Disney California: It can be a Great Experience if you Know What to Expect
Written: Aug 25 '03 (Updated Jun 21 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: All of the Disney strengths: great rides, great theming, great service
Cons: Not as many rides as other parks, Paradise Pier lacks imagination, no fireworks
The Bottom Line: Disney's California Adventure is a great park but only after a visit to the Magic Kingdom.
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| modernmarvel's Full Review: Disney's California Adventure |
We just finished 12 hours at Disney's California Adventure. This park is unique to California although it has a lot of similarities to Disney's other theme parks.
THE PARK - OVERVIEW
Disneyland California looks like a Disney park although it is lower key than the Magic Kingdom. There is a large sculpture of a mountain shaped like a bear that dominates the skyline of the park. The "Golden State" theme is symbolized by a large sun that can be seen by the entrance, on a large mural in Paradise Pier and on the large Ferris Wheel. The best part of the park is the broad pathways that prevent crowding. This park felt significantly less crowded than the Magic Kingdom next door.
THE ENTRANCE
The entrance area to this park is much smaller than other Disney parks. This is where you can rent strollers and shop. The shopping in this area has typical Disney store merchandise and is nothing special. There are better stores embedded in the park.
GOLDEN STATE
This area has two of the parks most popular rides.
Soarin Over California is a stationary "ride" designed to look like you are in a hang glider over California. After hearing all the hype about this ride, I was disappointed when I finally got on. You sit in a row of 10 people in a "hang glider." The hang glider lifts up so your feet can swing free. Then you watch an Omni Max movie of California. The "ride" provides some wind and some scents to compliment the breathtaking scenes but the ride does not move. If you are not in row 1, you can see the feet of the people above you (a major flaw in my opinion) which ruins the view a bit. The wait for this ride topped an hour so use fastpass.
Outside this ride is a aviation themed area. There was a music group performing in the plaza and a giant mister to cool off from the hot day. There is also a gift shop, restaurant and bathrooms.
Grizzly River Run is probably the most popular ride in the park. This is a water ride and you will get either wet or soaked. I noticed after the fact that there are lockers near the entrance to the ride for valuables. Otherwise, consider bringing a rain poncho, change of clothes or a bathing suit because it can be uncomfortable being wet for hours after the ride. I brought a leather purse and wish I had brought a plastic bag to put it in so it didn't get wet. The ride itself is an 8 person round "raft" that travels through rapids with a couple of steep drops. The theming of the ride is fantastic and you come up close to the bear mountain and ride in through boulders. Wind sound effects and mist make the ride feel even more authentic. We rode once during the day and once during the night. I though the night ride was more exciting. Riders must be over 42 inches to ride. We brought my 40 inch, almost 4 year old on the ride. No one questioned his height and he enjoyed the ride. There are some scary drops though and it may not be for every child.
The area around Grizzly River Run was the only congested part of the park. Disney created great vistas of the falls and a lot of people congregate to watch them and take pictures. If it wasn't so crowded, it would make a nice lunch picnic spot.
HOLLYWOOD PICTURES BACKLOT
This area is set off from the main part of the park and ends in a dead end. It is themed like just like the name, a hollywood studio back lot. There are some cute restaurants and decent stores and shops. This area is very similar to Disney's MGM studios in Florida.
Playhouse Disney Live On Stage is a must see for anyone with kids under 8. Both of my kids loved this show and it was as good or better than any other show we have seen for children. The 25 minute live show features Bear in the Big Blue House, Pooh, Stanley and Rollie Poly Ollie. The waiting line to the show had tv stations every few feet showing bits from the Playhouse Disney shows which kept my kids entertained while waiting. I highly recommend this show.
Muppet Vision 3D: This is a 3D movie featuring the old Muppet Show. My kids were familiar with Kermit because we have some old Sesame Street videos. We all enjoyed it but if you are not a muppet show fan, it could be missed. The Bug's Life 3D movie was better but scarier.
This area also had character viewings of Micky and other traditional Disney characters. Much better were the character viewings of the Disney Playhouse characters such as Stanley and Rollie Poly Ollie, which my kids loved. This may be the only place to see these characters.
There are a few other actvities here that we did not check out including the Hollywood Backlot stage and Who Wants to be a Millionaire show. As of August 2003 there was an almost complete Tower of Terror at the end of this area.
PARADISE PIER
I found this area to be the most disappointing experience of all Disney parks. This area is supposed to be themed like an old-fashioned amusement park and that is just what it looks like: an old, boring, uninspired collection of basic rides.
