Mulholland Madness: This Ride Makes Me Crazy!
Written: Mar 09 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fun thrill ride, lots of laughing and screaming at the same time!
Cons: Small seating space
The Bottom Line: This is a fun attraction that is more scary than it looks, but also more fun. Watch out for long lines and hold on tight!
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| BeastieGirl's Full Review: Mulholland Madness - California Adventure |
The first time I saw the attraction Mulholland Madness in Disney’s California Adventure theme park, I thought to myself- there is no way I will ever go on that ride. It looked way to similar to one of my least favorite rides at Disney World- Primeval Whirl, a ride that I found to be too jerky, bumpy and overall unpleasant. To the untrained eye, Mulholland Madness looks like a compact, colorful, fun roller coaster. To me, it looked like another jerky, sneakily unfun attraction. How wrong I was to judge a book by its cover.
On a day that my sister and I were tooling around Disneyland, in search of something we hadn’t done before, we headed over to California Adventure to see what we could find. As we walked by Mulholland Madness, she suggested that we check it out. With almost no line, I gave in. I have seen the queue look to be fairly long at certain times- with a wait time upwards of about 30 minutes or so. We ended up waiting for less than 10 minutes, which made me feel that if the ride was no good, at least we didn’t waste a lot of time.
The famed Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles is the theme for this ride- with its twists and curves, caution signs are all around! Definitely don’t consider this ride if you have neck and back injuries- this is not the kind of ride you would appreciate! There are fun little signs and hidden Mickeys around, but I could hardly notice, as I was too busy laughing and screaming, all at the same time.
The ride itself is kind of what it appears to be- a miniature roller coaster. There are plenty of twists and turns and the height requirement of 42 inches puts it into the “thrills” category of attractions. Small cars with two rows of seating go along the track. The front row is definitely the better seat, but if you have two large guests going at the same time, they may have to sit in separate rows. I have ridden in both the front and the back, both provide a pretty good ride. The cars themselves are designed in different California themes- CHiPs (highway patrollers), Woodies- those were the two that I’ve ridden in, and there are some with flames on the side. Because the seating is small and tight, you would think that you don’t have to hang on tight- but you would be wrong!! Grab on and don’t let go!
Initially, the little cars climb up and up, and once to the top, you will get a quick but cool view of the Grand Californian hotel and part of the California Adventure park. Then all of a sudden, the car will start to descend. Although it does not go at a high rate of speed, it goes around corners so fast you’ll feel that you are going to fall right out- my sister and I had a lot of screaming going on. Sitting in the front will give you a great, but scary feeling as the cars speed up going down hill and hit a few drops that might also make your stomach drop too!
Apparently, this attraction is set to get a refurb/overall and will be re-themed to the Goofy character, but either way, this is a pretty fun ride. There is a FastPass available for this ride- meaning that you can get a ticket with a specific time to return to the ride and by-pass most of the wait time. If there is a line longer than 20 minutes, I would suggest taking advantage of this option. This is one of the few queues at Disneyland Resort that is mostly covered and shaded, so at least you will be out of the sun while waiting.
Overall, I thought this was a fun ride. Not a “must do”, but definitely something that I would recommend to those who like thrill rides, as long as the line isn’t too long. Although it is a bit scary, it’s still fun- and I think that even those who aren’t huge roller coaster fans may enjoy Mulholland Madness. If you have been to Disney World in Orlando and have gone on Primeval Whirl, please know, this is way better of a ride and even with all the turns, corners and slight drops, it is nowhere near as hurky-jerky, even though it outward appearance, it would seem to be as unpleasant an experience. I’ll be interested to see the overhaul and update this review, hopefully the ride itself will stay the same- the theme is a bit unmemorable.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Friends
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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