Disneyland Rides

  • Alice in Wonderland – a slow-moving dark ride that takes you through scenes from the movie, over 3 and a half minutes long – much better than I was expecting it to be (but I wasn’t expecting much)
  • Astro Orbiter – same as the one at Magic Kingdom in Florida (only on ground level instead of requiring an elevator ride). A spinning rocket ride that is a tight squeeze for 2 adults
  • Autopia – drive a car along a guided path. Similar to Tomorrowland Speedway at Magic Kingdom. Basically Go-Karts, but infinitely less fun (unless you’re like, 6)
  • Big Thunder Mountain – one of my favourites, a roller coaster described as the wildest ride in the wilderness! Decently fast, some good turns and bumps but not overly intense. Very similar to the ride of the same name at Magic Kingdom (I find the California one slightly better)
  • Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters – a shooting style game to defeat evil Emperor Zurg. Very similar to the one at Magic Kingdom, but Disneyland’s wins because the guns can come out of their holsters giving you better accuracy.
  • Casey Jr. Circus Train – a train for little kids
  • Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes
  • Dumbo – the classic elephant ride
  • Enchanted Tiki Room – a show with some of the first animatronics ever. All the birds sings words and the flowers croon, in the tiki tiki tiki tiki tiki room. Don’t forget to grab a Dole Whip before heading inside to eat during the show! Also – California’s is better than Florida’s because of the pre-show before entering the building.
  • Finding Nemo Submarine – an actual submarine ride, little kids love it, anyone with claustrophobia will not.
  • Gadget’s Go- Coaster – a beginner roller coaster that lasts less than a minute. Based on Gadget Hackwrench from Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers
  • Haunted Mansion –a slow, continuous-moving through a highly themed haunted house – focuses more on details and theming than jump scares. Watch out for hitchhiking ghosts!
  • Indiana Jones’ Adventure – a bumpy adventure with Indy. Very similar ride system to Dinosaur from Animal Kingdom, but this is much better. Queue line is fantastic
  • It’s A Small World – a slow moving boat ride through all the stereotypes of Earth while the most annoying song ever created plays on repeat.
  • Jungle Cruise – a pun-tastic boat tour through an animatronic-animal jungle. You’ll groan, but also enjoy it.
  • King Arthur Carousel – just a standard merry-go-round, located in Fantasyland
  • Mad Tea Party – the classic spinning teacups ride
  • Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – ride through the Hundred Acre Wood in a honeypot. Watch out for Heffalumps and Woozles.
  • Mark Twain Riverboat – a large, slow moving boat ride around the Rivers of America (12 minutes). A 1955 original
  • Matterhorn Bobsleds – a rough roller coaster
  • Monorail – the first daily operating monorail in the Western Hemisphere, has two stops – inside Disneyland and Downtown Disney
  • Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride – a 1955 Original ride, a slow-moving ride – just be careful you don’t get stuck in Hell.
  • Peter Pan – soar over London and travel to Neverland in a flying pirate ship.
  • Pinocchio’s Daring Journey – another 1955 original slow-moving ride that tells the story of Pinocchio
  • Pirates of the Caribbean – the last ride Walt himself oversaw, the ride that inspired a film franchise. Much better in California compared to Florida.
  • Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin – a dark ride based on Who Framed Roger Rabbit, ride in a a taxi which you can spin
  • Snow White’s Scary Adventure – another 1955 original – a slow moving ride that is basically a Cole’s notes version of Snow White
  • Space Mountain – high speed roller coaster in the dark. I prefer the ride vehicles in California over Florida (side by side as opposed to single file)
  • Splash Mountain – classic log flume ride. I prefer the ride vehicles in Florida – you get much wetter in California and the story doesn’t flow as well
  • Star Tours – a Star Wars themed motion simulator – same as the one in Florida
  • Storybook Canal Boats – a slow moving boat ride that passes by miniature versions of lands from Disney movies
  • Tarzan’s Treehouse – a walk-through attraction