It’s a Disney Day! I’m with my sister, Kimberly, her husband, Troy and my cousin Mark!
Despite rain in the forecast, we arrive at 0900. The first thing we notice is the nearly empty parking lot. This is a good sign of fewer people in the park.
We methodically planned out the order of the rides. We started with the most popular rides first. Next we hit the rides with lines exposed to the rain.
So we zig zagged across the park a lot. It is such a magical feeling to enter Disney!
Rise of the Resistance
The Rise of the Resistance ride is really new and often has over a 3 hour wait in line. We came to the Star Wars Park to do this ride first. We were super excited that there was only a 10 minute wait.
This ride had a blend of holograms, films, and live action characters. Technology is throughout this ride. You start off in a room with a hologram explaining about the Resistance. Then you are “captured” and shuttled through two rooms with soldiers (both live action and holograms). Next you enter a small ship where you try to escape.
Outside the ride, Disney makes it a truly authentic steam punk style.
Smugglers Run
Sticking to the space theme we hit Smugglers Run. This had a very impressive entrance putting you in the setting of the ride before you enter. They had “pet shops” with the strangest stuffed creatures and a robot roasting space pig.
Smugglers Run had a blend of holograms, film, and interactive spaceship. They ushered us into our own “pod” where everyone is given a role: Pilot, Engineer, and Gunners. Everyone is pushing buttons or pulling levers throughout the ride.
Pirates of the Caribbean
What kind of sailor would I be if I did not stop in to see my Californian pirate friends? Disney made a few updates to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Always a fun and jovial ride.
Super bummed these photos came out blurry. I was using my iPhone 13 Pro Max low light feature which works great. However you are supposed to stay still which is hard to do on a moving ride! The Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean are both located at New Orleans Square.
The Haunted Mansion
Haunted Mansion is always a crowd pleaser. It has great hologram effects and creepy ghosts that ride with you. The haunting starts as you wait in line (which we did for 10 minutes). All along the perimeter are hysterical grave markers.
Big Thunder Mountain
One of my favorite rides is Big Thunder Mountain in Frontier Land! This fantastic roller coaster is full of twists and turns and giant drops!
My phone had to be stowed so I did not get many photos.
We stopped in at the bakery and watched the bakers make bread bowls.
I had fun with one of the bakers. Pretending to eat her bread bowl through the glass. Doing my best to make her smile. She later chased me down to hand me a Mickey Mouse bread!
Space Mountain
Space Mountain in Tomorrow Land is another great ride. This is fabulous roller coaster that gets your heart beating as you travel through space.
They have a camera that captures you toward the end. We did not buy the photos at ($16-20/piece) but we took a photo of them. Troy is on the left front and Kimberly and I are in the back right making heart symbols.
The Matterhorn
The Matterhorn ride is 66 years old! It is an iconic mountain situated at Disney. You climb into newly renovated bobsleds as your zip around the rickety old roller coaster. It is a true back adjustment ride, but one that you have to go on when you visit the park! The Matterhorn is located in Fantasy Land.
As we were leaving Disney to head to California Adventure we stopped to watch the character parade.
The parade had Micky and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, several princesses and so many more.
California Adventure Park
This park is located right next to Disneyland.
You can visit both parks with the purchase of your Disney ticket.
Cars
My sister’s favorite rides “It’s a Small World” and “Peter Pan” were closed.
However, her 3rd favorite ride, Cars was open. This ride was complete inspired by the movie. Super silly but loads of fun – especially if you like the movie.
Soarin Over California
On Soarin California you climb into a chair that is raised really high.
A giant screen which displays different parts of California. This virtual ride moves you in concert with the film.
The ride has interactive effects including wind that blows in your face and special smells.
Personally, I do not like virtual rides as they make me fuzzy headed and a wee bit sick.
IncrediCoaster
HOLY COW this ride was amazing, thrilling, frightening, exhilarating, and truly fantastic!
Incredicoaster is my new favorite roller coaster! This rollercoaster takes you in a complete circle, upside down. YTou plummet down several steep drops and twist in so many directions that you can’t figure out which end is up! Loved it!
How Much Does it Cost?
The average adult, non-California resident, ticket is $103-$206 per day! If you live in California, the tickets start at $67/day, kids start at $50/day. Prices vary based on the number of days you want to visit.
Parking is between $35-$55 per day. Food and drinks are also very pricey!
This was best day I have ever had at Disney! Why? Because there were no lines and we walked on each ride.
Our blog posts run 6 weeks behind actual live events.
We were at Disneyland in early March 2025.
We walk you through a lot of boat projects we’ve been working on in our last blog post.
