Thursday, December 29, 2011

Top 10 Rides of Disneyland 2011

Disneyland (and Disney California Adventure) cannot be experienced in a single day.  The industry standard is at least 3 days, 3 long days.  Between rides, shows, parades, and shopping, it is hard to know where to begin and what to skip when time starts running short.   Choosing a top 10 list was almost impossible.  After three fun-filled but long days at Disneyland and Disney California Adventures, I had each member of our family name their favorite two rides (with no repeats).  Here is our list of the best of the best:

The Three-Year-Old:  Mickey's Fun Wheel (the giant Ferris Wheel in DCA)
                                    Peter Pan's Flight

The Seven-Year-Old:  Splash Mountain
                                    Space Mountain

The Nine-Year-Old:  Star Tours
                                  Indiana Jones Adventure

The Eleven-Year-Old: California Screamin'
                                     Tower of Terror

Dad's Pick:  Pirates of the Caribbean
                    Its a Small World

Mom's Pick: Toy Story Mania
                     The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (but I could be talked into changing to Big Thunder Railroad depending on which kids are with me)     

And these were only our favorite rides.  Some of our favorite attractions included--Jedi Training, Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, World of Color, Fantasmic, Its Tough to be a Bug movie, and of course, meeting Mickey in his house (just to name a few).  Frankly, it would be difficult to do all 10 rides, a couple of 4D movies, a couple of character meets, a break at a playground, the parade, and the evening show (either fireworks or Fantasmics) in a single day, especially if you plan on shopping, eating, and taking little ones to the bathroom.

The big surprise was that 4 of the 10 rides on our list were for rides in DCA.  Certainly something to keep in mind when planning future vacations.  I assume when Cars land opens, my almost 4-year-old will not even want to go to Disneyland but insist he spend all his time in DCA.

So what is your favorite ride?  Which ones will you pick and which ones will you skip?  Time will run short (even in the slower season), so have a plan that includes a few favorites and don't worry when you have to skip some of the attractions.

3 comments:

  1. Well some of my favorites are Space and Thunder Mountain since I used to work on those rides and I know them inside and out. As far as overall show experience it's between indiana jones, pirates, and mansion.

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  2. The two that we always have to hit are Pirates of the Caribbean and Small World the rest are hit and miss if we get to them great if not oh well.

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