Top 7 Favorite Rides at Disneyland

Like many Disney fans, I've been going to Disneyland since I was barely three-years-old. Through those years both the Disneyland Resort and myself have changed in many different ways, but one thing remains constant: I love rides.

Attractions have always been my family's favorite part of going to any Disney park. We never really spent much time meeting characters or watching too many shows...probably because I was deathly afraid to meet characters, but that's another story. I remember always loving it's a small world back when I didn't know any better...and now I can barely stand to ride it barely once a year.

Now that I've lived in Southern California for almost three years and have frequented Disneyland too many times to count, I thought I'd share my top seven favorite rides within the Disneyland Resort (including California Adventure). Let's see if any of mine are your favorites too!

Top 7 Favorite Rides at the Disneyland Resort

7. Toy Story Midway Mania - I'm so ridiculously competitive on this ride, but it's just because it's so much fun! For the longest time I had an undefeated streak, but my brother broke it a couple times within the last year. It's a complete must-do whenever my family comes to visit, mostly because my dad is obsessed!

6. Big Thunder Mountain - I remember loving this attraction when I was younger, but I would always close my eyes whenever the train dodged and weaved through caves and dark tunnels because I was scared something would jump out at me like the yeti in the Matterhorn. However, with the most recent refurb and added updates to Big Thunder Mountain after closing for the big incident, I have to say this is one of the most fun and enjoyable attractions in the resort. Great for anyone, really! Even those who don't prefer roller coasters!

5. California Screamin' - One of the biggest and probably most fun thrill rides within the park. You can't really ride Screamin' without a giant smile on your face.

4. Soarin' Over California - I honestly wasn't the biggest fan of Soarin' until recently...I always liked the ride, but I felt like it was a "one and done" kind of experience since it was the same film every time. However, this place now has a very special place in my heart because it's been the location I've grown personally and professionally the most at work, as well as where I made the closest friendships with my coworkers. 

3. Space Mountain / Hyperspace Mountain - The original Space Mountain has always been a favorite of mine, but I have to give huge props to the new rendition with Hyperspace Mountain. They did an excellent job with the new score and effects, I almost don't want it to ever leave!

2. Indiana Jones Adventure - When I participated in my college program in Florida, this was the one ride I missed the most. It's so different from anything else in the parks, combining thrills and incredibly fun animatronics and effects. Even the queue is fantastic!

1. Tower of Terror - This ride stole my heart the very first time I rode it. I even found a short narrative the other day that I wrote about my first experience riding Tower for a school project back in middle school. The theming, the story, the bellhops, and the drops...everything together just makes this ride (in my eyes) nearly perfect. It's been such an honor and great experience to be a bellhop for the past year!

I originally tried to keep this at only five favorite attractions, but it was nearly impossible to narrow it down to only that many!

Which are your favorite Disneyland attractions? Do you agree with my list?

Have a magical day!

Interview a CP: Zachary (Toy Story Midway Mania)

Zachary was kind enough to share his experience working at one of the most popular rides in the Walt Disney World Resort during his Disney College Program!  

What role did you have during the DCP, and where did you work?

I was attractions at Toy Story Midway Mania at Disney’s Hollywood studios. During my program I also had shifts working Fantasmic, Frozen fireworks, Osborn Spectacle of dancing lights, and Star Wars fireworks. 

What was a typical day like at work?  

As a CP I had almost completely all closing shifts. About halfway through my program they put our attraction in charge of clearing the park at the end of the night so I could be scheduled up to two hours after park close. I mainly had 6 hour shifts along with some longer ones thrown in. Working at Toy I would rotate through the different positions required to operate the attraction and also some extra ones like Fastpass kiosk. 

Is this the role you originally wanted? If not, are you happy you got it? 

Attractions was my top role when I applied, I was also interested in the hospitality roles but those are really hard to get. 

What are your favorite and least favorite parts about your job? 

My favorite and least favorite thing about working Toy Story was that it was the most popular attraction in the park if not on all of property. I loved learning all of the secrets of the ride and trying to beat my high score each time I got to ride it. 

