Disney to spend $1 bln on Calif. park: paper

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co is planning to spend $1.1 billion over five years to overhaul its California Adventure theme park, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Tuesday.

According to the Journal, which cited people familiar with Disney's plan, the company's board has recently approved the investment in the California-themed park located near the famed Disneyland park.

Disney is hoping to boost attendance at California Adventure by making it more like Disneyland, with more references to company founder Walt Disney, the paper said.

The new-look park will also be expanded by about 12 acres and will include attractions associated with animated Pixar movies such as "Cars" and "Toy Story," the Journal reported.

A Disney official was not immediately available to comment.

(Reporting by Martinne Geller)