doubleadventure's Passport
 | Been to 397 Attractions |
 | 206 Reviews |
 | 110 First to Review |
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 | 121 Helpful Votes |
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Send a ComplimentAbout Me & My Family
We are a travel obsessed, outdoor loving, family of four living in Orange County, CA. I have five year old twins (a boy and a girl) and I try my best to expose them to as many new experiences as possible. We love hiking, beaches, and National Parks but we also enjoy some time by the pool at big resorts. I serve as editor of The Talking Trekaroo, Trekaroo's blog.
Our Family's Travel Personality
adventurous, curious, independent, energetic, spontaneous, scheduled
We Just Got Back From
The new Disney Aulani Resort in Hawaii! A-mazing.
Our Favorite Vacation Spot
Any National Park
A Place We'd Love To Visit
Any National Park
Favorite Vacation Memory
Climbing up the side of a mountain to Inspiration Point at Grand Teton National Park with my then two year old twins. It was something nobody thought our children could do and the view fro the top was incredible.
Worst Travel Moment With My Kids:
Forgetting the portable dvd player on the way home from Yosemite National Park after exploring the park all day. Tired and cranky children with no source of entertainment make for a very loud car.
Websites I Like:
New at California Theme Parks for Summer of 2011
Here is a scoop on all the new rides and California Theme parks.
1313 Harbor Boulevard
Anaheim, California
Comment:
Disneyland's sister theme park is in the midst of a billion dollar overhaul and this summer the highly anticipated Little Mermaid ride makes it debut. The ride is suitable for all ages and takes riders on a clamshell through different musical scenes of the popular Disney movie. Goofy's Sky School, a roller coaster appropriate for preschoolers and up, is also set to open in early July, and will use the old track of the former Mulholland Madness ride.
1313 Harbor Boulevard
Anaheim, California
Comment:
Star Tours relaunched in early June with amazing 3D technology and 54 possible story scenarios for riders to enjoy. The ride now features scenes from the three newest Star Wars movies and C3PO has taken over as pilot.
8039 Beach Boulevard
Buena Park, California
Comment:
This summer Knott's launches Windseeker, which takes 32 two-person gondolas to the top of a 300 foot tower, spreads it's arms, and swings riders at a 45 degree angle for full minute! In other words, this ride is like the carnival swings on steroids.
1 Legoland Drive
Carlsbad, California
Comment:
The park recently launched it's new Star Wars miniland. 1.5 million bricks were used to recreate famous scenes and locations in the popular movie series. The water park has opened a new Duplo Splash Zoo play area aimed at toddlers featuring bright Duplo animals such as a lion, giraffe and zebra. Sea Life Aquarium has also opened a brand new exhibit, Octopus Garden. This interactive exhibit celebrates the mighty octopus as well as other fascinating Cephalopods including cuttlefish and nautilus.
reviewed on: December 21 2009
"Fun for toddlers who love legos"
We took our kids to Legoland for their third birthday. They had a great day but I know they liked Disneyland alot more (probably because they are in to Disney right now and not legos). I really enjoyed the reproductions of cities and a couple of the rides were different and fun but for the most part I thought it was overpriced. I will say the water areas were awesome and if we lived a little closer it would be worth having a season pass just for that but if you live in SOcal you do have to pick and choose where you get your passes and I am choosing Disneyland for now.
Sea World Drive
San Diego, California
Comment:
The newest ride at this ocean-themed park is Riptide Rescue which takes riders on a rescue mission via gondola-style airboats
which are attached to a central arm. It has also opened a new animal exhibit, Turtle Reef, which allows visitors to get at up close and personal look at more than 60 threatened or endangered sea turtles living inside a 300,000 gallon aquarium.
reviewed on: June 20 2010
"Great place to spend the day as a family"
I recently took my kids to Sea World for the first time (they are 3 1/2) and they had a blast. We packed quite a bit into our day and could have easily spent another day exploring the park. Some of our highlights included:
The Dolphin Encounter: We arrived too late to get in line to feed the dolphins but it was still fun to watch others feed them and see those who paid the extra fee to get in the water with the dolphins. I think when my kids get older we will definitely have to do that!
