Just a few hours at California Adventure?

[missesdisney]

I will be working about an hour from Disneyland for a bit (Mon - Thurs each week) and was thinking I'd take a ride one night up to Disneyland and go to California adventure. Have never been and the last time I was in Disneyland was in 1992 so it's a tad different.

What are the must see things at California Adventure that are not in Florida anywhere? I don't really do roller coasters so that's off the list

Thanks for any info!

Maria

 

[Dizneydaz]

Okay here goes:

Soarin'-exactly the same in WDW.

Screamin' and Mulholland Madness-coasters so you can skip them.

Tower of Terror-different than at WDW. I would do it so you can compare them.

Maliboomer-Love this ride. A must do for me.

Mickey's Fun Wheel-if you don't like too much motion, ride one of the stationary cars-they actually go higher anyway. Great view of the park after dark.

In the Animation Courtyard, do the Animation Studio-you'll get to draw a disney character and take it with out. Takes about 20 min. Unlike at DQ in Fla. where you do it on a computer screen and have to pay for it. Here it's in pencil. Shows are every 1/2 hour on the hour or half. You can check with the CM at the entrance to see who there are doing for the next few shows.

See the Aladdin show-awesome. Shows Thursday-Sunday.

Flik's Fun Fair has 4 rides only available in DCA. They are kid rides but you might enjoy a few of them.

Bugs Life-same in WDW.

California Zephyr-looks like a kids ride but is pretty cool

Toy Story Mania-I think it's the same inside but I would still do it-use single rider line (when avail.)

Grizzly River Rapids-fun to do when it's warm. Or wear rain gear.

Neptunes Carousel cut themeing for a carousel

Monster's Inc. similar to rides in Fantasyland.


Other rides with single rider are Screamin', MM, GRR, and Maliboomer.

Stop by and visit the Mission Tortilla factory and do the short tour. Get a free, warm tortilla. Corn or flour, depending on what they are making that day. You can also get a few pieces of sourdough bread across the way. You don't even have to do the bread tour.

Just so you know, depending on when you are going, DCA closes at 6 p.m. M-Th. Except during holiday periods.

Have fun!

 

[sonnyjane]

Just so you know, depending on when you are going, DCA closes at 6 p.m. M-Th. Except during holiday periods.

Have fun!

I just replied to your question in the other thread about the drive, but now that I think about it, Dizneydaz has an excellent point. DCA closes at 6:00 PM next week (and most non-peak weeks). They are open until 9:00 PM Mon. Dec. 7th and Tues. Dec. 8th because DL is closing early, and then it looks like they will be open until at least 7:00 PM if not later through Christmas. Just keep that in mind if you are not planning on leaving Carlsbad until around 5:00 PM, you might not have much park time at all Make sure you check the schedule for your specific day, because it looks like it changes a lot in the next few weeks, but the latest is only 9:00 PM, and that's closer to Christmas.

 

[missesdisney]

Thanks for the times info - I had checked online and saw a few days where it was later but I'll check that again. I'll be there for quite a few weeks and if I can get 3 hours in I'll be happy - I know I won't do a lot but I just want to go

Thank you for all the info so fast!

 

[missesdisney]

Thanks for all of the info!

I have a little more info on what I'm doing and some plan and more questions.

I will go next Tuesday to CA since they are open until 9pm. I should get there about 5:30 - 6 based on when I leave the office and am going to stay that one night at the Fairfield Inn disneyland which says it is walking distance. I am alone at night so is it really walking distance for anyone who knows?

The following week I think I'm going to do the same again and go to the DL park which is open Tues & Wed until 11pm (I can decide next week which night makes sense).

So, is there anywhere I can buy an after 4pm ticket or something like that? Convention tickets - something? I prefer not to pay the full $67 each time for just a few hours if I can avoid it and the hoppers don't make sense.

Any more info would be greatly appreciated!

 

[sonnyjane]

So, is there anywhere I can buy an after 4pm ticket or something like that? Convention tickets - something? I prefer not to pay the full $67 each time for just a few hours if I can avoid it and the hoppers don't make sense.

Any more info would be greatly appreciated!

Well, I have two bits of bad news for you

The first is that one-day, one-park tickets are now $72.00

The second is that there are no half-day tickets and when you have convention tickets, they are usually only good during the days of the convention, and are indicated as such, so I'm not sure there is any way to swing not paying the full price, which really is a pain. I know in your other post you mentioned that you're working Mon-Thursday or something like that? Are you able to stay in the area for a day when you're not working and just go to both parks in one full-day, or is that not an option? It really does seem ridiculous to pay full price for two days when you're really hardly getting two half-days in.

 

[missesdisney]

Well, I have two bits of bad news for you

The first is that one-day, one-park tickets are now $72.00

The second is that there are no half-day tickets and when you have convention tickets, they are usually only good during the days of the convention, and are indicated as such, so I'm not sure there is any way to swing not paying the full price, which really is a pain. I know in your other post you mentioned that you're working Mon-Thursday or something like that? Are you able to stay in the area for a day when you're not working and just go to both parks in one full-day, or is that not an option? It really does seem ridiculous to pay full price for two days when you're really hardly getting two half-days in.

Crud. Thanks for the update. I travel every week and now it's coast to coast so I am only home 3 days a week as it is (and arrive in the middle of the night Thursday into Friday) so I can't really take a day now. If I pay full price, so be it. Hopefully I can avoid parking cost by staying at the hotel close by. Still trying to confirm that one.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

What are the must see things at California Adventure that are not in Florida anywhere? I don't really do roller coasters so that's off the list Maria

Based on your defintion, the Aladdin stage show (45 minutes long) is the only must see at DCA that isn't in WDW. And the final show of the day is around 5:50pm or so, I think. Monsters, Inc. is an enjoyable dark ride unique to DCA, but if you're only going to do DCA, I just don't think those two attractions alone are worth the price of admission, especially if you'll miss Aladdin. Similar versions to just about every other DCA attraction can be found at WDW (or sadly, your local county fair).