Disneyland and DCA: Your Top Picks

So, this sort of thread can sometimes be entertaining to get folks thinking about their 'favorites' and sharing, comparing the parks experience :) So, here we go, answer if you wish:

Top 20 attractions? (for both Disneyland and California Adventure combined)

Best table service meal for each park?

Best snacks for both?

Favorite area music or ride soundtrack?

Favorite piece of merchandise you've ever purchased?

Top five extinct attractions?

If you could sleep overnight anywhere in either park, where?

Top 20 attractions?
Pirates of the Caribbean
Haunted Mansion
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Captain EO (yeah, I like the EO :))
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin
Toy Story Midway Mania
Ariel's Undersea Adventure
Mike & Sully to the Rescue
Radiator Springs Racers
Muppet Vision 3D
Turtle Talk with Crush
Fantasmic
World of Color

Best table service meal for each park?
For Disneyland I would go with Cafe Orleans. They have good food, a nice view of Rivers of America, and the prices aren't that expensive.
For DCA I haven't really had a table service meal but I have heard Carthay Circle is really nice.

Best snacks for both?
Churros and Dole Whips. Hands down.

Favorite area music or ride soundtrack?
I've always been a fan of New Orleans Square. The area music is nice when the small bands walk through and the ride soundtracks for Pirates and Haunted Mansion have always put me in a happy place.

Top five extinct attractions?
Star Tours before the 2011 refurb
Matterhorn Bobsleds before the 2012 refurb
Country Bear Jamboree
elecTRONica

If you could sleep overnight anywhere in either park, where?
Easily would be New Orleans Square.

Here are mine:

Top twenty attractions: Haunted Mansion, Enchanted Tiki Room, Tower of Terror, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Space Mountain, MuppetVision 3D, The Mark Twain, Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Snow White's Scary Adventures, Disneyland Railroad, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Alice in Wonderland, Grizzly River Run, Star Tours 2.0, Pinocchio's Daring Journey, the Monorail, Jungle Cruise, and the Big Thunder Ranch (yay goats!)

Table service meal: Monte Cristo and pommes frites at Cafe Orleans, and the Carthay House biscuits and braised pot roast at DCA.

Best snacks: jalapeno cheese Mickey pretzel, chocolate and M&M pretzel stick, Mickey beignets, Adventureland fresh dill pickle

Favorite area music: Space Mountain queue ambiance, and best overall score and music variations is Haunted Mansion

Favorite merchandise: 'panther lady' portrait art print from the Haunted Mansion or the Hatbox Ghost big figure

Top extinct attractions: original Submarine Voyage, Swiss Family Treehouse, Country Bear Jamboree, People Mover, Superstar Limo (because of sheer unbelievable weirdness)

If could sleep anywhere: in the old days, the 'master bedroom' at the Swiss Family Treehouse with the Swisskapolka playing and the wind and the clack of the water system. Modern, probably the portrait hall at the Haunted Mansion (loading area)

Top 20 attractions
20. Mickey's Fun Wheel
19. Jungle Cruise
18. Soarin over California
17. Mark Twain Riverboat
16. Snow White's Scary Adventures
15. Enchanted Tiki Room
15. Autopia
14. Aladdin musical
13. Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
12. Splash Mountain
11. The Little Mermaid- Ariel's Undersea Adventure
10. Disneyland Railroad
9. Grizzly River Run
8. Space Mountain
7. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
6. Star Tours- The Adventures Continue
5. California Screamin
4. Pirates of the Caribbean
3. Indiana Jones Adventure
2. Radiator Springs Racers
1. Haunted Mansion (regular version)

Favorite snacks
DL: popcorn
DCA: caramel popcorn

Favorite area music:
Main Street

Favorite ride music:
Haunted Mansion

Favorite piece of merchandise:
Hitchhiking ghosts shadowbox

Top Five Extinct Attractions
5. Tom Sawyer's Island (before pirates invaded)
4. People Mover
3. Submarine Voyage
2. Original Star Tours
1. Country Bear Jamboree

Lastly, if I were to sleep anywhere, it would probably have to be the Dream Suite above Pirates of the Caribbean.

