Day 1-3 at Disneyland/California Adventure Land
by Kyran Dunn
Day 1:
We left Sydney at 11:30 am Monday 1st Feb yet arrived in Las Angeles 6:15am Monday 1st Feb!! The flight took 13 hours and there were tons of movies to watch on the plane like Goosebumps, Spectre, Everest ad the Peanuts Movie. We had to go through Customs, which took around an hour and a half. Once we were at taxi service outside the Las Angeles Airport, we took a Disneyland shuttle bus to Disneyland, which only took around half an hour. Once we arrived in Disneyland, we checked in and took our bags to our room; No.4226. It was a big room but with a tiny bathroom with a shower and a bath and 2 queen-sized beds. We dropped our bags and took everything out and put all our valuables in a safe. We locked the safe and tried to open it again to test it. It didn’t budge. We tried it again but it still didn’t open. Mum had to wait around 2 hours for the safe man to come open the safe so she could join us in Disneyland. We tried to get into Disneyland but Erin had accidently put her card to get in inside the safe, which meant she had to wait till Mum came before they were allowed to go in. Once mum came, we scanned our cards and walked right in. All this by 9am Monday morning!
These are the rides we went on in Disneyland and what I have graded them for ages 10 -12. I've also detailed which part of Disneyland they were in:
Main Street U.S.A.
We didn’t do anything here because most of the attractions were singing and dancing and Dad and I aren’t really into that type of stuff.
Adventureland
Indiana Jones Adventure: A really fun rollercoaster-type ride, with twists and turns and a lot of queuing up. A whole story line and everything, almost like they’re making another Indiana Jones movie. Good for ages 6 and up. I rate it 8 ½ out of 10.
Tarzan’s Treehouse: Explore Tarzan’s very own Treehouse like never before. Walk across the wobbly bridge to go see Tarzan and Jane working on a secret project. Meet all the other friends as well like the Professor and many more. Suitable for all ages, I rate this attraction for my age group, 2 out of 10.
New Orleans Square
Pirates of the Caribbean: A fun boat ride through all of Disney's Pirates of the Carribean movies all rolled in one. Travel through the Red Sea and meet up with some of your favourite characters like Jack Sparrow, Captain Barbossa and Davy Jones. I rate this attraction a stunning 8 ½ out of 10.
Haunted Mansion: A scary ride that takes you on a Doom Buggie through a haunted mansion, said to be home to thousands of ghosts and ghouls. It creeped Erin out a bit, so she said. I believe it creeped her out a lot. I rate this spooky ride a 7 ½ out of 10.
Critter Country
Splash Mountain: One of my favourites, a water coaster which shall get you soaked up to your shoulders. With three waterfalls and a couple of rapids, this ride will get you screaming. I love this one so that is why I rated it 9 out of 10. (mum loved this one too...check out the photo!)
Frontierland
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: A fun railroad rollercoaster. It was good but it had to be stopped twice due to problems with the rails. Apart from that I thought it was really fun. I recommend it for people 6 and up and I rate it 8 ½ out of 10.
Fantasyland
Snow White’s Scary Adventures: Experience a magical adventure through Snow White's realm. Great for young kids and older adults who love Snow White. For my age group, 4 ½ out of 10, but better for younger kids.
Matterhorn Bobsleds: A 50 minute line up but totally worth it to go on this fantastic ride. Soar through the mountain and quickly get out of the way before the yeti comes and trys to eat you. Suitable for all ages and a must go on for 8-12 year olds. This brilliant ride has got to get a 8 ½ out of 10.
Mickey’s Toontown
We didn’t go on any rides in Mickey’s Toontown because all of them are for kids between 3 and 8.
Tomorrowland
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage: Cruise underneath the ocean and discover Nemo's World. Travel underneath in a submarine with an Australian Captain and crew. Look on the beautiful coral walls to see Nemo and his friends hang out in Bruce's broken ship home. I rate this attraction 7 out of 10.
Star Wars Launch Bay: Are you a massive fan of Star Wars? Yes? Then you should visit the Star Wars Launch Bay. Get to see all of your favourite Star Wars characters, costumes, weapons and spaceships. All of this combined should definitely earn a 7 out of 10.
Super Hero HQ: Located above Star Wars Launch Bay, check out all of Marvel's Superheroes weapons and gadgets. Have you ever dreamed of becoming someone like Iron Man( Tony Stark)? Well now you can actually be like him. Stand in front of a massive TV and look right up at a camera and no Iron Man will copy your movements. It's so cool! Go to the Marvel gift shop and collect all of your favourite Marvel toys and games. I rate all of this combined 8 out of 10.
