Tag: Disneyland

Disney World now has ‘It’s a Small World’ wheelchair dolls

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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In an effort to provide a “more authentic picture of diversity throughout the globe,” Disneyland on Friday introduced two new characters who use wheelchairs to the classic “It’s a Small World” ride. The attraction also has over 300 dressed dolls depicting singing children from a variety of countries, including some that are animatronic. Both make appearances on the boat voyage, one during the Latin American segment and the other in the closing act.

On the opening day of Disneyland’s Christmas season, the dolls were shown to the public. After making its debut at the 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair, the attraction made its way to Disneyland park in 1966, where it has remained ever since, adorned with seasonal decorations and the sounds of Christmas songs.

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Adding more diverse characters is part of Disneyland’s continual commitment to improve its attractions, the company said in a statement.

Special wheelchair-accessible boats were built for the ride, but the inclusion of a character who uses one was a first for Disneyland in its 67-year existence. For more than six months, a Disney department in charge of theme park accessibility worked together on the dolls’ design and production.

Dolls in a similar style will be introduced to “It’s a Small World” attractions at Walt Disney in Florida as well as Disneyland Paris. In the past, Disney has supplemented “It’s a Small World” with new characters. Woody and the other “Toy Story” toys joined dolls dressed in traditional Native American garb in a new “Spirit of America” tableau created in 2009.

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About Disneyland

Amusement Parks

Enjoy your summer (or winter!) to the utmost at Disneyland Paris, which has two separate Parks.

Disneyland Park: Disneyland Paris is situated near Chessy, some 20 miles to the east of the heart of Paris. Disneyland Paris, which includes Disneyland Park and the Walt Disney Studios parks, which are just across from one another, will transport you to a mystical and enchanted realm with its rides and attractions.

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With its original opening in 1992, Disneyland Park remains the most well-known of the two Disney theme parks in Disneyland Paris.

Main Street USA at Disneyland Park is the primary commercial and informational core of the park and the primary entrance to the four themed lands of Frontierland, Adventureland, Discoveryland, and Fantasyland. You may easily go from one part of the park to another by using the circular train that runs through it. Perhaps with Adventureland as the one exception.

In the case of heavy precipitation, guests may take shelter from the storm in an underground passage that connects the park’s most popular ride, Pirates of the Caribbean, to the park’s main entrance. Visitors may get on a bus at Disney Barangay or the hotels’ main gate and are whisked away to their final destinations. To ride one of these buses won’t cost you a dime.

Walt Disney Studio: Walt Disney Studios Park, located in Marne-la-Vallée, France, opened its doors to the public for the first time in 2002. Getting to the heart of Paris’s historic centre only takes around 30 kilometres. The Walt Disney Park at Disneyland Paris is the resort’s second theme park, and it’s dedicated to the magic of Disney, the art of filmmaking, and the wonders of 3D computer animation.

The Products division of the Walt Disney Company owns and manages this park. Disneyland Hollywood Studios is a theme park in Walt Disney World in Florida, although the original Disneyland is in Paris. It’s a departure for Disney, with interesting takes on fairy tale motifs.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Disney to lay off about 28,000 parks unit employees due to coronavirus hit

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Walt Disney Co said on Tuesday it will lay off roughly 28,000 employees, mostly at its US theme parks, where attendance has been crushed by the coronavirus pandemic, especially in California where Disneyland remains closed. About two-thirds of the laid-off employees will be part-time workers, the company said in a statement.

Disney shut its theme parks worldwide when the novel coronavirus began spreading this year. All but Disneyland – nicknamed the Happiest Place on Earth – reopened, though the company was forced to limit the number of visitors to allow for physical distancing.

”We have made the very difficult decision to begin the process of reducing our workforce at our Parks, Experiences and Products segment at all levels,” Josh D’Amaro, chairman of the parks unit, said in a statement.

