Appropriateness of California Adventure for the Kindergarten & younger set...

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Is it appropriate (like to do instead of Disneyland)?

Is it in anyway appealing to the younger--or would we get killed by the height restrictions and baby swaps.

We are WDW vets---looking to squeeze in a west coast visit while we are out there.

Just curious that if we opted for CA--how disappointed would we be and would the girls have any fun? Do they have characters? Is it disney-esque enough?

Disclaimer: Not looking to be convinced to do Disneyland per se....so saying that DL would be better--doesn't really help much if that makes any sense. We enjoy all the parks at WDW, so I'm asking from that standpoint. Thanks!

 

[Mary Anne]

We just got back from our first trip there. Yes, I think you could find more then enough stuff to keep them happy but I don't think there were too many characters. In Disneyland there were way, way more. You really need to go into the MK in Disneyland, specifically FantasyLand. It is very different from Florida with many more and different rides for the younger set.

 

[KMH1]

Hi Lisa,

We were just there in May. Obviously Alyssa is younger than your girls, but I'll tell you what I observed.

Yes, there are characters at CA. They aren't as prevalent as WDW, but they are there. You can find the Fab 5 (not all at once, they rotate) dressed in their "vacation" outfits around Sunshine Plaza. Stanley and JoJo were out near Playhouse Disney. The Incredibles were way in the back of the Hollywood Pictures Backlot and Cruella has her own trailer back there too (she's quite a Diva ). There is a neat little show right outside the Animation Building that includes a "hero," a "princess" and Sorceror Mickey. The characters pose and sign autographs afterward. We saw it twice and the hero and princess change each time, so we saw Woody, Hercules, Snow White, and Cinderella. There are also princesses inside the Animation Building who rotate too. We saw Princess Aurora and Belle (in her yellow dress!!!). Flik and Princess Atta are around Flik's Fun Fair and Koda and Kenai appear in Redwood Creek Challenge.

As far as attractions your girls will enjoy: Muppet Vision 3D, The Playhouse Disney show, the Animation Building has interactive areas and the new Turtle Talk with Crush, Flik's Fun Fair has lots of "kiddie" rides, Redwood Creek Challenge is a kid's play zone and there's a show with Koda and Kenai, and King Triton's Carousel is in the Paradise Pier area. There are other possible rides in that area too, but there are height restrictions, so I'm not sure if your girls will be tall enough.

There's a fun afternoon parade called Block Party Bash that includes all the Pixar Characters and the Electrical Parade can be seen in the evening (though not every night, so research that).

There is also a great character meal at Ariel's Grotto. It's hosted by Captain Mickey and he's joined by Chip, Dale, Donald, Goofy, Max, Minnie, and Pluto (though not all at the same time...Minnie and Goofy were not there the night we had dinner). The food was quite yummy...it's set up so you pay a set price and you get an appetizer, meal, and dessert. The characters were very attentive and playful and their costumes were great too.

Hope this helps. We are also WDW vets, but we enjoy CA (and DL) very much too!

Amy

 

[hookedup]

California Adventure is fun for the whole family. There is quite a bit to do for young kids. The posters above mentioned a lot of them. Just like when you go to WDW - the Magic Kingdom is probably the most young kid oriented but the other parks are also great. We have gotten a lot of great photos with characters at DCA too.
I could not imagine going to WDW and just visiting Magic Kingdom just like I would not want to take a vacation to DL and miss DCA.