My first reaction to the new land at Disney’s California Adventure was not so good. I liked the lavish theming and the attention to detail in the area, I think Disney did a great job in this area. My big beefs involved the rides. It seemed that one of them was half finished, another was slowed down too much, one was confusing, and the other was too short. But after multiple rides and watching the kiddies, I gradually warmed up to the place.
The best ride in the area is Heimlich’s Chew-Chew Train. I wish that it was another 30 seconds or so longer, and that it had more smells. Right now, you smell watermelon and circus cookies when you pass by, but no apple or candy corn smells. Maybe that is part of the expansion plans, who knows. My other favorite ride was Flik’s Flyers. It is a simple off the shelf ride that has been well themed. It also is a bit on the short side, but again is perfect for the kiddies. It also gives the best overview of the Fun Fair from the air.
Francis’ Ladybug Boogie was the one ride that I had no idea what it was before I went, and it took three rides on the thing before I finally asked a cast member how to get it to work. It is a tilt-a-whirl and you need to balance the weight in the car to get it to spin, despite the teacup-looking wheel in the middle. The Tuck and Roll Bumper cars were fun, but they went so slow (probably for insurance reasons) that it was difficult to hit anyone. It reminded me of those vibrating tables with the football players.
I’ll post some pictures eventually in the DCA Trip Diaries page. I was surprised just how crowded Disneyland was on Saturday and Sunday – it was a bit of a shock after the slowness of the week. So remember it is still off-season, but the people do show up on the weekends.