By 2007, Disney began making plans for major updates to the park.
CEO Bob Iger said, "Any time you do something mediocre with your brand, that's a withdrawal.
California Adventure was a brand withdrawal."
Iger briefly considered combining California Adventure and Disneyland Park into one large park, but the price would have cost as much as completely remodeling California Adventure.
On October 17, 2007, The Walt Disney Company announced a multi-year, $1.1 billion redesign and expansion plan for Disney's California Adventure Park (against its initial $600 million price to build).
Each district was reimagined to transform the park from a spoof of modern California culture to a romanticized, idealized version of the state, exploring specific time periods and historic settings.
The project began in December 2007 and was completed in stages.
Toy Story Midway Mania!
opened on Paradise Pier in June 2008, in space formerly occupied by a store and restaurants.
World of Color, a nighttime water and lights show on Paradise Bay, opened in June 2010.
The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure opened on the site formerly occupied by the Golden Dreams theater in June 2011.

The most drastic changes to the park included a complete overhaul of the main entrance, Sunshine Plaza, and Paradise Pier, as well as an expansion into the last of the parking area originally designated as future growth space for the park.
The main entrance and Sunshine Plaza were turned from a "giant postcard" spoof of California into Buena Vista Street, a representation of Los Angeles as it appeared when Walt Disney moved there in the 1920s.
 The "CALIFORNIA" sign in front was removed and donated to Cal Expo in Sacramento.
Paradise Pier was turned from a contemporary representation of California boardwalks into a representation of Victorian seaside amusement parks of the 1920s, and some of the area's off-the-shelf rides were either removed outright (Maliboomer) or re-themed to have more of a focus on Disney characters (Mickey's Fun Wheel, Goofy's Sky School, Silly Symphony Swings).
Cars Land, an area that simulates Radiator Springs from Disney·Pixar's Cars film franchise, was added to the southeast portion of the park and features three rides, including the E ticket Radiator Springs Racers.
Construction was completed in 2012 and the park was then re-dedicated on June 15, 2012.
The park received a modified name, Disney California Adventure, and a new logo first put into use in June 2010.

The redesign and expansion of the park saw attendance rates increase dramatically.
In 2012, Disney California Adventure reached a record high for the park of over 7 million visitors (a 23% increase from the year before), a number Disney had hoped the park would attain in its first year.
The day of the park's rededication saw the park draw a record number of 43,000 visitors in one day.
The night before the rededication, over 500 people camped outside of the park in order to be the first admitted in.
Two days later, the park hit a new record of 45,000 visitors.
Speaking on the attendance increase at Disney California Adventure, Jay Rasulo, Disney's chief financial officer, said: "We had a very uneven distribution where most people spent most of their time at Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure was empty.
Now, half of the folks go to one, half of the folks go to the other.
It's almost a dream come true."

Disney California Adventure, along with Disneyland, was closed indefinitely starting on March 14, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The park was scheduled to reopen alongside Disneyland on July 17, but due to rising cases in California, both parks are remaining closed until further notice.
By 2007, Disney began making plans for major updates to the park. CEO Bob Iger said, "Any time you do something mediocre with your brand, that's a withdrawal. California Adventure was a brand withdrawal." Iger briefly considered combining California Adventure and Disneyland Park into one large park, but the price would have cost as much as completely remodeling California Adventure. On October 17, 2007, The Walt Disney Company announced a multi-year, $1.1 billion redesign and expansion plan for Disney's California Adventure Park (against its initial $600 million price to build). Each district was reimagined to transform the park from a spoof of modern California culture to a romanticized, idealized version of the state, exploring specific time periods and historic settings. The project began in December 2007 and was completed in stages. Toy Story Midway Mania! opened on Paradise Pier in June 2008, in space formerly occupied by a store and restaurants. World of Color, a nighttime water and lights show on Paradise Bay, opened in June 2010. The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure opened on the site formerly occupied by the Golden Dreams theater in June 2011.
The most drastic changes to the park included a complete overhaul of the main entrance, Sunshine Plaza, and Paradise Pier, as well as an expansion into the last of the parking area originally designated as future growth space for the park. The main entrance and Sunshine Plaza were turned from a "giant postcard" spoof of California into Buena Vista Street, a representation of Los Angeles as it appeared when Walt Disney moved there in the 1920s.  The "CALIFORNIA" sign in front was removed and donated to Cal Expo in Sacramento. Paradise Pier was turned from a contemporary representation of California boardwalks into a representation of Victorian seaside amusement parks of the 1920s, and some of the area's off-the-shelf rides were either removed outright (Maliboomer) or re-themed to have more of a focus on Disney characters (Mickey's Fun Wheel, Goofy's Sky School, Silly Symphony Swings). Cars Land, an area that simulates Radiator Springs from Disney·Pixar's Cars film franchise, was added to the southeast portion of the park and features three rides, including the E ticket Radiator Springs Racers. Construction was completed in 2012 and the park was then re-dedicated on June 15, 2012. The park received a modified name, Disney California Adventure, and a new logo first put into use in June 2010.
The redesign and expansion of the park saw attendance rates increase dramatically. In 2012, Disney California Adventure reached a record high for the park of over 7 million visitors (a 23% increase from the year before), a number Disney had hoped the park would attain in its first year. The day of the park's rededication saw the park draw a record number of 43,000 visitors in one day. The night before the rededication, over 500 people camped outside of the park in order to be the first admitted in. Two days later, the park hit a new record of 45,000 visitors. Speaking on the attendance increase at Disney California Adventure, Jay Rasulo, Disney's chief financial officer, said: "We had a very uneven distribution where most people spent most of their time at Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure was empty. Now, half of the folks go to one, half of the folks go to the other. It's almost a dream come true."
Disney California Adventure, along with Disneyland, was closed indefinitely starting on March 14, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The park was scheduled to reopen alongside Disneyland on July 17, but due to rising cases in California, both parks are remaining closed until further notice.
Disney California Adventure