"Must see" things at California Adventure?

[PineapplePrincessCA]

What are some of the "must see" things at California Adventure?

I'm looking at the website and it's kinda hard to tell what rides and attractions we should put on our "gotta do it" list.

I'll have my (almost) 3 year old, 4 year old, and 5 1/2 year old. Ariel's Grotto is a must for the girls!

Gotta take the older ones to "Soarin’ Over California".

Looks like my son would love "Toy Story Mania".

I'm just really not finding nearly as many rides over at California Adventure compared to Disneyland.

What other rides/attractions would you recommend for a family w/ young kids?

Thanks

 

[eduk8r26]

Bug's Land has a couple of rides for young kids. There are a couple of shows--Playhouse Disney is one, and Turtle Talk. Monster's Inc. ride if it's still there. Aladdin stage show, unless it has closed.

 

[jernysgirl]

Bug's Land has a couple of rides for young kids. There are a couple of shows--Playhouse Disney is one, and Turtle Talk. Monster's Inc. ride if it's still there. Aladdin stage show, unless it has closed.

Monster's Inc is still there in Hollywood Backlot, next to Muppet 3D which your kids might enjoy if they know any of the Muppets.

And the Aladdin show is spectacular! It runs daily through August 15th, which will be its final showing.

 

[PineapplePrincessCA]

And the Aladdin show is spectacular! It runs daily through August 15th, which will be its final showing.

Thanks! I don't see the Aladdin show on the calendar...
http://disneyland.disney.go.com/dis...ly/daily?name=CalendarDailyPage&date=20100511

Am I looking at the right info? My girls would love it!

 

[jernysgirl]

Thanks! I don't see the Aladdin show on the calendar...
http://disneyland.disney.go.com/dis...ly/daily?name=CalendarDailyPage&date=20100511

Am I looking at the right info? My girls would love it!

I think that it was only showing Thurs - Sun on a normal operating schedule, which is why it is not showing on the calendar, but I was pretty sure that I had just read somewhere that they were bumping it up to 7 days a week until its final showing....... Maybe someone else can confirm?

 

[oc_tony]

This is not a major attraction by any means, but my DS8 never gets tired of seeing the Toy Story zoetrope in the Animation Building in the Hollywood Backlot section of DCA. If you don't know what a zoetrope is, don't google it. Just go see it and let yourself and your kids be mesmerized by it. It is really cool.

 

[PineapplePrincessCA]

This is not a major attraction by any means, but my DS8 never gets tired of seeing the Toy Story zoetrope in the Animation Building in the Hollywood Backlot section of DCA. If you don't know what a zoetrope is, don't google it. Just go see it and let yourself and your kids be mesmerized by it. It is really cool.

LOL I was about to google it! OK, I'll put that on my list. Thanks!

 

[Kayla's Mom]

This is not a major attraction by any means, but my DS8 never gets tired of seeing the Toy Story zoetrope in the Animation Building in the Hollywood Backlot section of DCA. If you don't know what a zoetrope is, don't google it. Just go see it and let yourself and your kids be mesmerized by it. It is really cool.

I was going to mention this as well. Also, Turtle Talk is a fun show for the little kids and at Animation Academy you learn to draw a Disney character. Both of these are also located in the Animation Building and are good places to sit down and take a break.

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm sure all the kids would love Toy Story Midway Mania.

Allot a couple hours and a change of clothes (down to underwear and socks and shoes! and bring a couple towels) for bug's land. Let them play in the water play areas if they are on. Be the bad influence on other peoples' kids, LOL. Relish the "but that kid is getting wet" comments you'll hear.

OK, I'll stop. But seriously, some of DS's most fun days were the days he got to get drenched in the bug's land waterplay areas!

And the rest of bug's land is awesome as well. I actually think people should bring their little ones there BEFORE going to Fantasyland. All the rides are out in the open, no dark scary lines or buildings at all. Unlike Peter Pan, Alice, Mr Toad, Pinocchio, or Snow White.

They have a noisy play area near the Farmer's Market...get your earplugs, snag some lunch or a snack, and let 'em bang away! Superloud, superfun for kids.

Monsters inc ride is so awesome!

We love DCA.

 

[haydeecm]

My favorite thing of our recent to Disneyland was the Aladdin show. I would get there early, we saw it more than once, but it really is much better experience from the orchestra level. Toy story mania, soaring and the Pixar Parade were what we would call "must see"

 

[Eeee-va]

I think that it was only showing Thurs - Sun on a normal operating schedule, which is why it is not showing on the calendar, but I was pretty sure that I had just read somewhere that they were bumping it up to 7 days a week until its final showing....... Maybe someone else can confirm?

I read that too, but I ALSO read that Aladdin would be playing 7 days a week starting in the summer. I am guessing that whenever they're fixing to have giant crowds they'll let the show play to absorb some of them.

