What’s Fun to Do at Disneyland?
Since 1955, fans have called this theme park The Happiest Place on Earth.
A nickname like that doesn’t happen by accident. When you visit here, you’ll face an overwhelming number of entertainment options.
Photo: Disney Parks
What’s fun to do at Disneyland Park? Here are nine suggestions.
Celebrate Disney100
Let’s start with the option that’s available for a limited time only.
On October 16th, 2023, The Walt Disney Company turns 100 years old. Yes, I’m serious.
Disney’s storied history dates back to the Golden Age of Hollywood, the time when silent films made way for talkies.
As the innovator of short-form and later long-form animation, Disney was on the cutting edge of the ascension of the motion picture.
Photo: Disney
Obviously, that’s a huge accomplishment, and executives have chosen to commemorate the event at theme parks around the world.
Disneyland is the hub of this celebration, though. The Disney100 event is literally a once-in-a-lifetime event, and you don’t want to miss it!
I’d strongly recommend that you contact an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner at MickeyTravels to schedule a trip.
As a reminder, MickeyTravels has earned Diamond-Level status for booking Disney vacations, the highest possible level.
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Enter a Cartoon
Photo: D23
Like many of you, I grew up with Mickey Mouse cartoons.
Watching the Sensational Six go on grand adventures is how I spent much of my childhood.
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
These characters were my de facto babysitters. Now, thanks to Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, I can enter their realm.
On this ride, guests cross over into a three-dimensional animated cartoon and experience several shenanigans, the kind that happen a disproportionate amount to Mickey Mouse and friends.
Look up to see Chuuby!
Perhaps no ride at a Disney theme park would make Walt Disney happier than this one.
Go on an Adventure with Indiana Jones
Photo: Lucasfilm
At some point, Disney fans visit both American theme parks. For this reason, when you’re at Disneyland, I think the most fun rides are the exclusives.
Also, I’m an Indiana Jones fanatic, which gives me two reasons to love Indiana Jones Adventure.
Photo: OC Register
The story of this ride involves the dreaded Temple of the Forbidden Eye, which hides a dark secret and possibly an archeological treasure within its walls.
You’re a participant on a guided tour through the area when everything goes wrong. Somehow, you anger the owner of this Temple…and so does Indy!
Photo: Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG
Yes, throughout the journey, you’ll occasionally bump into Henry Ford Jr., and it’s usually not going well for either of you.
This attraction perfectly captures the spirit and tone of an Indiana Jones story. I adore it.
Hang Out at Black Spire Outpost
Photo: Richard Harbaugh
Due to Disneyland’s age and its spatial limitations, it hasn’t expanded much over the years.
Yes, some attractions have stretched the size of the campus via clever Imagineering tricks, but Disney had kept the themed lands the same.
(Matt Stroshane, photographer)
Then, someone got the brilliant idea to develop an entirely new section of the park, one inspired by Star Wars.
Now, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has become arguably the most popular part of the entire park.
Photo: Disney
Fans relish the opportunity to live out their own Star Wars adventures during a trip to the planet of Batuu.
While there, they’ll explore Black Spire Outpost, a facility currently caught in a delicate state.
Photo: Richard Harbaugh
On one side of Black Spire Outpost, members of The Resistance have happily flaunted their Jedi history and lack of respect for the authority.
More recently, The First Order has sent troops to Black Spire Outpost in search of these members of The Resistance.
Photo: Disney
During your visit, you can speak with both sides, including irritable Stormtroopers and heroes like Rey and Chewbacca.
Black Spire Outpost immerses fans in an entire Star Wars realm. It’s an easy way to lose four hours exploring an alien world.
Play at Mickey’s Toontown
While you’ll find Runaway Railway at Mickey’s Toontown, that’s only the tip of the iceberg for the entertainment available here.
Disney has rebuilt this themed land and given it a new mission statement.
(Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort)
Mickey’s Toontown is a tactile experience that somehow hearkens back to the genesis of Disneyland itself.
You may recall that Walt Disney watched his daughters play at a local park. His overriding thought was, “I could do this better.”
Photo: Disney
Mickey’s Toontown proves him right, as it’s the best possible play area in the world in 2023.
Children (of all ages) experience sensory overload as they explore the area and learn that virtually everything in sight is interactive.
Kids love this place so much that they may never want to leave, and that’s not hyperbole.
Relish an Enchanted Wish
Photo: Also Disney
Symbolically, no movie matters more to Disney than Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the early versions of the Snow White ride never did much for a lot of fans.
Image Credit: Disney
Eventually, Magic Kingdom gave up and repurposed parts of the ride into the more entertaining Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
At Disneyland, park officials were understandably reluctant to tear down a ride that Walt Disney himself had a hand in creating.
Photo: The Hollywood Reporter
Instead, some of the company’s finest Imagineers, including Kim Irvine, worked to fix the parts of Snow White’s Scary Adventures that were lacking.
Eventually, everyone settled on a more upbeat fairytale version with a happy ending, one caused by an enchanted wish.
Photo: SF Gate
I defy anyone to exit this ride and not be feeling good about life. It’s pure, distilled Disney storytelling magic.
Slide down a Hill on a Bobsled
Matterhorn at Disneyland
I’m also a fan of the classics. And as a theme park historian, I marvel at attractions that have stood the test of time.
That statement definitely applies to Matterhorn Bobsleds, the 1959 ride that created the phrase “E-ticket attraction.”
Walt Disney himself sold tickets at a higher price for this ride than the others at Disneyland because he knew Matterhorn Bobsleds justified the expense.
This roller coaster was that far beyond anything else in existence at the time…or for the next 15 years.
Photo: Disney
Even today, you’ll still feel a wave of euphoria and a Winter Olympics vibe as you zoom down a mountain in your trusty bobsled.
Visit Tiana’s Palace
Disneyland’s newest restaurant only recently opened, but it’s created a huge buzz for its décor, its musical interludes, and (especially) its cuisine.
Tiana’s Palace brings to life the character’s fondest wish in The Princess and the Frog.
As a skilled chef, Tiana wants to cook at a place that all her fellow New Orleans residents will love.
The restaurant’s decorations hide plenty of references to the film, some more subtle than others.
Attentive guests will even notice a painting behind the counter here. It shows two stars in the night sky.
They reflect that the character who dies in the movie receives a happy ending. Isn’t that lovely?
As for the food, it’s good enough to make Emeril Lagasse jealous.
Also, as with Mickey’s Toontown, Disney’s 2023/2024 plan for New Orleans Square includes plenty of live music.
A hub between Tiana’s Palace and an upcoming Haunted Mansion shop will host frequent live jazz performances.
So, even when you’re not hungry, you’ll want to hang out here!
Watch Mr. Toad Make Mistakes
In a classic Disney movie, two unexpected events occur, both of them quite twisted.
One-half of the film shows Ichabod Crane suffers a mishap at the hands of the Headless Horseman.
Photo: touring plans.com
In the other story, Mr. Toad develops quite a passion for fast automobiles.
The film in question is a two-fer named The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.
Photo: Disney
Disney really hasn’t done that much over the years, but Walt felt that both of the stories were worth telling. However, neither one justified a feature-length film.
Thankfully, that’s not true of the attraction based on the film. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride drops Ichabod entirely.
Photo: touring plans.com
Instead, you hop in one of Mr. Toad’s beloved vehicles and then watch him make a series of mistakes that lead him to jail and, ultimately, Hell.
Seriously, both these stories are so dark that I have no idea how they wound up as Disney projects.
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride really ought to be a Halloween tradition, though. It’s the darkest of Disney’s dark rides.
Photo: MickeyBlog
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feature Photo: Travel and Leisure
