Red Car Trolley permanently closed at Disney California Adventure; take a look back
The Red Car Trolley is now closed at Disney California Adventure to make way for an expansion to Avengers Campus.
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Updated Feb. 9, 2025; original version published Aug. 26, 2024.
Red Car Trolley closing for Avengers
The Red Car Trolley attraction at Disney California Adventure in Disneyland Resort closed on Feb. 9, 2025; the final day to ride was Feb. 8. The closure is due to the upcoming expansion of Avengers Campus displacing the backstage location of the Red Car Trolley’s barn.
Disney announced the news on Dec. 5, 2024 following Disneyland representatives confirming the attraction’s closure last summer. Here is Disney’s full statement to us from August 2024:
As we shared at D23, we anticipate construction to begin on the Avengers Campus expansion in early 2025. Some backstage locations in this area will be impacted. Construction requires the removal of the backstage Red Car Trolley barn and as such, we will discontinue operation of the attraction in early 2025 and will share a specific date later this winter. We look forward to sharing more information in the future.
The statement notes the “removal” of the trolley barn, not relocation, implying the Red Car Trolley’s closure will be permanent.
The trolley traversed the park’s main entrance area and adjacent Hollywood Land. Guests could catch a lift if they so chose, or simply take in the ambience of the trolley gliding by. The trolley’s route began on Buena Vista Street, traveled through Carthay Circle, and continued onto Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard before concluding its route near Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission – Breakout!
What’s replacing the Red Car Trolley?
Avengers Campus at California Adventure will expand with two new attractions. You might logically ask, “What’s that got to do with the trolley?” After all, the trolley travels around the front areas of the park, not Avengers Campus. While the trolley route itself (Buena Vista Street and Hollywood Land) is expected to be largely unaffected by the new Avengers rides, the Red Car Trolley’s barn is located in a backstage area where the new attractions will reside.
Image courtesy of Disney
One of the new attractions, Avengers Infinity Defense, will be a multiverse-themed ride starring King Thanos. This version of the villain succeeded in his plan to wipe out half the population (and keep it that way). The attraction will transport riders to Wakanda, New York City, and Asgard.
Image courtesy of Disney
Stark Flight Lab, a robotic arm flight simulation, will also open in Avengers Campus. For both Stark Flight Lab and Avengers Infinity Defense, Robert Downey Jr. will reprise his role as Tony Stark.
Image courtesy of Disney
Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro announced both new attractions at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event on Aug. 10, 2024, along with many other future projects for Disney theme parks.
Many classic Disney attractions closing for new projects
As Disney builds new attractions, sometimes the progress inevitably comes at the cost of saying goodbye to longstanding mainstays of the park experience. The Red Car Trolley is the latest of several casualties inflicted by the D23 announcements.
At Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida, opening-day attractions Dinosaur and “It’s Tough to be a Bug!” will close to make way for an Indiana Jones ride and a “Zootopia” 3D show, respectively. In that same park, an “Encanto” ride will take over much of what is currently DinoLand, U.S.A.
Image courtesy of Disney
Also in Florida, over at Magic Kingdom, Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America will be replaced by two “Cars”-themed rides focused on new frontiers. (California’s Disneyland has no plans to close its versions of Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America.)
Image courtesy of Disney
Also in Florida, Muppet*Vision 3D at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will close in preparation for a new “Monsters, Inc.” suspended roller coaster.
Disney has not mentioned the exact spots where it will build the upcoming “Coco” ride or “Avatar” land, both coming to California Adventure.
The Imagineering behind Buena Vista Street
While certainly not a marquee attraction, the Red Car Trolley served an important purpose at California Adventure for 13 years, as described by Imagineer Alex Wright in “The Imagineering Field Guide to Disney California Adventure,” an official Disney book published in 2014.
According to Wright, Buena Vista Street “presents a welcoming statement that is key to the park’s underlying mythology” and “a clear summation of what the park is about.”
He goes on to say that in depicting a romanticized version of Los Angeles that Walt Disney arrived at in 1923, Buena Vista Street “presents a vital and exciting time and place, where dreams are possible and opportunities are aplenty.” Furthermore, Wright says, “The Red Car Trolley is a key part of making Buena Vista Street feel like a different time and place.”
History of the Red Car Trolley at California Adventure
The Red Car Trolley opened in June 2012 as part of the grand unveiling of Buena Vista Street and Cars Land, marking the culmination of a multi-year transformation of Disney California Adventure.
In creating the trolley route, Walt Disney Imagineering was inspired by the trolleys of Los Angeles’ Pacific Electric Railway of 1887-1961.
When the trolley first opened, it was accompanied by the Red Car Newsboys, a “Newsies”-esque performance troupe of period-specific singers and dancers. Several times a day from 2012-2019 as the trolley stopped at Carthay Circle, the vehicle became a stage for the Newsboys to sing about the their Hollywood dreams. They were joined by none other than Mickey Mouse, who, within Buena Vista Street’s narrative, had just arrived to town with nothing but a suitcase and a dream — much like Walt.
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