When Americans think of an enjoyable place to go on their break, they almost always think of California, with its amusement parks, nice weather, beaches, and wild bills. Some of the most popular attractions there are Disneyland and California Adventures Theme Park.
There are a diversity of rides at Disneyland, such as Star Wars The Rise of the Resistance, Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, Jungle Cruise, Minnie and Mickey Mouse, teacups, Alice and Wonderland, Matter Horn, Space Mountain, and Autopia. They appeal to very different age groups, and the general motion of the rides varies too, some designed for those intrigued by thrilling rides, and some for those attempting to avoid them. Alice and Wonderland, Minnie and Mickey Mouse, and Pirates of the Caribbean are all rides with a lot of scenery to look at. They focus mainly on attempting to bring the story lines to life instead of creating a thrilling ride experience. Children would be best suited to these rides as they are very low stimulation, but still have amazing graphics to look at.
Jungle Cruise is its own category, due to the fact that anyone can go on it and it suits many people. This is a tour through a “jungle” on a river, and the ride is usually fairly entertaining; However, that depends on the tour guide for the ride.
Out of the three mountains of Disneyland, the most definitely worth one’s time is Space Mountain! Although Thunder Mountain and Matterhorn are still both very fun rides, what makes Space Mountain different is its darkness. The ride gives the illusion of a flight through space, the only things visible being small twinkling stars. This allows for the main focus of the ride to be on the movement, and because no one can see the direction the coaster will go next, the mystery is truly a lot of fun.
Star Wars The Rise of The Resistance, one of the newer Disneyland attractions, is among one of the most sensory rides there. In an attempt not to spoil the ride, all the information will be that there are definitely unexpected parts to the ride, and it is a very intricate story line that is displayed, enough so that even someone who doesn’t watch Star Wars would enjoy the ride.
Autopia is a fun ride to test your driving skills with miniature Honda cars; however, the cars are connected to a metal track, so there is not much freedom in the amount of space with which you can actually drive the car.
There are also many different rides available at California Adventures Theme Park, starting off with the wonderful Increda Coaster! This is probably the biggest coaster of them all and is the only one featuring a loop-the-loop. It is not the fastest ride, but is still one of the most thrilling rides among all of the parks.
Another great ride is the Grizzly Water Ride, which is good for those who want to do a water ride but don’t want to deal with getting very wet, as the ride itself remains fairly dry.
Some smaller but still enjoyable rides such as Jumpin Jellyfish, Golden Medallion, Ariel, the Ferris Wheel, and the Inside Out Ride, are great ideas for those who get motion sick on rides. They all display amazing graphics and some of them even show a very nice storyline throughout the ride.
On the topic of interactive rides, the Spider Man ride is a great one for all ages, and it involves slinging webs in order to defeat the opposition. This ride turns into a fun competition between family members and riders always get a laugh.
Another ride which gives a great experience is Soarin’ , which is a flight simulator. This one is very realistic, as it allows you to actually smell things you may fly over such as wet grass, the ocean, and even incense from a temple in the simulator.
The newest arrival and probably the most thrilling ride at California Adventures is the Tower of Terror, this is truly a “screamable” ride. The ride is definitely unexpected and comes with a full plot and experience. Don’t go on this ride if you are afraid to scream out loud!
Hopefully this was a helpful guide to the most popular park attractions. Clearly there are quite a few options throughout the various parks, with different types of rides and experiences that are truly enjoyable for everyone!
