Disney Part Dos: California Adventures.

(Justin’s Recap)

After an adventurous day at Disneyland we headed over to the right side of the Disney area (the parks split and Disneyland is to the left and California Adventures to the right). For those who have been to Disneyworld it is comparable to Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM Studios). We talked to a very sweet older lady in the shop by the entrance who gave us some tips. We took her up on her advice and went and grabbed some Fast Passes for Soarin’ and then headed over to catch a stage musical of Aladdin. As you can see below, it was fantastic!

We then headed over for some Lunch. We got some Chinese food and Jennifer’s was ok, but mine was unfortunately quite disgusting. To get that taste out of our mouth we headed back over to Soarin’, which is a really fun ride that gives you the simulation of flying over various parts of California. The intro video even has one of our favorite Seinfeld characters, David Putty (played by Patrick Warburton).

Waiting in line for "Soarin".

"David Putty". Hilarious.

Then we headed to back of the park, which is set up more like a traditional theme park, complete with the boardwalk and midway games. We rode an amazing Toy Story ride that whips you around to play various shooting games. I destroyed Jennifer by around 50,000 points. :)  That was probably our favorite ride of the weekend, but it also gave a bit of a hand cramp from going crazy trying to shoot everything in sight.

I win. Of course.

After that we headed over to the park’s roller coaster. This is one of those coasters that stops and then launches the riders very quickly. Jennifer didn’t know that and was quite scared at first, but we both thought it was a very fun coaster. We then walked over to the Ferris Wheel. This Ferris Wheel is very different, as some of the gondolas are on these bands so that they slide as the wheel moves around. We shared the gondola with another family and we were all quite terrified of the ride.

Notice how the gondolas move around the bands...terrifying.

We also rode a few “kiddy” rides because we are both kids inside. We finished up the day with my obligatory viewing of the Muppets 3D show. Most people who know me know I have quite an affinity for the Muppets, and so not seeing this show was not an option even though we’ve seen it several times in Disneyworld.

Awkward picture from "A Bug's Life" show.

Ropes course. Jennifer was terrified.

We enjoyed the park a lot and then headed to Downtown Disney for dinner at a New Orleans style cafe. The food was ok, but the atmosphere around Downtown Disney was really fun. One guy was playing the blues and he could play a mean guitar so we watched him for a few minutes before heading back home. We were both exhausted and even though Disneyland isn’t as great as Disneyland, a weekend in Disney is always a great time for those who want to still feel like they are kids (or believe that they still are).

Downtown Disney

Awesome guitar player.

– Justin

Disneyland: Day 1.

A couple weekends ago we got to go to Disneyland. We were thrilled, excited, BEYOND happy to get to go. We went do Disneyworld for our one year anniversary a couple years ago and it was seriously the best trip we had ever been on. There is something magical about Disney…cheesy I know, but true. They do such a good job of making you feel like you’re in a special place. A place where diets go out the window, you don’t mind waiting in long lines that you would normally despise, and above all you can really feel like a kid again.

In Disneyland, there are two main parks: Disneyland Park and California Adventures. The first is basically exactly the same as Magic Kingdom, and the latter is similar to Hollywood Studios, with Epcot’s “Soarin” ride thrown in the mix. We decided to go to Disneyland Park for our first day.

When you first walk in the park, it seems really similar to Magic Kingdom…and then you see it. “Cinderella’s Castle”. Bummer with a capital “B”. The castle is really tiny! We had been forewarned, however, so we weren’t too surprised. The rest of the park has almost all of the same rides as Disneyworld. It reminded us of Disneyworld’s kid sister :). We had a blast riding “Pirates of the Carribean”, the “Buzz Lightyear” ride, the teacups, “Space Mountain”, and all the other fun rides they had!.We seriously walked the park about 10 times over by the time we left!

Thunder Mountain Railroad

Random Michael Jackson 3D movie.

"It's a Small World" ride.

My favorite and Justin's least favorite: the teacups!

Tomorrowland

Buzz Lightyear ride.

Justin’s favorite part of the day was by far “Space Mountain”, and not just because it’s a fun ride. I have this funny thing I do where I make little noises when I ride roller coasters. Not really screams…more like yelps. This rollercoaster had several little bumps along the way that had me yelping/yelling like crazy. Justin was laughing so hard he could barely breathe by the time we got off! The picture Disney took says it all…

My favorite part of the day was definitely the fireworks show at the end of the night. I adore fireworks. There is something so romantic about them. They did a wonderful job closing the night with a fun mix of movie clips, dancing, and fireworks. Perfect end to a wonderful day!

While we did have a great time, our honest opinion of the Disneyland Park is that it’s not a destination vacation. If you live in the area or will be in the area, it’s worth a stop. We were only at Disney for two days and felt like we saw everything there was to see. Definitely not a place to vacation for a week. We also noticed that the service and quality of the park were very different than Disneyworld. We felt like we were visiting a Six Flags more so than a Disney park. For us, there was no comparison to Disneyworld. We know it came later, but Disneyworld will always be the real thing to us :).