Tips & News — Disney's California Adventure

What's better than Disney parks during the day? Disney parks at night. I'm listing my top 6 Disney parks rides I absolutely love riding after the sun goes down.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

This ride is fantastic regardless of the time of day, but it really seems to bump up a notch at night. It's a very visually stimulating ride with great storytelling and the colors of all the gems really come to life after dark. Next thing you know you're catching all the feels as you dip and dive through Fantasyland.  Nothing beats the views of a glowing Cinderella's castle and Prince Charming's Regal Carousel.

Tower of Terror

I feel like this one is a no-brainer. The theming and storytelling seems to get just that much more creepy after dark. As you weave through the hotel grounds up to the front doors, it almost has a haunted house feel. The majority of the ride is indoors but when you're thrown several stories into the air overlooking a glowing Hollywood Studios, you'll understand why it's such a great nighttime ride. 

California Screamin' 

I'm taking you out to Disney's California Adventure park for this one. There's no better feeling than seeing the boardwalk and Mickey's Funwheel lit up at night. Ok there's one better feeling and that's looping your way through the boardwalk lights on this highspeed wooden coaster. The line usually moves quickly so be sure to ride it more than once.

Splash Mountain 

This is a perfect daytime ride on a blistering hot summer day, but I also love it at night. Going on water rides at night brings such a different feel and dynamic that it actually makes it feel like a completely different attraction. Also, this is the money shot at WDW. If you've ever been on this ride then you know right before you take the plunge you get a breathtaking view of Cinderella's Castle. When it's lit up at night, it makes that view ten times better.

Test Track

This one makes the list solely based on a personal experience Janey and I had. This ride is mostly indoors except for the outdoor finale that accelerates to over 60mph down a long loop track. On our last trip to Epcot we were lucky to ride this as Illuminations was lighting up the sky with fireworks. It felt like we were in a WDW commercial speeding around the track as fireworks went off all around us. Such a special experience. 

Radiator Springs Racers

This is California Adventures's version of Test Track. For the same reasons I stated above, speeding your way through a fully lit up and neon glowing Radiator Springs is something you must experience. Radiator Springs at night is one of my favorites already so hopping on this ride puts the cherry on top. 

All photo credit: Disney Parks Blog

What are some of your favorite rides at night? Let us know in the comments. 

Whoa!  What a weekend for the house of mouse and its fans. As the D23 Expo comes to a close, we want to share some of the biggest updates and announcements. There were bombshells and a few more obvious confirmations, but all in all it was an exciting and historic weekend. 

Here's a list of the biggest announcements:

Parks and Resorts

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge – These new Star Wars lands will open in 2019 at both Disneyland and Hollywood Studios! Chapek said, “The scale of this attraction is unlike anything that we’ve ever done before.”

Epcot News – Two new attractions! The France Pavilion will be gaining a Ratatouille ride and a Guardians of the Galaxy attraction will open up, as well. There will also be a new restaurant next to Mission: SPACE.

TRON Lightcycle Power Run – This new attraction will be opening up in Tomorrowland before Magic Kingdom’s 50^th anniversary. The attraction is already running at Shanghai Disneyland.

Disney’s Hotel New York, The Art of Marvel – This new resort will be opening in Disneyland Paris.

Star Wars Resort – This completely immersive resort will be every Star Wars fan’s dream. (I think it’s time I finally watch these movies.)

Disney Skyliner – This gondola transportation system will link Disney’s Pop Century, Caribbean Beach, Art of Animation resorts and others with Epcot and Hollywood Studios!

Disney Riviera Resort – A brand new resort near Epcot!

Disney Cruise Line – This thing is growing big time! Two new ships are in the works and a third was just announced, as well.

Toy Story Land – Opening at Hollywood Studios next summer!!!

Pixar Pier – Paradise Pier in California Adventure will make the switch to a Pixar themed boardwalk. A new Pixar parade will move to Disneyland.

Paint the Night Parade – IS COMING BACK, this time to California Adventure!!!

Super Hero Attractions – Spider-Man and Avengers will be coming to California Adventure.

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway – This new ride will take you through Mickey’s story. It also will replace the iconic Great Movie Ride so I’m very upset by this one.

Upcoming Films!

• Olaf’s Frozen Adventure (November 2017)
• Frozen 2 (November 2019(
• Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck It Ralph 2
• Edna Mode
• Toy Story 4
• Coco
• Untitled Movie by Dan Scanlon
• Avengers
• A Wrinkle In Time
• Lion King Live Action
• Dumbo Live Action
• Aladdin Live Action
• Mary Poppins Returns
• + more

There are so many amazing things coming soon! I am most excited for all of the Pixar announcements and obviously Paint the Night Parade, my favorite show of all time! Let us know your thoughts and what you’re most looking forward to!

*All pictures from d23.com

It's official. The Disney MaxPass will be available for use starting July 19^th. If you’re asking yourself, what is the Disneyland Maxpass and why is this so cool, then we’ve got you covered.

The Disney MaxPass for Disneyland is going be similar in feel and functionality to the My Disney Experience App in Walt Disney World. Park goers will be able to download the Disneyland App, register or sign in to their Disney accounts, and then enjoy the incredible convenience of mobile FASTPASS booking and unlimited Disney PhotoPass downloads from the day. If you were not aware, up until this point Disneyland has still been using paper for FASTPASS. So, yeah this is huge!

