disneylanddisneylanddisneylanddisneyland. DISNEYLAND! (has fun things to do even if you don't go on any rides)

Most people think of Disneyland as being all about the rides. For me, the rides are the main attraction, but there are a lot of other ways to have fun at Disneyland.

1. Parades and shows. It can be kind of a pain to sit down early enough to get a good spot for a parade or a show, but if you have enough time to go on all the rides you want to, it is a fun thing to do. (Plus, this is an excellent time to engage in activity number 6, listed below.) Right now, Disneyland is running one parade, the Parade of Dreams, which is a pretty good parade with performance stops along the way, Fantasmic!--an excellent multimedia nighttime show on the Rivers of America, and their 50th Anniversary fireworks, which is a really spectacular show with projections on the castle and Matterhorn. All of these are good--Fantasmic!, especially, is a classic. For all of these, you probably need to sit down at least an hour early to get a good spot.

Below: Trampoline peformers on the Alice in Wonderland float in the Parade of Dreams


California Adventure is running the Block Party Bash, a Pixar themed parade with long, noisy peformance stops during which you might be pulled out of the crowd and forced to dance with a giant green army man. I can skip that one, thanks. But they're also running a short Aladdin. musical, which has really cool special effects, a funny genie who pulls quips from current events, and sometimes audience behavior, and good songs. It takes part in a big, nice, indoor theater, so it's a good place to get in from the heat and sun, and rest your feet, and it doesn't matter where you sit, since every seat has a good view.

You can check the calendar for show and parade times.

2. Non-ride "Attractions:" Animatronic shows and films are a great place to enjoy a seat and some air-conditioning. And some of them are can't-miss classics, like the Enchanted Tiki Room. California Adventure has the Animation Pavillion, where you can learn to draw a character (you should have seen my attempt at Goofy--next time I will follow directions more carefully), record a voice for a scene from a Disney film, or go to the toaotally awesome Turtle Talk with Crush. There's also a nice little movie about the history of California, which always makes me cry and then I'm totally mortified that my emotions are so easy to manipulate. It's Tough to be a Bug and Muppet Vision 3D are part of a new breed of 3-D films that incorporate animatronics and other surprising effects. (Be sure you keep your seat until the very end of It's Tough to be a Bug!) Disneyland also has one of these: Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. There are also some great walk-through attractions, like Tarzan's Tree House, many of the character's houses in Toontown, and Tom Sawyer Island

3. Dining Experiences: I went to Disneyland in college with some friends who wanted to save money by taking sandwiches and snacks into the park. While I totally understand this impulse--the food is expensive sometimes, I think that eating at the parks is part of the Disneyland experience. I've already mentioned how much I love the Blue Bayou,, and that is as much for the atmosphere as the food. Other can't-miss dining experiences include The Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor on Main Street and Mickey Mouse shaped snacks (everything from pretzels to ice cream sandwiches to tortilla chips). We recently discovered Pooh's Hunny Spot, right by the Winnie-the-Pooh ride, which is in a fairly quiet corner of the parks and offers a Tigger Tail (marshmallows on a stick dipped in orange coating and drizzled with chocolate), and Rice Crispie treates shaped and decorated to look like Hunny pots.

(This blogger gives a pretty good rundown of some of the best places to eat in the parks and Downtown Disney.)

4. Shopping: I'm not a really big shopper, but there are some shops I really enjoy going to every time I go to Disneyland, particularly the Christmas shop and others in the back alleys of New Orleans Square.

5. Looking around: The Imagineers have put a lot of thought and detail-work into the parks, which you can miss if you are running around from ride-to-ride. Two of my favorite places to just spend some time looking around are Toontown, and New Orleans Square.

Below: "Laundry" hung to dry along the Rivers of America


6. Observing other Disneyland guests. Disneyland is pretty much the best place to observe...um... "interesting" behavior, conversations, child rearing techniques, and fashion choices. Seriously, I am almost never bored waiting in a line or sitting on the curb of Main Street waiting for a parade to start. You'd be shocked how many women decide to wear short skirts and less-than-sensible shoes for a day on their feet, climbing in and out of rides.

Other people seem to enjoy pin trading and tracking down characters for autographs and photos. I don't really get the appeal of those activities, but since it keeps those people out of lines for rides I want to go on, they can go ahead and knock themselves out.