Wanderlust & Wishes

Episode 76: You Can Only Choose One - Disney California Adventure

• Julie & Krystle

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On this week's episode, Krystle and Julie take a stroll around Disney California Adventure park to continue the 'You can only choose one' series. Listen in for our picks and insider tips on rides, food/dining, snacks, and non-ride attractions/experiences. Whether you are an experienced Disneylander or you're just beginning to dip your toes into the West coast parks, we give you our top picks for each land to keep in your back pocket when you need them. 

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SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to Wonderlust and Witches, the podcast where we explore the world one destination at a time.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm Julie and I'm Crystal. As travel agents with fantastical vacations, we are here to share our passion for travel and help you turn your wonderlust into reality.

SPEAKER_01:

From hidden gems to bucket list adventures, join us as we dive into the sights, sounds, and stories of our favorite destinations.

SPEAKER_00:

So grab your passport, pack your bags, and let's embark on this journey together. Hi, everybody. Welcome to episode 76 of Wonderlust and Wishes. This week we're going to do a fun episode of You Can Only Choose One for Disney's California Adventure. It's been a while since we've been to the West Coast, so we wanted to take a visit over to Disneyland area.

SPEAKER_01:

And now I'm ready to book a trip because I need all this food.

SPEAKER_00:

I know every time we do a Disneyland episode, Crystal's all about she knows exactly what the right spots to go. So as a reminder, we're going to go through each area and pick one ride, one food, one snack, and one attraction.

SPEAKER_01:

Let's start on Buena Vista Street. This is as you walk in. We usually start with a ride in each category, and this land does not have a ride any longer. RIP the trolley car. They are getting ready to do some major work over here. So that may impact things. But sad to see that trolley cargo. Food. I don't feel like Disneyland and California Adventure are really a place that you need much of a sit-down meal. But here, the only food you have are the Carthay Circle Lounge or the Carthay Circle. Make sure you look at the menus. The regular Carthay Circle is pretty pricey for a sit-down, but it's it has rare reviews. I would go to the lounge and do the bow buns of soy ginger braised pork belly with the fresh cabbage kimchi. And that is$19. For the snack, I'm going into trolley treats and getting anything, but especially the churro toffee. I've been dreaming about this. If anybody is at Disneyland would like to mail me some, I will pay you and pay for your shipping. Yeah, all our Disneyland people. And then for my attraction, I'm starting off strong with the Streatmosphere. We have lots of performers, characters, it's a fun people watching spot. So of all the park, this is the place for that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it has definitely a very like main street kind of vibe. Okay, so moving on to my picks. As Crystal said, there's not a ride here for food. I also have the Carpe Cercle Lounge. They don't have an official gluten-free menu, but if you ask the servers, they will assist you with that. So my pick is the Filet Mignon Beef Skewers that comes with Peruvian stewed beans for my snack. I have, I know this is a pick one, but I have two things. I have Fiddler, Pfeiffer, and Practical Cafe. That is the Starbucks location. So I would definitely want to stop and get a coffee. And then I also really want to try the churro toffee because Crystal talks about it all the time and how great it is. So I'm definitely going somewhere at one of the two, you know, DCA or to Disneyland and getting some churro toffee. And for my attraction, I have the Better Together Pixar Parade. This is a good spot to watch the parade. Just take a seat along the side of Buena Vista Street and hang out there to watch the parade. It's such a cute parade, too. So we're gonna move around to the as we come in, we're gonna go to the left after we get all the way down Buena Vista Street and go into Hollywoodland. My ride is going to be the Monsters Inc, Mike and Sully to the rescue. We did this when we were there and we loved it. My daughter Ella loves Monsters Inc. So if I'm have her with me, this is definitely going to be where we go. For food, if I had the choice to go somewhere else, I would go somewhere else for food. There's not a lot of great options in this area. But if I'm staying here and I have to pick something, I can get a hot dog with a gluten-free bun from award wieners. For snack, I would love to get the Make Mine Mocha Smoothie from Schmoozie's. It is a smoothie and has coffee with it. So that's a good combination, exactly. And then for the attraction, they have Animation Academy. This is the same type of experience that you get at Conservation Station at Animal Kingdom where you can sit down and a cast member or animator goes through and walks you through how to step by step how to draw a particular Disney character, and you get to keep the drawing as a free souvenir. So this is a fun experience, and it's also a free experience that you get to take home something.