Hyperspace Mountain: 9 out of 10
Star Tours-The Adventures Continue: A fun simulator which takes through space. The Captain ( the one and only C-3PO) gives you commentary on which part of the galaxy your and which planets you should visit. A thriller for all ages and a must-see for Star Wars lovers and fans, I believe this has to get an 8 ½ out of 10.
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters: A childhood favourite I must say. You may think this ride is for toddlers but trust me when I say it's not. Drive around in spaceships and help Buzz Lightyear and his friends defeat the Evil Emperor Zurg. Spin around in your spaceships and blast at Zurg and his accomplices. I rate this excellent ride 9 out of 10.
Day 2:
Once we woke up we went down to breakfast at the Critter Country Cafe to have an outstanding buffet. Whilst we were there we got some photos with Chip'n Dale, the Bear and the Racoon. It was really fun and once we were finished we went to the theme parks. We went on some of the Disney rides again, but once we finished all of them, we crossed over to California Adventure Land. It was amazing. My favourite rides were the California Screaminn' and the Hollywood Tower Hotel. California Screamin' was a rollercoaster, and the Hollywood Tower Hotel was a massive drop. Here is a list of all the rides we went on, and which part of the theme park they were in:
Buena Vista Street
There were no rides here, so we just skipped all of it.
Hollywood Land
The Twilight Zone/ Tower of Terror: An extremely fun ride. Take a trip to the Twilight Zone, a place full of death and no return. Travel up in a lift to the very top of the hotel and wave goodbye to your friends and family down below. Then you suddenly drop back down to earth, exiting the Twilight Zone. I have to say that this is one of my favourite rides and that is why I absolutely have to give it a 10 out of 10.
“a bug’s land”
Tuck and Roll’s Drive ‘Em Buggies: If you like Dodgems, then this is the one for you. Drive around in the shells of Tuck and Roll, whilst you bump into other people around the arena. This ride only goes for about 2 minutes, so you should better make the most of it. I reccomend this ride for kids6 and under and I rate it 5 ½ out of 10.
Cars Land
Radiator Springs Racers: We had to get a Fast Pass(a cut-the-queue ticket) to go on this ride because the line up time was 1 hour. Drive around Radiator Springs in an epic Sports car. Vist Luigi's tyre shop for a quick tyre repair before you head out to race other people on the ride in an all-out extreme race where winner takes all. We were on back twice and on the left side twice. If you are on the left side you always lose, it's rigged that way, so try to get on the right side. I rate this ride 8 out of 10.
Pacific Wharf
We did nothing because (like Buena Vista Street) there were no rides.
Paradise Pier
California Screamin’: My other favourite apart from the Tower of Terror. This epic roller-coaster can reach up to 100 km/h and thats no joke. The line up is very short because little kids, old people and mums that are to scared to go on(my Mum) are terrified. It starts with happy music until you get down into the water where it starts to count down from 5 pretty fast. On 0 it speeds up a massive slope and goes down the opposite sie. You even go upside down once during the ride. This ride literally forced me to give it an outstanding 10 out of 10.
Silly Symphony Swings: An okay ride that only lasts for about 3 minutes. Travel through the air with Mickey Goofy and Donald in a cyclone with a whole band travelling with you. Little kids aged 3-8 will love this but for my age group I rate it 5 ½ out of 10.
Goofy’s Sky School: 7 out of 10
Golden Zephyr: A family version of Silly Symphony Swings with four seats in each carriage. It is really no different then Silly Symphony Swings except that it goes a little bit higher and goes for longer. I think it may also go a bit faster as well. I rate this ride 6 ½ out of 10.
Mickey's Fun Wheel: Better than normal Ferris Wheel's, on this one, the the carriages swing. When we first went on it we thought it it was just going to be a normal old Ferris Wheel until we started tumbling and sprawling onto the ground. It was actually really fun and that is why I rate it 7 out of 10 (we went on the swinging carriage not the stationary one).
Grizzly Peak
Redwood Creek Challenge Trail: Follow in Neil's footsteps as an explorer in this course. Complete each obstacle and then at the end of it all get presented with your very own Explorer Badge from Neil himself! Great for little kids aged 4-6 but for age group it's only good for showing of to the little kids how good you are. That is why I rate this attraction 4 out of 10.
Grizzly River Run: A fun ride for the whole family, unless you don't want to get soaked. Go down rapids and experience a lot of bouncing and bumping. A good thing for you to know: don't go backwards down the waterfalls. You get even more soaked! I had to give this ride a soaking 8 ½ out of 10.
Day 3:
We went back on some of the rides again and again but once we were tired out we decided that our time here in Disneyland and California Adventure Land was officially over. We packed our bags and took a cab to our next destination; Santa Monica.
