Rides/Attractions
We didn’t ride every ride in the parks, so I’ve reviewed the ones we
experienced.
Disneyland
Star Tours - My son
was looking forward to this ride, and it did not disappoint. We rode it 3 times
and had 3 different experiences. The line, which is mostly indoors, moves
fairly quickly.
Jedi Academy – Our
son had heard about the Jedi Academy and wanted to participate. We were at the
first session in the morning, and he was not selected. Due to long lines
elsewhere in the park, we didn’t make it back until the last session of the
day. He was thrilled to be selected to participate. He learned how to use his
lightsaber and had the chance to battle Darth Maul. At the end, he received a
diploma which will be a great addition to his scrapbook.
Indiana Jones
Adventure - We waited in line for close to 2 hours, most of which was
outdoors. Once we were in the tunnels, we walked through very quickly. I'm not
sure why they don't get people into that section of the queue quicker. We
thought the ride was pretty fun.
Storybook Land Canal
Boats - The line for this moved fairly quickly, but we had bad
luck with our storyteller. She was monotone and seemed totally disinterested in
what she was telling us. I also thought the boats moved too quickly to be able
to see all the detail in the displays. I know I missed at least 1/3 of the
displays.
It's a Small World - We
decided to ride this iconic ride. It was visually stunning. My husband took
lots of pictures of stereotypical depictions of Indigenous people to discuss
with his students in the fall.
Matterhorn Bobsleds – My
son and I rode the ride because my husband is not a fan of roller-coaster-type
rides. The line was pretty long and would have been in direct sunlight much of the time had we not been in line in the evening. We enjoyed the ride, but
there are moments of complete darkness, so keep this in mind if someone would
be uncomfortable with that.
Disney California Adventure
Soarin’ Over
California - We waited in line for over an
hour, and about half of that was outside, often in direct sunlight. Once
inside, there were interesting displays to look at, but I could only read the
ones near me, and we stood in one place for a very long time, so I didn’t get a
chance to read the rest. I was really looking forward to this ride, as we rode
a similar one in Vancouver a few years ago (Flying Over Canada), but this one
paled in comparison. The transition between locations was sudden, and I didn’t
smell any scents or feel water spray like I did for the Flying Over Canada
ride. I think we were supposed to, so maybe something wasn't working quite right.
Animation Academy – Our son is an artist, so he loved this experience. We went twice
and had different animators each time. We found the first animator to be
excellent, but the second animator was less engaging.
Monsters, Inc. Mike
& Sulley to the Rescue – We lucked into a
really short line (only 15 minutes). When we walked out of the ride, the line
was quite long. I commented that I was glad that I had ridden when I did
because the ride wasn’t all that great and I would have felt ripped off if I
had waited much longer than I had.
Radiator Springs
Racers – This was the ride we were most excited
about. We went to get Fastpasses, but they were already out by the time we got there.
Since it was such a hot day, and since we’d heard that it’s cool to ride it at
night, we decided to give up going to World of Color and get in the line at
7:00 pm.
After being in line for over 2 hours, it was finally our turn to ride.
We ended up in the same car as the really nice family we’d been chatting with
in line, and my husband and I shared a smile that said, “what a perfect way to
end our time at Disney”. Even though we’d had some low points, we were going to
end on a high point. We were (I’m guessing) about 1/3 of the way through when
the ride stopped. After a couple of minutes, the lights came on and there was
an announcement that we should wait in our cars until an attendant arrived to
walk us out of the ride.
They gave us a return pass, but the ride would not be running again that night. We could use it the next day. Except that was our last day at Disney. Needless to say, our son was heartbroken.
Universal Studios Hollywood
Studio Tour – We
went on the Studio Tour twice – once first thing in the morning and once in the
evening for the night-time tour. It’s cool seeing the backlot, building
facades, and the picture cars.
There are also 3 rides/experiences during
the tour: King Kong 360 3D, an earthquake experience, and Fast & Furious
Supercharged. Our wait for both tours was 45 minutes. So, in other words,
decent wait time + awesome studio tour + 3 rides = AWESOME.
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| Entrance to Fast & Furious Supercharged |
The night-time tour
was cool as many buildings were lit up, and there were characters along the
way.
We had great tour guides, and I remember thinking, before the tram had
even moved, that the tour guide had been far more engaging than our Storybook
guide at Disney (and the tour hadn’t even started).
Transformers: The
Ride 3-D – This is one of our favourite rides at Universal. It’s
exciting and has a story line which begins while you are in line. This time,
however, we skipped over the line by going into the single-rider line. This
way, we were able to go on the ride, relax for about half an hour with a cold
Starbucks drink, and ride the ride again in the time it would have taken us to
line up in the regular queue to ride once.
The Simpsons Ride – This
is another fun ride with a great storyline, which begins while in the queue.
Early on in the line, there are televisions playing segments of Simpsons
episodes. The “It’s a small world” parody was particularly funny for us given
the not-so-magical experiences we’d had at Disneyland. The line for this ride is
completely covered and moves regularly. This is a virtual ride with great
effects.
Despicable Me Minion
Mayhem – The line for this ride was long and outdoors, but much of
it was covered and had cooling fans. The pre-ride show is funny, and the ride
is exciting and heart-warming.
Live performances
One thing that Disney excels at is live performances. While the
Waterworld show at Universal is cool, it pales in comparison to both Mickey
& the Magical Map (Disneyland) and Aladdin (Disney California Adventure).
I
was reluctant to see Aladdin as I have issues with the racism in the movie, but friends had told us it was not to be missed. The Genie
is fabulous and steals the show. I was impressed with how he made several allusions to recent events, so the Genie’s portion of the show must be updated
regularly.
We also really enjoyed the Pixar Parade at California Adventure. It was a really hot day, and those poor people in the costumes danced their hearts out. I noticed that the characters connected with the little girls on either side of us but didn't pay much attention to our 12-year-old son.
My next post will include my final comparisons of the theme parks.
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