My wife and I were planning a trip west for years because we have family in Riverside that we rarely get to see. With that trip of course we had to visit Disneyland and California Adventure but we only had planned one day to visit which was ok but then we ended up with two days so we hopped around a lot but didn't really stress about doing everything besides the major things I needed to see. I purposely did very little research and only looked up what would be closed and it was pretty much tom Sawyer island so I didn't get to see that at all. Railroad was down as well Not sure how theirs differs other than the obvious.
Parking was interesting where you have giant ramps then you wait for security before boarding trams to downtown Disney.
I had heard about the size of Disneyland being very small but my first impression was more of a feeling of attractions being closer together than the park being smaller. At no point did I feel like Disneyland was much smaller than the magic kingdom. We were with my wife's aunt who has a pretty bad foot injury so we did have the guest assistance card and that helped with the lines. Some I opted to wait so I could see the queues that I heard were good, Indy was the one I really wanted to see..
The very first thing I had to do was pirates because it is my favorite Disney attraction and I kept hear in how much better theirs is. Well I was expecting better but I was not expecting it to be that much more it was. The extra scenes make so much more of a complete ride and I will never look at pirates the same way again. Funny enough we got a text about an hour after riding it that jonny depp was on the ride... We were bummed that we missed that but I still enjoyed it thoroughly.
Then I had to ride Indiana Jones... I always heard its the same as dinosaur... Yes it is the same ride vehicle but wow is it amazing. The sets are pretty breathtaking and there is a ton to take in. I wish I could have ridden it more times.
Haunted mansion was just ok for me. Yes they have them had box ghost but in person... Its odd. The proportions of the ghost are really different than all the other AAs and it just looks "off". The effect wasn't as cool as people made it out to be and frankly I like the flow of the MK haunted mansion much better.
Jungle cruise was jungle cruise but shorter. It was what it was.
We had a quick snack at Bengal bbq... That was a great stand, I wish MK had the same one. All the food is pretty much on a skewer with a sauce that is different for each one. We tried the mixed vegetables, the spicy beef, chicken, pork belly, and asparagus wrapped with bacon. Super good food and a perfect quick snack
I didn't realize the dark rides they still had and we rode them all... Can't really compare them to MK because i don't remember me toad from before it closed, but it was neat. Pinocchio, snow white, and peter pan were all good and what I expected/remembered from the ones that were st MK.
They have a small walkthrough retelling of the story of sleeping beauty that is inside the castle... MK needs something like that, it is sillier simple but really fun. My wife got a big kick that the castle actually had fun things in it.
I didn't expect to enjoy Alice in wonderland as much as i did! By the time we got to that my wife's younger cousin showed up to join us so I felt more secure about riding the kiddie rides having a youngin in the vehicle.
Roger rabbit... Well I forgot that existed! The queue was fun, the ride was fun! Such a neat reminder of my childhood.
Nemo subs were super cool.. I'm so glad there is a small taste of 20k that still exists even if it is an IP that I'm tired of. That ride system is super fun even though its obviously fake, but don't tell the kids that were next to me. They rode just as excitedly it exactly as I did when I was little.
Matterhorn was down multiple times and I unfortunately couldn't ride it... Huge bummer. I hear its torturous for taller people anyway so maybe I didn't miss much.
Trader sams, had a shipwreck, enjoyed it!
We had dinner at Cafe orleans, had a Monte cristo, loved it, would try again!!!
Small world... Ugh.. It was what it was. There were Disney characters introduced recently and I guess people didn't like it.. For me it was interesting. Not much more to say about it.
We rode hyper space mountain later in the day and I am so glad I got the opportunity while it still had the star wars changes. It was so fun, I was laughing and geeking out the whole time. I wish we had the same star wars treatment as it is really fun, especially the tie fighter effect. The side by side rockets are nice too, I like that much more than the single file ones. It felt a lot faster than MK, not sure if it was just because the star wars effects or it actually was faster.
We went to California adventure later but we only rode toy story, soarin, and radiator springs racers due to time constraints.. I cannot say enough about RSR other than it is every bit as good as people say. It is pure joy and is exactly what every Disney ride should be. Cars land is breathtaking and the theming is top notch. It makes me sad that new fantasy land wasn't as nice to look at.
