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Ride Profile: Soarin Over the World

As summer led to long lines and hot days at the park, it took me longer than expected to gt onto the update of the beloved ride, Soarin Over California in California Adventure, which is now Soarin Over the World. As the new name states, riders no longer glide over the Golden State, but take an adventure around the world! Soarin has always been one of my favorite rides, as it provides air conditioning and a relaxing adventure, so I kneew I would at least get that from the ride. The places chosen are somewhat expected, like the Eiffel Tower and Great Wall of China, but it nice that the video quality is much higher than the original ride.  There is a fast pass available which can be well worth getting, as lines can be long with riders wanting to try out the new ride.  Overall, it is nice to see Disney finally update this ride, but part of me wishes they had updated the scenes with California areas, as the ride is in California Adventure!  Check it out for yourself a
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Disneyland Character Hunting

There are certainly many things to enjoy while visiting Disneyland, and especially for the kiddos (and those of us young at heart) get excited to see our favorite characters! When I was younger, I held my autograph book close during the whole day just in case we ran into characters that had not signed my book, but some visits it seemed that we never saw new characters (we did go a lot though….). So this got me thinking of where certain characters can be found! This website:  http://www.wdwinsiders.com/character_finder.php doesn’t show the characters location, but what I enjoy about the work they have done is the likelihood of seeing Mickey Mouse versus Thumper from Bambi. (also a great website for other useful Disney information) So a few tricks or hints to tracking down a specific princess or villain! If you are just wanting to see the character without an up close picture or autograph, watch the parade! Really, you are able to see about a hundred (maybe more) of the

Is It Crowded?

As an annual pass holder, I generally plan my trips to the park when I know it will not be crowded. Sounds like a good plan right?!? There are times when my friends and I go to Disneyland completely spontaneously, but even on those trips its nice to know whether Disneyland or California Adventure is the better park to start in. One way I figure this out is by wait times. In both the Apple and Android store, there are apps that you can download to see frequently updates wait times for all the rides in the park. In addition, it shows rides that are closed for the day, so you don’t waste your time walking all the way to the ride just to be disappointed. However, if you do not have a smart phone, the wait times for rides can be found at the end of Main Street at the kiosk. The other way I look at optimal park days is by sites that research crowd patterns. Luckily for us, they do the research and statistics for us, and we can figure out the best days to go! The web

Ride Profile: Star Tours

“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....” Take a tour of the Star Wars universe in the all new Starspeeder 1000! Special effects and a flight simulator make this ride feel as if you are flying through space and into new lands. After Star Tours was remodeled, there are now thousands of different combinations of take off, crashing and landing scenarios, so you will never ride the exact same ride twice.  Your adventure may include: •  The Wookies’ woodland home planet, Kashyyyk  •  The underwater realms on Naboo (my personal favorite ) •  The bustling city-planet of Coruscant •  The desert planet of Tatooine •  The icy landscape of Hoth •  The dreaded Death Star In addition to C-3PO and R2-D2, you may encounter: •  Darth Vader •  Yoda •  Princess Leia •  Chewbacca •  Boba Fett •  Admiral Ackbar This ride has a height requirement of 40”, but parent swap passes are available (just ask a cast member). In addition, if you are pron

Ride Profile: Mad Hatter Tea Cups

Celebrate your “un-birthday” in Wonderland by spinning and twirling in your very own teacup! There are a total of 18 cups that spin individually, on top of 3 separate turntables, on top of one large turntable! It a crazy contraption indeed, but it is Wonderland after all! (After a recent physics experiment, without spinning the actual cup, you will spin about 8 times during the ride, but with spinning you can get up to 23 spins. For those looking to spin as much as possible, try sitting in the purple cup or pink trim cup with hearts as they spin the most times!) The ride was created after the animated classic Alice in Wonderland , particularly the Mad Hatter’s party scene. So naturally the color scheme and unreal size of tea cups are not a surprise! This attraction was apart of one of the original rides in the park, located in Fantasyland today where it still has the timeless whimsical feel as on opening day. As for the hidden Mickey, this one is tricky to se

Ride Profile: Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage

Disneyland's long-shuttered Submarine Voyage ride has finally reopened! This time, the theme features characters from the Pixar animated film, "Finding Nemo." Board the subs and cruise below the surface of Disneyland's Tomorrowland Lagoon while watching the adventures of Nemo, Marlin, Dory and others. The Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage features brand new technology. Along with looking at animatronic sea life through the portholes, visitors to Disneyland will view images projected. Because there will be a space in between the effects box and the port hole, it will appear as though the characters from Finding Nemo are actually swimming in the water right outside your submarine! The lines are calm on weekdays and late nights, around 11 PM, reaching from 75 minutes to 60 minutes. The subs load/ unload slowly, yet it is worth the wait. The line now rarely wraps around the lagoon except during the mid day rush. (Note: The last person to board may get