Pixar Pier is Disney’s latest effort to pump up California Adventure

Disney California Adventure Park opened in 2001 as a salute to California’s fun-in-the-sun attitude. Now, California Adventure Park is about to unveil its latest effort to boost attendance: a makeover of the Paradise Pier boardwalk area that includes a healthy dose of characters from Pixar Animation Studios, a Disney subsidiary. As part of the renovation, the park’s roller coaster — once known as California Screamin’ — has been transformed into the Incredicoaster, a tribute to the animated superhero characters that are featured in the ride, taken from the 2004 Pixar film “The Incredibles” and the sequel in theaters now. California Adventure Park’s biggest upgrade came in 2012, when Disney spent an estimated $1 billion to add a 12-acre Southwestern-themed expansion with characters and scenes from the 2006 Pixar movie “Cars.” Attendance at the park jumped 22% to 7.8 million visitors that year, according to an estimate by Los Angeles consulting firm Aecom. But California Adventure Park isn’t likely to match the popularity of its neighboring park, Disneyland, which drew about 18.3 million visitors last year, compared with 9.6 million visitors for California Adventure Park, according to Aecom.