California Adventure - Grizzly Peak

We took family trips to Disneyland three times during my childhood. These were always long road trips, and we would arrive late in the morning of the third day. I would keep my eyes peeled for the first signs of the three mountains of Disneyland: Space Mountain, the Matterhorn, and Thunder Mountain.

It's harder to spot Thunder Mountain now, because Splash Mountain is so much taller, but California Adventure has its own high points. Obviously Mickey's Fun Wheel stands out, and the Tower of Terror, but there is a mountain too, and that is Grizzly Peak.

Grizzly River Run: This is river rapids ride. Splash Mountain and the log ride at Knott's Berry Farm have some similarities.but they are more flume rides: your conveyance is a log and you are on a narrower track. Here you are seated facing inward in a circle, and the route is wider and deeper, but perhaps that is not as important as the openings in your raft. What I am getting at here is that you are going to get very wet.

Sometimes on Splash Mountain you don't get very wet, depending on where you are sitting and how you hit various corners. On Grizzly River Run, you are going to get soaked. There's just no way around this. A poncho could probably help, but that only covers part of your body, and there will be water everywhere. This is why I cannot get my sisters to ride it.

I have actually only ridden it once, because it was closed last time. I say go for it, and getting wet is part of the fun, but plan ahead. Know which day you are going to ride it and don't wear jeans, or particularly thin t-shirts. Think about chafing, and exhibitionism, and also squelching. Yes, think about your shoes. The park always involves a lot of walking and time on your feet, so you would not want to wear flip flops for the entire day, but changing into a pair of flip flops when getting on here is probably a good idea.

Redwood Creek Challenge Trail: Personally, I think we could have gotten to Anaheim faster than we did, but we always stopped in Redding on the first night to see cousins, and sometimes we visited them without Disneyland being involved, which often involved day trips to other points of interest. That is why it was so funny to suddenly find ourselves at the Mount Lassen Lookout in the middle of California Adventure. We have some stories.

This trail is probably the best spot for wearing out children in California Adventure. Dot's Puddle Park is good for cooling them down, but here there are trails and things to climb, slides, zip lines, searches, and even an opportunity to earn Wilderness Explorer badges, based on the movie Up. There is also some Native American lore, somewhat inspired by Brother Bear.

I can appreciate the value of the setup, and I really appreciated getting to have my picture taken with Doug from Up, because I love him, but as childless people, we generally don't spend much time here. We went this time because Julie had read that there was a statue of Humphrey the Bear in there.

You may remember him from various Disney cartoons, set in a park somewhat similar to Yellowstone, with a park ranger who was often exasperated by the always hungry bears. (Humphrey may have inspired Yogi, but he is much less verbal.)

Anyway, there was no statue. There is one of Kenai and Koda at the entrance to the trail, and Humphrey himself is on a totem pole in the Wilderness Lodge at DisneyWorld. However, our search was not completely in vain, because the fire warning signs were all Humphrey and the ranger. The glare was kind of bad though, so to get more of them, and a really catchy song, check out this classic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ol28kPTqa4

California Adventure - Paradise Pier

My photography issue here is that I take a disproportionate number of night shots. It does look good in the day, but lit up at night it is so magical!

Paradise Pier is modeled after an old California boardwalk, and as such has the most rides of any land in California Adventure by far. Even so, it has had a far amount of change, as there initially was not enough of a Disney imprint. I will try and track that as I go through the rides. It was good before, and most of the changes have been great.

California Screaming: This is a super long roller coaster, which is good because it goes so fast it wouldn’t be much of a ride if it was shorter. It's also a very smooth ride. The structure goes along almost the entire pier, so is a big part of the look. There is one upside down loop. 

Mickey’s Fun Wheel: This giant Ferris wheel works in sync with California Screaming to create the skyline for the pier. You can choose between sliding and non-sliding cars. The non-sliding cars go higher, but it is all pretty high, and you get a great view of the park. Initially the sun wheel, with a picture of the sun, Mickey's face now greets you, and is the focal point you want to have in sight when picking your spots for the World of Color.

King Triton’s Carousel: This is a standard merry-go-round with a sea life theme, but riding whales, otters, fish, and seahorses is pretty cool. Also, this is the one ride that was solidly grounded in Disney movies from the very beginning. While in general California Adventure is tied more to Pixar, the exception is The Little Mermaid (more on that later), which is tied to Paradise Pier. 