 

[LavenderPeach]

Yes, bug's land would be fun for kids that age. DS is 4.5 and loves the rides there. There's also the redwood creek challenge trail area that DS loves to run around. It has lots of bridges and rope things to climb on. The golden zephyr (not sure when it's done with it's refurb) is fun too.

As for the Aladdin show, I had also heard they were extending the days it was showing (i though i heard it would be 6 days though but maybe i just made that up). I'm not sure about when that starts but when we were just there a few weeks ago it was playing on a tuesday (but not monday). I'm not sure if that was because of spring break crowds though.

 

[Monkey Monkey]

DCA is GREAT for little kids! There is a lot to do, and it's great for character opportunities as well. McQueen and Mater hang out in their own area, and when I've been there, the line is not very long. We've also met Woody, Jessie, Chip, Dale, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Snow White, Pluto, Max, Flik, and Atta, and then several princesses at Ariel's Grotto (we went when they still had Alice in Wonderland there too).

Bug's Land has some very tame but fun rides; Monsters is a great ride; the Pixar Play Parade is awesome; and Crush's Turtle Time and Playhouse Disney Live are amazing!

I go to DLR fairly often, and always hop over to DCA for at least a couple of hours.

 

[jlmarr]

I really like Tough To Be A Bug - a "4D" movie - but I'd say it might be too scary for younger kids such as the OP's. Maybe the 5 1/2 year old would be ok.

 

[dizneedoll]

Monsters Inc. is a favorite of mine and my DS3. Bug's Land has some cute rides for kids but the lines can be painfully slow, I like Francis LadyBug Boogie the best, it's faster then it looks!

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Playhouse Disney is great! It features stories from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Tiger and Pooh and Little Einsteins. It's interactive and the kids really seem to love it.

Turtle Talk with Crush is really fun. We go to DL every year, sometimes multiple times and we have skipped over this each time until our last trip. We were so impressed and had such a great time. We went 3 times that trip! The last time I dropped my phone and the little card came out so we were in the theater alone with the CM. Crush came back out and started talking to just our family, it was really neat and made it extra special!

 

[bumbershoot]

Other answers are making me think of other things....

Redwood creek challenge trail area is nice, but if anyone is under 42" and feeling sensitive about it, do NOT take them towards the Smoke Jumpers (it's sort of a tire swing...only way I can describe it) or the rock "climbing" (more like sidling LOL) wall. Both have 42" requirements (and at least Smoke Jumpers has a height *limit* as well!), so they aren't good for anyone feeling bummed about not being 42" yet (that was our mistake to go in there to console 41.75" DS after realizing he couldn't ride Grizzly yet).

Speaking of Grizzly for those 42" and up, it's AWESOME. Love that ride.

And for the kids who can sit in a smallish amphitheater and be quiet while someone is talking and teaching, the Animation Academy is our family's fave. DS has loved it since he was 4, even though sometimes he gets frustrated and has to resort to drawing large monster/alien/Jedi scenes on his paper instead of the Disney character that's being taught. Kids do need to be quiet in there, or the assistant will politely insist that the child be taken out...it's only 20 minutes or so long, though, not like some huge class. We just LOVE that drawing class!

 

[LavenderPeach]

Other answers are making me think of other things....

Redwood creek challenge trail area is nice, but if anyone is under 42" and feeling sensitive about it, do NOT take them towards the Smoke Jumpers (it's sort of a tire swing...only way I can describe it) or the rock "climbing" (more like sidling LOL) wall. Both have 42" requirements (and at least Smoke Jumpers has a height *limit* as well!), so they aren't good for anyone feeling bummed about not being 42" yet (that was our mistake to go in there to console 41.75" DS after realizing he couldn't ride Grizzly yet).

Speaking of Grizzly for those 42" and up, it's AWESOME. Love that ride.

And for the kids who can sit in a smallish amphitheater and be quiet while someone is talking and teaching, the Animation Academy is our family's fave. DS has loved it since he was 4, even though sometimes he gets frustrated and has to resort to drawing large monster/alien/Jedi scenes on his paper instead of the Disney character that's being taught. Kids do need to be quiet in there, or the assistant will politely insist that the child be taken out...it's only 20 minutes or so long, though, not like some huge class. We just LOVE that drawing class!

Lol. I can see how the "extra" activities on the challenge trail might be frustrating for kids who aren't tall enough but want to do it. Luckily our DS isn't interested in those things anyway.

Also, speaking of the rapids ride. DS can't ride on it but he LOVES going to the viewing area and watching the boats go down the hill. If you stand next to the railing you get splashed which can be fun on a hot day. There's also a waterfall near there that DS likes to look at. That whole area is nice to walk around.

 

[Stmako111]

I really like Tough To Be A Bug - a "4D" movie - but I'd say it might be too scary for younger kids such as the OP's. Maybe the 5 1/2 year old would be ok.

Yes! Take them to Tough to be a Bug! This was one our favorite things in DCA! So much fun!

 

[purpleorchids]

need to take notes myself...I have 3 little ones and starting to plan my trip.