What’s sugoi? It’s a Japanese way to say “Wow!” or “Amazing!” I lived in Japan twice and I’m a BIG fan of that wonderful country so I was thrilled when Disneyland Resort added a touch of Japan to the mix inside Disney California Adventure park. If you never saw Disney’s 2014 animated movie Big Hero 6, it was set in San Fransokyo—an imaginary combo of San Francisco and Tokyo. In 2023, Disney Imagineers transformed the already-existing Pacific Wharf land into San Fransokyo Square, a mini version of the city seen in the movie.
Unlike some guidebooks that come out yearly, Going To Guides books are changed up only when something major happens—like a new ride or a new land. In 2022 my book about Disney California Adventure had been fully updated to include the new land Avengers Campus. Now, you might think “Well, San Fransokyo Square is a new land so there needed to be a new book!” But the actual changes were NOT that major. YES, we updated the book to include San Fransokyo Square but we did what we call an “under-the-radar” edit. Because these books are printed on demand in America, we can change this or that as needed, without having to create a whole new edition.
When Disney first announced their plans to create San Fransokyo Square, my Editor and I chatted about all the possible things that might happen. But never in my wildest dreams did I imagine they’d turn most of Pacific Wharf into San Fransokyo Square (see number 3 in the map below) and consider the rest (see number 4) part of “Performance Corridor”—a pathway that already existed for parades and other performances to travel along. In case anyone’s curious, had I been in charge, I would have simply redrawn the borders so that those restaurants (near number 4 in the map) would become part of the next land over, Paradise Gardens Park.
So what did change in Pacific Wharf? The bridge and buildings all got a makeover to bring in that Big Hero 6 Asian flair PLUS two brand new things were added:
• Baymax Meet n’ Greet
• San Fransokyo Maker’s Market shop
The rest of the land is made up of things that already existed:
• Aunt Cass Café (used to be called Pacific Wharf Café)
• Port of San Fransokyo Cerveceria (replaced Pacific Wharf Distribution Co.)
• Rita’s Turbine Blenders (used to be called Rita’s Baja Blenders)
• Baby Care Center
• Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill
• Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop
• Lucky Fortune Cookery
• The Bakery Tour
If you have the 2022 version of Going To Disney California Adventure and your book has the now-gone land Pacific Wharf, let me know and I’ll email you the revised chapter with the few pages that were affected.
Don’t have the book yet? You can find it here on this website, on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Target. Thank you for being interested in my books and if you can take the time to leave a review that would be awesome! You would be amazed how much each and every review helps.