I really enjoyed myself and wish I had more time but i wouldn't trade it for the world. There were so many attractions all in one place I would definitely had a pass if I was a local.
Sorry the structure of this report is terrible. Just typing on my phone just to get my thoughts out while they are still sort of fresh.
Parking was interesting where you have giant ramps then you wait for security before boarding trams to downtown Disney.
I had heard about the size of Disneyland being very small but my first impression was more of a feeling of attractions being closer together than the park being smaller. At no point did I feel like Disneyland was much smaller than the magic kingdom. We were with my wife's aunt who has a pretty bad foot injury so we did have the guest assistance card and that helped with the lines. Some I opted to wait so I could see the queues that I heard were good, Indy was the one I really wanted to see..
The very first thing I had to do was pirates because it is my favorite Disney attraction and I kept hear in how much better theirs is. Well I was expecting better but I was not expecting it to be that much more it was. The extra scenes make so much more of a complete ride and I will never look at pirates the same way again. Funny enough we got a text about an hour after riding it that jonny depp was on the ride... We were bummed that we missed that but I still enjoyed it thoroughly.
Then I had to ride Indiana Jones... I always heard its the same as dinosaur... Yes it is the same ride vehicle but wow is it amazing. The sets are pretty breathtaking and there is a ton to take in. I wish I could have ridden it more times.
Haunted mansion was just ok for me. Yes they have them had box ghost but in person... Its odd. The proportions of the ghost are really different than all the other AAs and it just looks "off". The effect wasn't as cool as people made it out to be and frankly I like the flow of the MK haunted mansion much better.
Jungle cruise was jungle cruise but shorter. It was what it was.
We had a quick snack at Bengal bbq... That was a great stand, I wish MK had the same one. All the food is pretty much on a skewer with a sauce that is different for each one. We tried the mixed vegetables, the spicy beef, chicken, pork belly, and asparagus wrapped with bacon. Super good food and a perfect quick snack
I didn't realize the dark rides they still had and we rode them all... Can't really compare them to MK because i don't remember me toad from before it closed, but it was neat. Pinocchio, snow white, and peter pan were all good and what I expected/remembered from the ones that were st MK.
They have a small walkthrough retelling of the story of sleeping beauty that is inside the castle... MK needs something like that, it is sillier simple but really fun. My wife got a big kick that the castle actually had fun things in it.
I didn't expect to enjoy Alice in wonderland as much as i did! By the time we got to that my wife's younger cousin showed up to join us so I felt more secure about riding the kiddie rides having a youngin in the vehicle.
Roger rabbit... Well I forgot that existed! The queue was fun, the ride was fun! Such a neat reminder of my childhood.
Nemo subs were super cool.. I'm so glad there is a small taste of 20k that still exists even if it is an IP that I'm tired of. That ride system is super fun even though its obviously fake, but don't tell the kids that were next to me. They rode just as excitedly it exactly as I did when I was little.
Matterhorn was down multiple times and I unfortunately couldn't ride it... Huge bummer. I hear its torturous for taller people anyway so maybe I didn't miss much.
Trader sams, had a shipwreck, enjoyed it!
We had dinner at Cafe orleans, had a Monte cristo, loved it, would try again!!!
Small world... Ugh.. It was what it was. There were Disney characters introduced recently and I guess people didn't like it.. For me it was interesting. Not much more to say about it.
We rode hyper space mountain later in the day and I am so glad I got the opportunity while it still had the star wars changes. It was so fun, I was laughing and geeking out the whole time. I wish we had the same star wars treatment as it is really fun, especially the tie fighter effect. The side by side rockets are nice too, I like that much more than the single file ones. It felt a lot faster than MK, not sure if it was just because the star wars effects or it actually was faster.
We went to California adventure later but we only rode toy story, soarin, and radiator springs racers due to time constraints.. I cannot say enough about RSR other than it is every bit as good as people say. It is pure joy and is exactly what every Disney ride should be. Cars land is breathtaking and the theming is top notch. It makes me sad that new fantasy land wasn't as nice to look at.
I really enjoyed myself and wish I had more time but i wouldn't trade it for the world. There were so many attractions all in one place I would definitely had a pass if I was a local.
Sorry the structure of this report is terrible. Just typing on my phone just to get my thoughts out while they are still sort of fresh.
