So, I've decided to do a little series on some things that I love...starting with my most favorite place ever...Disneyland!
All week, I will be posting about my favorite rides, my favorite spots to take pictures, my favorite places to eat, my favorite shows to catch there, as well as the moments where I feel the most happy when I'm there.
Today I am starting with my favorite rides.
Astro Blasters
This ride has been a favorite of mine since the year it opened. I love the fact that it's interactive and that you actually get points by playing along! My husband and I are very competitive with this one...but he almost always beats me...by a lot. There are special places and areas that you can shoot at to get more points (which he seems to get every time), but I have a much harder time finding them. I also love the fact that they take a picture of you on the ride...but you don't have to pay for it! Being in Tomorrowland and all, you get to email the picture to yourself. It's so fun!
(I think our scores were wrong in the picture on the right. I don't think I've ever beat Josh on this ride)
Finding Nemo Submarine
I really enjoy this ride. There used to be a different submarine ride in its place, but it closed quite a few years ago. I only remember going on it once as a child. They left the space unoccupied for years, and if you rode on the Monorail, you could see a lot of the structures and "plants" were still in the water. I always hoped they would bring back the ride and they finally did...with a Finding Nemo theme! It is so fun because they use modern technology alongside the physical structures and sea life in the water. You actually feel like you are deep in the ocean and you get to watch parts of the movie as well! It's a really fun experience (they also have a wheelchair experience that allows for those who can't make it into the submarine to enjoy the ride as well, which I think is awesome).
Indiana Jones
This ride is so fun. It's a little jerky and crazy at times, but you really feel like you are in an out of control vehicle. You are taken on a journey through the Temple of the Forbidden Eye, which includes encounters with skeletons, snakes, and rats! It's probably a little on the scary side for younger kids, but it is definitely one of the best rides at Disneyland. The line is always very long, so we almost always get fast passes for it.
It's a Small World
This is one I like to do once per trip. The song does get stuck in your head for quite a while after, but I love the nostalgia and experience of the ride. In the past few years, they have updated the boats, as well as added some Disney characters into the ride. Some of them you have to really look for, but they are there! My husband really enjoys taking pictures in this ride, even though it's hard to do without a flash because you're moving the whole time.
Jungle Cruise
This ride is one I've always loved. The captains in every boat tell jokes throughout your entire trip. Oftentimes, they tell different jokes in each of the spots, which makes it even more fun. It's always a blast to see other people's reactions to their jokes and to the ride as a whole. I love that even though this is a simple ride, it really is enjoyable every single time we've gone on it.
Peter Pan's Flight
I have only been on this ride maybe a handful of times. The line is always super long...but it's one of my absolute favorites. I love the story of Peter Pan. I also love the movie Finding Neverland about J.M. Barrie, who wrote the story of Peter Pan. And, I love that this ride makes you feel like you're flying, because the ship is attached to the ceiling instead of the ground, like most of the other rides in Disneyland. It's a very short ride, but it always brings a smile to my face.
Pirates of the Caribbean
This one is, hands down, my very favorite ride in Disneyland. I remember going to Disneyland as a kid with my family and riding this ride over and over again when it was either hot outside, or when Fantasmic was going on, because there was no line and we didn't even have to get off the boat (I don't think that happens very often anymore). They updated the ride to include characters and references to the Pirates of the Caribbean movies about seven years ago. While I loved the ride before, I still love it just as much now. We timed it the last time we went on it and it's about 15 minutes from the time you get on the boat until you get off. And it's worth every second of those 15 minutes.
(The Disney Gallery used to be located above Pirates of the Caribbean. Now, that spot houses the Disney Dream Suite...which I would love to stay in someday)
Radiator Springs Racers
This ride was brand new to us when we went on our last trip. It just opened last summer, along with the rest of Cars Land, in Disney California Adventure. It is, by far, one of the best attractions Disney has done (at least, at Disneyland. I've never been anywhere else to test that). I love that you get to take a ride through Radiator Springs and experience it a little more up close...and then you get to race one of the other cars! It's seriously a blast. There are two different ways your car can go before the race...and I got to experience both. It always has a huge line, but getting a fast pass first thing in the morning is the best way to guarantee getting on it.
Soarin' Over California
This ride is also in Disney California Adventure and has been there since that park opened. It is a huge favorite of mine. I almost always wear flip flops when we are at Disneyland and I always take them off when we go on this ride. They bring you up in the air so you feel like you're on a hang glider. The screen in front of you takes you through different areas of California. It is so fun! They haven't updated the movie since the park opened, so you see Sleeping Beauty's Castle at the end with it's former paint color. I just love the feeling of being in the air and being able to kick my feet and enjoy this ride.
(The queue for this ride has lots of pictures and information on the men and women who made flying what it is today)
Space Mountain
This is one I never went on as a kid. I was pretty freaked out by roller coasters and would not give them a chance. When I finally went on this one, I fell in love! It's a dark ride, so you literally don't see much of anything but the "stars" around you. It's one of my favorite rides in the park, and we usually get a fast pass for this one. This one also takes your picture at the end, and since we've been on it so many times, we know when it's coming...so we like to make silly faces or pose funny. It's a blast!
Star Tours
This ride used to freak me out as a kid. I seriously thought I was going to die. Since it's a simulator ride, the seats do move a little, but what you're seeing on the screen in front of you makes you feel like you're moving even more...and like you're going to crash into things! They just updated this ride a couple of years ago. Before when you went on it, it did the exact same thing every time you rode. Now, it includes planets and places from the newer (Episodes 1-3) movies, and you don't get the same experience every time! It's also in 3D now, so it feels even more so like you're going to crash into things! You go three different places on each journey and it's so fun! We have been on that ride maybe six times now, and it has never been exactly the same any of those times. We have seen a couple of the same places, but it's always a different sequence. This is one that we like to go on a lot, just to see all the different combinations there could be!
The Haunted Mansion
This ride used to scare me when I was little as well. My sister and I would cry and close our eyes throughout the entire ride. When we went back when I was in jr. high, it was a totally different story. This ride is definitely spooky...and things jump out at you at times...but it's also so fun. It's all indoors and very well air-conditioned, so it's a great one to ride on multiple times on a hot day. It's fun to watch people's reactions during the "stretching" room part at the very beginning of the attraction...especially people that have never been on it before! My husband and I always like to guess at the end which hitch-hiking ghost we will get. This last trip, we got the same one every single time we rode on it on the same day...creepy!
Toy Story Midway Mania
This ride in DCA is newer, but is one of my favorites. It's also an interactive ride and one they can change the games on it pretty easily. The very first time we went on it, two of the games were different than what they have now (they updated it after Toy Story 3 came out). It's so fun! You wear 3D glasses and get to shoot darts at balloons, throw balls at plates to break them, and throw pies. It's seriously worth the long wait every single time.
(The score on the right is mine! I have won against my husband a couple of times now on this ride)
There are, of course, many other rides at the Disneyland resort, but these are some of my favorites.
Stay tuned for my favorite spots to take pictures!
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