Disneyland Fantasyland Rides & Review for Family Vacations

Mickey Mouse at Disneyland

Are you looking for a fun family vacation that will help build positive relationships in your family?  If you are, Disneyland is the place for you!  It’s not a relaxing vacation by any means, but is full of adventure and magic.  It is truly the happiest place on earth and the best thing is, there are rides and attractions for all ages of kids from toddlers to teenagers.  This post will give you some helpful tips and tricks for making the most our of your Disneyland family vacation.  This review is of Fantasyland only.  There will be reviews of each “land” at Disneyland coming soon.  Be sure to watch the quick tour video of all the rides in Fantasyland.  Let the memories begin!

To see all of the rides and attractions in Fantasyland, check out our quick tour video.

Disneyland Fantasyland Review – The Rides

Fantasyland is all about rides having to do with Disney Storybook characters.  It is really great for younger children who may be scared of roller coasters and such.  It’s fun for parents too though!

Mickey Mouse at Disneyland

Our family has been to Disneyland many many times (probably more than 10 times!) and we’d like to share information and tips with you on the rides and attractions there.  We hope you enjoy this Disneyland Fantasyland review!

• Dumbo the Flying Elephant – Dumbo is a flying car ride in which you have a joy stick and can control whether you go up or down.  I don’t know why, but I just love the sculpted Dumbo tree on the perimeter of this ride.  This isn’t going to be your favorite ride at Disneyland, but it’s pretty fun for the little kids.

I give this ride 3 out of 5 stars.

Mad Tea Party

• Mad Tea Party – Also known as the Tea Cups. This is a really fun ride for all ages.  The lines aren’t generally too long, so you don’t have to wait much to get on.  You can choose which cup to spin in and YOU control how quickly it spins

I give this ride 3 out of 5 stars.

• Alice in Wonderland – This is a cute and colorful ride in Fantasyland, especially if you have little girls.  On the outside of the ride, you can see Alice’s miniature house.  This is a car ride where you are driven (on a track of course) through scenes from the Alice in Wonderland Book.  You will get to see your favorite characters like Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Queen of Hearts, Rabbit, and of course Alice.

I give this ride 3 out of 5 stars.

• King Arthur’s Carousel – A merry-go-round with magical potential.  Who doesn’t love a carousel ride?  I have to admit the reason I like this ride is because the line is typically very short and I can sit down on a horse and watch my kids have lots of fun.  Who doesn’t need to take a seat every now and then and just enjoy the scenery?  Kids can choose which ever horse they want (that is available) and there is a strap to keep the kiddos safe.

I give this ride 3 out of 5 stars.

• Pinocchio’s Daring Journey –  Go on a car ride exploring the story of Pinocchio and Gipetto.  This probably isn’t my favorite ride in fantasyland, just because my kids aren’t that familiar with, or even like the Pinocchio story or movie.  If you are really into this classic tale, you might like the ride.  However, I found it to be lacking and quite short.  It could probably use a remodel.  If you have older kids, I would skip this ride altogether, if you have real young ones, they make like it just fine.

I give this ride 2 out of 5 stars

• Snow White Ride – This is a pretty fun ride for princess lovers.  My girls really love the Disney Princesses so they liked this ride.  It’s a car ride that takes you though the storybook version of the Disney’s Snow White.  It’s a little on the “dark” side, so our 4 year old was a little scared, but not to the point where he wouldn’t go on it again.

I give this ride 3 out of 5 stars

• Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride –  This is probably one of my least favorite rides in Fantasyland or in all of Disneyland for that matter.  You go on a bumpy car ride through Mr. Toad’s escapades crashing into things along the way.  It’s a very short ride, and after it’s over, I always say to myself, “That’s it?”  This is an older ride, so I would guess someday Disneyland will just tear it down.

I give this ride 1 out of 5 stars

Storybookland Canal Boats

•  Storybookland Canal Boats – Our family loves this ride!  It is so much fun to take a relaxing boat rides through miniature villages of your favorite Disney stories.  The scenery is really breathtaking and I’m always amazed how fun this ride is.  It’s great for boys or girls and for all ages.  Plus, who doesn’t like sailing into a whales mouth?

