by Wayne N. Kawamoto

Now three-years-old, Disney's California Adventure, the second theme park at Anaheim's Disneyland Resort, offers a different experience from that of its venerable neighbor, Disneyland. We found the park to be well done and entertaining, but the food was pricey, and the park lacks the wealth of experiences and attractions found at Disneyland.

As the name implies, Disney's California Adventure (DCA) presents a theme based on California's culture, history and natural wonders. The park's major themed lands include: 1) Hollywood Pictures Backlot; 2) Golden State, a scenic national park; 3) Paradise Pier, a seaside amusement park; and 4) A Bug's Land. Other smaller areas represent Napa Valley, San Francisco, Monterey's Cannery Row, and more.

A couple of attractions are unique to DCA, but many are either duplicates of those that already exist at Walt Disney World in Florida, or standard amusement park rides that have been given something of a Disney upgrade. Note that most rides have certain height requirements and younger kids can't ride them.

Virtual Tinsel Town
As the name implies, the Hollywood Pictures Backlot is designed to look like a working movie studio. Generally, the attention to detail in this area is excellent, and there some intriguing attractions that include the Tower of Terror, the Aladdin stage show, Animation Studio, and Muppet 3D Adventures.

The newest attraction that looms over the park is
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, a thrilling and
somewhat scary supernatural adventure that's based
on the classic Twilight Zone television series. The Tower
of Terror features a series of drops, that aren't free falls,
but fast, exhilarating elevator rides. The DCA version of
"The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" is similar to the
attraction at the Disney-MGM Studios in Walt Disney World.

Riders enter through a once-grand hotel lobby and are ushered into a musty library. In the library, guests experience an invitation to board the hotel's service elevators. Once on the elevator, riders experience creepy and impressive visuals before "falling" from the 13th floor. It's a fun attraction that is too intense for young kids.

The Hollywood Pictures Backlot features the Hyperion Theater, which presents an elaborate stage version of Disney's animated movie, Aladdin. This entertaining show serves spectacular sets and visual effects and a strong cast. It's an impressive step above Disney's already high-quality theme park entertainment.

The Disney Animation attraction in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot is a must-see. Highlights here include a show in which an animator (portrayed by an actor) shows how animated characters are developed. An adjacent exhibit shows how some famous Disney movie characters evolved. Another room offers interactive exhibits that let kids draw and view their own cartoons or perform voice overs on favorite animated sequences.

A duplicate of that which resides in Florida's Disney/MGM Studios, Jim Henson's Muppet Vision 3D is a 3D film that stars Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and other popular Muppet characters. It offers a hilarious 3D movie that serves tactile special effects.

By the Sea
The Paradise Pier zone evokes a beach-side amusement park. Here, the California Screamin' roller coaster, which is often pictured in the park's advertisements, serves up a loop along with various drops and turns. While it looks like a traditional wood roller coaster, it's actually made of metal. The coaster offers a smooth, exhilarating ride, and relies on magnetic induction technology, not gravity, to accelerate the cars from a flat standstill.

The Maliboomer is a vertical ride that quickly sends you up 180 feet and then back down; and the Sun Wheel is a Ferris wheel featuring cars that move in and out of the wheel's hub as it turns. Unfortunately, like all Ferris wheels, this one takes a long time to load and unload.

Kids can ride on the Jumpin' Jellyfish, a smaller and slower Maliboomer, or ride the colorful King Triton's Carousel. The rest of the rides in this area, which include the Golden Zephyr, the Orange Stinger (a chain swing ride), and Mulholland Madness (a "wild mouse" or "flying fish" mini-roller coaster ride) are dressed-up carnival/amusement park rides. Paradise Pier also offers a water area in which kids may climb on a mock-up ship, and there are carnival-style games as well.

In the A Bug's Land, there's the "It's Tough to Be a Bug" show that is a duplicate of that at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida. The 3D movie delivers outrageous 3D effects and visual tricks and features characters from Disney's popular "It's a Bug's Life" movie. It's entertaining and funny, but too scary for young kids.

An area for the kids is in A Bug's Land is Flick's Fun Fair. This relatively compact area features creative (and cute) insect theming and several kid-oriented rides. While Flick's Fun Fair does offer activities for the youngest children, the rides here, which consists of a short train ride, bumper cars, and more, are tame (almost sedate) and short. Also, minimum height requirements exist, even here. Not everyone can ride.

Other areas in the park offer additional attractions. In the Condor Flats area, the impressive "Soarin' Over California" is a hang-gliding simulation that showcases famous California scenery. You sit in rows of seats that lift up and into a large movie screen, and as the movie rolls, the seats move with the action. There's no story or narration - just music and stunning scenery.

The Golden State is designed to look like a California National Park. Here, the Grizzly River Run offers a first-rate river ride that delivers satisfying twists and turns, a couple of fun drops, and realistic rock formations and geysers. A play area called the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail lets kids cross net bridges and crawl through tunnels-an experience similar to that of Disneyland's old Tom Sawyer's Island.

A worthy experience is the "Golden Dreams" movie, which stars Whoopi Goldberg and airs in a theater that resembles San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts. The show presents the experiences of various people throughout California's history.

The park is clean and colorful, and looks wonderful, particularly at night. DCA's food service bears mention. The park features a limited number of restaurants and eating venues with varied and generally tasty food. However, be prepared to spend considerable money on a meal-around eight dollars for a single basic lunch. Even the McDonald's in the Paradise Pier section offers food at prices far more than the nearby McDonald's on Anaheim's Ball Avenue, and hot-dogs on a stick in the park are almost five dollars each.

Overall, Disney's California Adventure is an entertaining (if expensive) experience and most will enjoy its limited attractions. It's best experienced with older kids and it's not Disneyland, but what is?

9/15/04 www.daytrum.com Editorial Staff

Rating:

Ages: five and up

www.daytrum.com Editorial Staff

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