with all this land has seen, but there’s no doubt what is offered today is an improvement from 2001. The end result is a great mix of impressive attractions, fantastic food, and fun theming with a variety of Pixar characters. And it’s why Pixar Pier sits in third place on our list.

In second place is a land that could widely be regarded as the least changed from its initial 2001 incarnation. Originally known as Grizzly Peak Recreation Area, this land was inspired by California's outdoors scene, with a trendy 1990s era extreme sports theme. The land contained the fantastic Grizzly River Run, a heavily themed and picturesque white water rapids attraction, the large Grand Californian Hotel, inspired by National Park lodges found throughout California, and the Condor flats area, home to the wonderful Soarin’ Over California flight simulator. While the land was beautiful from Day 1, the extreme sports touches really felt unnecessary, and quickly became dated and almost cringy. In 2015, the land was given a much needed tweak, which ironically was to move it back in time and reflect more of a 1920s era National Park scene. This renovation worked wonderfully, as the outdoor setting already was timeless. Tying it to the rest of Disney California Adventure’s retro-rethemes, it felt right at place, as if it had always existed this way. And today, this land remains a look back in time at a bygone era of California, and its remarkable wilderness. It's a gorgeous land, by far the most aesthetically pleasing in the park, and truly the only one that feels completely removed and allows plenty of open space to explore, wander, and relax. There is almost no IP here, which is a refreshing change from the rest of the park. And while the land has not received any new attractions since its inception (other than the updated movie for Soarin’ Around the World), it doesn't change the fact it is a masterpiece of Imagineering, and provides a true escape into what feels like a remote California outdoor getaway. Grizzly Peak rises above almost everything else around it, the second-best land in Disney California adventure.

In 2010, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened at Universal Orlando and changed the theme park game forever. This was the world’s first theme park land dedicated to a single franchise, and not only was guest feedback overwhelmingly positive, but the land itself vaulted the Universal Orlando Resort into being a true competitor to Walt Disney World. Disney’s response to this big move was to develop their first IP-centric land at Disney California Adventure in Cars Land, themed to the 2006 Disney/Pixar film Cars. It was the first true footprint expansion to the park, and took over a large plot of land that was previous used as parking. The land was also the first effort by Disney to create a space at the park that was isolated from the outside world, a Disney Imagineering fundamental that had been ignored in this park (and criticized) since its inception. The result was the formation of the Cadillac Range – a series of southwest inspired mountains designed to block out the Anaheim hotels, resorts, and power lines from sightlines within the area. As the rockwork grew, it became obvious rather quickly that this land was going to be something special. The end result, opened in 2012 as the final piece of the DCA re-imagining, was nothing short of spectacular. This was truly like walking into Radiator Springs, down to the last detail. The immersion and quality of the land shined through every nook and cranny. The shops were true to theme, with a real “lived in” quality. The restaurants as well, offering great food items and plentiful seating. And the trio of rides delivered. Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree was a highlight themed “whip-style” ride with hilarious narration from Larry the Cable Guy. Luigi’s Flying Tires was a reboot of a Tomorrowland classic long gone, with a hilarious touch from Luigi and Guido. And the pinnacle was Radiator Springs Racers. A slot-car style ride based on the Epcot Test Track technology, this massive attraction contains an elaborate dark ride section, and a side-by-side racing finale through the mountains and outdoor setting, culminating with a randomizer in determining the winner, making repeatability high. This was an e-ticket in every sense of the word, and even today makes the Top 10 lists of many Disney enthusiasts. As the years have gone by, this ride and its land still hold up, and command large crowds and long wait times. Even those who deride the thought of single-IP based lands have a hard time finding fault here. It was a bold response to the Harry Potter move, and one that put the exclamation point on the DCA re-imagining. Even today, walking into the land is a jaw-dropping moment, with all the sights, sounds, and immersion. Cars Land simply fires on all cylinders, and as a result, it takes the crown as the best land in Disney California Adventure Park.