The Best Rides at Disneyland for Teens

Disneyland in California is billed as the "happiest place on earth." While everybody knows that Disneyland is a great place for kids, it always hasn't kept up with other theme parks as a place with rides that teens would necessarily enjoy. I mean what 15 year old longs for the day when he or she can travel through a ride filled with happy, singing dolls of the world with their mom and dad?

Well Disneyland is changing. Like Walt Disney said, Disneyland will never be finished. Together with some old favorites, Disneyland's newer offering make a day at Disneyland something everyone can look forward too, even those hard to please teens. Here is a list of some of the best of Disneyland's rides for teens.

Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye
Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye is a ride aboard a "jeep" into a temple recently discovered by Indiana Jones. Riders are in for a rough ride through the temple as they try to advice the wrath of the god Mara. This ride is in an enclosed, dark space and often at high speeds, so it often scary ride and is not advisable for small children.

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
While some might classify this as ride for children, with its laser guns on each ride vehicle and targets to "blast" as you ride through the world of Buzz Lightyear, this is more exciting that most of today's video games that teens play. Riders become space cadets and pilot their own Space Cruisers to help Buzz Lightyear (from the Disney/Pixar Toy Story films) defeat the evil Emperor Zurg. Each Space Cruiser features laser cannons that allow riders to shoot at targets and collect points. This interactive shooting gallery is a big hit with today's computer generation.

Splash Mountain
Get ready to get wet on this Disney take on the classic log flume ride. At first this attraction seems like a slow-moving, leisurely ride as your "log" travels through scenes from the movie "Song of the South." However, it soon becomes apparent that Br'er Rabbit is in trouble as Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear follow him thought the ride. Finally, you see that Br'er Rabbit has been caught in the brier patch and things go downhill from there, literally. Your "log" (with you in it) plunges 52 ½ feet down to a watery finish and everyone winds up soaking wet

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Billed as the "wildest ride in the west," Thunder Mountain is the tamest of the three "mountain" rides in the Magic Kingdom. The out of control mining train winds its way at high speeds past an avalanche to whisk riders through a wide west mining town, a dark bat cave, and in and out of the mountain.

Space Mountain
This classic Disneyland ride was recently refurbished with a rockin' soundtrack that blasts as it takes travelers on a high-speed, indoor roller coaster ride through space. As your rocket is set to "launch," you travel past mission control on your way to the launching pad. Once at the top, your rocket begins its travels through space as it twists and turns and encounters a few, albeit small, drops along the way.