Disneyland Resort

From mountain tops to sun kissed Deserts, all of vast spread of maltifaceted California has become the ultimate playground. California theme parks are famous the world over for being the most fun and lively places to spend part of your summer vacation. From the ever popular Disneyland to LEGOLAND and SEALIFE Aquarium, theme parks in California are some of the most exciting, heart pounding experiences you will ever have, and are among the top ten theme parks in the country.

One of the best places in the world to entertain and have fun, California is home to Disneyland Resort located in a charming town of Anaheim. Here you can feel the magic of the land of Mickey Mouse, especially at night when it lights up with parades and fireworks. Immerse yourself into a fanciful world of magic, breathtaking attractions and dazzling shows and parades in the best land of the Earth – Disneyland! Here you can jump inside Tarzan’s Treehouse which is a climb-around attraction based on the animated film. Nearby is a Jungle Cruise, with passengers boarding an authentic looking Mississippi River paddleboat and drifting along the Amazon like river. But the real star ride of Adventureland is the Indiana Jones Adventure, based on the Stephen Spielberg films.

Disney's California Adventure Park

Next door at Disney’s California Adventures soar over California in a simulated hang glider tour, the hottest attraction in the whole park. This virtual ride using IMAX technology is sure to give you "bird-envy" while soaring over the most beautiful landscapes and sights, including the Golden Gate Bridge, Yosemite Falls and Disneyland itself. To have the adrenaline pumped, ride The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. If you are eager to get wet, then think of taking Grizzly River Run down faux Sierra Nevada. In the evening the Electrical Parade ends the day at California Adventure featuring half a million of tiny colored lights that blink and twinkle at fabulous floats. Isn’t it a wonderland?

Legoland

If traveling with children, take them to LEGOLAND California Resort, a 128-acre interactive theme park dedicated to families with children between the ages of 2 and 12. At Legoland everyone is sure to have great fun, including even the youngest guest, with its 50 super rides, shows and attractions. Legoland features the new Land of Adventure where kids can check out the 16-foot-tall Pharaoh and temples all made of plastic bricks. Based in ancient temple ruins, Lost Kingdom Adventure, the first-ever dark ride, will take you into 1920 Egypt where fascinating adventures on a journey to recover stolen treasure await for the bravest and the most skillful adventurers.

The younger guests of Legoland will have wonder and adventure in a whimsical setting of Safari Trek which will get you into the wilds of Africa where you can run into life-sized giraffes, zebras, lions, and more - all made of LEGO bricks. You can also become a resident of Playtown for a day, which is full of fun buildings, slides, activities and much more! Come aboard for an incredible adventure at the new Pirate Shores that offers water attractions with captivating high-seas adventures that are bound to thrill buccaneers of all ages. If you want to appear in the Medieval Castle, go to the Castle Hill which will show you what life was like in a castle in the days long gone. This animated ride leads down to the cave of the fire breathing Dragon who guards the Legoland crown jewels. Your host on this fascinating animated ride will be Merlin the Magician.

Another reason to visit LEGOLAND is the new SEALIFE Aquarium next door, offering the fabulous underwater world where the visitors can meet diverse marine residents. Here you can watch California freshwater fish playfully swimming through pristine waters, and experience nightlife of San Francisco like never before, from the eyes of sea creatures found in its waters, including sharks, rays and a Giant Pacific Octopus.

SeaWorld San Diego

Come celebrate the wonders of the sea at SeaWorld San Diego. At the very heart of this 165-acre multimillion-dollar aquatic theme park is the shoreside family entertainment center where dolphins, otters, sea lions, walruses and seals are real performers, with 30-minute shows which are run several times each through out the day. Here you can have a lot of fun with seasonal events such as Summer Nights that sizzle with high-energy nighttime shows and fireworks. Feed and touch dolphins and bat rays, and get up-close to beluga whales, polar bears, sharks and penguins. Enjoy fascinating aquariums, sea turtles, manatees, and exotic birds from around the world. Create memories to last a lifetime.

Knott's Berry Farm

Don’t miss Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena with 160 acres of rides and thrilling attractions for all ages including Camp Snoopy where Peanut characters come to life. Here you can enjoy old-fashioned ghost town, vintage carousel, county fair ambience and twisty funnel cakes. In Fiesta Village you will find festive markets and an ambience which is typical to the old Spanish California. A variety of carnival like rides includes a 100 year old merry-go-round and Knott’s version of Disneyland’s Tee Cups where you can sit and spin in your own sombrero. Offering a whopping 165 shows, attractions and stat-of-the-art scream inducing thrill rides, Knott's Berry Farm is highly appreciated by the thrill seekers and has gain a world fame thanks to its fast-paced amusement rides. Come there and experience it yourself!