SPEAKER_01:

Alright, for my ride, I'm also picking Monsters Inc, but it's going away by like the end of 2025, maybe into January, because Avatar is coming. So this whole area is gonna change. For my food, I'm going to go to the studio catering company. It's a like a red food truck, basically. Right now they have a seasonal burrito that I've had before that is really good, but they always seem to have something good. So don't discount that little truck. For my snack, I when you go on the menus, they all say like seasonal offerings. This was not under the seasonal offerings tab, but it sounds very Halloween-y. So I don't know if this is seasonal. The word wieners. It's called a spell bar. It's a batter fried Snickers bar on a stick with chocolate, drizzle, lips, topping, and roasted peanuts. I might get diabetes, but my attraction. The big difference here is they do all the characters, not just like the animals that they do at Animal Kingdom. Like Animal Kingdom, I feel like they like rotate through like Lion King, just like a couple of like the key animals, because it is Animal Kingdom. Not at DCA. They do all of them. And they have a handy little schedule outside, and it says who they're gonna draw. So you can plan out your day and see, like, oh, they're drawing Pluto at this time or Daisy at this time. So yes, check that out.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I don't think they do that at Animal Kingdom. I don't think you know. You show up, and that's what you're drawing, is what you're drawing when you get there.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Alright. Keep walking to Avengers Campus, My Ride, Guardians of the Galaxy, Mission Breakout. It is Tower of Terror re-themed, but like at Ebcot, there's different songs that have different sequences, and it's just a good time. For food, I'm gonna go to Schwarma and more, and they have a pepperoni pizza pocket that looks delightful. For my snack, I've had this is really good. Right outside of Guardians, there is a little stand called Terran Treats, and there's this cosmic cream orb filled with whipped raspberry cheesecake, topped with a chocolate cracklin, but it's like crushed Oreos. It is delightful, very light, very refreshing. Gotta get it for my attraction. This is a great land just to stumble upon shows. There's usually some sort of like dance-off with Star Lord and Gamora in front of Guardians. You can see Spider-Man flipping across the buildings if you're like farther into the land. Calder sat and played Rock Paper Scissors with Miss Marvel while she was on top of one of the buildings waiting for a show to start. There are characters everywhere, and they're always doing they're up to something. So just keep your eyes peeled.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and they're they're very, very interactive here, which is awesome. For my ride, I'm also going to do Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout. I love this ride. I love the drop rides, they're so fun. Not knowing the sequence, uh like Crystal was saying, they have the different sequences and just not knowing every time you ride, you're gonna get something different. For food, I'm going to go to Pim's kitchen and get the humongous taco salad. It has lettuce, chipotle ranch, chicken, corn, bell peppers, cotiha, cheese, and avocado. It looks delish. And then for my snack, I would also go to the same spot because they have a kids PBJ that you can get on gluten-free bread, which would, to me, would be just hit the spot as a quick snack to be able to grab. Attraction. I also said, similar to what Crystal said, uh just the Avenger character meet and greets, they're always very interactive and very funny and in character. My favorite uh Marvel character is Loki, and he doesn't have like a per se a specific meet and greet location. He's generally walking around. But if he's walking around, I definitely want to have some type of interaction with him and maybe get a picture if he'll stop. Okay. So moving along to Cars Land, I don't think there's really much of a contest in this area for the ride. I mean, I'm not saying the other rides are not good, but Radiator Spring Racers, there's really no contest as to whether that's going to be my top pick and if that's the only one I'm gonna ride if I get of choice. For food, I would go to Flows V8 Cafe, and they have a cheeseburger that I can get gluten-free bun with. Snack wise, they have popcorn at the Cozy Cone Motel. Different cones have different things. Um, and in cone five, they have popcorn with fun flavors like dill pickle, which I don't think that sounds very good, but dill pickle, white cheddar, nacho cheese, and they also have the traditional popcorn flavor. Those flavors change daily, so depending on what day it is, I'd pick a different flavor. I'd probably go with nacho cheese out of those options. For the attraction, also here they have character meet and greets, and you can meet Mater or Lightning McQueen. They also drive around the area as well.

