The 2 Day Park Hopper pass covered us for the other half of Disneyland Resort - Disney's California Adventure. Turn left instead of right at the main gates, and there you are. The California Adventure is kind of like Disneyland's bigger brother - less Mickey, more Pixar. Here you will find thrill rides, plus all the Bug's Life, Monsters Inc characters and so on. A smart move as it neatly disconnects the then and now of the original and 21st century CGI stuff. (*1)
We started at Hollywood Backlot, where my head was completely screwed by an amazing forced perspective backdrop, a city seemingly stretching into infinity and even up close, because to makes my eyes water as my brain tried not to be fooled. This area was also home to MuppetVision3D. Utilising the same 3D technique as Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, this - forgive the pun - took the idea to another dimension, with real muppets in the theatre, including Stadtler and Waldorf and the Swedish Chef, armed with a big cannon. A lot of giggles, a lot of "wow!" moments and not a few thoughts of "how the hell did they do that?" (*2)
The park was a little quieter, and we used Fastpass to have a go on the River Rapids (it was warm enough not to worry about getting soaked) and Caroline went on "A Bug's Tale" - I realised it would contain spiders, probably close up and in far too realistic 3D. I was right, especially as it also used smells and dropped a whole bunch of fake creepy crawlies on the audience. Frankly, if I had been stuck in there, the audience would have been treated to the sight of a 34 year old man having a nervous breakdown. Very. Loudly. (*3)
Highlight of the day was "Soaring Over California". Not really knowing what to expect, it seemed like some kind of gondola ride. In fact it was one of those big screen things, like IMAX, where the whole of your view is filled to give you the impression of flying in the air. Of course, being Disney, this was taken to the next level, with the audience on a seat that moved in time with the action and even gave you smells - for instance when flying over the orange fields, you could smell the oranges. Simply stunningly realised. (*4)
At the other end of the spectrum was "California Screamin'", what you could call the only traditional rollercoaster in the park. Unlike most coasters, which drag you to the top of a large hill to get going, Screamin' is a launched coaster. It uses a series of magnets to fire the car from Zero to Stupidly Quick in a couple of seconds. From launch (0 to 55 in 4 seconds), you go up a 120ft hill and down and over the other side round some more hills, through a loop and back to base all accompanied by music from speakers in the headrests.
The sheer power of the launch is almost impossible to describe, turning your knuckles white even before you hit the bottom of the hill as you have ten tons of adrenaline dumped into your system. The climb at the end of the launch track is a brief respite before diving down the other side. At least, that is the considered description. A real time description is
Leave station... roll to launch track... audio plays "Get ready screamers! Launch in Five...Four...Three...Two...One... AAARGHOHMYGODTHEREJUSTARENOTTHESWEARWORDS... F**K!ME!RAGGED!ARGGHDOWNAGAIN!WHEEEEEEEEE!YEAHHH!WHOOOOOO!
The kind of rush that has you walking off the ride and barging people out of the way, yelling "Get out of my way! I need more of that." Let's put it this way, when I rule the world, I'm having one of those in my back garden. (*5)
Footnotes from Caroline - 020608.
(*1) Have got to say that I loved California Adventure. It does remind me a little bit of the whole DisneyWorld, FL experience in the approach. A shame that a couple of the attractions were not open e.g. Monsters Inc. but those that were open were amazing. Definitely worth a looksee.
(*2) Utterly brilliant. Both Backlot and the Muppets theatre thingy. Ingenious. Personally I prefer all this sort of stuff than the rides. But that's only because I don't like slopes - and rides have slopes.
(*3) Shall I just add that "A Bug's Tale" was particularly convincing - and I don't mind bugs. I got kicked in the back by a crying and screaming 10-ish year old kid when the spiders fell from the roof and into our faces, weird musty "bug" smells filled the air and the "wind" started howling and it started to "rain". The 10-ish year old's mother wasn't taking it much better - and presumably, not to be outdone by her daughter, let out an ear piercing scream that could have shattered glass. At first I was thinking that it was such a great shame that Mike was standing outside in the sunshine whilst I was in a cool, dark "cave"but as the Tale progressed I became relieved that Mike wasn't with me; our travel insurance wouldn't have covered the damages and my street cred is still intact...
(*4) Once again - utterly brilliant and very, very convincing. Get to California Adventure and get your FastPass for "Soaring Over California" right away; the lines go on forever. Another one worth visiting (again get a FastPass) is the Grizzly River Run (kinda like a Log Flume) and even though I don't do slopes, this one had to be done. I just shut my eyes when there's a slope!! We were fortunate not to be totally soaked although a raft in front of us got absolutely drenched by a late spurt of water after going over all of the rapids! Put your camera/bags in the lockers beforehand!
The highlight of the day for me was actually once again the parade - this time the Pixar Parade complete with real and very huge bubbles in their thousands sent out from the tops of street lamps. Loved it, loved it, loved it. Of the rides my favourite was "Soaring Over California" for it's absolute realism and ingenuity.
(*5) Well it didn't float my boat, but it was fun to watch people as there's a viewing deck right alongside/above the launch site! If Mike's gonna have Screamin' in our future garden, can I have all the amazing plants and trees that we saw? It's wonderful to see Bougainvillea, Bird of Paradise, massive cacti and lots of stuff I don't know the name of. Even more amazing to see ripe strawberries, limes and lemon and bedding plants that would only flower in the height of summer at home. Loved it all. If my mum had have been with us she'd have been after cuttings of anything and everything - all carefully "snipped" with that beautifully manicured thumbnail of hers. Sod customs regulations! Those nails were apparently not just for picking on her guitar!
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