I give this ride 4 out of 5 stars

• Matterhorn – Was closed for maintenance when we went in February of 2012.  I really love the Matterhorn and have been on it many times in the past.  They are remodeling it now and I’m excited to see what it will be like when it’s completed.  I like the Matterhorn because it’s not to scarey for even young kids (at least my kids all liked it).  There is a Yeti monster in it, so prepare your kids beforehand.

I give this ride 4 out of 5 stars

• Small World – Was closed to take down the Christmas decorations inside.  Of course, we have been on this ride many times over the years.  DIsneyland’s Small World never disappoints, it’s way better than Disney World’s version.  I just love this ride!  It’s one of my favorites although I can’t get the theme song out of my head for at least a week after I go on it.  It’s an indoor boat ride where you see dolls from different countries around the world in traditional dress.  I just love all of the little details that Disney creates the perfect experience in this ride.

I give this ride 5 out of 5 stars

Mulan New Years Show

Just outside of Small World was a Chinese New Year celebration featuring Chinese music and a show performed by Mulan and Moo Shu the dragon.  It seemed impromptu but was lots of fun to watch!  Mulan and her friends danced and did a short parade for onlookers outside of Small World.  I just happened to be there when the show began and got to snap a photo or two!

• Casey Jr Train – This is a cute little ride where the family gets to ride in it’s own circus train car through fantasyland.  Our little boy thought it was really cool and it was a fun, relaxing ride for our family.

I give this ride 3.5 out of 5 stars.

• Peter Pan – Journey over England at night on a flying ship into Never Neverland.  This ride has the longest wait at Disneyland (usually around 90-120 minutes, depending on when you go).  It is wide to go on this ride first before it gets a long line.  You can probably still expect to wait 30 minutes even if you hurry.  It’s a fun ride, our family loves it.  It is quite short though.  We don’t go on it every time we go to Disneyland because of the wait, but it is pretty magical.

I give this ride 4 out of 5 stars.

Princess Fantasy Faire

•  Princess Fantasy Faire – A must see attraction if you have little girls who love princesses.  Our girls do!  It’s perfectly acceptable to wear a Princess Costume all day every day to any park at Disneyland.  We usually bring a few so that our kids can wear a different one each day. We like the Little Adventures brand princess dresses because they are non-itchy and comfortable to wear all day as well as machine washable, because you know they are going to get dirty at Disneyland!  Fantasy Faire itself is a place where you stand in line for a very long time to get an autograph and a photo with 3 princesses.  Unless you do the character meal at Ariel’s Grotto, you won’t be able to get the princesses photos in any other location.  At any given time, you can’t be sure which princess will be there waiting for you when it’s your child’s turn because they rotate frequently.  We haven’t been disappointed when we’ve gone.  One time we got Mulan (as you can see in the photo), but we usually get Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty.  The fantasy faire also hold princess “shows” and dances that are interactive.  You will want to check the schedule for when those happen so you can attend, they are quite well done.

I give this attraction 5 out of 5 stars (if you have girls that like princesses).

Tinkerbell at Pixie Hollow

• Pixie Hollow – This is an attraction where you can meet the real Tinkerbell and one of her fairy friends (we met Silvermist).  I’m sorry to say that the line is just way too long for what you get out of this.  If your child loves Tinkerbell to death, by all means, go see her and wait in the hour+ line, but if they don’t really care about the Disney fairies, skip it!

I give this attraction 2 out of 5 stars (just because of the long wait)

Rapunzel in her House

• Rapunzel’s House – I think waiting for 40 minutes to see Rapunzel was worth it, because I just love her and so do my girls!  She is very down to earth and I loved seeing inside her house.  At some times, the prince will visit and you can take a photo and get your autograph signed by him and Rapunzel. I asked Rapunzel what she likes to do and she said she likes to paint and sing. If you’re not a big Rapunzel fan, you can skip this.

I give this attraction 4 out of 5 stars

If you have young kids (or even older ones) and need something to kill time while in line, we like using this book called Lots to Do in Line by Meredith Pierce.  It has trivia and fun questions to help kids learn about Disneyland and Disney characters.  It’s small enough to fit in your backpack or stroller and really is good at helping the time pass a little more quickly.  Other people in line will be jealous of you if you have this book!

Click here to purchase this book (for under $10 on Amazon)

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