He cited the parks’ limited capacity and uncertainty about the pandemic’s duration, which he said was ”exacerbated in California by the state’s unwillingness to lift restrictions that would allow Disneyland to reopen.”

In a letter to employees, D’Amaro called the move ”heartbreaking.” He said management had tried to avoid layoffs by cutting expenses, suspending projects and streamlining operations. The company had continued to pay health benefits for furloughed workers since April. ”However, we simply cannot responsibly stay fully staffed while operating at such limited capacity,” D’Amaro said.

Walt Disney World in Florida had employed 77,000 full- and part-time workers before the pandemic, while Disneyland in California employed 32,000.Disney did not disclose how many other U.S. employees work in the parks unit, which includes consumer products, cruise lines and other businesses.

Last week, Disney urged California officials to issue guidelines that would allow Disneyland to welcome visitors again. On Tuesday, Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s health secretary, said the state had taken a science-based approach to reopening that aimed to ”minimize the health and economic risks that would be caused by opening and shutting repeatedly.”

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Disneyland announces to reopen theme park on July 17

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Disneyland has announced that it will reopen its theme park in California on July 17, nearly three months after shutting its gates to slow the spread of coronavirus.

However, Downtown Disney District will reopen on July 9, the company said, adding it will kick-off the phased reopening of its properties across the country.

Because the theme park capacity will be significantly limited to comply with governmental requirements and promote physical distancing, the Disneyland Resort will manage attendance through a new theme park reservation system that will require all guests, including annual passholders, to obtain a reservation for park entry in advance, it said.

The theme park reservations will be subject to availability, the company said, adding at this time, there will also be a temporary pause on new ticket sales and annual passport sales and renewals.

“Once approved, the Disneyland Resort will reopen with enhanced health and safety measures,” it said.

The reopening of Disneyland theme park coincides with the historic opening of Disneyland park 65 years ago on July 17, 1955.

The company said that plans to support physical distancing as well as increased cleaning measures, along with a number of other health and safety protocols, will be implemented as part of the phased reopening of the hotels and the vacation club.

Certain experiences that draw large group gatherings such as parades and nighttime spectaculars will return at a later date. While character meet and greets will be temporarily unavailable, characters will be in the parks in new ways to entertain and delight guests, it said.

Downtown Disney District will begin reopening on July 9 in line with the state’s reopening guidelines.

“With the health of guests and Disney cast members at the forefront of planning, several operational changes will be implemented based on guidance from health authorities to promote physical distancing and cleanliness throughout the Downtown Disney District,” the company said.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Man arrested trying to quarantine on private Disney island

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Florida deputies arrested a man who had been living out his quarantine on a shuttered Disney World island, telling authorities it felt like a “tropical paradise.”

Orange County Sheriff’s deputies found Richard McGuire on Disney’s Discovery Island on Thursday. He said he’d been there since Monday or Tuesday and had planned to camp there for a week, according to an arrest report.

The 42-year-old said he didn’t hear numerous deputies searching the private island for him on foot, by boat and by air because he was asleep in a building. He told the deputy he didn’t know it was a restricted area, despite there being numerous “no trespassing” signs.

“Richard stated that he was unaware of that and that it looked like a tropical paradise,” according to the arrest report.

Orange County Marine deputies on Bay Lake used a public address system to tell McGuire he was not allowed to be on the property, but he remained on the island, anyway, according to the arrest report.

A security representative for Disney said she saw McGuire using a company boat Thursday, noting that the area had several “no trespassing” signs and two closed gates. She asked the agency to press charges.

McGuire was arrested on a trespassing charge and taken to jail without incident. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could comment.

Previously called Treasure Island, Discovery Island had been the site of a zoological park before the island was closed to the public in 1999.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

International traveller with measles visited Disneyland

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A New Zealand teenager who visited Disneyland, Universal Studios, Hollywood tourist hot spots and the beach this month had measles and may have exposed others, public health agencies announced Friday.

