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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2001 |
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Burritos might be the quintessential California food. Although they originated in Mexico, there are distinctly different Northern California and Southern California versions. And now there are Yester California Adventure burritos too. |
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Just thinking about burritos might make you want one. Here at Yester California Adventure, there’s a counter service eatery that specializes in these bundles of goodness—soft flour tortillas folded around a hot, meaty (or meatless) filling. It’s called Malibu-Ritos, and it’s easy to find. Just look below, and slightly to the right of, the giant Mickey Mouse loop on California Screamin’ at Paradise Pier. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2001 Paradise Pier, with Malibu-Ritos between the California Screamin’ loop and lift hill. |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 Getting closer to Malibu-Ritos |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2001 Some tables with large umbrellas—and some without |
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There are plenty of tables here, although you’ll have to listen to the screams from the nearby roller coaster. |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 You’ve arrived! |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 Burrito menu at Malibu-Ritos |
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When you reach Malibu-Ritos, you’ll find yourself looking at the menu. Your choices are chicken, vegetarian, or beef. The guacamole, salsa, and sour cream could make your burrito even better. You would just want to be careful how you eat it. Otherwise, you might wind up with an unintended souvenir of Paradise Pier in the form of food stains on your shirt. |
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Now that you’ve decided what to order, it’s time to find an open window. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2002 All closed |
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Hey! All four windows are closed. It turns out that Malibu-Ritos is closed during slow seasons. Unfortunately, the slow seasons at this park are winter, spring, summer, and fall. |
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Malibu-Ritos opened in February 2001 as one of the many eateries of Disney’s California Adventure. As was the case with several of the new park’s shops, restaurants, and rides, the name was a play on a California location name—in this case, Malibu, a Southern California city that stretches for 21 miles along the Pacific coast. (Other examples are Man Hat n’ Beach, Baker’s Field Bakery, Bur-r-r Bank Ice Cream, and Maliboomer, another reference to Malibu). The next two photos are exceedingly rare. They show Malibu-Ritos open for business. They were taken on February 18, 2001—just ten days after the public grand opening of Disney’s California Adventure. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2001 A photo of Malibu-Ritos open for business |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2001 Two windows open, and napkins and condiments stocked |
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Malibu-Ritos stopped operating in 2001, as soon as it became apparent to park management that there were too few guests and too many places to eat. The menu board was updated over the years, such as when soft drink prices went up throughout the park. That didn’t mean that guests could order off that menu. Disney just couldn’t let guests see lower prices at a closed location than at open locations. Members of the MiceChat.com discussion board commented that even on days when Disney’s California Adventure was packed, Malibu-Ritos was closed. If Malibu-Ritos was ever open after 2001, it eluded the online community. Eventually, artwork replaced the menu—but the big sign remained in place, as though Malibu-Ritos could reopen any day. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2006 Finally, no menu at all |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2006 California Screamin’, Sun Wheel, and Orange Stinger at Yester Paradise Pier |
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Technically, Malibu-Ritos lasted until September 2006, when construction walls for Toy Story Midway Mania! meant the official end of Malibu-Ritos. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2007 “Toy Story Mania!, Opens Summer ‘08” |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2008 Toy Story Midway Mania!, as it looked before Paradise Pier became Pixar Pier |
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It’s surprisingly hard to get a burrito at today’s Disney California Adventure. As of the publication of this article (August 2022), the menu at Cocina Cucamonga does not include any burritos, although it had burritos in the past. Lucky Fortune Cookery offers a Beef Bulgogi Burrito, but that doesn’t count as a Mexican burrito. The park sometimes offers burritos during seasonal events, such as when Paradise Garden Grill offers a special Mexican menu during ¡Viva Navidad!, an annual holiday season fiesta featuring traditions from Mexico and Brazil. Maybe California Adventure needs a year-round burrito restaurant. They could call it Malibu-Ritos. |
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© 2022 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated August 19, 2022 |
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