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6. Mickey's Toontoon

Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin at DisneylandRoger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin at DisneylandTake a wild ride with Roger. © Disney

If you pass through Fantasyland, you'll find Mickey's Toontown. Though a similar area used to exist in the Magic Kingdom, it closed in 2011. Only at Disneyland you can continue enjoying Toontown, which bears some resemblance to the Toontown from Who Framed Roger Rabbit... albeit with only Disney characters. It's here that you'll find the homes of Mickey, Minnie, Chip n' Dale, Donald, and Goofy, as well as a unique Roger Rabbit ride. Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin is a dark ride that sends you on a cab ride through Toontown — but it being Toontown, your cab spins wildly as you go. Expect dizziness if you take the trip!

7. Haunted Mansion Holiday

Haunted Mansion Holiday at DisneylandHaunted Mansion Holiday at DisneylandVisit the Haunted Mansion's holiday makeover at Disneyland. © E. Harper

Like at Magic Kingdom, the Haunted Mansion lies alongside the Rivers of America — and though this southern-style mansion looks different from the Magic Kingdom version on the outside, the inside is almost identical... except during the Halloween season. Because Disneyland gets a huge number of local visitors who know the park by heart, it will often shake things up for holidays to give annual passholders a new experience.

In the case of the Haunted Mansion, the ride is taken over by crew from The Nightmare Before Christmas — and from September to January, both the inside and outside of the mansion are decorated as Jack Skellington gets ready for Christmas. The yearly highlight is a giant — and appropriately creepy — gingerbread house in the ballroom, complete with a gingerbread scent that will send you to the vendor stands for seasonal gingerbread skeleton cookies. Creepy, but oh-so-yummy!

8. Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye

Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden EyeIndiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden EyeCheck out the Temple of the Forbidden Eye with Indiana Jones. © E. Harper

While Disney's Hollywood Studios has the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular — which Disneyland lacks — it's got nothing on this highly-themed thrill ride. Adjacent to the Jungle Cruise (whose skippers will joke about the crowds as they motor past the temple's queue), this ride takes you into the newly discovered Temple of the Forbidden Eye. Board a jeep and drive through, navigating over rickety bridges, skidding around sharp turns, dodging snakes, and (hopefully) avoiding a very unfortunately placed boulder, all with the help of Indiana Jones.

If you're ever at Disneyland this is definitely a must-ride!

9. Buena Vista Street

Walt and Mickey on Buena Vista StreetWalt and Mickey on Buena Vista StreetWalt and Mickey are waiting to greet visitors to Buena Vista Street. © Disney

If you venture out of Disneyland and across the esplanade to Disney California Adventure, you'll find yourself on Buena Vista Street, DCA's answer to Main Street. This shopping district is themed around 1940s California, designed to look the way it did when Walt first arrived. While the entry to DCA is a copycat of Florida's Disney Hollywood Studios park and Buena Vista Street could be said to take some cues from Hollywood Boulevard, Buena Vista Street is a unique destination in its own right. At the end of Buena Vista Street, you'll find a replica of the Carthay Circle Theatre where Snow White premiered — though the theater exterior hides a swanky restaurant — and a statue of a young Walt Disney, just arrived in California with the idea of Mickey Mouse.

In addition to all that, Buena Vista Street also has its own unique residents. These aren't known Disney characters, just supposed inhabitants of the area — like Officer Calvin Blue the policeman who might write you a ticket for smiling. If you're ever on Buena Vista Street, keep your eye out for these in-character cast-members and be sure to say hello!  

10. Cars Land

Cars Land in Disney California AdventureCars Land in Disney California AdventureVisit Radiator Springs at Disney California Adventure. © E. Harper

The latest addition to the Disneyland Resort is DCA's Cars Land, which takes you into the world of Pixar's Cars with a ride down Route 66 and into the super-kitschy town of Radiator Springs. While it's a highly themed delight any time, with a mountain range resembling Cadillac tail fins and flower arrangements made out of tail lights, it's at its best during the Christmas season when it's bedazzled with lights and decorations. This new land's star attraction is Radiator Springs Racers, which consistently has the longest wait times in the resort — and with good reason, because Racers combines the detailed theming and story of a great dark ride with the high-speed action of a thrill ride.

For Walt Disney World regulars who want to get a taste of Racers, your best bet is Epcot's Test Track, which uses the same ride tech — but lacks the Pixar theming.

 
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