The girl arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on August 11 and went to the Desert Palms Hotel in Anaheim, officials said. She is believed to have gone to Disneyland and the Disney California Adventure Park on August 12 and then Universal Studios, the TCL Chinese Theatre and Madame Tussauds in Hollywood and the Santa Monica beach and pier on August 14-15, authorities said.

The girl has since returned to New Zealand, said Dr. Nichole Quick, Orange County’s health care officer.

The agency said it has been working with the facilities to reach people who had close contact. There are no current reports that anyone has contracted measles from the teen, Quick said.

She said she expects to see more measles cases, generally, among international travellers who visit California because of an increase in the illness overseas. “We’re in general concerned with the outbreaks going on in places in this country as well as internationally,” she said.

Disneyland officials on Friday said no employees at the theme park were reported to have contracted the illness. Dr. Pamela Hymel, Disneyland’s chief medical officer, said in a statement that health officials said the risk to employees and visitors “is likely low.”

The park boosted an existing immunisation program earlier this year for employees, she said. Disneyland and adjacent Disney California Adventure Park are major tourist destinations, drawing tens of thousands of visitors a day.

In 2015, a measles outbreak involving Disneyland sickened 147 people and spread across the US and into Canada. As of early this month, Los Angeles County health officials reported 16 measles cases among county residents this year and — in addition to the New Zealand girl — 10 others among non-residents who travelled through.

The Orange County health agency says people who may have been exposed should monitor themselves for symptoms such as fever and rash occurring up to 21 days from exposure.

Quick urged anyone who has symptoms to call their health care provider before going to the doctor to avoid additional exposures. People are also urged to check their records to determine if they have been vaccinated or previously had measles.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Disneyland has a new attraction for die hard Star Wars fans

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Disneyland’s new Galaxy’s Edge attraction promises to transport visitors to a new locale in the Star Wars universe, but anywho overstay their visit might not catch their ride on the Millennium Falcon.

The theme park is expecting massive crowds when Galaxy’s Edge opens May 31 and has detailed plans on how to accommodate guests or help them “move along” with the aid of Stormtroopers.

For the first three weeks, guests must have a reservation to enter and will be limited to four hours inside the immersive new land, the largest single-theme land inside a Disney park. It is spread out over 14 acres of rides and experiences, including shops selling personal droids, lightsabers, and Star Wars-appropriate food and drink.

A special wristband will identify a visitor’s time window, and once it expires, Disney said it will shut off access to key attractions and merchandise locations. Park employees dressed as Star Wars characters will ultimately ask visitors to make their way toward one of the three exits so a new group can enter.

“There might be some First Order officers out there helping us or maybe some Stormtroopers asking people to move along,” said Kris Theiler, vice president of Disneyland park. “We’ll employ the First Order maybe later in the reservation period if we need to.”

It’s just one example of the lengths to which Disney has gone to make Galaxy’s Edge look and feel like part of the Star Wars universe. It’s designed as a grungy outpost on a distant planet.

The marquee attraction is a massive replica of the Millennium Falcon, where guests can roam the ship’s halls and engage in a dogfight with TIE Fighters.

The park has plenty of other, more subtle ways to manage crowd flow. Theiler said walkways were widened from 3 to about 6 feet in different areas, and stroller parking is available. Around 7,500 new parking spaces along with new parking lot entrances and toll booths were added. A new pedestrian bridge was also built to help avoid logjams.

Disneyland declined to share the capacity limit for Galaxy’s Edge.

The park will implement a virtual queue system after June 23, when the pre-reservation requirement and four-hour time limit are set to expire.

The virtual queue will be offered inside Disneyland only for visitors to reserve a spot to enter the Star Wars attraction and is intended to alleviate long lines. Updates will be available through the Disneyland app or a kiosk in the park.

“We believe that we can get a lot of folks through the land, and the wait won’t be unmanageable,” Theiler said.

Theiler said Disneyland has learned from its other attractions, such as It’s a Small World, Dumbo and Matterhorn Bobsled, how to manage crowds.

