California Screamin's Single Rider Shortcut

DCA's California Screamin' is one of the park's most efficient crowd-movers. With the ability to run five trains on the track at once, the massive coaster's wait times remain reasonable even on the busiest days. If you're touring the park solo, however (or don't mind temporarily splitting your group), the Single Rider Entry can cut your wait to just a few minutes!

The Single Rider Entrance is to the left of the Standby Line. A cast member will direct you through to this area, which is actually the ride's unloading side. A moment later, you'll be directed to the right, where you'll take an elevator up to the queue's over-the-tracks bridge.

Screamin' Over Toy Story

Today we have a quick look at California Screamin' looping gracefully over Toy Story Midway Mania. Both rides are technological marvels presented as old-time seashore boardwalk fun.

The combination of old and new, plus the blending of classic amusement park showmanship and Disney's attention to detail makes today's Paradise Pier one of the company's most unusual and thrilling themed lands.

Screamin' Around Paradise Bay

California Screamin' barrels around a turn above the waters of Paradise Bay. This end of the massive coaster gets up close and personal with passerby, roaring over the main walkway several times and zipping past the lower observation deck of the Silly Symphony Swings -- which is where we got this view.

Screamin' doesn't tell a story or dazzle with special effects, but it's still an amazing experience -- and nearly as much fun to watch as it is to ride. If I could change one thing about the ride (besides theming the brake run at the end), I'd love to see the shoulder harnesses replaced with simple lap bars someday; I really want to be able to raise my arms all the way up on this thing!

Big Thunder Scale Model at Disneyland Hotel

One of my very favorite features at the Disneyland Hotel is this incredible scale model of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Located in the lobby of the hotel's Frontier Tower, it's a replica of the Imagineers' original model, but being a re-creation doesn't diminish its awesomeness at all.

Since the actual ride is currently closed until Fall for enhancements and track replacement, this is a great way to work a bit of the mountain's "spirit" into your visit! We'll take a look at all four sides, then zoom in for a few closeups.

Goofy's Sky School: DCA's Ugly Duckling

Clear across the park from the wonders of Cars Land sits the ride that, in many ways, represents the many unfortunate executive decisions that made DCA such a mediocre park in its first years: the wild mouse coaster currently known as Goofy's Sky School.

Before I continue, though, I must confess: I enjoy Goofy's Sky School, because I love good wild mouse coasters, and this one's excellent. I just wish the structure wasn't such an incredible eyesore at close range.

It used to look worse, of course. It used to be be orange and green, fronted with a giant road map and named Mulholland Madness. As Goofy's Sky School, the ride has gained some charm with its whimsical theme (Goofy has turned his failed chicken ranch into a ramshackle flight academy).

Lovin' California Screamin'

Eleven years after Disney California Adventure opened, California Screamin' remains one of the most popular attractions at Disneyland Resort. People tend to fall in love with this ride, for it accomplishes its goal so well, transplanting classic big coaster thrills into the friendly, beautiful, well-run environment of a Disney theme park.

Time Machine Day: Space Mountain 1977

Space Mountain opened at Disneyland on May 27, 1977. I got to the park a few weeks later to take my initial trip into "superspace." I'd heard opinions of the ride from friends who'd gotten there first. One fellow actually swore the tracks were invisible because they were made of transparent fiberglass. Another claimed the ride ended by circling a small planet and then crashing into it.

Remember, there was no interenet. All you had for new-attraction reference were rumors, commercials, and a few paragraphs of PR in the latest issue of Disney News. I'd read everything I could find about Florida's Space Mountain (there sure wasn't much to be found in those days), and I could not wait to finally ride Disney's dark indoor coaster.

I finally arrived on a June afternoon to find a two-hour wait, with the line starting back on Main Street. Star Wars (before it was known as "Episode IV") had also opened that May, so Darth Vader t-shirts were everywhere. We inched forward past Adventure Thru Inner Space and the People Mover entry, up the speed ramp, through the upper-level switchbacks, and into the mountain itself. Immediately, things got more exciting as the air around us echoed with rumbles and distant screams.

An Abominable Footprint

While strolling around the perimeter of Disneyland's Matterhorn, you're bound to come across this footprint casting that appeared in 1978 as the Matterhorn re-opened after a lengthy refurbishment.

The remodeling turned the mountain's interior (which previously had been one big open space with minimally-decorated beams, stairs and framework) into a maze of artificial ice caverns. The original single bobsleds were redesigned and coupled into two-car trains.

Best of all, the Abominable Snowman (unofficially dubbed "Harold") moved in, turning the unique roller coaster into a full-fledged Fantasyland adventure.

The footprint, with it's cartoon-like stylization, perfectly captures the spirit of the mountain's sole inhabitant (there are three abominable snowman figures on the ride, but they all represent the same guy pursuing you down the mountain). Unlike the Yeti in Animal Kingdom, which was designed to appear as much like a realistic beast as possible, Harold looks like a monster from a storybook -- a really good, scary storybook.

If fact, he'd look right at home stomping around Fantasyland looking fierce and reluctantly signing autographs. Come to think of it, why hasn't he ever appeared as a walk-around character?