Disney California adventure recommended age

Want to know what the Disney California Adventure recommended age is for to ensure you and your kids get maximum enjoyment in the park. We have been lucky enough to travel to Disney California Adventure with a baby, a toddler, older children and as adults alone so I think we are in a pretty good place to tell you what the best age for Disney California Adventure is.

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Disney California Adventure recommended age

Generally speaking I would say that there is no bad age to go to Disney California Adventure,  however I do think that there are certainly ages that will appreciate and enjoy things more than others. In this article we will examine the pros and cons of each different age range to decide what is the best age for Disney California Adventure.

But before we get started, here are some of our other great posts on visiting Disneyland Parks with kids that you might be interested in.

• What to Pack for Disneyland for toddlers
• Disneyland with Toddlers
• California Adventure Rides for toddlers
• Best Snacks for Disneyland with toddlers
• Best Double Stroller for disneyland and our
• Disney stroller hacks
• Disneyland itinerary for toddlers

California Adventure with a Baby – is this the best age?

You might think that visiting a theme park with a baby is a bad idea. And admittedly many theme parks aren’t designed with babies in mind.

However Disney is a theme park that generally speaking has something for all the ages. Across all Disney parks around the world you will find that there are rides that have no height limit and that babies can go on, and California Adventure is no different. 

The one requirement of the baby friendly California Adventure rides is that they are able to support their own neck and they can sit up on their own. 

Some of the best rides to go on with a baby include:

• Jessie’s Critter Carousel
• Toy Story Midway Mania
• Pixar’s Pal-A-Round
• Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind 
• Ariel’s Undersea Adventure
• Golden Zephyr
• Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree
• Luigi’s Rollickin Rollsters 
• Monsters Inc Mike and Sulley to the Rescue
• Webslingers

However you obviously you won’t be able to ride the scarier rides with a baby at California Adventure. However you can still utilise rider swap for riding with older children or for parents. 

And as any Disney fan will tell you there is SO much more to Disney than just the rides. However it is worth noting that California Adventure does not have parades like its Disney counterpart or have character dining. 

However it does have character meet and greets that can be easily done with a baby. 

Also it is worth noting that California Adventure has many facilities for babies. There are great baby care centers throughout the parks and rider switch at many attractions help parents traveling with young kids enjoy some of the more thrill rides. 

So while I think it is possible and really enjoyable to do California Adventure with a baby would I say a baby is the best age to go to California Adventure?

I would have to say no. If this is a long in a lifetime trip or you want to get everything done, then visiting Disneyland with a baby may not be right for you. Because although doing the parks with a baby is doable, there will be lots of rides you miss out on and having to schedule your day around naps and thinking about Disney stroller hacks can be an extra layer of stress for some.

However if this won’t be your only trip and it is nearby you may want to and you will enjoy visiting with a baby. One of my favorite things about visiting with a baby is that you can travel in off peak times when the kids are still in school and you can start making some amazing Disney memories.  

California Adventure with a toddler – is this the best age to go?

Visiting California Adventure with a toddler is actually one of my favourite times to go to the parks. At this age,  everything about the parks is magical especially the meet and greets though. 

However it is worth pointing out what meet and greets are available in this park and whether toddlers will enjoy them. 

When my little girl was a toddler she adored meeting the princesses in the parks. However, unfortunately you will find that there are not many princess meet and greets at California Adventure.

The only princesses that tend to do meet and greets in California Adventure are Elsa from Frozen II and Queen Anna again from Frozen II. 

If you only have one day in the park and you have a princess fan then you would be better visiting Disneyland with a toddler. 

However, my son on the other hand is absolutely cars mad! For him the highlight of our while Disney trip was hanging out in Cars land in California Adventure and seeing Lightening McQueen and Cruz Ramirez his favorites. 

So it really depends on the characters you want to meet as to whether your toddler prefers Disneyland or California Adventure.

Other characters that you can usually meet at California Adventure include:

• Classic Disney characters such as Mickey, Pluto and Goofy – check out our post on questions to ask Disney characters if you plan to meet these characters in the park.
• Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps from Zootopia
  Pixar Characters such as Toy Story characters like Woody, Jessie and Buzz, Incredibles Characters and more. 

But when it comes to the rides you will be limited to rides in the same way as when you are traveling to California Adventure with a baby.

The toddler friendly rides at California Adventure include:

• Jessie’s Critter Carousel
• Pixar’s Pal-A-Round
• Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind 
• Ariel’s Undersea Adventure
• Golden Zephyr
• Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree
• Luigi’s Rollickin Rollsters 
• Monsters Inc Mike and Sulley to the Rescue
• Toy Story Midway Mania *
• Webslingers *

However it is worth noting that the last two rides on this list require the use of 3D glasses and we found that our little one didn’t like wearing these so his enjoyment of these rides was more limited. 

Also as I mentioned above there is no parade at California Adventure however there is the evening light show called World of Color. 

Personally I don’t think this is as good for toddlers as the parade as you don’t get to meet any characters. Also our toddler fell asleep before it started, however I think if you can keep your little one up they will enjoy this. 

If you are thinking about visiting other California theme parks with toddlers be sure to check out the below posts:

• Seaworld San Diego with toddlers
• Legoland with toddlers

California Adventure with kids (4-10)

Although I absolutely loved visiting California Adventure when our little ones were toddlers perhaps the best age to go to with kids is between the ages of 4-10.

The reason for this is because children at this age

• haven’t lost the magic that you experience at Disney
• they have better stamina for long days in the park without the need for naps or strollers
• they can watch stay up to watch the World of Color sho
• there are limited rides with height restrictions they can’t go on. 

However it is worth noting that California Adventure does have more thrill rides than it’s Disneyland counterpart. For instance they have the rethemed Tower of Tower which is now called Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout and the Incredicoaster. 

Children at the younger end of this age range may not be able to ride these due to the height restrictions however things like Grizzly Gulf River Rapids and Radiator Springs Racers should be available to children in this age range. 

It is also worth checking out how scary Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout and the Incredicoaster are. My children are both thrill seekers so are happy to go on scary rides at California Adventure however this will not be the case for all kids. You know your children best so go with your instinct on whether they will enjoy these rides. 

In my opinion visiting California Adventure with kids between the ages of 4 – 10 may be the best age to go to California Adventure. 

California Adventure with teenagers

California Adventure with teenagers is certainly possible and still enjoyable to do. In my opinion California Adventure is better than Disneyland with teenagers as there are more thrill rides in California Advenutre i.e. Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout and the Incredicoaster which teenagers will love. 

And the great news is that teenagers will be able to go on every ride in the CAlifornia Adventure Park without worrying about height restrictions. 

Having said that however if your teenagers have been to other theme parks around the world they may be disappointed by the number of thrill rides in the park.

Also  in my humble opinion, the  peak Disney age has generally passed by as the magic of the park will be gone. 

And for many teenagers they won’t be as interested in doing meet and greets as younger children, (generally but not exclusively speaking).

California Adventure as adults

Can you visiting California Adventure without kids? Can you go to California Adventure as an adult?

As Disney fans and people who have done this we get asked this a lot. And my answer is ABSOLUTELY you can. 

One of the great things about visiting as an adult is you can go on any ride, can wait in long queues and don’t necessarily have to buy Genie Plus unless you want to.

Also California Adventure is famed for its food and wine festival which I think can be best appreciated by adults. And even if you aren’t visiting during this festival there are some great table service restaurants in this park that adults are more likely to enjoy without young children wanting to get back to the rides and characters. 

Our Disney California Adventure Recommend Age