“Many of these attractions were built in the ’50s,” she said. “We didn’t have the volume back then that we do today. We’ve gotten into the practice of utilizing walkway space. We really want to make sure from a guest perspective that we’re ready to go. We’ve been doing a lot of infrastructure work the last couple of years.”

Even before Galaxy’s Edge opens, Disneyland was the second most popular theme park in the world last year with 18.6 million visitors. It is second only to Disney World in Florida, where a version of Galaxy’s Edge is scheduled to open August 29.

Theiler said Disneyland also wants to create a fun and safe environment for visitors who might want to partake in a lightsaber battle or let their personal droid roam. Activities like that will be monitored on a case-by-case basis, she said.

“If everyone’s having fun and no safety issues, we’re going to let people do that,” she said. “But if we start feeling like that’s interfering with other guest experiences or other safety issues, then we’ll have a gentle conversation with that group.”

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Bingo and bongs: More seniors seek pot for age-related aches

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The group of white-haired folks — some pushing walkers, others using canes — arrive right on time at the gates of Laguna Woods Village, an upscale retirement community in the picturesque hills that frame this Southern California suburb a few miles from Disneyland.

There they board a bus for a quick trip to a building that, save for the green Red Cross-style sign in the window, resembles a trendy coffee bar. The people, mostly in their 70s and 80s, pass the next several hours enjoying a light lunch, playing a few games of bingo and selecting their next month’s supply of cannabis-infused products.

“It’s like the ultimate senior experience,” laughs 76-year-old retired beauty products distributor Ron Atkin as he sits down to watch the bingo at the back of the Bud and Bloom marijuana dispensary in Santa Ana.

Most states now have legal medical marijuana, and 10 of them, including California, allow anyone 21 or older to use pot recreationally. The federal government still outlaws the drug even as acceptance increases. The 2018 General Social Survey, an annual sampling of Americans’ views, found a record 61 percent back legalization, and those 65 and older are increasingly supportive.

Indeed, many industry officials say the fastest-growing segment of their customer base is people like Atkin — aging baby boomers or even those a little older who are seeking to treat the aches and sleeplessness and other maladies of old age with the same herb that many of them once passed around at parties.

“I would say the average age of our customers is around 60, maybe even a little older,” said Kelty Richardson, a registered nurse with the Halos Health clinic in Boulder, Colorado, which provides medical examinations and sells physician-recommended cannabis through its online store.

Its medical director, Dr. Joseph Cohen, conducts “Cannabis 101” seminars at the nearby Balfour Senior Living community for residents who want to know which strains are best for easing arthritic pain or improving sleep.

Relatively little scientific study has verified the benefits of marijuana for specific problems. There’s evidence pot can relieve chronic pain in adults, according to a 2017 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, but the study also concluded that the lack of scientific information poses a risk to public health.

At Bud and Bloom, winners of the bingo games take home new vape pens, but Atkin isn’t really there for that. He’s been coming regularly for two years to buy cannabis-infused chocolate bars and sublingual drops to treat his painful spinal stenosis since the prescription opiates he had been taking quit working.

It was “desperation” that brought him here, he said, adding that his doctors didn’t suggest he try medical marijuana. But they didn’t discourage him either.

The dispensary is filled with the 50 people from the bus as they peruse counters and coolers containing everything from gel caps to drops to cannabis-infused drinks, not to mention plenty of old-fashioned weed.

Adele Frascella, leaning on her cane, purchases a package of gummy candies she says helps keep her arthritic pain at bay.

“I don’t like to take an opioid,” said Frascella, 70.

Fashionably dressed with sparkling silver earrings, Frascella confirms with a smile that she was a pot smoker in her younger days.

“I used to do it when I was like 18, 19, 20,” she said. “And then I had a baby, got married and stopped.”

She took it up again a few years ago, even investing in a “volcano,” a pricey, high-tech version of the old-fashioned bong that Gizmodo calls “the ultimate stoner gadget.” But these days, like many other seniors, she prefers edibles to smoking.