Ferris Wheel: You can see the ferris wheel from almost any part of the park. One third of the cars are traditional ferris wheel cars where you simply move around with the circle. The other 2/3 of the cars are on tracks that let the cars move back and forth as well as go around with the circle. We went in one of the moving cars. The ride was rather tame except for one quick motion across the track where the car swung quite a bit. The moving cars are probably too tame for thrill seekers and the one quick slide was too thrilling for small children and those who like tame rides. One word of warning: the line for this ride moves very, very slowly. The line looked very short and we waited almost an hour to get on this ride.
Golden Zephyr: This is a kid's ride scaled for adults. You sit in a large silver rocket ship and the ride spins around gently. There was only a 5 minute wait. The ride is very short.
Jumping Jellyfish: Another gentle ride. Two people sit in a seat under a colorful jellyfish and the ride brings you up and down.
Orange Stinger: This ride has swings. The swings are very narrow and, although I am not overweight, I found them narrow and confining. When the ride starts, you are lifted up and spun around. The ride tilts so you also get an up and down motion. It seems like it would be gentle ride but I got a little seasick. The ride takes place inside a giant orange. I had heard that the orange gives off an orange smell but didn't notice one during my turn.
This section also has two roller coasters, one that goes upside down and one that is smaller. There is a merry go round and the Maliboomer which brings you up and then lets you freefall for quite a distance.
A BUG'S LAND
This area has one of the best theming jobs I have ever seen. It is based on the Disney / Pixar movie "A Bug's Life." If you have small children, consider playing the movie before you go. All of the rides are for small children (although I saw a lot of adults on them). Even if you don't have small children, take a walk through to check it out.
A Bug's Life: This is a very clever 3D movie with tons of special effects. This movie is a lot more exciting, clever and scary than the Disney / Pixar movie it is based on and small children can get scared. If you see only one 3D movie, I suggest seeing this one over the Muppet 3D movie. However, the preschool set would like the Muppet movie better.
Heimlich's Chew Chew Train: A really tame, short and cute ride through an adorable setting. The trip through the cookie box smells like cookies. Adults will enjoy taking their kids on this one.
Tuck and Roll's Drive Em Buggies: These are bumper cars. You get 1 minute and 50 seconds of drive time (I timed it while bored waiting in line). My daughter spend over 1 minute tangled up with another child driver and didn't get to drive around much at all. She left in tears.
Francis' Lady Bug Boogie: An old-fashioned carnival ride that used to be called the Whip. The cars look like a grumpy ladybug head.
This area had a couple of other little kid rides. There is a very cute water play area with fountains and water splashes. Bring bathing suits for children and they will love playing here. There is a cute shop. The bathrooms are housed in a giant upside down tissue box. Since Caterpillar sponsors this area, the entrance features real stationary Caterpillar tractors that my kids enjoyed "driving."
PARKING
Parking for the California park and the Magic Kingdom are combined. We parked two times in the Timon lot and took the tram to Disney. Both times we ended up in the back of the lot and had to walk about 5 minutes to the tram stop. It wasn't a bad walk getting to the tram but it was a lot harder when we were tired at the end of the day and I was carrying a sleeping 40 pound child. There was no wait for the tram either coming or going and the tram ride was about 5 minutes.
MONORAIL
The monorail does not stop at Disney California although it does travel through part of the park. The monorail runs from Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom to Downtown Disney.
SPECIAL SHOWS AND PARADES
There was only one parade when we visited in August 2003. Disney dusted off its ancient electric light parade from its 1970s creation. The parade was short and dated. My kids did not recognize many characters in the parade and were disappointed after not seeing the characters that are popular now. Disneyland California does not have fireworks at the end of they day. If you want to see fireworks, you have to go next door to the Magic Kingdom.
EATING
We brought a fair amount of food in. Although our bags were inspected when we walked in, the guards did not question my ample supply of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, water bottles and juice boxes. I noticed a lot of other people had also brought in food. There are water bubblers around the park to refill water bottles for free.
We also got popcorn ($2.50 without the souvenier bucket), mickey ice cream ($3.50) at various vendors.
We ate lunch at the Storyteller's Cafe located in the hotel that can be accessed across from Grizzly Falls. The meal was expensive but similarly priced to the park restaurants. It was nice to take a break, sit in air conditioning, get table service and good food in this setting. The children's meals were $6.50. Be careful: children's drinks were $2.50 which can add up. Adult meals ranged from $8 sandwiches to $25 main courses. All of the food was good.
