Disneyland and California Adventure

By Marilyn Jones

Since my last visit to Disneyland in Anaheim, California in 1988, the park has changed, but not the magic. Instead of traveling with three small children, I am traveling with my adult son and seven-year-old granddaughter. The Pixie Dust is just as powerful as it has always been.

Disneyland Park

The grandaddy of all the Disney parks worldwide is this one. Today the sun doesn't set on Disney properties in Orlando, Florida, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, but Disneyland Park is the only one Walt Disney had a hands-on influence. The idea of a park where children and adults could play together started in the 1930s and 1940s when Disney was taking his daughters to ride the carousel at Griffith Park in Los Angeles. As he watched his girls from a park bench, he dreamed of creating a place where families could enjoy rides together. The original concept was a small park with a boat ride and a few themed areas, but the project soon outgrew the proposed location as Disney's ideas grew and more designers got involved in the planning. Finally, they found the property they needed at a cost they could afford southeast of Los Angeles. They purchased the 160-acre orchard of orange and walnut trees in Anaheim. 

Construction began in 1954. One year and 17 million dollars later, Disneyland Park was ready to open its doors to the public on Sunday, July 17, 1955, with 18 rides and attractions and five lands, including Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, and Main Street USA. Park admission was $1.00, plus tickets for individual rides. Disneyland Park welcomed 5 million visitors the first year and 10 million visitors the next. Since its opening, Disneyland Park has undergone expansions and significant renovations, including the addition of New Orleans Square in 1966, Bear Country (now Critter Country) in 1972, Mickey's Toontown in 1993, and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge in 2019. There are more than 40 rides and attractions in the park.

California Adventure

Feeling the need for a second park, California Adventure opened on February 8, 2001. It is on Disneyland Park's original parking lot property. Today there are about 25 rides and attractions but projected high attendance didn't happen when the park opened. In 2007, Disney announced a major overhaul of the park consisting of further expansion and re-construction of existing areas of the park, including Buena Vista Street and Cars Land opening. The most recent addition to the park was the completion of Avengers Campus. Other areas include Hollywood Land, Pacific Wharf, Pixar Pier, Paradise Gardens Park, and Grizzly Peak. 

Convenience

The beauty of Disneyland Park and California Adventure is you do not have to stay on property to be close to the action. Our hotel was across the street. Within five minutes, we could walk up to security, and another five minutes, we were in line to enter one of the parks. The convenience continues when you or your children want to take a break, go swimming, or rest. Then, you can quickly return in the evening to enjoy the parks after dark. After the security checkpoint, California Adventure is to your left, and Disneyland Park is to your right. Straight ahead is Downtown Disney, with various shops and souvenir choices.  If you choose to come in for the day, follow signs to one of the parking facilities: Mickey & Friends Parking Structure, Pixar Pals Parking Structure, or Toy Story Parking Area. Guests can access the parks by following a dedicated walkway from the Mickey & Friends and Pixar Pals Parking Structures.  Guests can access the park via the Toy Story Parking Area bus. Regardless of COVID vaccination status, all guests need to wear an appropriate face covering while on the bus transportation to and from the Toy Story lot and the parks. Guests must also wear a mask in line, at attractions, and on rides. Wheelchair, stroller, and ECV rentals are available at Mickey & Friends Parking Structure and Pixar Pals Parking Structure.

Our Adventure

We chose to start at the beginning, so to speak, at Disneyland Park.  The security checkpoint opened at 7:30 a.m. the day we visited. From there, we made our way through the entrance and waited for the "rope to drop" in Adventureland. Our first stop was Indiana Jones Adventure. Then, as everyone else was darting toward Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, we walked right onto this popular ride. Next, in New Orleans Square, we hopped aboard Pirates of the Caribbean, again with no wait. This is where Genie, Genie+, and Lightening Lane came into play. You can plan your day, know how long a line is and get valuable information from the Genie app, but the only way to secure a place in the Lightening Lane is by using Genie+. The fee for this app is $20 per person and is good on most attractions featuring a Lightning Lane. Certain rides are so popular that they require an additional fee on top of the $20 daily price tag, including Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in Disneyland Park and Radiator Springs Racers and Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure in California Adventure. The apps are not user-friendly, but staff members will help you if you need additional instruction. Also included are photos staff photographers take throughout the park and the ones taken while you are on a ride.

We were at the parks for approximately 18 hours during the two days. We experienced more than 30 attractions and rides, had lunch and dinner in the parks and took time to take photos and shop. We were able to experience and do so much more because of Lightening Lane. The best website for all things Disney is disneyland.disney.go.com. Here you purchase your ticket, make a theme park reservation for the same day and the same park you want to visit, and better understand the new Genie, Genie+, and Lightning Lane features.

For 67 years, generations of fun-seekers have visited this land of magic to ride the rides, see their favourite characters, and shut out the rest of the world for just a few hours of fun, family, and friends. If you are in the Los Angeles area, make sure and spend at least two days at this land of fantasy and fun.

Marilyn Jones  January 2022                                                                                                                                                  Click HERE to read Marilyn's bio

The entrance to Tomorrowland in Disneyland Park.

Radiator Springs in California Adventure