Renee Lee, another baby boomer who smoked as a youth, got back into it more than a dozen years ago after the clinical psychologist underwent brain surgery and other medical procedures that she said had her taking “10 meds a day, four times a day.”

“And I wasn’t getting any better,” she said, adding that she asked her doctors if she might try medical marijuana as a last resort. They said go ahead and she found it ended her pain.

In 2012 she founded the Rossmoor Medical Marijuana Club in her upscale San Francisco Bay Area retirement community.

“We started with 20 people, and we kept it really quiet for about a year and a half,” she said, noting that although California legalized medical cannabis in 1996, it was still seen in some quarters as an outlaw drug.

Her group has since grown to more than 1,000 members and puts on regular events, including lectures by pro-cannabis doctors and nurses.

People Lee’s age — 65 and over — are the fastest-growing segment of the marijuana-using population, said Dr. Gary Small, professor of psychiatry and aging at the University of California, Los Angeles.

He believes more studies on the drug’s effects on older people are needed. And while it may improve quality of life by relieving pain, anxiety and other problems, he said, careless, unsupervised use can cause trouble.

“We know that cannabis can cause side effects, particularly in older people,” he said. “They can get dizzy. It can even impair memory if the dose is too high or new ingredients are wrong. And dizziness can lead to falls, which can be quite serious.”

Richardson said Colorado saw an uptick in hospital visits by older users soon after the state legalized cannabis in 2012. The problem, he said, was often caused by novices downing too many edibles.

That’s a lesson Dick Watts, 75, learned the hard way. The retired New Jersey roofing contractor who keeps a winter home at Laguna Woods Village began having trouble sleeping through the night as he got into his 70s. He attended a seniors’ seminar where he learned marijuana might help, so he got a cannabis-infused candy bar. He immediately ate the whole thing.

“Man, that was nearly lethal,” recalled Watts, laughing.

Now when he has trouble sleeping he takes just a small sliver of candy before bed. He said he wakes up clear-headed and refreshed.

“And I have it up on a shelf so my grandkids can’t get to it,” Watts said.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

A trip to Disneyland, the happiest place on earth

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Are you planning a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth this year? The mention of the word “Disneyland” brings about cherubic smiles and sloppy hugs and kisses in every household. It is truly an exhilarating experience for the senses, one that promises to be etched in your memory forever. But as you navigate through two theme parks with kids in wonderland, it becomes easy to lose sight of fun and become caught up in overwhelming crowds. We decided to visit Disneyland (in Los Angeles) with our 6-year old son and 3-year old daughter and had a great time. Read on for top 7 tips for a  fantastic experience.

 1. Dates for the trip

The dates for the trip are as important as the rides for Disneyland. We went for two days – one for each park.

• Try to go on weekdays. Wednesdays turn out the best and avoid long weekends at all cost.
• Check out the crowd predictions as well as the annual pass holders blackout dates and plan your dates accordingly.
• July and August are the hottest months in LA – you don’t want to be standing in the queues with cranky kids in the blistering heat. In the same strand, watch out for January – the wettest month in LA. If you do go during these times, arm yourselves accordingly.

2. Maximise time inside the park

Predictably, the kids will have an adrenaline rush – they will be excited, happy and maybe not even tired. We wanted to maximise this energy by staying inside the park for as long as we could.

• We decided to stay in the Disneyland Resort hotels inside the park. While they come at a premium, they gave us access to the coveted Magic Morning, a one-hour early entry into the parks available ONLY to the resort guests. These hotels are also themed on Disney and organise Dining opportunities with the characters making it fully immersive experience.
• Staying in the resort gives you the option of catching a cat nap and heading back again to the park – refreshed!
• We got our ROI on the magic morning with the Radiator Springs ride – we did it before the park opened to public. The average wait time for this ride is crazy 2-3 hours !!
• Reaching the gates of the resort half an hour before the magic morning begins, is really helpful. The entrance is the first place where one encounters the long queue – reaching early will give you a jumpstart. Kids had no problem getting up early – thanks to the excitement.

