Day two of our Disneyland extravaganza, we headed to California Adventure! My feet were in rough shape, so we gave ourselves a little extra time to get to the park and planned on not forcing anything too hard. We learned our tourist lesson at Disneyland, so we made a list and prioritized our must do rides and snacks.

We started our day by walking down Buena Vista Street and toward Hollywood Land, then caught the Red Car Trolly that took us around the corner to the Avengers Campus where we rode our first real ride of the day.

First up, and a definite must, Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout! This is the Disneyland version of the Tower of Terror ride in Hollywood Studios and honestly I might like it better. Tower of Terror is a classic and I will love it forever and I hope it stays an option in Orlando, but the theming, music, and ride experience on Mission: Breakout are incredible. You don’t see the outside very much when you are bouncing up and down, there are chase scenes being projected on a screen in front of you, and that makes it a more immersive experience. I really liked it.

Photo credit top two: Aubrey Odom on Unsplash; bottom two: me

Next we had a Lightning Lane pass for Radiator Springs Racers, similar to Test Track at Epcot, but way better. The theme for this ride is adorable, you start by cruising through Radiator Springs and then you race another car through town, and our car won! I really enjoyed this ride, and think it would be great for all ages that are tall enough. Nothing scary, the fast part is fun and you get to feel the wind in your hair. 10/10 ride.

Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree was our next stop, this ride is similar to the Alien Swirling Saucers in Hollywood Studios, but Cars themed and very fun. Mater has built a jukebox from leftover parts to play music while you’re swinging around in a tractor. Another fun one for all ages, and even better there was less than a five minute wait.

The Little Mermaid - Ariel’s Undersea Adventure was our next ride and it was charming as always. Basically the same as the other Little Mermaid rides, but still a classic.

Our next stop was Pixar Pier. This section of the park is so bright and colorful, and hosts two of the most recognizable rides, Incredicoaster and Pixar Pal-A-Round.

We were both excited to ride Incredicoaster because we love roller coasters and it’s one of our favorite types, a launched roller coaster, meaning it launches you via electromagnets instead of taking you up a lift hill. This type of launch is also used on the Rocki ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios and The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal Orlando.

Photos by Aubrey Odom on Unsplash

Incredicoaster had a great track, the tubes had neon lights and characters inside which was super fun, and it had a very smooth ride. I wish I could ride this over and over. Such a great ride, and would make a great first upside down roller coaster for a new rider.

The most important snack of the day was It’s Lemon from Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats. It’s a lemon Dole Whip and it’s maybe one of the best things I’ve ever had. I want to eat lemon Dole Whip a million more times, because hello refreshment. This was a perfect treat to keep us going for a couple more rides, because at this point I was losing steam fast.

Next, we hopped on the Pixar Pal-A-Round for some park views and a little rest. We chose a non swinging gondola, because the people in the swinging ones were almost sideways and I wasn’t looking to fall off a bench in a small sky box with strangers. It was a really nice length ride, you could see for miles. It’s a great way to take a break while still enjoying a ride and a view.

Our last ride of the day was Soarin’. It is the exact same as the one in Epcot, and still just as great. The way they combine the flying feeling with the smells and video projection is just magical. It’s so relaxing and an absolute joy to ride every time.

We were very tired at the end of our day in California Adventure, but we got to ride all of the rides we had on our list and did I make a big enough deal about the lemon Dole Whip? It was delicious.