Golden Zephyr: You sit in a rocket ship shaped car and are swung around in a circle. That’s milder than it sounds; I love the flying feeling that you get. This one has not changed, and it is perfect as it is.

Jumping Jellyfish: There was one ride that was removed completely: the Maliboomer. It was a take-off on the midway attraction where you swing the mallet to ring the bell, where in your seat you shoot up to the top, like the part that rings the bell. It was fine, but didn't really add anything.

This is very similar. You sit in seats and ride up and down a few times, and it is very mild. I do thing there are two ways in which it is valuable, that has caused it to last. One is that the decor is kind of pretty, and it is reminiscent of jellyfish and sea life. The other part is that it is really safe and accessible for children. The get high enough to get a thrill (and a view) without getting shaken up or being in danger. For that I think it will always maintain some popularity.

Goofy’s Sky School: This is a wild mouse roller coaster. I only learned that term recently, but it reminds me of the old Mouse Trap at Oaks Park, and knowing that this specific type of coaster goes by that name, it all fell into place. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_mouse_roller_coaster

It was originally Mulholland Madness, based on Mulholland Drive. The rebranding put in some nods to an old Goofy cartoon, where he was trying to fly a glider. The changes are mainly in the manner of sounds and decor, but the actual rides did not change. The dips and turns are pretty thrilling. 

They way the seats are shaped, there isn’t a lot of leg room, so taller or larger people can ride but may not be very comfortable.

Silly Symphony Swings: And learning about wild mouse coasters made me realize I could probably find the proper name for this type of attraction, which is "wave swinger". I really like wave swingers. You sit in individual swings and are swung around. 

Originally it was the Orange Stinger, with sort of a spiral orange peel enclosing it, and a bee on top. This was a nod to both California history and Disneyland history, and the orange groves that came before. Now it references the cartoon, "The Band Concert", even using the same music, The William Tell Overture. It works.

Toy Story Mania: This was not part of the original boardwalk, but is an inspired addition. The shooting game gives you 3-D glasses where ride to different shooting challenges. You do get a score at the end, for both points and accuracy. It’s really fun, with less moving around but more interesting targets than the Buzz Lightyear ride in Tomorrowland. I guess Toy Story rides just want you to shoot things.

Ariel's Undersea Adventure: Back to that Little Mermaid bit. The building housing this ride was originally the theater for a movie about the history of California, Golden Dreams, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. At Halloween it would switch to Golden Screams, which we never got to see. Interesting, but not generating the interest of a ride.

Now you ride through scenes from The Little Mermaid. It is the style of ride found more in Fantasyland, but it works here, and with more space, so the central area where they do the "Under the Sea" number is kind of amazing, and really cute. 

Games of the Boardwalk: Originally these were ordinary boardwalk style games, pitching softballs into milk cans for a giant cow, knocking over dolls, and skee ball. There are just four games now, all more Disney than before, and we still try them all even though we are not very good at games.

Goofy About Fishin' - This is a fishing pond, that works the same as the old version, but now the big prize is a Mickey in fishing gear, and, of course, it is Goofy fishing, not just fishing. We occasionally do okay here because it is just chance.

Casey at the Bat: Getting three balls through the small hole will win you a giant Casey or a hot dog, but no matter how many times we try, we are probably never going to get this one.

Dumbo Bucket Brigade: This is the cutest of the games. You squirt water to move the clown up the ladder to rescue Dumbo, based on that scene in the movie. The size of the prize depends on the number of players. We have won a few small games, getting a Timothy Mouse, but have never won a big game for a Dumbo.

Bullseye Stallion Stampede: This is a game where you roll wooden balls into different holes to move a horse across a board, and the first one across wins. We did surprisingly well here, winning several small and large horses. Sometimes you just get lucky.

There are several dining options as well. We did eat at Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta once, and it was reasonably priced and pretty good, but the Corn Dog Castle was great. Perhaps our expectations were low, but those were really good corn dogs.

One thing that is nice in general is that the type of options you have available seem like food you would eat on a boardwalk, so it adds to the atmosphere, where that's getting the corn dog, or some ice cream, and it was at Paradise Pier where I got my turkey leg, and ate it watching a water show. (The water jets and sound system they use for the World of Color are used during the day for smaller scale shows, Instant Concert - just add water.)