3. Have a game plan

A quick search showed the rides, maps as well as the height requirement for each ride. We did this research well in advance and given that my boy and girl wanted to do very different things, we planned our “park strategy”. While I am not saying that things needs to be planned to the last minute, keep in mind there are over 50 attractions and that doesn’t even include the shows, parade and restroom breaks that will come your way.

• I downloaded a Disney app that showed me wait-times for different rides, where the characters were and where the photographers were standing. I started using it a week in advance to see general patterns on wait-time and used it to guide my ride-order decision.
• If your trip hinges on a certain ride, be sure to check out the ride schedule in advance to know if it will be working.
• Sometimes,Disney staggers the rides when the park opens to manage the crowds.
• We took the photopass. There are a gazillion photographers spread across the park, next to all attractions and characters. Having everyone together in the photograph and a professional click made it worth it. At park closing, we just handed in our pass to customer service and they gave us a CD with all our snaps.

4. Fastpass + Riderswitch+ Singlerider = Heaven

To ensure that the adults don’t miss out on the fun, Disney offers Riderswitch . It allows the non-rider to wait with a supervising adult at the front of the queue while the remainder party enjoys the ride. Then adults simply switch roles. My daughter did not make the height cut at some attractions and this facility really helped. As the boys went to queue up for the roller-coasters, I would quickly get my daughter to do a kiddie ride and coordinate to meet at the front of the queue for the rider switch.

For the most popular rides, Disney issues Fastpass, issued through kiosks located through out the park. The Fastpass books a time for you at the ride. Each rider needs their own fastpass. You need to show up at the ride at the time mentioned on the fastpass and go straight thru. It is a great way to plan your day in the park. You can book the fastpass on mobile thru Maxpass facility as well.

Also, most top rides have a separate line for single riders! Using the early entry, fastpass & riderswitch, the kids ended up doing the most coveted rides multiple times over.

5. Pace yourself

The energies will fluctuate through the day. We planned our rides in a manner that after every 1.5 hour we were grabbing a drink, fruits or munchies. There are enough small performances and characters walking about to allow for short breaks from the sensory explosion. I would highly recommend grabbing a fastpass before lunch so that right-after you could do a ride and get back in the swing of things. Looking thru the maps and mobile app will give you a good idea to plan a break.

6.Must pack

Do carry water in bottle for the park as it is quite expensive inside. Portable phone battery is highly recommended too. Wet wipes come in handy too. If you have a toddler, I would highly recommend a stroller. Do take note that there are strollers available for hire inside the park too. The parks also have childcare areas where one could feed infants and heat up food.

7. Must do rides and experiences

It is hard to pick with all rides offering something different, gazillion bands playing all across the park and all fairies and princesses walking by.We loved the Tomorrowland. The kids also loved the boat ride of ‘It’s a small world‘. Older kids would like the Pirates of Caribbean and Indiana Jones as well – however, my small kids got a bit scared! Fantasyland is perfect for toddlers but gets very crowded around mid morning. We felt that the Disney shows were probably our best experience – specially Star Wars show where kids got Jedi training and had a fight sequence with Darth Vader.

In California Adventure Park -The Cars Land wins hands down. The Radiator Springs car race appeals to all kids alike and is a fun roller-coaster. California Screamin sets the tone for the Paradise Pier section and is a must do rollercoaster for older kids and adults. The Frozen show is conducted like a Broadway musical and was the perfect rest break for the kids.

We went in bracing for impact :), expecting tired cranky kids, unmanageable lines etc. But the planning made a big difference and ensured that we all had a great time. The voice over for each ride reverberates in my ears and is probably what sums up the trip for me “Be sure to wear your seatbelts, hold on, here we gooo!”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow