Page 29 - 2018 Travel Guide to California

and Lower lots. Transformers: The Ride 3-D
is a fan-favorite on the Lower Lot. On the
Upper Lot, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem,
a 3-D simulator ride, and Super Silly Fun
Land, an outdoor family-friendly play-
ground, both opened in April 2014. The
official studio tour commemorated its 50th
anniversary in 2015 with the opening of a
new grand finale dubbed Fast & Furious:
Supercharged.
Children’s Fairyland
Believe it or not, the first theme park in the
U.S. to cater to families with young kids was
Children’s Fairyland, a blink-and-you’ll-
miss-it theme park on the shores of Lake
Merritt in Oakland. The place opened in
1950 (original admission started between 9
and 14 cents), making it the first official
theme park in California, as well. According
to some, it was one of Walt Disney’s inspi-
rations for the eponymous park he created
five years later.
Today, Fairyland includes small rides
such as a mini Ferris wheel and carousels,
and life-sized sets depicting scenes from
timeless storybooks (Pinocchio’s castle and
the Humpty Dumpty wall are two favorites).
The theme park also is home to the Story-
book Puppet Theater, which opened in 1956.
A number of the country’s most famous
puppeteers got their start here, including a
teenager by the name of Frances Oznowicz.
You likely know him as Frank Oz.
Disneyland
If the lovable (and life-sized) Mickey Mouse
and friends don’t pique your interest and
attention at California’s most famous theme
park, surely the rides will. The park, which
opened in 1955, features rides for all ages.
Overall, Disneyland is divided into
eight themed areas, or “lands.” Some of
these areas focus on actual history: Fron-
tierland recreates the setting of the
American frontier, while Main Street
U.S.A. is patterned after a small Mid-
western town (many believe Walt Disney
got his inspiration from his own boy-
hood town of Marceline, Missouri).
The park opened with one hotel, but
since the 1990s it has grown exponentially,
adding a new theme park (Disney’s Cali-
fornia Adventure), a shopping district
(Downtown Disney) and two additional
hotels. One of the newest attractions,
Guardians of the Galaxy–Mission:
BREAKOUT!, was inspired by the Marvel
MANTA COASTER at SeaWorld, above;
CityPASS cards, below; Cars Land at
Disneyland California Adventure,
bottom; family with Butterbeer at the
Wizarding World of Harry Potter,
Universal Studios Hollywood, opposite.
2018 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A 27