Disneyland and California Adventure in Anaheim will continue to dominate the state theme park scene for the summer 2011 with the unveiling of the newest attraction, a dark ride called The Little Mermaid, Ariel's Undersea Adventure. Based on the movies and Disney characters, this new attraction officially opens this week, June 3, and soft openings have brought high praise for the ride in California Adventure theme park. One rider said, "It was really fun to ride. The music was a huge part of the fun and very moving. The Animatronics were fantastic - particularly Ursula and Scuttle. I loved the transition to ‘underwater.' " Two days of pleasure with a Disney Park Hopper Pass costs around $159, allowing back & forth admission between traditional Disneyland and California Adventure with the new Ariel attraction.

California's Disneyland ranks 2nd under the Florida Disney assets in worldwide attendance.

The top California theme parks that make the list are:

#2 Disneyland California (attendance nearly 16 million)
#11 Disney's California Adventure (attendance almost 6 million)
#19 Universal Studios Hollywood (attendance under 5 million)
#22 SeaWorld San Diego (attendance under 5 million)

The water theme parks such as popular Knott's Soak City are open, but they don't rank internationally among the top waterparks in the world. It seems the mellow California weather and beaches dominate this water scene.

Top theme parks in California and prices this summer are approximately this:

Disneyland: Disney 2 Day Park Hopper Pass costs around $159

Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park - Orange County $46.99; $24.99 child Tickets

Knott's Soak City, Buena Park $26.99; $19.99 child Tickets

Universal Studios Hollywood $69; $59 child Tickets

SeaWorld San Diego $66.50; $56.50 child - unlimited admission for 7 days Tickets

San Diego Zoo $37; $28 child Tickets

Legoland in Carlsbad, Ca $64; $54 child Tickets

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo $29.99 Tickets

Safari West, Santa Rosa $68; $28 child Tickets

Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia $39.99; $29.99 child Tickets

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Water Park $26.99; $19.99 child Tickets