Well it was finally Saturday, and I will be honest when I say I expected the day to be a nightmare. Long lines, a hot sun, massive crowds, and that feeling of being rushed around to ride everything were all things on my mind at 8AM when Disneyland opened its gates. But once again, Disney amazed, and we had what could have arguably been the best day of the trip.

We headed to Space Mountain first thing with cloudy skies above, keeping the opening crowd somewhat limited. Before lines built, we snagged a FastPass for Star Tours 3D and rode Space Mountain twice back to back. I have bee on the Florida version a few times, and I was even more impressed with this one. The new track and effects are wonderfully done, and there are many stars on the walls and ceiling that are much more noticeable that the Florida version. They cause much disorientation and make a great ride even better.

Star Tours 3D ended up being a pretty good ride as well. The pre-show effects and animatronics are very well done, and the ride itself is a fun ride. It is not terribly different from the original besides the 3D effects and the variation of travel locations, but it certainly is on par with the Disney product.

We decided to get a few churros to hold us over until lunchtime before heading to California Adventure just after 10AM to get our FastPass tickets to see World Of Color at 9PM that night. We also grabbed FastPass tickets for Soarin’ Over California before heading toward Paradise Pier.

The Little Mermaid dark ride was literally a walk-on, so we took a quick ride on it. Many have compared this to Harry Potter And The Forbidden Journey in Florida because of the price tag, and these rides honestly cannot be compared. Potter is a dark ride as well as a thrill ride, where this ride is simply a walk through the movie. The story does seem a bit rushed towards the end for a Disney ride, but I will agree that the animatronics are top notch and serve their purpose very well.

From there it was on to California Screamin’ for three spins before the line grew. The front seat really is the place to be on this one, with some awesome airtime over the first hill after the launch as well as the bunny hills at the end. The ride is slightly less exciting when the on-board audio does not play, but it certainly is a fun and exciting ride and perhaps the ride that could be credited with keeping this park afloat before the major upgrades started.

Goofy’s Sky School is essentially a standard “Wild Mouse” coaster with some Disney theme elements that wasn’t a highlight, but was a good ride nonetheless. We then hit our return time for Soarin’ and unfortunately we ended up in the third row, so the feet above us obstructed the view a bit, but the ride really is still a great attraction after over a decade. I could easily see them using new movies soon as well to keep the ride forever changing.

We then stopped for lunch at the Storytellers Café at the Grand Californian Resort. The food was certainly good, and definitely filling. In fact, it got us through until grabbing ice cream just prior to World Of Color. I had chicken and cheese quesadillas along with a cheeseburger that was cooked to perfection.

It was then back to Disneyland where we rode some of the classic attractions, starting off with the Enchanted Tiki Room, a personal favorite of my dad. Immediately after it was a short ten-minute wait to ride Pirates Of The Caribbean. I have to admit that I loved this ride. The attention to detail is incredible and I enjoyed the long ride cycle. This was certainly one of the highlights of the day.

Continuing in Adventureland, we grabbed FastPass tickets for the Indiana Jones Adventure before basically walking on the Jungle Cruise, which again despite being an older classic ride still impresses and has many different things that you may miss if you only ride once. Our skipper had a great routine, poking fun at one particular family, pointing out that they had tons of endangered animals to snap pictures of and they instead took pictures the family they see everyday.

I do believe when I was younger that I may have been on the Indiana Jones Adventure, but I can’t completely remember. This is another dark ride that impresses with its detail and maneuvers. It is a thrill style ride that compares with rides like Revenge Of The Mummy, and while not a coaster, it absolutely should be on any thrill seekers “must ride” list.

To finish up, we rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad twice, a ride that is slightly different from its Orlando namesake but delivers the same sort of experience. The rocks on the third lift were not working, but the sound effects and track shaking was, so that still made for a nice experience. One last thing to do before we headed back to California Adventure was to ride Gadget’s Go Coaster, a very nice starter coaster chock full of Disney theme elements that enhance the ride experience.

Back across the street, we rode Screamin’ one more time before taking our spots on the bridge for the show over an hour before it began, a necessity in order to get a good view. As a side note, Lose Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant was spotted with his wife and children gaining immediate access to Toy Story Midway Mania via the exit ramp shortly before 8PM.

World Of Color started just after 9PM, and from start to finish, for twenty-eight minutes, I was in absolute awe of what was happening. Water jets, streams, and curtains coupled with lasers, strobes, projections, and lights performed what I think is one of the most spectacular shows I have ever seen, amusement park or otherwise. Some of Disney’s most popular movies had snippets played on the projection water curtains coupled with laser and water effects, with songs like Under The Sea, A Whole New World, and Colors Of The Wind among others. I would mention some of my favorites, but as they show progressed I liked each part better than the last. Spoiler alert here, but I was partial to the flames used during the He’s A Pirate part of the show.

As we walked out, we saw a bit of the now opened Cars Land lit up for a preview night. Just based on a few peeks, I am already anxious to plan another trip to the west coast to experience Cars Land for myself. Overall, the day was more successful than I could have ever imagined. Almost every major ride at both parks was ridden at least once, with a few exceptions, most of which have clones or similar rides in Florida, where we will hopefully return to this spring. As for California, we only had one day left on Sunday, and it was spent at Knott’s Berry Farm. Stay tuned this weekend for the final part of my California blog series covering one of America’s oldest theme parks.