SPEAKER_01:

All right. For my picks, like Julie said, there's really no contests with rides unless you ask Reese. Reese loves Mater's junkyard jamboree. But I really love Radiator Springs racers. I feel like it is definitely worth the individual lightning lane. Oh yes. And also single rider. Do it lots of times. For my food, I'm not a huge fan of flows, but I will go there. That's kind of the only option for like true food. Uh yeah. So the pastrami sandwich, because I I'm not one just to get a burger every time. They sound good. Sliced deli stout, pastrami, swiss cheese, pickle chips, shredded lettuce, and mustard on fresh sliced rye bread. You get a choice of cuties or fries. So it would be filling. But actually, I'm gonna use my snack, is my actual meal here, and I'm gonna go to Cozy Comb Motel number three. It's the chili cone queso, and they have these breaded cones. So, whichever one sounded good. They have a slow burning mac and cheese cone. It has like a spicy red pepper cheese sauce that looked really good. They have a classic chili cone queso with chili, cheddar, corn chips, they have bacon mac and cheese. So I'd say pick your poison and use that as your meal. For my attraction, they do this really cool thing with the lighting of the neon lights, and they call it the shaboom moment, I think. And it happens every night at sunset, so it changes. So Google like what time of sunset, and then I would get near Flo's like five or ten minutes before sunset, and then they turn on all the neon lights and they play the shaboom song, and it's just a moment. They do this year-round. So that would be my attraction. And the cars kind of dance, right? Like yeah, the cast members, the the cars, they all it's something. Now we're moving on to San Francisco Square. There's no ride here, it's basically just a lot of food, a little bit of shopping thrown in, and you can be meat Bay Max if you really wanted to. For my food, I'm going to cochina, cucumonga, Mexican grill. And everything on their menu just looks amazing. I've had the quesaburria tacos, John had the carne asada, and I tried that and it was good. They have San Francisco style street corn, pillo asada. Like it is Southern California. You do have a lot of the Latino influence, but they do it well. So that would be my food. For my snack, I am going to go across the way. It is called Aunt Cass Cafe. And they have this Japanese-style fluffy cheesecake. It looks bizarre coming out of the window, but is delicious. Trust me on it. If you like cheesecake, I think they do look kind of like a seasonal flavor. Switch it up so it's not always like just straight. I think ours is like a raspberry. Very good. So I would do that. And then for my attraction, I'm going to do the bakery tour. You can go on a tasty tour of a real bakery and see how the world-famous San Francisco sourdough bread is made.

SPEAKER_00:

And you get a sample.

SPEAKER_01:

Do you? I've never done it.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Which is why that's not my choice, because that would be torture for me to go in there. As Crystal said, this area is really just food and shopping, so there's no rides. I also would go to Cochina, Cucumonga, Mexican grill. My top choice would be the Bria Tacos, but it pretty much anything in there is gluten-free because of because it's Latino based, and there's a lot of options. Yeah, I would pretty much get anything on that menu for the most part. And then for my snack, I would go to they have a Ghirardelli's and I would get the Fudge Sunday. Or my attraction, I would love to do the bakery tour, but like I just said, it would probably be kind of torture because I would be smelling sourdough bread and then they would be giving out samples. Really, a lot of it just being kind of the streetmosphere to some degree or just the atmosphere in general. They have the San Francisco Gate Bridge. It's a replica of the Golden Gate Bridge, or a kind of sort of kind of replica of that. It's it's kind of iconic landmark of the area, and just in general, just walking around and checking out the scenery and going into some of the shops in the area. They have lots of shopping as well. So moving on to Pixar Pier. The ride that I'm gonna go on is in Credit Coaster. The first time that I wrote it, I wrote it with my daughter Ella, and we both loved it. That's definitely a core memory for me, and I would always want to ride it when I'm there. For food, I would want to do brunch at Lamplight Lounge, and they have a steak and eggs on the menu, which looks delicious. For a snack, I'm gonna get the raspberry soft serve from the adorable snowman frosted treats. They have multiple different plant-based frozen soft serve treats, so that's a good spot to go for most of us that have allergies. It helps with, you know, if you have dairy um or egg or anything like that as well. And then for the attraction, they have a um an area where they have it's like four or five different carnival games. You do have to pay to play here, but it's just a fun little section where you can play some games and maybe win a stuffed animal or some type of fun prize.