PRICE AND OPTIONS
We went to Disney as guests of Southern California residents who were able to take advantage of a promotional deal. We bought Magic Kingdom tickets and got the California tickets for free. Be sure to check for deals before buying tickets.
You can buy passes for either park or a park hopper pass that allows you to bounce back and forth. There are also deals that change now and then. If you are going to only spend a couple of days at these parks, consider that you can easily spend a day in Disney's California park and still not see and ride on everything. However, I would not miss a trip to the Magic Kingdom either. If you only have two days, consider getting a park hopper pass that allows you to bounce back and forth. However, you may also find it cheaper to buy a one day pass for each park. Price will depend on the deal at the time of your visit.
TIPS
Opening and closing hours vary a lot. Check before you go.
Keep your passes handy. You need them to get fast passes and to reenter the park.
Use the fast pass system often and early. The lines for two popular rides, Soarin' Over California and Grizzly River Run get long and they ran out of fast passes during the afternoon.
There are several opportunities to get wet. Consider bringing a change of clothes or bathing suits for kids.
Water bottles cost $2.50 in the park. Bring your own and refill at the water bubblers for free.
Wear comfortable shoes. You will walk miles.
Bring sunscreen. Many areas are not shaded.
DISNEY CALIFORNIA COMPARED TO THE MAGIC KINGDOM NEXT DOOR
Disney California is right next to Disney's other California theme park: the Magic Kingdom. We saw both. Of course, the Magic Kingdom has all of the favorites: Splash Mountain, the Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan's ride, Winnie the Pooh and most other rides adults and children are familiar with. If I had only one day to see either park, I think I would go to the Magic Kingdom because there were many more rides and much more to see. However, the Magic Kingdom was also much more crowded and the lines were much longer. Splash mountain had a two hour wait and all fast passes were gone by early afternoon. Space Mountain is closed until 2005. On the plus side, the Magic Kingdom also has fireworks and more parades. If I had to break it up, I would spend two days in the Magic Kingdom and one day in California.
FINAL RECOMMENDATION
Disney California is different and more low key than other Disney theme parks. It was more relaxing because it was less crowded and it wasn't as over-stimulating to the kids because there was less going on. We really liked Grizzly River Run and the Disney Playhouse theming, shows and characters. We really enjoyed our day at Disney California and I recommend it as well-worth a day trip.
MY REVIEWS OF THE DISNEY THEME PARKS IN CALIFORNIA
Disneyland
MY REVIEW OF THEME PARK HOTELS IN CALIFORNIA
Disney’s Grand Californian
Marriott Suites Anaheim
Residence Inn Anaheim
MY REVIEW OF THEME PARK RESTAURANTS
Storyteller’s Cafe
Blue Bayou
Wine Country Trattoria
Goofy’s Kitchen
MY REVIEWS OF INDIVIDUAL RIDES AND ATTRACTIONS IN DISNEY’S CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE
Soarin’ Over California
Grizzly River Run
The Sun Wheel
Orange Stinger
Mulholland Madness
Jumpin’ Jellyfish
Playhouse Disney Live on Stage
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Monster’s Inc. Mike & Sully to the Rescue
Jim Henson’s Muppet Vision 3D
It’s Tough to be a Bug 3D
Princess Dot Puddle Park
Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train
Tuck and Roll’s Drive ‘Em Buggies
Flik’s Flyers
Francis’ Ladybug Boogie
Misson Tortilla Factory Tour
Boudin Bakery Factory Tour
MY REVIEWS OF INDIVIDUAL RIDES AND ATTRACTIONS IN DISNEYLAND
Pirates of the Caribbean
Indiana Jones Adventure
Storybook Land Canal Boats
Snow White’s Scary Adventures
Pinocchio’s Daring Journey
Peter Pan’s Flight
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
Alice in Wonderland
Matterhorn Bobsleds
It’s a Small World
Tarzan’s Tree House
Aladdin’s Oasis
Splash Mountain
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Autotopia
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience 3D
Astro Orbitor
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
MY REVIEWS OF OTHER THINGS TO SEE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Legoland
SeaWorld San Diego
Birch Aquarium at Scripps
The San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Wild Animal Park
Balboa Park
Cabrillo National Monument
San Diego’s Old Town
The Museum of Making Music
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
Recommended:
Yes
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