Rides and Entertainment at California Adventures

Here are the rides and entertainment at California Adventures. California Adventure has a little bit of everything from little kids playing at “a bug’s land” to fast roller coasters and a ginormous Ferris Wheel.

Radiator Springs Racers

Cars Land is the new land in California Adventure and it is amazing to walk down and feel like you are in the movie “Cars”.  And Radiator Springs Racers is THE ride to go on at California Adventure.  On the morning we hit California Adventure, we hit the park early to get in line to get Fast Passes.  While I stood waiting for rope drop, my husband got into line for the Racers *Fast Pass.  As soon as the park opened, the entire crowd seemed to move in the same direction.  Everyone (OK-probably only 98% of the crowd) moved straight to Cars Land.  Be aware that the Racers Fast Pass is actually outside of Cars Land at the entrance to a bug’s land.  My husband was in line for an hour just to get a Fast Pass for the ride!  But it worked out.  We waited in line to get on the ride which actually took an hour, so he was able to catch up with us and get on the ride and then we had Fast Passes for later in the day.  Be aware that the Racers Fast Passes usually sell out within an hour of the park opening.  The day we were there, the line for Racers was over 3 hours long!  Yikes!

There are 6 people in each car, 3 in the front and 3 in the back.   You take a short meandering drive through the outskirts of Radiator Springs.  Once again, the people at Disney have spared no expense to make all the details perfect.  Then you take a trip through the Cars story and see some of the awesome characters.  You go through one of 2 options at the end (both times we went we were sent through Ramone’s).  After that you line up with another car and race to the finish.  It is an exciting ride and it was exhilarating to feel the wind through our hair!

Get Fast Passes-Just In Case!

We never pass up an opportunity to get Fast Passes.  You never know when you might use them.  On Day Three of our trip, 2 of our kids decided to call it quits in the evening, so I stayed at the hotel while my husband went back to California Adventure with the other two.  One of our kids was done with roller coasters, so we had 6 Fast Passes for California Screamin’ and only 2 people who wanted to ride, so my husband and son were able to ride this roller coaster 3 times.

Another time my daughter decided that she wanted to see the Princesses while everyone else headed to Space Mountain.  We ended up having 2 extra Fast Passes since my daughter and I bowed out, so 2 of our kids got to ride a second time.

Fast Pass Exceptions

You can get Fast Passes for World of Color and not have to wait to get another Fast Pass for a ride right away.  The Fast Pass will give you a color for a section you stand in for the show.  The World of Color show is pretty phenomenal.  But you will be standing and it can be hard for little ones to stand that long, so take that into consideration.  Another exception for Fast Passes- because the Racers Fast Passes sell out so quickly, you can still go and get other Fast Passes.  So you can be holding 3 Fast Passes at the same time- one for World of Color, one for Racers, and one for another California Adventure Fast Pass ride.

Entertainment

We went to see the Aladdin show and were so impressed!  If you can get orchestra seating, you would get to see some of the performers, camel riders, and other cast members up close and personal.  But all of the seats are great!  We sat in the balcony and loved that we were able to see the swooping magic carpet up close.  It was phenomenal and I recommend you take the time to see it!

Other Rides

Another ride to hit early is Toy Story Midway Mania.  This ride puts 2 people in a car with another 2 people behind them.  The cars split up as the ride goes on.  You play 5 different carnival games while wearing 3-D glasses.  You pull a lever and aim to try and rack up points at each game.  The game is super fun and very interactive.  But the lines for this favorite get super long.  We had to wait an hour and a half to do it.  It doesn’t have a Fast Pass, so getting in line early is the only way to shorten your wait.

Another family favorite is Soarin’ Over California.  You sit in a line of seats with your feet dangling down.  As the ride starts, you quickly are pulled up towards a giant screen.  You feel like you are flying over California, seeing everything from orange groves to Palm Springs to Lake Tahoe.  The ride feels very real as you smell oranges as you fly over an orange grove and smell pine as you fly over a forest of pine trees.

California Adventure may be a newer park and most of the rides are based on Pixar movies, but it has a little bit of everything for the whole family.  Get soaked on Grizzly River Run, take a spin on Mickey’s Fun Wheel and get a bird’s eye view of the park, or try some rock climbing at the Redwood Creek Challenge.  There are always new things to discover at California Adventure!

*The Fast Passes at California Adventure are available for the following rides:  California Screamin,’ Goofy’s Sky School, Grizzly River Run, Radiator Springs Racers, Soarin’ Over California, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, as well as the show, World of Color.

Here are the rides and entertainment at Disneyland.

Learn more about Disneyland Parks.

 My name is Julie and I am a stay-at-home mom with 4 kids. With four kids ages 6, 9, 11, and 14 we have to be careful how we spend money to make vacations like this possible.  Check out how we were able to make our magical vacation a reality!