The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (188 page)

N
otice the transparent canopies enclosing some of the coaster’s tallest hills.  They were installed to muffle the screams and shrieks of Guests climbing and descending
California Screamin’
s most dramatic peaks.  Extreme-coaster
aficionados
have been known to scoff at the
scream tubes
, saying they’re more for hype than utility, but for most Guests,
California Screamin’
truly will have them screaming their heads off, in fear or delight, during the drops.  Even the final, shallow bunny hops are exciting, pitched so that Guests hang in mid-air for a moment.

California Screamin’
is a startlingly smooth experience thanks to the modern LIM technology that drives it.  I was surprised by how smoothly the coaster cars glide up and down the hills and around the curves.  The seats are sumptuously comfortable, and there is none of the herky-jerky motion of traditional coasters.

Even when your
vehicle dives down the 108-foot drop, twisting sharply to the left as you plunge, there’s a grace to the motion.  The journey is like a trip on an enchanted carpet.  It’s a ride of uncannily beautiful, as well as thrilling, sensations.

Still,
California Screamin’
is not for the faint of heart.  Literally.  Signs posted throughout the queue area warn Guests that if they’re pregnant, have heart or back conditions, are prone to motion sickness, etc. they shouldn’t ride
California Screamin’
.  And Guests must be at least 48” (four feet) tall to brave this attraction.  A final word to the wise:  Keep your head well back against the head rest during the ride;
don’t
lean forward.  If you do, you might find your head smacking unpleasantly against the sides of your OTS restraints.  That’s why the head rest is there.

Not sure if this coaster is for you?  Consider how you fared on the
Disneyland
coasters and flumes, none of which are as fast or tall as
California Screamin’
. 
Big Thunder Mountain
and
Space Mountain
never exceed 40 mph and neither has steep drops.  The
Matterhorn
coaster is even more leisurely–although even the new bobsleds toss one about a bit. 
Splash Mountain
’s flume drop is only 52 feet high.  If you have problems with any of these
Disneyland
attractions, you might want to skip
California Screamin’
.

There’s only one loop, and your coaster car races around it
quickly.  The track curls up and around suddenly, and you follow it, feeling a brief pressure on your head and shoulders.  But if you have problems looping upside down, that’s another reason to decline this experience.

D
uring the ride you’ll see incredible glimpses of the
Boardwalk
,
Paradise Bay
, and
Paradise Pier
in general—at high speeds, of course.  The view from 120 feet up is amazing.

When your ride concludes, your vehicle pull
s into the unloading zone and your restraint is released.  It snaps up suddenly, so be prepared.  As always, follow all signs and all recorded and Cast Member instructions when exiting the vehicle and the attraction.

You might want to stop by the
Scream Cam
kiosk before leaving the area.  Just as cameras snap photos of Guests on
Space Mountain
and
Splash Mountain
and the
Tower of Terror
, the
Scream Cam
captures the terrified–or exhilarated–expressions on Guests’ faces as they near the end of their ride on
California Screamin’
.  Photos are sold as single prints or in packages of variously sized–and variously priced–prints, and as digital downloads.  Guests on a budget won’t want to break the bank, but if you can afford a single large print or some wallet-sized photos, you’ll have proof that you braved
California Screamin’
and survived!

Despite the
fact that it lacks a real story and any clear
Disney
connection,
California Screamin’
thrives because it’s pure, exuberant fun.  Even in the wake of the
DCA
overhaul,
California Screamin’
isn’t going anywhere.

It did get a facelift, however.  The
Mickey
loop bothered some Guests, perhaps because it implied a
Disney
connection that didn’t exist.  So while much of the
Paradise Pier
transformation involved adding
Disney
images to attractions,
California Screamin’
benefitted from the elimination of its
Mickey
imagery.  The
Mickey
“ears” were removed from the loop and replaced by a
Paradise Pier
sign.  The loop was inset with a pretty yellow sunburst design.  Guests visiting the park today would never guess that the loop once resembled our favorite mouse. 
Did You Know?
 
