Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park
My family and I traveled to Anaheim, CA over my daughter’s Spring Break this year and decided to go to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park. We stayed at a local hotel near the entrance to Disneyland (see that review here). Disneyland is not cheap and will charge for children 3 and up. Our tickets for a one day visit at each (Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park) came to $794.
It is best that you arrive early as lines will easily form at 7 a.m. The park itself opens at 8 a.m. but the gates will allow entry as early at 7:30 a.m. We arrived and went through security, they have metal detectors you must go through before you arrive at the entry gates. We went through security, entered the park at 7:30 a.m. and went towards the Frontierland area. Before 8 a.m., the entry to each section of the park, Adventureland, Frontierland, etc. are roped off with staff preventing entry.
Once the ropes are removed there is a mad dash, adults included, to get to the first ride of choice. My daughter and I went to Splash Mountain first and there was basically no wait. One thing to note is that you can get what is called a Fast Pass for each ride once a wait develops. You are allowed to get one Fast Pass per ticket for a ride but you cannot load up on Fast Passes as there is a time imposed restricting your ability to get multiple Fast Passes.
In my opinion it is best to go to your favorite ride right at the opening, then run to your next favorite and they get Fast Passes for the rest because at about 8:30 a.m., when it is busy there will be waits as long as 45 minutes plus for the more popular rides. I would recommend for small children you venture far into the park to Toon Town as they have a number of rides for them with normally manageable wait times.
Disney is a very profitable corporation and it shows in their elaborate rides and attention to detail but that translates to the aforementioned high ticket prices and very expensive refreshments within the park itself, we paid $3.50 for a bottle of water. Now you are allowed to bring in your own water, etc. but check with the park on specifics. Many people had backpacks (which were checked upon entry) filled with food, etc.
Disneyland, during peak times (Summer, Spring Break, etc.) is very crowded. It was extremely difficult to get around with three small kids (two of which were in a double stroller), so be prepared for crowds and long lines. To me this is just a once in an every few years kind of trip due to the crowds.With the seemingly miles of walking we did, I actually sprained a tendon in my foot so be ready for a lot of walking.
We rode Splash Mountain, Hyperspace Mountain, Indiana Jones (twice, very fun but not for the smaller kiddos), Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean and several small rides in Toon Town for the kids. Additionally near the end of the night I took my 2 year old and 10 year old on Pinocchio’s Adventure Ride and Snow White’s Scary Adventure and the Carousel by the Princess Castle. I would be careful about which rides you select for your smaller children as even though they may seem innocuous, some are actually quite frightening to small kids, for example Snow White’s Scary Adventure. The witch is the main focus and is very in-your-face during the ride, my 2 year old hated it.
My 10 year old and I also went to the Enchanted Tiki Room but once the “show” started and we realized it was just a bunch of electronic birds singing we decided to head back out into the park. Apparently they do a dinner show, but again, it is just robotic singing birds.
One thing to note was that while were there many rides would close down for no apparent reason with no explanation, Indiana Jones, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain and more. I don’t know if it was maintenance related or a way to get crowds moving to other attractions, but it was a bit annoying. Additionally, Matterhorn, the Sailing Ship and many other attractions were “temporarily closed.”
The end of our first day we attended the Main Street Electrical Parade. The parade started with Goofy driving a train carrying Minnie and Mickey followed by numerous other characters either walking or riding various vehicles, including Pete’s Dragon, the carriage from Cinderella and more. It was entertaining and apparently Disney will be removing the nightly parade from its rotation indefinitely, so you should see it before it is gone.
While Disneyland is a favorite of many, I found the crowds, the price of the admission and price of food to be extremely disappointing and I will try and not be back (unless the kids make me go) anytime soon.
The second day of our trip we attended Disney California Adventure Park. While the theme is Disney, it is more focused on recent movies and characters (Cars, Toy Story, etc.). We rode the California Screamin’ Rollercoaster and enjoyed it quite a bit, but remember to get Fast Passes when you are able because the popular rides will have lines over an hour long. We also road the Grizzly River Run, Golden Zephyr, Ariel’s Underwater Adventure, Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train, Toy Story Midway Mania and Soarin’ Around the World. The line for the Toy Story Midway Mania was quite long and we were able to get Fast Passes. I would not recommend standing in line for this one, although interesting with its interactive 3-D target practice, there really isn’t anything more to it as you are basically rolling along playing an arcade shooting game.
By far the best ride at the park, in my humble opinion, is Soarin’ Around the World. You and several others are in one row seated in a pull down safety seat with your legs dangling then lifted up right in front of a huge screen. You are then swept away all across the world to view polar bears in the arctic, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, African lands filled with elephants and other wildlife, to Fiji and other places before coming back to fly over Disneyland itself while fireworks pop, but what makes this experience great is that all the while you are bumping up and down with the wind blowing on you and in a special twist you actually smell certain odors (dirt and grass in Africa, ocean breezes in Fiji, etc.). I’ve heard there are a couple of videos shown, one with you flying over oranges with fresh orange smells hitting you but we didn’t see that one. Regardless, this is a must see at Disney California Adventure.
Across the park are various towns and areas, Radiator Springs, a Boardwalk with a humongous Ferris Wheel that has some cars that move around rather than stay stationary adding to the excitement (after a 40 minute wait).
What I found to be unremarkable was the food, we ate at Flo’s V-8 Café and the selection wasn’t that great with less than stellar preparation. I had Roast Beef with Chees and my wife had Baked Chicken which was way over seasoned with lemon and just unappealing. The kids menu is very limited, don’t expect chicken nuggets and fries here.
What was absolutely unbelievable was the landscape at Radiator Springs, it really looks like you are within miles of a desert with hanging stone monuments, I was blown away at the reality of it all. My 10 year old didn’t believe it was man-made.
Overall: Disney California Adventure Park was less crowded and easier to navigate in my opinion, but I guess that is because everyone goes to the main park, Disneyland. If you are able I would definitely recommend visiting both parks, but I personally enjoyed California Adventure Park much more.
Pros: lots of fun for the kids, Disney and Star Wars and Indiana Jones and Cars and Toy Story and much more all combined in a couple of parks. Fireworks every night.
Cons: very expensive price of entry and food, lots of walking, crowded, long lines for rides, temporarily closed rides, other rides closing for no reason for indefinite periods of time.
Check out our video of both parks here.