Heimlich's Tough!

Disney's California Adventure opened on February 8, 2001. Which of the following was NOT opened that same day? (Answer at the end.)

1. King Triton's Carousel
2. Jumpin' Jellyfish
3. Golden Zephyr
4. Heimlich's Chew Chew Train
5. It's Tough to be a Bug!

When you enter Bugs Land you are transformed to the size of a little bug. If you don't believe me, look at the picture on the left. We are standing on the ground looking up, and these clovers tower above our heads.

April 20 - Two more attractions at California Adventure round our day:

Heimlich's Chew Chew Train is a ride designed for the little bugs in the family. The train travels through discarded food and wrappers, such as the chewed up watermelon shown here. A fun little ride.





It's Tough to Be a Bug! is a 3-D film and show full of fun and surprises. The theater is inside a giant tree, where we meet creepy crawler critters large and small. To say this show is just a movie is like saying Mickey is just a mouse! The on-screen action involves some awesome 3-D adventure. We also meet a larger than life animatronic Hopper (a grasshopper). During the course of the show we get sprayed by poisoinous creatures, poked by bees, and recoil at the giant spiders climbing down from the ceiling. Skiddish children - be warned. Skiddish adults - man up and comfort the kids! All in all, it's a fun show and shouldn't be missed.

Cindy wears her "bug eyes" while waiting for the show.

  
Answer: Heimlich's Chew Chew Train opened on 10/7/2002. The other attractions all opened the same day as Disney's California Adventure park. 

Golly Gosh Gee G g

There are SIX "G" attractions at the Disneyland resort. Before we get into the G's, though, there's going to be a change coming soon. The new Cars Land is set to open at Disney's California Adventure next month. With that, there will also be some new attractions. I'll have to modify my list. When I do, you'll be the first to know. :)  Because of the the major remodel at the park, we've already had to cross one item off of the list, and I'm not happy about it!

The Mission Tortilla Factory is permanently closed. I loved that place. Where else could you learn the history of authentic Mexican tortillas? Where else could you actually see tortillas being made in a mini, but fully working factory? Where else could you watch cooking demonstrations using the freshly made tortillas? But most importantly, where could you get a free, freshly made tortilla, hot off the machine, every time you walked through??? It was still warm! (Then we'd walk across the way to the bakery, get a pat of butter, and, mmmmmmmmm delicious!)  But alas, no more. The tortilla factory is gone.

There is a small light at the end of this tortilla tunnel, though. It's being replaced by a Ghiradelli chocolate cafe. I don't know much about it, but all you had to say was chocolate, and I'm in!

But let's get back to the G's. During our previous visit (April 13) we went to Goofy's Playhouse and the Games of the Boardwalk. On our current visit (April 20) we went to Gadget's Go Coaster, Golden Zephyr, and Goofy's Sky School.


Gadget's Go Coaster is a great roller coaster for little kids. It's located in Mickey's Toon Town in Disneyland. There's a nice drop and twists and turns, but nothing too harsh or scary. Adult roller coaster fanatics need not apply.

 The Golden Zephyr (Calif. Adventure) is also aimed at a younger audience, but can be enjoyed by anyone who likes to go round and round. That's about all it does - go round and round. And oh yeah, it also goes up and down while it goes round and round.

Goofy's Sky School (Calif. Adventure) is another roller coaster. When the park first opened, it was called Mulholland Madness and was wildly popular. It's still the same ride, but I wonder if they slowed it down. It doesn't seem as exciting as it used to be. It starts with a long, steep climb. The funnest part is when you get to the top. The track makes numerous  sharp "U-turns" back and forth. With each turn, you feel like your car is either going to keep going straight and miss the turn, or while making the sharp turn that it might be too sharp and you'll tip over. Then, you head down and up and down and up and down until you get back to the beginning.

Next up: Haunted Mansion and Heimlich's Chew Chew Train.