California Screamin’
is a reference to “California Dreaming’,” the popular 1965 song by The Mamas & The Papas.  It’s a pretty, dreamy, sad song about missing sunny California “on a winter’s day / I’d be safe and warm / If I was in L.A.”  However, the soundtrack for
California Screamin’
, composed by
Gary Hoey
and
George Wilkins
, isn’t based on “California Dreamin’”.  It’s an original 2001 composition scored specifically for the attraction.  In a nod to the early days of California amusement parks, the tune begins with the slow-churning, faintly menacing calliope-and-chimes music that evokes a circus or carnival, and then quickly bursts into a blistering lava of electric guitars, synthesizers, and percussion.  The carnival music returns briefly as you climb the tallest hill, but the rock music grabs the reins once again as you descend.  Guests who visited
DCA
in 2007 were treated to a limited-time-only
California Screamin’
score, a special version of “Around the World” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, a megastar group that got its start as a homegrown Los Angeles band. 
Night Vision:
  Riding this coaster when darkness fall is its own
magical
experience, racing through the
scream tubes
(which are lit within by bars of blue and green neon) and dashing among and above the brilliantly twinkling lights of
Paradise Bay
.  On nights when
World of Color
is presented,
California Screamin
’ closes at 8:30 pm sharp; plan accordingly.
Hidden Mickey:
  When you shoot the loop, try to keep your eyes open and look down; you might be able to spot the silhouette of
Mickey
’s head on the ground near the support posts!
Single Riders:
  Yes.  If the others in your group can’t or won’t ride
California Screamin’
, this might prove to be a blessing in disguise for you.  Ask a Cast Member at the entrance about
California Screamin’
s
Single Rider
option.  Guests riding alone can be directed immediately to the loading zone, bypassing long lines, and will be placed into the next available empty seat.  This keeps the vehicles full and the lines flowing efficiently.  It’s good for
DCA
and good for you! 
FastPass: 
Yes.  Emphatically yes!  As the second most popular attraction at
DCA
,
California Screamin’
generates some of the longest queues in the park.  It’s connected to the
FastPass
system, and even in the off-season when other attractions are severed from the
FastPass
system due to shorter lines,
California Screamin’
continues to offer
FastPasses
.  If you don’t want to wait in a long line for this coaster, get a
FastPass
and return later in the day. 
Kid’s Eye View:
 
California Screamin’
is not what I expected.  I thought it would be scary because it’s so big and intimidating.  But it’s actually really smooth and fun–you don’t even feel the drops!  It’s really fun and anyone old enough to ride it will enjoy it. 
Teen’s Eye View:
I love this ride.  It’s the most fun [attraction in
DCA
].  Most people are scared to ride it, but it’s not as bad as it looks.

Disney Channel Rocks!
(RIP)

[
FastView:
 
Defunct.  Presented here for historical information.
]

Just in time for Thanksgiving weekend in 2010,
Disney Channel Rocks!
debuted at
Paradise Pier
.  The 17-minute show included high-energy dancing and contemporary hits from
Disney Channel Original Movies
(
DCOM
s) like the
High School Musical
and
Camp Rock
franchises and
Disney Channel
programs like
Hannah Montana
.

Skeptics who
take issue with
Disney
’s legendarily shrewd marketing tactics complain that a show called
Disney Channel Rocks!
is blatant self-promotion, about as subtle as a pie in the face.  And that’s hard to dispute.  But the young performers were talented, the music was infectious, and you couldn’t beat the locale–the show unfolded right along
Paradise Bay
, with
World of Color
’s fountains shooting high into the air as a backdrop.

If you ha
d kids, tweens, or young teens, they probably wanted to catch this show, and young-at-heart Guests of all ages enjoyed the fun. But this show closed (perhaps for budget, resource, or attendance issues), and was replaced in 2012 by a much simpler show: 
Goofy
conducting the
Paradise Bay
fountains in an
Instant Concert
. (See
DCA’s Stage Shows & Live Entertainment Guide
for show times during your visit.) 
Did You Know?
  The
Disney Channel
launched in April of 1983.  Though geared mainly toward toddlers and children, in recent years its greatest success has been with tweens. 
High School Musical
(2006) was the channel’s first mega-success in terms of
DCOM
s, drawing 7.7 million viewers when it premiered.  That record was topped by the 2007 sequel
High School Musical 2
.  Although generally panned by critics and even some fans,
HSM2
drew 17.3 million viewers when it first aired. In 2011
Disney Channel
’s pre-school programming block,
Playhouse Disney
, became
Disney Junior
and eventually took over
ABC
’s defunct
SOAPnet
channel.
FastPass:
  No.  A scheduled show,
Disney Channel Rocks!
didn’t fit the
FastPass
format.

Games of the Boardwalk
(Pay-to-Play)

[
FastView:
 
Fun, and not too terribly expensive, unless you have a lot of kids in tow, or get drawn into playng “just one more time”.  Hang onto the reloadable cards if you’re staying more than one day.
]

It’s an iconic American image–the crooked game of chance or skill.  Whether at a little fly-by-night carnival, a seaside park, or a huge county fair, midway games have had a dicey reputation for more than a hundred years.

Many people believe that all such games are rigged in some way.  In some cases they’re impossible to win.  The rings might be too small to fit over the prizes in the ring toss, or the milk cans might be welded to their platform so that it’s not humanly possible to knock them over.  In other cases it’s possible to win, but the prizes turn out to be
worthless.

“State Fair,” Rodgers and Hammerstein’s sweet, wide-eyed paean to
rural America, includes a subplot about a crooked midway games barker who dispenses junk prizes like clocks without works to the “winners”.  The film version of “State Fair” was released in 1945.  The duplicitous games barker was already a venerable character in American folklore at that time, and nearly seventy years later is still a part of our lexicon.