SPEAKER_01:

No games, they get you every time, they'll suck you in.

SPEAKER_00:

I know.

SPEAKER_01:

All right, for my ride, I have a very soft spot for Toy Story Midway Mania, especially that version at DCA. I don't know if I've ever shared this on here, but this was always a favorite of my dad's, and he was a very competitive person. And I'll never forget the trip. We walked off this ride and he walked, you walk in the gift shop, and if you knew him, you'd know he's a very frugal man. But he walked straight to the Wii game of the ride and went and bought it. And we'd all walked out of the store and we're all looking around for him, and he's over there checking out. But he passed a few years ago, so this one's just super special. But we still have the Wii game somewhere, so I need to pull it out and see if I can school the kids on it. I also really like a credit coaster. Last time we were there, they gave Harper a little next time you're tall enough, you can come skip the ride fast fast. Oh, how fun! Yes, and then you can just stand right there and watch it take off, so that's always fun. Food. This week I'd heard a rumor that the lobster nachos from Lamplight Lounge were no longer. But they're still today, today I just checked. They are still on the menu at the boardwalk dining option inside, just the boardwalk. So as long as they're still on the menu, I'm ordering them. I'd also get an order of the barbacoa nachos and share because it's the best of both worlds. For my snack, I'm going to Senor Buzz for Turo. They have some good seasonal ones there. And it seems like that's always a hit. And then there's also, it's not on the map, but there's usually been a cart at the bottom of the Incredibles Arch that has been rotating through some sort of cheesy pull-par bread. I I've seen videos recently that it's still there and it's still rotating through the different uh seasonal breads. So check that out because that was good. And then for my attraction, across the walkway from Lamp Light, there is a little store called Knickknacks. And sometimes, if you're lucky, you will see some animator over in the corner drawing. And it's very cool to sit and watch them draw the characters just because they're so fast, but they're so amazing. Yeah. So peek in there. Just peek in there and see if you can see them. And even if they're not in there, they have a lot of their work up and you can purchase it. So just like look through like the sketches. Blows my mind. All right. Moving right along to Paradise Gardens Park. On my ride, anything but Goofy Sky School. If you think the Matterhorn is rough, it doesn't have it doesn't hold a candle to Goofy Sky School. This ride is so brutal, but terrifying. If you want to ride it, for some reason the Lightning Lane always seems to be one of the first ones to sell out at DCA. So make sure that that's a priority on your Lightning Lane selection. I'm gonna go with Little Mermaid because it is highly underrated on the West Coast. Kind of always an afterthought over there, and there's always just a five-minute line. So go give Ariel some love. For my food, I'm going to go to Paradise Garden Grill and get the Al Pastor Tacos. I'm not passing up tacos, you know me. And for my snack, Bayside Bruise has a jalapeno cheese-filled pretzel. Not just a cream cheese pretzel, jalapeno. So I'm gonna go give that a try. And my attraction, World of Color. This is such a fun show if you've never seen it. And they have a virtual cue for it, so make sure you try for that or get a dessert party or get a very nine o'clock late night lamplight reservation and ask to be seated where you can see it.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, so for my ride, I was cracking up at Crystal because I have like a love-hate relationship with this ride because it is so terrifying and fun at the same time, and it just and it does like you need like a chiropractic visit afterwards, and it's so high up, it is so terrifying. Yeah, I I after I do it, I'm like regretful, but then I can't stop myself beforehand. I'm gonna get in line every time to go on this ride. My for my food, I'm also gonna go to Paradise Garden Grill. They don't have an official gluten-free menu, but they do say to check with a cast member that and they will help you basically with anything. So I'm looking at the Aquiote half chicken. It's served with Spanish rice, refried beans, and a nopal salad. And then for a snack, I'm gonna probably go to the popcorn cart in that area. That's just an easy snack for me typically. And then for the attraction, like Crystal, I'm gonna do the World of Color nighttime show. Here is a great, it's a great spot, obviously, in this area, but also in Pixar Pier, like Crystal was saying, you can if you get a certain a later reservation at Lamplight Lounge, then you can also see it from there. Moving into our final area to round out DCA, it's Grizzly Peak. I am going to go to Soren as my ride. I love this version of Soren. It's so good. For my food, I'm gonna go to Smoke Jumpers Grill to get a grilled chicken sandwich with gluten-free bun and French fries. And then for a snack, I would also go to Smoke Jumpers Grill and I would get the chocolate shake. And then for the attraction, they just have basically a kind of a walking nature path in that area that's kind of fun to walk around or just sit and people watch.