Any specific magical moment you want to share? 

Toy story is one of the few attractions that anyone can ride at Disneys Hollywood studios. We had one ride vehicle that was able to transform so that people in a wheelchair could ride. It was always great to see those people coming back in after riding through and the smiles on their faces.

What made you want to do the DCP? 

I have known about the college program since high school and have always wanted to participate in it. I saw it as a way to get down to Florida and experience a semester down there. As a hotel, restaurant, and tourism management major it was the perfect opportunity to get experience working for one of the largest companies in the industry. 

Is there something you wish you would have known before doing your program? 

I wish I had looked into the location of CP housing more. I wish I had known what restaurants were around and also where the closest grocery store was before I came down. 

What advice would you give to those who want to participate in your role? 

Attractions is an interesting role, prepare to get people complaining and yelling at you for things that are out of your control. Many people do not understand how to use the Fastpass+ system so prepare for answering a lot of the same questions. 

What advice would you give to people who are interested in doing the DCP?

If you have a car bring it! I did not have one and relied on transtar. Transtar worked well enough but there were several times the buses were late or never showed up.

If you're a current or past college program cast member and would like to share your experience, email your name and role to thedisneyden@yahoo.com to participate!

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Disney Challenge Day 21: Favorite Sequel

50 Day Disney Challenge

Day Twenty-One: Favorite Sequel

Whenever I was sick and had to stay home from school, I would watch Toy Story 2. Jessie was my favorite person in the whole wide world, I wanted to be her so badly. I dressed up as her for Halloween in third grade, and used to dream that she would come to switch lives with me for a day. I wanted to be best friends with Buzz and Woody, I even made them my imaginary friends for a little while.

Overall, I think this is a wonderful sequel, even if it wasn't a sequel it could do well on its own! The story was very different from the first, and all the new characters fit in and added their own style to the original characters. I just love it so much!

(Full 50 Day Challenge List)

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A Peek Into the Future

A few months ago I made a post about my opinion on certain Pixar movie decisions. In said post, I shared a link that includes the future movie Disney movie projects (Pixar, Disney Channel..etc). I decided to take a look at the website yesterday, and discovered some interesting new additions to the list. Some sound interesting and exciting, and some I'm a little apprehensive about.

1) Swiss Family Robinson (2012): According to the website, the idea of remaking the original Swiss Family Robinson film from 1960 has been up in the air since 2004. Apparently it has been confirmed in 2009 that a remake is going to be created, with Will Smith, his wife Jada, and their three kids will be the main characters. The estimated release date was to be 2012, but there apparently hasn't been any production at the moment. This could just be a rumor, beings that it takes a few years for a movie to be made. There has been no information on the IMDB website, so either this is just a rumor, or they're pushing production to a later date.

2) The Hill (2013): I previously wrote about this movie in March. The Hill will be modeled off of Disney's infamous Matterhorn Bobsleds ride. A group of mountain climbers will try and scale the massive mountain, but only finds themselves in the midst of a giant and dangerous yeti. More detail in my previous post. Before when I wrote about it I couldn't find any more information on official websites such as IMDB, but it seems that now The Hill has it's own official page! Not much information on the page since the movie is still under development, but it's nice to have confirmation that the movie is under production!

3) MacFarland (2013): On both the Disney movie list website and IMDB it says that this movie is about, "A track coach in a small California town transforms a team of athletes into championship contenders." I'm curious on what town it is, since I live in California. Probably nowhere near me though. I'm assuming this is going to be like other heartwarming sports movies such as Glory Road.

4) Magic Kingdom (2013): Once again I mentioned this movie at the end of my post about The Hill, but at the time I was not able to retrieve very much information about it. Now it has been confirmed that the movie will be based off of the Kingdom Keepers books where the Disney theme parks come alive at night! How exciting is that? It has been compared to Night at the Museum, which are two movies I quite enjoyed. One of the big questions I have...why have I not heard of these books before today???