A friend was recently at Ariel's Grotto, and she did find that one more expensive, and less of a value in terms of food, but she said that is one you go to for the atmosphere, because you can find princesses there, and it is an experience, not just food. Also, she saw Adam Sandler there, though you can't count on that.

But seriously, try the corn dogs.

California Adventure: Pacific Wharf

I have to apologize for the lack of good pictures. I knew I wanted to review Disneyland, but I had not decided to do a post for each land until I started writing. Also, I knew I had taken lots of pictures on multiple trips, so I took less pictures this time. Now I am finding that there are plenty of shots that I could have easily gotten and just didn't.

There are plenty of good pictures out there anyway, and I hope everyone will get to see it all themselves, but I feel the lack in my reviews when I remember how amazing the design is. The Pacific Wharf are.

There are really two areas here, because in addition to the Pacific Wharf, you also have some homage to Wine Country. Actually, it also seems to bleed into Grizzly Peak a little. The Blue Sky Cellar is listed on the web site as being in Grizzly Peak, but it is in the Golden Vine Winery, whose three restaurants are all listed as being in Pacific Wharf.

That may make sense. These areas are left over from when the park was more about celebrating California in an educational/historical/cultural way, when it was still finding it's footing. They don't  have the same kind of anchoring you would have with rides, and there is not much in the way of attractions, but the look is amazing, and a lot of your food options are here.

Obviously one of the attractions is the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar. I expressed my love for this one in other posts, but seriously, you have to go. Look at the sketches and models, and watch the video. Yes, it will almost certainly be for something that is not open yet, meaning you will need to go back, but there is nothing wrong with that. It really broadens my appreciation of the magic to listen to the people who make it.

The Bakery Tour: There also used to be a tortilla factory tour and a winery tour. I think they were less popular. One issue may be that the video here, with Rosie O'Donnell and Colin Mochrie, is more entertaining than the others were, but also the bread bowls that are being made here are constantly being used. They get used in the Pacific Wharf Cafe, and the bread bowls used in the Magic Kingdom probably come from here too, so even if no one took the tour, the process would still be needed. Also, while the company that made the tortillas had a local history as well, it did not have the name recognition of Boudin Bakery. The tortillas were good, back in the day, but we never did the winery tour.

The cafe is right next to the Bakery tour, but you have an eating area that is adjacent to two other restaurants, The Lucky Fortune Cookery, which makes rice bowls, and Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill, with Mexican food. Therefore, this area is the most similar in concept to a food court, and you can easily have members of your party choose the food they like, and then all eat together.

I have had a rice bowl and it was fine. It didn't become a favorite, where we always need to go back, but it is nice having variety available. We do always have a bread bowl, but we prefer getting those in New Orleans Square in the Magic Kingdom. There's no logic to it; it's just kind of traditional. You have the same choice of clam chowder, corn chowder, and gumbo in both, but the clam chowder is the best. One advantage with the Wharf location is that you can buy fancy bread loaves in shapes like Mickey's head.

One other thing about California Adventure is that it seems to be easier to get alcohol. It's not something we think about a lot, but it is more prominent. Therefore, in this "food court" type area you also have Rita's Baja Blenders, and you can get wine at any of the restaurants associated with the Golden Vine Winery. These include the Wine Country Trattoria, Mendocino Terrace, and Al Fresco Lounge.

My brother and his wife really liked the Trattoria, saying that it was really good food. We have intended to try it, but have not made it yet. We picked up our picnic dinners with our World of Color tickets at the Al Fresco Lounge, but I don't know if those are there regular menu items, or special for the picnic bags. I will say that the buildings are gorgeous. No surprise there.

Ghiradelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop: This is very much like visiting Ghiradelli Square in San Francisco, except people are friendlier. It is really fun to look around in, so it is almost as much an attraction as a place to get treats.

California Adventure: Cars Land

 

 

One thing that is clear is that I did not take enough pictures, because the look of Cars Land is amazing. I did not appreciate it enough, because I had not seen the movie. I thought it looked cool, but about a week after we got back they had Cars on television, and just from seeing a few minutes, wow! They did a great job.

There are only three rides, but they are all pretty good.

Mater's Junkyard Jamboree: This is almost another teacup ride, but with a twist. The part that goes around is a little tractor, but you ride in an attached trailer which is on wheels. So, the tractor is spinning, and you are kind of following it but are also swinging side to side, kind of like skaters playing crack the whip. It was really fun.