SPEAKER_01:

Watch everybody getting off the grizzly peak, all soaked and screaming. And right. All right, for my ride, I'm also going to Soarin and then food. I feel like Smoke Jumpers is one of the most underrated places in all of this park. Their whole menu is so good, and it's a good price, and it actually tastes good, and they're like big proportions. So I'm going to get any burger that sounds good on that on that menu because I've had them and they're delicious. And for my snack, I'm staying there and I'm getting the fried pickles with ranch. Because that sounds good. For my attraction, I'm going to cheat. I'm going to take the two-minute walk into the Grand California, and I'm going to sit in the lobby for an AC break and listen to the piano player or check out whatever they have going on in the lobby. Gingerbread house, pumpkin display, whatever time of year. They have something going on in there. And then it's two minutes back. You do have to come back through security. But that's a good spot. And now that we are through the list, I am so proud. I did not pick Die Coke on one thing. And I only picked Charles once. I could have picked Charles in every single land.

SPEAKER_00:

So yeah, I think I think I only did I think I only did coffee once, right? Because they have cold brews at several different quick service. We did good. Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

And we were just talking to some friends tonight. They are avid Walt Disney Worlders, but they've been to Disneyland once, but it's been a long time. So I was pleading DCA's case because he likes Hollywood Studios, and I said, if you like Hollywood Studios, you're going to love California Adventure. It's that plessed up with Carsland and more fun things. If you want to plan a trip, now's a good time. They have awesome promos going on right now. They have the 70th anniversary. And this land has come a long ways in the last 20 years. It's been through about four iterations, but it's in a clear spot right now before it goes through more demo with expansion coming. So it's such a good park. It doesn't get enough credit.

SPEAKER_00:

I know. And the thing is, like, I mean, obviously I love Disneyland for the nostalgia of it and you know so many fun characters that walk around Fantasyland. But we loved DCA. I mean, I think both of the parks you could spend a good two days in. No problem.

SPEAKER_01:

If you have boys, this is this is a hard-hit boy park if you really want it to be. Not that my girls didn't have fun there, but Calder, this is probably one of his favorites because you have all the Avengers, you have all the cars, you have all the Toy Story characters. Oh, it just has my heart.

SPEAKER_00:

Can we get a DCA on this coast? Well, I mean, we are getting the cars land, you know? Yeah, so we'll see how it's that's gonna help. And does Disney World have to be careful about the Marvel stuff? Is it Disney Disney World has to be careful with it, right? Because it's right there next to you.

SPEAKER_01:

So there's this whole agreement about one side of the Mississippi, Universal has the rights to Marvel, which is why we see it at Universal, Orlando, and then the other side of the Mississippi, Disneyland has free reign. And that was long before Disney like acquired all the Marvel and the the rights. So a lot of those like OG characters you will will never see at Walt Disney World.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, that's what I thought. And so we're probably not ever gonna get like an Avengers campus or anything like that um at Disney World because of that, unless something major changes.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and I I think it's too much of a big part of their park.

SPEAKER_00:

They won't they won't give that up. No, I can't imagine that they would either. And you know, I think getting more Pixar in Disney World, you know, just with the cars land, and also building out that animation courtyard, you know, getting just getting more of that kind of thing um in Disney World's gonna be nice for sure. Okay, and I think that wraps us up for today. We hope you've enjoyed our walk around Disney's California Adventure. Like Crystal said, if you're interested in heading over that way, we would absolutely love to help you. It's such a fun park, both Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. Just as a reminder, our services for planning Disney trips or really any travel are free for you. It is packaged in with the pricing at whatever destination that you would like to go to. We would love to help you. Have a fantastic week, everyone. We will talk to you all next week. Bye. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Wonderlust and Wishes.

SPEAKER_01:

If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform.

SPEAKER_00:

And remember, the world is full of wonders waiting to be explored. Until next time, happy travels. Bye for now.