California Adventure is more relaxed than the Disneyland Park next door. It's a tribute to the great state of California. There are fewer animation rides and more shows or amusement park rides.

We like the shows here a lot. Bugs Life, Soaring over California (use a Fast Pass here) and anything on the Hollywood Backlot is fun to watch. It's Disney - you won't be disappointed!

The pier area is like an old boardwalk similar to those found in Santa Monica or Santa Cruz. The area is fun but less creative and less imagination than Disneyland.

One of the rides everyone does loves is Grizzly River Run, which is a raft trip down a rapids. One drawback, we did it in the late evening and you will for sure get soaked on this ride. The sun had gone down and we were all freezing cold and very wet - we went into the Grand Californian and sat by the roaring fire to dry off! Stick to this ride in the middle of the day when the sun is blazing and you want to get wet!

We enjoy California Adventure. It is growing, the Tower of Terror is opening this May. Of the two parks, I still feel Disneyland is the one with the most appeal, but California Adventure does have its moments.

Disneyland CA Adventure (DCA) is the second theme park built in Anaheim. It is located right across from the Disneyland Main Gates. It opened in 2001 and has improved a little each year since its opening.

This year a new thrill attraction is opening: the Tower of Terror. This attraction is already open in Disney World; however, I've never been on it.

DCA is inspired by the many features of the great Golden State of California. Different areas of the park are modeled after different areas or features of CA, the state. For example, Paradise Pier depicts a place like Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk complete with carnival style games and a roller coaster that is supposed to look like the old time white wooden roller coasters. Another area depicts Hollywood and here you can see a live show of Aladdin. It's like seeing a Broadway show in LA or SF. Then there's the animation studio where you can see how the animated movies come to life. You can visit the soundstage of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and play a mock game for prizes. There's an area that depicts CA's agriculture and this is where you can see the Bug's Life 3-D film. The park is really an amazing tribute to the state.

For a veteran Disneyland fan, it is hard to have the same feelings visiting this park. I have a long history of visiting Disneyland and you can feel that Disneyland has more of a special feel because it is the original park that Walt Disney envisioned. DCA earns a little more of my affection each time I visit and I know eventually it will start to have some of the same charm and character that Disneyland has.

If you're going to Anaheim for only a few days, get a park hopper pass and you will probably end up spending more time in Disneyland, but do take some time here in DCA and see some of its main attractions.

Here is a quick run down for our eight-day adventure. We purchased a Southern California City Pass for three days at Disney, one day at Knott's, one day at the San Diego Zoo, and one day at Sea World in Seattle for $166 total. This price gives you the zoo and Sea World basically free.

We also purchased a Front of Line pass for Universal Studios for US$69. We saved US$10 by booking online before arriving at the park (regular US$79 at gates). This also gave us a year long membership at Universal Studios.

There were NO lines and we had front-isle seating for all attractions. This was great and even more beneficial then Disney's FastPass system. We got total royal treatment and for less money than the VIP.

You need to leave early from Anaheim to make it to San Diego for 9am due to rush hour traffic. We recommend leaving at about 6:30am. We left at 7:30 and were stuck in traffic. We arrived in San Diego at 10am.

Avoid Disneyland Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. There are fewer visitors mid week and it’s very busy on Friday.

Off-season is the way to go. We didn't wait for any one ride for more than 15-20 minutes. I've heard horror stories of 2-3 hour waits for some of the more popular rides, and I can't even begin to imagine that. We did utilize the fast-pass system a couple of times, more to help plan our day rather than dealing with wait times that are unreal.

Take plenty of $$$. Nothing is cheap once inside the gates.

Have fun! I had to ooze out of my "I'm an adult" funk and chill out... then I started having more fun.

Wear known good comfy shoes. We walked about a zillion miles over the 3 days we were there and my feet let me know about it.

DCA seems to be more geared towards an older crowd than Disneyland is, so kids may not be quite as taken by it, although the Bug's Life area is all about the kids. The real theme park is across the street.

We were worried because we heard this was Disney's "step-child" park. It turned out that this is a much better park for older kids. Disneyland tends to cater toward younger children. If you have teens and pre-teens, this is the park for you!