D-E-F-G-H-I-aye-aye

Our last visit to Disneyland was on April 20, and it was a great one! We conquered our last D, finished the F's, G's, and H's, (E's were already done), and started on the I's. It's far too much to put into one post, so I'll spread it out over a few. Then, we went again on May 13 and finished the I's, J's, K's, and L's. Buckle in, folks, we've got lots to do!

D is for Duffy the Disney Bear. We had tried to see him a few times back when we were actually on the D's, but he's an elusive critter. We finally caught up to him and were honored to have our picture taken in his presence. So - who is Duffy the Bear? I don't know! But he's big and cute and has his own picture taking "throne" in California Adventure's Paradise Pier area.

Notice in the picture that we are a bit WET! We saw Duffy after riding Grizzly River Run. That's the high-adventure water flume ride in California Adventure. It's your typical water ride with lots of twists and turns and jostling about in the large round boat. It's not the big final drop that gets you wet though, it's the numerous shorter drops on the way there. And of course, like usual, I attract the most water and ended up virtually soaked from head to toe!

But let's back up in the alphabet. With Duffy, we finished the D's. We had already finished the E's. There was one "F" to finish, and that was the Fantasmic show they plays only at night. Fantasmic is an extremely popular outdoor show. People start "camping out" hours ahead of time to be able to see it. Walt and I aren't very patient when it comes to waiting for shows, so we paid for reserved seating. It was expensive, and I don't know that it was worth the money, but it was truly a worthwhile experience. Instead of sitting on the ground, we were provided with folding chairs in a roped off/reserved area with premium viewing. We had "servers" who offered us complimentary (rather, already paid for) coffee, tea, water, or hot chocolate. Then, each guest received a wonderful snack and dessert tray. It included fresh fruit, cheese and crackers, and a marvelous variety of desserts beautifully presented.

The show itself was great. The "stage" for much of the show was a wall of water. The wall of water became a screen for projected images. But there was so much more. As we looked across the water to the island in the center of the lake, we were entertained by Mickey Mouse himself and many others. The show also included boats traversing across the lake with everyone from pirate scalliwags to princesses and virtually every Disney character there is. An entertainment delight!

Coming next... Gadget's Go Coaster, Golden Zephyr, Goofy's Sky School, and more!

"G" - It's Not Supposed to Rain at Disneyland!

After a long hiatus, we're back! And we chose a heck of day to return. True to the song about California, it wasn't raining it was POURING! For hours and hours! By the time we left, we were soaked head to toe. That didn't stop us though, from fitting in a couple more attractions.

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage brings back special childhood memories for me. As a young girl, I was enchanted by the voyage deep under water. And believe me, I was very disappointed when I found out that the submarines don't really submerge. How could they not? I saw the bubbles rising and everything! The ride has since underwent a major remodel and it is now themed around Nemo and his underwater friends. It's still a great journey for all ages, especially if you're a fan of the movie.

The Frontier Shootin' Exposition costs 50 cents, and you try your hand at shooting a number of targets. (Light activated?) I don't think it's changed in 40 years.

Goofy's Playhouse in Mickey's Toontown is just that - a play area for little kids. Nothing special here, but it looks like a great place for Mom & Dad to sit and rest while the little ones expend some energy.

Games of the Boardwalk are at Paradise Pier in California Adventure. They are typical amusement park/fair games, but the barkers aren't scary people with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths. It costs about $2.50 per game, and I think there are only 4 games there. We played three of them, and won something at each one. The prizes are pretty good considering the price paid.

Disney's Aladdin - Finally!

9/23/11

On Friday night we went to see the 6:20 showing of Disney's Aladdin at California Adventure. It was fantastic!! It seems to me that we had seen it years ago and we were unimpressed. Either I'm remembering incorrectly, though, or they've drastically improved the show. This was a first-rate top-quality stage production. I saw the Lion King play in Las Vegas earlier this year, and Aladdin was just as good. Great acting, great sets, great costumes, etc. The Genie character was the best. He was very funny and his jokes were relevant to today's pop culture. And the best part is, once your in California Adventure, it's free! (I don't want to tell you how much we paid for the Lion King tickets.) 

I recommend getting to the theater a little early. We arrived at the theater about 1/2 hour before showtime. We were able to get seats in the orchestra section (8th row) and it was great.

After the show we had dinner at Wine Country Trattoria at the Golden Vine Winery. Unlike other recent dining experiences at the park, we were unimpressed here. Walt had the lamb, and said it tasted too gamy. I had a pasta dish with clams, and the garlic/olive oil sauce lacked flavor. The Caprese salad appetizer, however, was quite tasty and well presented.

We were going to go to the 9:00 showing of Fantasmic next. By 8:30, the viewing areas were already packed. We learned that you can get reserved viewing (on a chair no less) right up front. It includes complimentary snacks and beverage and you don't have to wait in line. The problem, though, is that it costs $60 per person. I just don't know if it's worth it. We'll see.... 

D-E-F Difficulties

I'm back!
I apologize for the long delay in posts. I suffered a family loss last month and was sidetracked for a while.

So - back to Disneyland. We left off on the D's, and there are still two that are unfinished. We went to the park last night at about 6:30. The last showing of Disney's Aladdin was at 6:20, so we missed that. And of course, Duffy the Disney Bear was nowhere to be found. We'll catch the Aladdin show another day, but I think it's time to write off Duffy. We did see him before we started this alphabetical adventure. He's simply another character that kids can sit with and have their pictures taken. What do you think, can we do without a picture of us with Duffy? No?? Okay, I'll go see him, but he's obviously now going to be out of alphabetical order. (I'll do anything for my followers. :))

One of the "stars" of the Enchanted Tiki Room

After dinner at the Plaza Inn on Main Street, we went to the Enchanted Tiki Room. A Disneyland classic. I remember it from way back, and it hasn't changed much. It's still fun. The Enchanted Tiki Room is a place with multiple rows of benches along all four walls for visitors to sit on. All of the benches face the middle of the room, but the "show" is all overhead. There are hundreds of talking & singing birds in this tropical setting. Even the birds of paradise join in the act, as well as other plants. Everything comes alive, including the totem poles, to sing and entertain the guests.

Next we headed over to California Adventure to finish our adventure at ElecTRONica. California Adventure is undergoing a lot of construction and it's like walking through a maze when you go in the front gate. As we were walking the maze, I was looking at the entertainment schedule and was surprised that ElecTRONica was not on the schedule. Then, I looked at the map of the park, and it didn't show there either. I'm getting concerned! We stopped at an information booth and found out that ElecTRONica is gone! We were told that Labor Day was its last day. The young lady told us that she didn't know much more than that. She's heard different stories ranging from it will re-open, bigger and better, in a few weeks to it's never coming back. :(  We'll wait and see.

Francis the Ladybug is no lady! (his own words)

So now - it's time to start on the "F" rides. There are two in California Adventure, and they're both rides meant for little kids in the newly revamped "A Bug's Land".  Francis' Ladybug Boogie has "cars" that look like ladybugs. They spin in circles while moving around a track, similar to the tea cups in Disneyland, but the passengers can't make it spin any faster. It's fun, and fairly tame for a spinning ride.

Flik's Flyers was our next stop. Here you ride in various food boxes - raisins, cookies, applesauce, Chinese food - and are lifted into the air and spun around in a circle. Another familiar concept adapted to the younger crowd. The nice thing about both of these rides is the number of passengers you can fit into a car. At least 4 in both cases. A nice ride for the whole family.

The whole premise of A Bug's Land is that we're the little bugs in a big world. Notice the sign on the right for Flik's Flyers? It's like a piece of paper folded into an airplane. And that's a drinking straw next to it. And all over this section of the park are clovers that tower over us as if we were tiny bugs in an open field. Fun. :)

"D" Pics

Here's an interesting fact - 80% of the plants in Tomorrowland are edible. Chew on that!

And here is a video from the nosecone of the Disney Monorail...