We really enjoyed Disney and Pixar’s new movie Hoppers. The story was engaging and intersected with a lot of our personal interests. Plus , we thought the characters were a lot of fun. That is why we were excited when Disney California Adventure Park added some special Hoppers theming to one of our family’s favorite spots. The Redwood Creek Challenge Trail now has tie-ins to Mabel and her friends like King George and Ellen Bear. You can pick-up Mabel’s Seek and Find map to explore the changes, and we want to share our experience doing just that.
This post is part of a quick series this week: we are covering three free activity booklets Disneyland Resort is offering during 2026 Kids Rule Summer. Yesterday, we shared our experience with Bina’s Guide to the Creatures of Batuu, and next we will look at Mickey’s adventure guide for Frontierland. But today, we are covering Mabel’s Seek and Find and the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.
What is Redwood Creek Challenge Trail
Redwood Creek Challenge Trail is a large play and adventure area in the Grizzly Peak land of Disney California Adventure Park. Redwood Creek Challenge Trail is on the edge of park: the pool for Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Spa is just on the other side of the park boundary to the west, and to the east is Grizzly River Run. Between these picturesque neighbors and Redwood Creek Challenge Trail’s location inside the Grizzly Peak land, this really feels like an oasis of beautiful calm in a busy theme park. Specifically, it feels like a serene hike through a California redwood forest.
Redwood Creek Challenge Trail incorporates some traditional playground fixtures, like slides, into elaborate climbing areas (think lots of ropes and bridges) and even more elaborate scenery. There are natural elements plus tributes to national and state park services. Highlights for our kids include the “Seqouia Smokejumpers” zipline and the surprise interactive elements inside the cave at “Hibernation Hollow.” More than that, our kids love being able to explore this exciting space, and they spend a lot of time rambling up, around and through Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.
I like that this area honors the natural beauty of the state of California while giving our kids a gorgeous place for some unstructured playtime. We think this playtime is so important during a day at Disneyland Resort, which is typically filled with lines and a lot of overwhelming sensory experiences.
Even as an adult, I find Redwood Creek Challenge Trail to be an effective and welcome break from the regular hustle of the themes parks. That’s why we put Redwood Creek Challenge Trail in our 5 Best Places to Relax in Disney California Adventure Park
Adding Hoppers to Redwood Creek Challenge Trail
So what happens when you add a movie to place that is usually somewhere to “get way from it all?” Fortunately, we think adding Hoppers to Redwood Creek Challenge Trail’s totally works. The Hoppers overlay is pretty light, and it fits very well into the pre-existing environment at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. We appreciate that it does not obscure what we like about this play space but does add some new points of interest and activity.
Disney knows what they are doing. This is not the first time Redwood Creek Challenge Trail has been enhanced courtesy of a film. Early in its existence, it had tie-ins to the 2003 animated Disney film Brother Bear, and you can still see traces of that today. More recently, it hosted Wilderness Explorers à la the 2009 Pixar movie Up.
(Which, incidentally, is one of my favorite movies: you can find a Up movie night guide with snacks and activities here: Up Movie Night: Fly High With Our Conversation and Activity Guide. But, back to Hoppers…)
Redwood Creek Challenge Trail received some light Hoppers theming in spring 2026 for the film, which also came out in 2026. We do not know how long this will stick around, so, why don’t you hop on… no, sorry, I just can’t do the pun. In any case, Disney says Mabel’s Seek and Find is happening for a limited time, so here is how to take part while you can.
How to Do Mabel’s Seek and Find at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail
As you head into Redwood Creek Challenge Trail there are always cast members, er… park rangers stationed at the entrance. We just let the rangers know that we are interested in doing Mabel’s Seek and Find, and they ask each participant to select an animal friend for the journey. The choices are King George (beaver), Tom Lizard, Ellen Bear and Insect Queen (butterfly). Our kids had just watched the movie Hoppers before our first visit, and they quickly selected their favorite.
Then the park rangers handed us a map and sticker to match each choice. You can see examples of the maps for Tom Lizard and Insect Queen in the photo just above. The map and sticker are totally free (well, included with park admission is more accurate).
The “Seek & Find” activity combined legacy elements of Redwood Creek Challenge Trail with a few props that had been added just for the Hoppers overlay. As with other reviews on this site, we are not going to detail these new pieces, because we think the fun is in discovering them for yourself. Just don’t expect anything elaborate: these are more in the category of cute and clever.
Okay actually, just one preview tip about Mabel’s Seek and Find props: the beaver dam (you can see it marked on the far right of the map) makes for a fun photo spot for Hoppers fans. Now on to some more practical tips…
Tips for Doing Mabel’s Seek & Find at Disney California Adventure Park
I will say that looking at the map makes it seem like finding the different Mabel’s Seek and Find features should be pretty straightforward: they are marked right on the map after all! It’s not that simple. The challenge is that moving from one point to another is not at all straightforward (or flat) on the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.