Shamu "Believe" Show: My son LOVED this show. He was so excited while we were waiting for the show to start and kept asking me when the whale was going to jump (I guess he has seen Sea World commercials) . It was a great show but I couldn't help but notice the trainers didn't get in the water with the killer whales anymore. I am guessing that may have to due with the tragedy that happened in Orlando.
Manta Rays: I love this tank because the manta rays feel so smooth and soft and glide so gracefully in the water. The kids were a bit hesitant at first but I coaxed them into using a finger to touch them.
Forbidden Reef: I remember when I was a kid and this exhibit first opened. The line was FOREVER and it was unlike anything we had ever seen before. Well now there is no line and its still just as cool. Sharks swim above and around visitors as they stand on a moving walkway.
The Penguin Encounter: I love the pengiuns and seeing them waddle up to the water and stealthily swim through the water is always alot of fun.
We skipped the Wild Artic ride because I thought it would be too scary for my kids and because last time I rode it I got some serious motion sickness. We just asked if we could bypass the ride and go straight to the animals and the staff was happy to oblige. This is where we saw the beautiful beluga whales, watched a wlrus lumber about his enclosure and got extremely close to a slumbering polar bear. The only thing that separated us from the bear was the a thick window!!!!
The Blue Horizons dolphin show was amazing. It had a Cirque Du Soleil feel with dancing, acrobatics, colorful costume, water fountains, tropical birds, pilot whales, and dolphins. I found this show to be unllike any other I had seen at an animal park and I felt ike it was a great standard for other parks to strive towards.
There are rides and play structures at the park as well. My kids played at Sesame Place where there were kiddie rides and a huge playstructure with rope walls to climb, bridges to cross, bounce places to jump on and slides to whirl down. There are also water features to splash in if it is warm outside (which it wasn't the dayt we went).
We also took the Bayside Skyride which for $5 a person is a little pricey but my daughter loved it and the views of Mission Bay were very nice. I think the price needs to be knocked down a bit to reflect the length of the ride.
Two rides we didn't do because of my children's young age were Shipwreck rapids (which looked like fun but seemed like alot of other raft rides I have seen in the past) and Journey to Atlantis which looked really cool! It was like a water roller coaster and the asthetics were amazing. Next time I go, I will have to drag an adult with me so I can get a chance to try it out!
The exhibits that I thought could use some updating were the World of Sea Aquarium and the tide pool. The tide pool seamed a bit pathetic and the sea life was scant. I hope they have plans to update it in the future because they have the space to make it a very nice exhibit.
Overall I think Sea World is a great place to spend the day as a family. Children can learn about marine mammals and sea life and have fun on rides. Parents will appreciate the fact that they can buy alcoholic drinks on site and also be entertained by the fantastic shows. We will defintely be heading back.
Disclosure: My family received a complimentary visit to Sea World. I received no other compensation besides the tickets and Sea World didn't state any requirements that I express any particular point of view. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
26101 Magic Mountain Parkway
Valencia, California
Comment:
This summer, the park has added not one but three new roller coasters! Green Lantern, which appears to be the ultimate nightmare for people with motion sickness, takes riders spinning on a vertical tracks all while completing three 360 degree head-over-heels spins. Whew! The new Superman ride, Escape From Krypton, uses the old Superman ride track, but this time it takes riders up a tower at 100mph going backwards. Finally, a new children's roller coaster, Roadrunner Express, rounds out the list of new coasters bringing the park's grand total to 18, the most in the world!
1001 Fairgrounds Dr.
Vallejo, California
Comment:
This bay area park is an unusual hybrid of zoo, marine park, and roller coaster fueled theme park. This year, their new ride is called Skyscreamer. Riders hop onboard and ride up a 150 foot tower, which offers views of the entire park, where they are zipped around in a giant circle at 43 mph. Expect to be windswept by the end mod a ride like that!
