Tag Archives: Disney

Weekend in Pictures: Get Your Kicks at Disneyland Resort

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As mentioned in my post about Richard Blade last week, we ventured to Anaheim to take Dominic to the Disneyland Resort, which was a present from his grandmother.  We did go to Disneyland, but I think we will have to go back when we can spend one entire day at each park, rather than trying to split the time between the two.  When Dominic was two, we took him to The Cars 2 Experience (post here), so it was fitting that he wanted to stay in “Radiator Springs” (Cars Land) at California Adventure the entire time.  Additionally, it was over 100 degrees the weekend we went, which really made us feel like we wanted to restrict our movement.  I don’t think I’ve ever been to Disneyland in that kind of heat ever in my life, even when I went to Disney World back in 2003 during Spring Break when it was humid.  One good thing about going when we did was there was never a queue time longer than 30 minutes on anything.  To give you an idea of just how easy the crowds were, we were able to get on Pirates of The Caribbean in less than 15 minutes.  Not once in my history of going to Disneyland have I queued less than two hours for that ride!

Despite the heat, we had a wonderful time, especially in Cars Land.  It was just like walking into the movie, and I fell in love with that place the more we walked around.  At dusk, we hurried back to there because a co-worker had informed me that they bring up the neon lights, just like they do in the movie Cars.  Like clockwork, right when the sun started to set, Sh-Boom by The Chords came on loudly on the streets of Radiator Springs, and all of the neon lights come on exactly like the movie.  Dominic literally jumped out of his own skin when he heard the song, and rushed toward the middle of the street to see all of the lights come on.  Cars Land is a must if you are visiting the Disneyland Resort.  Seeing Dominic’s reaction, I will have to follow my parents lead and take him there as often as they took me and my sister.  Hope you had a great weekend!

Carsland 1

Carsland Collage 1

Cozy Cone 2

Cozy Cone Collage

I absolutely adored the Cozy Cone.  All of the food and drinks came in something cone-shaped!

Cozy Cone 3

We met Lightning McQueen, then Mater!

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Tow Mater Collage

Luigi Ride Collage

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Radiator Springs Racers Collage

The best ride in Cars Land is Radiator Springs Racers.  Scenes from the movie were placed directly into this ride.  It was simply amazing!

Radiator Springs Racers 4

Radiator Springs Racers 2

Radiator Springs Racers 3

Carsland 3

We ate lunch at Flo’s, which had a wonderful view of the Radiator Springs Racers.  We will have to go back and have their “Ugly Crust” pies.

Carsland Collage 2

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I have been going to Disneyland since before I was born (I’ll have to find the pictures of my pregnant mother at a 1970’s Disneyland).  Now, here I am with my own family!

Disneyland Collage 1

Disneyland Collage 2

I have always loved Mr. Toad’s Wild ride because there are cars with my name on them!

California Screamin

Toy Story Midway Mania

When we returned to California Adventure, Deon and I rode California Screamin’, then we all rode Toy Story Midway Mania.  It was the closest thing to being in a video game!

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SONY DSCThese last two pictures are of Cars Land at dusk.  The video below is from YouTube, showing the neon lights as they come on, with Sh-Boom in the background.  Incredibly cool!

Weekend in Pictures: The Cars 2 Experience

This weekend, we finally watched “Cars 2” in 3D at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, then went to the “Cars 2 World Grand Prix” outdoor attraction, which was across the street at Hollywood High.  When we arrived, we didn’t know that theatre was hosting a VIP showing of “The Lion King” re-released in 3D, which shifted all of the other shows, eliminating one of them.  I was very glad that we arrived early and bought our tickets, ensuring a decent place in line and great seats in the theatre.  The second shot above is one of my favorites.  We were waiting in front of the Disney Soda Fountain and Studio Store on the Walk of Fame when Dominic decided to stand in front of the store.  He looks like he’s on some kind of covert mission, checking to see if anyone is tailing him!

It was quite a wait before the VIP fanfare was cleared and sidewalks were unblocked in front of the theatre.  Once we got our wristbands, I think we finally felt like we were getting somewhere.  I love the fact that Dominic’s second time at a movie theatre was in a grand one like El Capitan.  Before the movie came on, we were treated to a performance by the house organist, which was fantastic.

The best part of the day was the “Cars 2 World Grand Prix” attraction, which all of the movie goers were treated to after the movie.  This allowed Dominic to see all of the images from the movie suddenly come to life, letting him run around and actually interact with everything he just saw.  We took the shot below from the garage where we parked, right next to Hollywood High.  It was nice to get a shot with no crowds, just to show how awesome the space was.  It consisted of all the locations from the movie: Radiator Springs, Paris, Tokyo, Porto Corsa, and London.  I think I took a similar shot of Big Ben when I was last in London (in the movie, they call it Big Bentley).

I wish we could have raced on the track, but Dominic still hasn’t quite gotten the hang of pedaling yet.  That still didn’t overshadow my favorite part of the day, which was seeing my son’s reaction to his favorite character from the movie, Lightning McQueen, larger than life.  Here is a video of when we first entered the attraction, followed by a picture of his proud moment and our free picture which we took in “Tokyo”.  Hope you all had a great weekend!