5) Tink (2013): There isn't much information on this movie either, but it has been said that Elizabeth Banks (who I have recently grown to love) will play a real life Tinkerbell. Maybe it will be a live action twist on Tinkerbell's life as depicted in the recent animated films? Only time will tell.

6) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo (2013?): No, unfortunately this does not have to do with Finding Nemo...haha but apparently both Disney and Fox have decided to work on a remake film adaption to the famous book. Much like Snow White and the Huntsman and Mirror Mirror this year, it will be a race to see who creates the movie first. However, the Disney version does not have a completed script at the moment. David Fincher will be directing the movie.

7) Oz: The Great and Powerful (2013): Finally a movie with lots of information! The official IMDB page confirms that this movie will be a prequel to the legendary Wizard of Oz. It will be about how the wizard came to be the great and powerful ruler of Oz. The handsome James Franco will play Oz, Mila Kunis is Theodora (the Wicked Witch of the West), Rachel Weisz as Evanora (Wicked Witch of the East), and Michelle Williams will be Glinda. I'm personally very excited for this.

8) The Lone Ranger (2013): I'm excited for this one!!! Honestly right now it's because of the actors in it. Johnny Depp (as Tonto), Helena Bonham Carter, and Armie Hammer (as the Lone Ranger) will be the three main characters in the remake of the original Lone Ranger TV series. The difference between the movie and the TV series is that Tonto won't be as much of a sidekick, but more of a main character. Since it's Johnny Depp playing Tonto, I expected no less. It would be weird to have him play a minor character...just my opinion. 

9) Monsters University (2013): Yes, a prequel to Monsters Inc. is being created and will release in June 2013. The original cast will be a part of the story before Mike, Sulley, and Randall were a part of Monsters Incoporated, otherwise known as their college years. This is really all I know about it, and I'm curious to see how it turns out. I'm keeping an open mind since I quite enjoyed the original movie, and it's been a significant amount of time (11 years!!) since the original came out. 

10) National Treasure 3 (2014): I don't think I need to explain this much...another Nicholas Cage movie with explosions, historical references, quick assumptions from minimal amounts of clues...alright I'm being a bit harsh. I actually liked National Treasure. The second one held it's own too. But a third one? Okay...kind of getting predictable. The rumored treasures are: the Lost Colony of Roanoke, Atlantis, and the Fountain of Youth. They should probably avoid Fountain of Youth since that was the goal for Pirates: On Stranger Tides. 

11) Jungle Cruise (2014): I guess Disney really wants to keep making movies out of the rides. I have no complaints, since I'm a huge fan of basically all of the rides. However, I hope they don't go too far and start overdoing it. Pirates was a huge success, but does anyone remember The Haunted Mansion? Not necessarily a box office hit. Jungle Cruise is apparently about a group of explorers (of course) cruising through a dangerous jungle in search for some kind of special cure. The movie list website mentions that Tim Allen and Tom Hanks are going to be starring in it...but I'm not sure how reliable that is because I would find that a huge coincidence since they're the voices of Buzz and Woody, the infamous duo. Speaking of Buzz and Woody....

12) Toy Story 4 (2015?): Yep. You heard me. They have announced that Toy Story 4 is going to be created. I have mixed feelings about this. I absolutely loved the trilogy...Buzz and Woody were my imaginary friends when I was really little. The second one might be my favorite. However, I feel like a fourth movie could be overdoing it. Who knows, they've been able to shock us with Toy Story 3 and create a treasured film, but I'm not sure what they'll do with the fourth one besides keep going with the toys' lives after Andy went to college. I thought they ended the third one perfectly to conclude the trilogy, but I guess they have something great to continue with. We'll have to see.

One thing I'm confused with is that Planes isn't on this list. I saw the trailer on Youtube yesterday, and it says that it's supposed to come out in 2013. Sounds like it might as well be a third Cars. Planes? Really? What's next...trains? Boats? Lawn mowers? Not too many people are digging the idea according to the comments on the video.

What's your opinion? It'll be interesting to see which movies succeed and which movies are just rumors.

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