Top 20 attractions? (for both Disneyland and California Adventure combined)
1. Haunted Mansion 2. Soar'n Over California 3. It's a Small World 4. The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure 5. Hollywood Tower Hotel: Tower of Terror 6. Splash Mountain 7. Pirates of the Caribbean 8. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 9. Space Mountain 10. Radiator Springs Racers 11. Storybook Land 12. Maters Junkyard Jamboree 13. Buzz Lightyears Astro Blasters 14. Muppet Vision 3-D 15. Jungle Cruise 16 Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room 17. Autopia 18. Star Tours 19. Alice in Wonderland 20. Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage


Best table service meal for each park?
Never eaten table service in the parks, too expensive


Best snacks for both?
Churro by far


Favorite area music or ride soundtrack?
I love the old Golden Horseshoe Soundtrack


Favorite piece of merchandise you've ever purchased?
My Glow With the Show Ears


Top five extinct attractions?
1. Peoplemover 2. Submarine Voyage 3. Country Bear Jamboree 4. Natures Wonderland 5. Golden Horseshoe


If you could sleep overnight anywhere in either park, where?
Hollywood Tower Hotel in DCA and Golden Horseshoe in DL

Top 20 attractions? (for both Disneyland and California Adventure combined)
In no particular order:
1. Star Tours
2. Thunder Mountain
3. Space Mountain
4. Indiana Jones
5. Splash Mountain
6. Tower of Terror
7. Screamin'
8. Aladdin
9. Train - tender seat
10. Train - Lilly Belle
11. Haunted Mansion - non-holiday/original
12. Jungle Cruise
13. Tiki room
14. HM - Holiday
15. Mr. Toad
16. Grizzly River Run
17. Turtle Talk
18. Peter Pan
19. Fireworks
20. Pirates

Best table service meal for each park?
We don't do table service often, in fact we haven't had table service in DCA. We do make sure to eat breakfast at Carnation Cafe at least once every trip, though!

Best snacks for both?
Churro and cotton candy at either park

Favorite area music or ride soundtrack?
New Orleans Square, Indiana Jones, Star Tours, Haunted Mansion

Favorite piece of merchandise you've ever purchased?
Right now would be my vintage-looking Mickey Mouse Club ears... I don't know what they're really called, but they look like the ears they used to have with fabric ears.

Top five extinct attractions?
I don't remember most of the extinct attractions, but I remember and miss the old submarines, Swiss Family tree house, and Country Bears

If you could sleep overnight anywhere in either park, where?
Dream suite

Top 20 (In order of preference):
20: Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin
19: Muppet Vision 3-D
18: It's a Small World
17: Goofy's Sky School
16: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
15: The Enchanted Tiki Room
14: The Jungle Cruise
13: Grizzly Bear River Run
12: Toy Story Midway Mania
11: Peter Pan's Flight
10: Soarin' Over Calirfornia
9: The Matterhorn Bobsleds
8: California Screamin'
7: Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
6: Splash Mountain
5: Pirates of the Carribbean
4: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
3: Space Mountain
2: Indiana Jones: Temple of the Forbidden Eye
1: The Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror
(I haven't been to DCA since the huge remodel which is why there are no Cars Land rides on the list).

Favorite Snacks?
Churros forever

Favorite Area Music and Ride Soundtrack?
The ride soundtrack for PoTC, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones and the Tower of Terror
As far as area music, I love the area music for Main Street, Fronteirland and Critter Country the best. I say Critter Country because it always seems like it's playing the one little tune from Splash Mountain which I love.

Favorite Piece of Merchandise Ever Purchased?
My original Mickey ears from my first Disney vacation in 2007. They have my name stitched on the back and I still wear them!

If you could sleep overnight anywhere in either park, where?
Tom Sayer Island, right in front of Thunder Mountain or in a boat parked right in the middle of the Bayou in PoTC, right by the man playing the banjo (the banjo soundtrack would be left on of course).