Luigi's Flying Tires: This is apparently similar to a flying saucer ride they had in Tomorrowland back in the 60's. You sit in the middle, but the outer ring inflates after everyone is seated. There is some delicacy to this mechanism, so they keep reminding you not to step on the outer part of the tire. Once you are inflated, you control your movements by leaning side to side. You do bump into other tires, but because your movement is sideways, there's a different feel to it than bumper cars. Also,  you may have in mind to go to one spot, but other tires can get in your way.

I decided a good goal would be to circle the entire lot once, and was able to do so with a few detours.

Radiator Springs Racers: I know I may overuse the word "amazing" sometimes, but seriously, this ride is really cool. It also has pretty long lines, so you may want to consider Fast Passes or separating into Single Riders. We just did the regular line, and it was actually one of the few where you sit in groups of three instead of two, so we were actually sitting together.

You start out with two cars cruising along together, taking a leisurely ride through Ornament Valley and Radiator Springs. That's one good ride on its own, but suddenly you are sneaking up on sleeping tractors, and racing to get out of trouble in the field. You do encounter a police car here. Without getting into too much trouble, the two cars split up and  you make your way through a car shop where you are painted and primed for your big race, and the second ride begins.

Now you start going fast, and you are racing the car that was your companion. I wouldn't say it gets up to a roller coaster type road, but where so many rides are either calmly looking at scenes from movies or getting more into the thrills of fast motion, this one gives you both. I applaud the ambition and the execution.

We got snacks from Fillmore's Taste-In, which had healthier snacks like fruit cups and hummus cups. (This is where I had my pickle.) Flo's V-8 Cafe looked promising, but was really crowded. We were there Thursday afternoon, when the President's Day traffic was starting to increase. You could also get snacks like churros and popcorn at the Cozy Cone Motel. Even if you do not get food there, you need to see them. It is like stepping into the movie.

It's a good little land.

California Adventure: A Bug's Land

 

While there are some elements of both studios in both parks, California Adventure is somewhat more Pixar, with the Magic Kingdom being somewhat more Disney non-Pixar films. One thing that California has done amazingly well is take you into two different films, with A Bug's Land and Cars Land. They are right next to each other, and we will cover Cars Land next week.

As you enter the land, plants and flowers tower above you, and light is provided by fireflies. You are now a bug.

The ingenuity of this is best reflected with our favorite ride, Flik’s Flyers, built like a ride for ants. So, it is made out of a whipped topping tub, a pie plate, some sticks and walnuts, and the cars that you ride in are Chinese takeout cartons, raisin boxes, and circus cookie boxes. They lift up and you fly around in a circle. 

Francis’ Ladybug Boogie has a big 45 record for its sign, and you ride in ladybug heads. It is a spinning ride, like the teacups. There are two disks with four ladybugs each, and you the heads spin while the disks circle, so you have motion going in two directions, but it is not bad in terms of motion sickness.

Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train: You ride the caterpillar as he narrates the food he is finding and eating. There are some vegetables and a giant watermelon, but you also go through a box of animal crackers and a cupcake and candy corn. All of the food has bite marks, and you do get some scent of the different foods as well. It’s just cute.

Tuck and Roll’s Drive ‘em Buggies: We have tried them, but I always feel stupid in bumper cars. They aren't particularly violent, or hard to operate, and small children seem to do well in them, but it's just not for me.

Princess Dot Puddle Park: This has little fountain jets for kids to play and cool off. While on one level it would seem that the entire place is for children, sometimes kids don't want to go on rides, or they are not expending enough energy on the rides, and California Adventure especially has a lot of opportunities for kids to do something to get the energy out, or cool down, or whatever helps them handle the stimulus of an amusement park better.

It’s Tough to be a Bug: This is a 3-D film, which starts off with Flik narrating about how it’s tough to be a bug, and trying to be educational, but little things keep going wrong with the show until the grasshopper takes over and tries to attack the audience. They have sensors in the seats so they can make you feel things, so when there is a buzzing sound and a puff of air like a sting, it represents wasps, and then you look up and there are black widow spiders descending towards you, well, Julie and Maria don’t like this one very much. Actually, there is some scent here too, with the stinkbug.It's pretty cute if you don't have any creepy crawly phobias. If you do, you may not appreciate when there are maggots and grubs wriggling under your seat.