Hoppers at Disney California Adventure: Exploring the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail

Here at Disney Parks Blog, we love to see how Disney stories come to life beyond the screen.

Disney and Pixar’s Hoppers is now in theaters, with its energetic spirit popping up across Disney Experiences, including drawing experiences, art galleries, festival displays, new merchandise, and so much more.

One of the latest examples? For a limited time, Mabel’s Seek & Find activity at the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail invites guests to explore, climb, and swing during a playful wilderness adventure for all ages in Disney California Adventure park at Disneyland Resort.

Here’s the rundown of the fun: by “hopping” into your favorite animal, get set to explore the entirety of the trail and complete several challenges to bring all the animals back to the glade. Once you’ve completed all the tasks in the area, return to the front of the attraction and exchange your pencil for a prize (a Hoppers-themed sticker) with a cast member.

Ready to hop in on the fun? Follow along with my latest exploration at the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail at Disney California Adventure.

Upon entering, a friendly cast member handed me a pencil to borrow, laid down the pond rules, and gave me a choice of four different maps depicting four different characters: King George, Insect Queen, Ellen Bear, and Tom Lizard. Of course, I went with the star of the moment and chose Tom Lizard’s seek-and-find activity, which set me on my way with a sharpened pencil and a new, keepsake map in hand.

Stepping inside the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail around 4 p.m. allowed for a friendly mix of shade and sunlight tucked beneath a canopy of trees, as I set off with my new map and spotted the first familiar face, King George (voiced by Bobby Moynihan in the film).

Several of the challenges were located at the beginning of the trail, checking a few boxes that led me to have even more free time to explore the serene setting:

The Redwood Creek Challenge Trail allows kids and their families to enjoy a nice break. By the time I passed by the always-iconic Millenium Tree and attempted my third challenge of the outing, I saw even more friendly faces and plenty of determined expressions from kids exploring the trail.

Friends and families of all ages were on the route – from grandparents on a cherished trip to Disneyland with their grandchildren to an entire school of kids with a few counselors leading the way on a fun-filled class trip.

As someone who loves Pixar films and writes about all things Disney, I love keeping up with all the latest trends. Tom Lizard seems to have been everywhere lately, from t-shirts on DisneyStore.com to a new bundle in the Fortnite Shop, and even on our own Disney Parks Instagram. This brought me to the fourth challenge on the list: Don’t Be a Stranger (find another lizard on the trail and wave hello).

Once I was about halfway through my own Lizard seek-and-find quest and had spotted the Reptile Queens, I started to wonder exactly where our newest lizard friend was located. Yet as I began to turn a corner across from the Mt. Whitney Lookout, I spotted Tom Lizard’s dedicated signage near the Cliff Hang Traverse Rock on my way toward the “Decoder” mission. Aside from the actual challenges on the map, this small sign of this instant icon seemed to be a highlight for many beyond me – confirmed by a little girl nearby who continuously exclaimed “lizard, lizard, lizard” to her family.

After gliding past the Cliff Hang Traverse and setting off toward the Mt. Shasta Lookout, my next mission was to find a decoder to unlock a secret message from Tom Lizard. A cast member pointed me in the right direction toward this area, and once I crossed a bridge to get there, two decoder keys were located right next to a radio set on top of a table.

I discovered a handful of young families (with laser-focused little ones, locked into challenges on their own keepsake maps) in this area either waiting to slide down the Hoot-N-Holler Logs or using this decoder key to fill out one of the most critical challenges on their map, bringing a fun sense of energy to an otherwise peaceful setting in California Adventure.

It’s a small reminder that these restful moments often create lasting memories at Disneyland, and some of these simple pauses in the parks tend to stay with us long after the day is done.

With the Tom Lizard fun checked off my list, it was time to head toward the beaver dam for my final challenge on my seek-and-find map.

Journeying from the Mt. Shasta Lookout, past the Mt. Lassen Lookout Ranger Headquarters, and along the Quail Trail led me toward the Ahwahnee Camp Circle, where I spotted a figure of Mabel (one of the main characters from the film, voiced by Piper Curda) in a picture-perfect moment on top of the dam. Friendly cast members near this part of the trail encouraged picture-taking, marking one of the last steps on the route and making for a nice finishing touch on this Hoppers adventure.

From here, I found my way back to the trail entrance where another outgoing cast member greeted me. Once I returned my pencil and showed them Tom Lizard’s uncoded secret message, I was presented stickers to take home: one of Tom and one of Mabel that read “Challenge Complete!”

While I love the extra shade and both attractions in Grizzly Peak as an adult, one of my favorite parts about this area is that it reminds me of visits to California Adventure with my family as a kid. I can certainly recall several midday visits to the Spirit Cave and the Cliff Hangar Traverse Rock Climb when my parents needed a quick break from the ride-focused fun, stirring fond memories and evoking a sense of nostalgia.

It’s perfectly tucked away from some of the busier areas of the park and allows little ones to get up and move. And as someone who recently saw Hoppers in theaters and really appreciated the excitement and humor in the film, this felt like a great tie-in that nicely celebrates the spirit of the movie.

Headed to California Adventure soon for a springtime outing? Swing by the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail for a relaxed, fun stroll through the Great Outdoors… sprinkled in with a dash of Hoppers-themed hospitality.