Knotts Soak City Water Park

If you can’t imagine your life without water activities and surfing is your favorite past time, you will definitely admire a 13 acre water park next door to Knott’s Berry Farm. Owned and operated by the same company that owns Knott’s Berry Farm, Soak City is a well-designed water park located across Beach Boulevard from Knott's Berry Farm and within view of GhostRider wooden roller coaster. Located right next to a brick-by-brick replica of Independence Hall, complete with cracked, 2,075-pound Liberty Bell, Soak City welcomes those seeking a thrilling and wet day of fun. Besides tube slides, body slides and speed slides there is also a Tidal Wave Bay 750,000 gallon Wave Pool and Sunset Lazy River of approximately 1/3 miles long for those visitors who might want to just kick back and float. This is a perfect place for the whole family to relax and have fun. There is a special area for the youngsters with their own pool and beach shack fun house as well. They are Gremmie Lagoon Children's pool and activity area, Toyota Beach House Family funhouse and Toyota Beach House "Slides".

San Diego Zoo

If outdoor activities are high in your agenda of your visit to San Diego and you are looking for wild times, the world-famous San Diego Zoo will supply them. With more than 4,000 creatures residing here and 700 000 plants of its lavish botanical garden, San Diego Zoo is one of the most popular and famous zoos in the world. This celebrated and influential zoo is one of only four in the United States featuring giant pandas as well as other rare species, such as Buerger’s tree kangaroos of New Guinea, ling-billed kiwis from New Zealand, wild Przewalski’s horses from Mongolia, lowland gorillas from Africa and giant tortoises of Galapagos. Be sure not to miss the newest and the largest habitat – Monkey Trails and Forest Tales. Being the most elaborate in the zoo’s history, in fact, it re-creates a wooded forest inhabited by rare species, including the mandrill monkey, clouded leopard and pygmy hippopotamus. Due to the elevated trail through the treetops, it is possible to closely observe the primates, birds and plants thriving in the forest canopy.

In addition to the Panda Discovery center, other highlights of the ongoing $26 million project include Tiger River which is a steep gorge surrounded by lush enclosures for fishing cats, tapirs and tigers. Especially noteworthy is Ituri Forest simulating a central African rainforest with forest buffalos, otters, okapis and hippos roaming which are viewed underwater from a glassed-in enclosure.

Universal Studios Hollywood

If you love the magic of Hollywood, you will enjoy visiting Universal Studios Hollywood, which is an unbeatable combination of movie magic and the thrills of one of the best California theme parks. Universal is not only just one of the largest movies studious in the world but is also one of the biggest and the most popular attraction parks. It is a day of fun for everyone. From a Backlot Tramway Tour of actual stage sets for famous movies, to tapings, shows and live entertainment, this adventure is great for all ages. There are no big roller coasters here, but there is a great waterfall ride called Jurassic Park, which drops you 80 feet. Or, you can soar through the air on the E.T. Adventure. After you have toured the Movie Studios in the area and have spent a day at Universal Studios Hollywood, make sure you visit Citywalk, which has some of the best restaurants in the area. There are excellent stores to buy souvenirs at, and even a movie theatre. Close to one of the most popular theme parks in California, this is a great place to have a meal and extend the fun even further after a long day of fun in the sun.

Palm Springs

A fashionable retreat and a pop icon, the picturesque city of Palm Springs features magnificent Palm Spring Aerial Tramway with the largest rotating tramcars in the world. In a stunning 10 minutes these glass-walled cars will lift you up to a mile and even more to float above the pristine wilds of Mount San Jacinto State Park. Just gaze around and enjoy the spectacular scenery.

Redwood Forest Sky Trail

It is hard to describe the feelings you get when appearing in the old-growth Redwood National Forest. Klamath region of the Redwood National and State Parks feature the premier nature attraction a real tourist trap - Redwood Forest Sky Trail which is a multi-million dollars gondola that shoots up the hill, offering an exclusive bird-eye view of the towering trees. The spectacular Point Reyes coastline will spread before you and you will be able to see some vestiges of the 1995 Vision Fire on the coastal slopes. If you look Northwest from the Sky Trail on Inverness Ridge, you will see a forest of burnt trees that stretches toward the coast. Along the way, you can also marvel ornate costumes, baskets and tapestries displayed at a small Native American Museum.

Most of these attractions will take up to a full day or more to explore. All of them offer fun for families and thrill seekers of all ages.