Top 20 attractions?
I might add reasons later.
1. Space Mountain
2. Pirates of the Caribbean
3. World of Color
4. Haunted Mansion
5. Indiana Jones
6. Jungle Cruise
7. Tower of Terror
8. "it’s a small world"
9. Remember… Dreams Come True
10. Disneyland Railroad
11. Peter Pan's Flight
12. Matterhorn
13. Soarin' Over California
14. Thunder Mountain
15. California Screamin'
16. Snow White's Scary Adventures
17. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
18. The Mark Twain
19. Enchanted Tiki Room
20. Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln

The last two could easily be higher on the list, but I haven't experienced them in a while, so I can't place them accurately. All I can tell you is that they are definitely be on the list. It also pained me to leave the Main Street vehicles off the list, so I have to add that they would be up there with the best-- the horse-drawn streetcars in particular!

Best table service meal?
I've only been to three table service meals: Ariel's Grotto when they were still serving the WOC packages, Café New Orleans, and the Carthay Circle Restaurant. All three were very good in their own way. As for food, from my experience, Ariel's takes the win. I had the Santa Maria tri-tip and it was insanely delicious. And the tower of cheese and veggie appetizers, the delicious bread, and lovely tray of desserts were simply fantastic. But as far as my favorite experience, definitely the Carthay Circle Restaurant. It has such a magical, immersive feel that whisks you away to its world of the glamorous days of Hollywood. It's a beautiful restaurant.

Best snacks?
Skewers and tiger tails from the Bengal BBQ. Caramel chocolate popcorn. Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bars. And the classic churros, popcorn, and pretzels.

Favorite soundtrack/music?
I really love Soarin', Space Mountain, the instrumental sections of POTC, the somber instrumental versions of Grim Grinning Ghosts on the Haunted Mansion, the WOC theme, "Miracles in Molecues", "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow", and the segments of "On the Trail" and Mysterious Island's "Prelude" that are heard during the diorama portions of the Disneyland Railroad.

Favorite piece of merchandise?
Disneyland: Now, Then, and Forever. It was my first look into the history of Disneyland and began my love for books about Disneyland and learning all I could about the history of the park.

Top five extinct attractions?
Well, I haven't experienced many extinct attractions, but based on concept and pictures that I've seen, these are the top five that I like best/would want to experience:
1. Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland
2. Adventures Thru Inner Space
3. People Mover
4. Swiss Family Robison Treehouse
5. Tom Sawyer's Island in its glory days.

Where I would sleep overnight?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RegionsBeyond

If could sleep anywhere: in the old days, the 'master bedroom' at the Swiss Family Treehouse with the Swisskapolka playing and the wind and the clack of the water system. Modern, probably the portrait hall at the Haunted Mansion (loading area)

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^ This! As for nowadays, probably over on Tom Sawyer’s Island inside the caves or inside the Sailing Ship Columbia. The Dream Suite would be nice too.

Thank you all for sharing, very enjoyable to read these!

Attractions:
1. Matterhorn
2. Radiator Springs Racers
3. Haunted Mansion
4. Indy
5. Pirates
6. Jungel Cruise
7. Tiki Room
8. Star Tours
9. Space Mountain
10. Splash Mountain
11. Soarin'
12. Aladdin Musical
13. Petter Pan
14. Big Thunder
15. Mr. Toads
16. Mad Tea Party
17. Casey Jr.
18. Monster Inc.
19. Little Mermaid
20. Mark Twain

Best Food: Plaza Inn

Best Parade (out of the two): Soundsational

I would like to add the Main Street Electrical Parade to my top extinct attractions.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DrFink

I would like to add the Main Street Electrical Parade to my top extinct attractions.

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Oh!! Me, too!! And I forgot about Goofy's sky school, that's one of my favorites! I have a feeling I'm going to want to edit my post fifty times as people add more to this thread.

Great topic, RegionsBeyond!

I have a new category to add: What are your top five favorite queues? I'm kind of a lover of queues, so I had to ask. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gatheringrosebuds

I have a new category to add: What are your top five favorite queues? I'm kind of a lover of queues, so I had to ask. :)

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1. Haunted Mansion
2. Indiana Jones
3. Star Tours
4. Radiator Springs Racers
5. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gatheringrosebuds

I have a new category to add: What are your top five favorite queues? I'm kind of a lover of queues, so I had to ask. :)

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Let me think...

Haunted Mansion
Star Tours
Toy Story Mania
Radiator Springs Racers
Indiana Jones


I also like the queue for Thunder Mountain Railroad, but who knows how different it will be after the refurb. Hopefully not too different.