You might have to scramble over a rope bridge or through a log to reach your destination, and there are many different elevations within the play area. Fortunately, cast members have no trouble providing extra guidance for kids who get stuck on some of the challenges. They seem happy to be part of the adventure and to be able to highlight these fun new additions.
Another challenge with Redwood Creek Challenge Trail is the difficulty it presents for supervising children. Sight lines are tricky: there is just no way to see all of the play area at once. Furthermore, the different climbing elements and slides make it easy for you to suddenly find yourself on a different level than your child.
If you visit Redwood Creek Challenge Trail with children, we suggest reminding your kids they can always ask a cast member for help should they have trouble finding you. Show them how Disneyland cast members on duty always wear white oval name tags displaying their name and hometown. This is just a good skill for your family to have anywhere in Disneyland Resort, but at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail it might be particularly important. You can also point out the general park ranger apparel.
If you have older kids, you can show them a spot where you will stay during your time at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail and ask them to check-in with you periodically.
Bonus Tips for Visiting Redwood Creek Challenge Trail with Young Children
If you have younger kids, you will want to stay close to them at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. It will probably be confusing for them to navigate on their own. We have also seen little ones get nervous and freeze in certain climbing areas. Sometimes they need a little adult assistance. (Even if you are with them, we still recommend teaching children how to find a cast member as we described in the last section.)
Kids who are not yet reading will also need the help of a reader to complete Mabel’s Seek and Find.
Another thing to keep in mind is that a few elements of Redwood Creek Challenge Trail have height requirements. These are: (1) 42 inches or taller for Cliff Hanger Traverse Rock Climb, (2) 32 inches or taller for Hoot n’ Holler Log Slides and (3) at least 42 inches tall but under 63 inches for Sequoia Smokejumpers Training Tower and 12 years of age or younger. Fortunately, none of these activities are essential to completing Mabel’s Seek and Find.
Finally, keep in mind that there are no restrooms within Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. The closest bathrooms are the Bay Area Restrooms near the stroller parking and entrance for The Little Mermaid – Ariel’s Undersea Adventure. These bathrooms are not all that far away, and it is easy to exit and re-enter Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. Still, as parents who have done our share of potty-training, we suggest checking-in with little ones regarding toilet needs before they climb up to the Squirrel Scramble or Mt. Shasta Lookout.
The map in the Disneyland app may make it seem like you have closer options just west of Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, but these or on the property of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Spa.
Our Experience with Mabel’s Seek and Find at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail
So what did our family think of Mabel’s Seek and Find? We thought it was a charming little addition to one of our favorite spots at Disney California Adventure Park. Our kids liked getting the maps and stickers and were excited to see depictions of characters they recognized from the film. They were delighted to see new props.
That said, our children got excited, as they always do, about playing around Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. So, they forgot about Mabel’s Seek and Find before they actually finished all of the tasks.
As for my part, I did not push them to continue. We like Redwood Creek Challenge Trail precisely because it provides the opportunity for unstructured play and exploration. Redwood Creek Challenge Trail is a place where kids are supposed to climb on the rocks instead of standing politely in line. Plus, they can use their imaginations to make their own stories instead of following an attraction narrative. So, we are not going to push structure onto our kids in the form of an activity map if they are excited to do the Rock Slide instead.
Despite this experience, I do think it is worth grabbing a Mabel’s Seek and Find map. The artwork is beautiful and intricate, and it makes a great free souvenir. Your group may enjoy doing the activities. For nervous kids, the map could provide some focus to their wanderings and give them some extra courage. And if they do forget about the map halfway through (like our kids did) there is no penalty. Getting the map and sticker only costs you a moment of speaking with the cast members at the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. And really, speaking to cast members is a great part of the fun at Disney parks.
One Final Tip for Experiencing Hoppers at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail
Now, one final tip for experiencing Mabel’s Seek and Find at Disney California Adventure Park. If you watch Hoppers before you visit, it will greatly enhance your experience at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.
Hoppers is currently streaming on Disney+, so you can watch it there if you subscribe to that service. Or, as we always mention in our Movie Night Guides, we recommend checking your local library for DVD or BluRay copies of movies you would like to see. We make great use of the ability to borrow films from our library. You might be surprised by what you can find too. We do not know your local library, but we bet it is worth a try.
We hope you get a chance to enjoy Hopper and Mabel’s Seek and Find soon! Whether you do every activity on the map or simply enjoy the artwork, we think it is worth a stop. And anything that entices more people to explore one of our favorite attractions at Disneyland Resort is wonderful in our eyes.
Thanks for reading this post about the free activity map at Disney California Adventure Park at Disneyland Resort
We hope you have found this post about Mabel’s Seek and Find useful. For other fun movie tie-ins at Disney California Adventure Park, please read 5 Movies to Watch Before Visiting Disney California Adventure Park. And for help planning your Disneyland visit, please explore our free and complete Step-by-Step Disneyland Prep and our Disneyland 101 Glossary. Finally, if you enjoy Disney and Pixar movies, we invite you to peruse our Disney Movie Night Guides. Thanks again for reading!