The Disney MaxPass will cost you $10 for the day. You can purchase directly from the Disneyland mobile App or add it to your ticket price at the time of purchase. Are you an annual passholder to the Disneyland Resort? The MaxPass will run you $75 for the life of your AP or it will be free if you’re a Signature Plus passholder. The old-fashioned way of obtaining your FASTPASS via paper kiosk at the ride will remain free.

In other FASTPASS news Toy Story Mania and Matterhorn Bobsleds were added to the FASTPASS family at Disneyland.

Are you excited for the MaxPass? Let us know what you think.

Disney's D23 expo will take place this weekend in Anaheim and, as always, the rumor mill is swirling. Every other year, Disney execs host the D23 expo to make announcements and showcase their upcoming plans. Let's take a look at some potential big news dropping this weekend.

Toy Story Land

Rumor has it we'll be getting a firm date for the opening of Toy Story Land inside Hollywood Studios within the next 10 months. More information on retail and dining options is also expected. If you haven't seen it yet, here's a look at the recent construction progress and the official logo!

WDW Gondola System

This is now less of a rumor considering construction has already begun at Epcot's International Gateway.  Disney is expected to release more specifics around the timeline for its opening. The route has already been confirmed and will connect Epcot, Caribbean Beach, Pop Century, Art of Animation and Hollywood Studios.

Star Wars Land

Currently a simultaneous build going on at Disneyland and Hollywood Studios, Disney is likely to drop some specifics around these two huge expansions. Both are scheduled to open in 2019 with Disneyland finishing first and Hollywood Studios wrapping up later in the year. Although these are expected to be extremely similar, the biggest difference is the rumored boutique hotel at the Hollywood Studios land. Will we be getting confirmation on this hotel this weekend at D23? Let's just wait and see!

The Great Movie Ride or The Great Mickey Ride?

Although the The Great Movie Ride is one of my absolute favorite classics at Hollywood Studios it is rumored to be next in line for replacement. Yes, it will most likely be closed within the next year and a new very similar experience based solely around Mickey Mouse will be taking its place. "The Great Mickey Ride" is rumored to be opening in California Adventure, as well. It is supposed to showcase trackless ride technology and projection mapping. Hopefully we'll get a confirmation and some specifics this weekend.

Here's a shortlist of other rumors swirling around Disney these days. Little to no information can be confirmed just yet.

• Moana-themed attraction in Adventureland
• Tron-themed attraction in Tomorrowland replacing the Speedway
• Ratatoullie ride coming to the France pavilion at Epcot
• Guardians of the Galaxy attractions coming to Future World at Epcot
• Zootopia retail, dining and meet-and-greets in Animal Kingdom
• Brazil pavilion coming to Epcot

The D23 Convention begins this Friday, July14th and ends Sunday the 16th.

Walt said it himself that the parks will never truly be finished!

What changes are you most excited about? Are there any you are disappointed about?

I’m sure you all are well aware of the highly anticipated opening of Pandora last weekend; however, while everyone was flocking to Animal Kingdom, the west coast was concerned with its own new attraction.

It’s called, The Guardians of the Galaxy Mission: Breakout and it can be found at Disney’s California Adventure in Anaheim. In case you’ve been living under a rock, this attraction replaced the beloved Tower of Terror - an announcement that was met with mixed reviews from the Disney community. Whether you’re still sad over losing the Hollywood Hotel or not, The Guardians of the Galaxy have arrived so let’s take a look and the new ride.

In classic Disney fashion, they went big with an elaborate opening ceremony for their new attraction on the Thursday night before the May 27th opening. Even a few stars from the film showed up. Throughout the rest of the weekend the fans didn’t disappoint either. They came in droves, creating some pretty crazy wait times. How about 7 hours long? Yes, fans waited 7 hours to get their turn on the new ride.

I’m not going to try and convince you that waiting in line that long for anything is fun, but Disney has a way of starting the story and experience well before it’s time to ride. Mission: Breakout has some pretty incredible stuff to take your mind off of the waiting and immerse you in the story before you even make it in the building. Outside is the Collector’s garden which has many unique plants, lawn gnomes, and even a few easter eggs.

https://youtu.be/lksnaSwN9H8

Once you’re inside, you will start to appreciate all of the theming and immersive storytelling that went into this attraction. You are now among the Collector’s collection. Here you’ll find Easter eggs and references to the both the film and comics.

(Joshua Sudock/Disneyland Resort)

The pre-ride entertainment is concluded with a video right before you are sent through to the Collector’s office. One last pep talk from Rocket and it’s ride time.

The ride features 6 different experiences. The more you ride, the more you’ll encounter different drop patterns, songs and videos.

(Joshua Sudock/Disneyland Resort)

(Joshua Sudock/Disneyland Resort)

Whether you’re happy about it or not Guardians of the Galaxy Mission: Breakout is here to stay. You can ride it at Disney’s California Adventure park in Anaheim… after a long but entertaining wait.

We want to hear from you!

Who had the opportunity to ride?

What did you think?