Disney Adventures - Carsland, Buena Vista Street, Parties and More!

°O° As many of you know, we LOVE Disneyland.  Some of you may not be aware that there is a second Disney park right next to Disneyland.  It's called Disney California Adventure ("DCA" for short) and it opened in 2001. 

When Disney California Adventure opened, it was based on California culture and landmarks, and it wasn't very Disney.  So people asked, "Where's Mickey?" and "Where's Minnie?" and "Why on earth would the Disney Corporation build a park around the culture and landmarks of California when the majority of visitors to the theme park (to say nothing of the Annual Passholders) are based in California?"

So Disney spent $1 Billion dollars to renovate the park, and re-opened it on Friday, June 15, to jubilant fans and long waits.

BUT, we got to go to the Premiere Party on Wednesday night, and to the Preview Day on Thursday! It was all very exciting.

WEDNESDAY: Premiere Party for Carsland

We arrived at the park on Wednesday evening for the Premiere Party.  My Humans were rather peckish, as Humans can be, and they made a beeline for the food when we were let into Carsland, the new Land in DCA. 

The pie was Me sized!

Carsland is very beautiful at night - all lit up in neon:

There was a band:

And we got free samples of most of the food in Carsland:

We rode Luigi's Flying Tires, which is like being the puck on an air hockey table:

The Humans drank and ate and drank and ate, and then thought it would be a good idea to ride Radiator Springs Racers, the new E-Ticket thrill ride.  [Pro-tip: Not a good idea].  But riding Radiator Springs Racers for the first time at night, when you can't see what's coming or where you are going, is incredibly thrilling.  Everyone's first ride on Radiator Springs Racers should be at night!

I  got my kicks and made a new friend:

And as we were leaving, we got a present:

THURSDAY: DCA Media Day

Thursday the entire Disney California Adventure Park was closed to the public so they could have a Media Day.  We didn't get a photo of that sign, but it went something like this:

But we got to go! Just us and a few thousand of our closest friends.  And the media.

It was amazing.  There was hardly any wait for any rides in the entire park!

You won't see this again, ever

Empty park

Our Girl wore her Oswald the Lucky Rabbit ears that she got at E3 the week before.

They got a lot of attention.  Rumor has it that Disney will have these ears at San Diego Comic-Con in a few weeks, so get ready if you want a pair.

We started on the new Buena Vista Street, which has been themed to 1920s Los Angeles.  We saw the Five 'n' Dime Band and the Red Car News Boys:

Five 'n' Dime

Red Car News Boys

And I also got to hang out with Walt and Mickey:

And I got to drive the Trolley!*

*Note: at no time was a stuffed pink rabbit actually given control of a streetcar in a major theme park

Here are some tips for Buena Vista Street.  First of all, they have their own newspaper, The Buena Vista Bugle.  Free copies are available along Buena Vista Street! In addition to show and parade times, it is also a great souvenir!

Also, Buena Vista Street has what's called "Streetmosphere" - themed costumed performers in period outfits all along Buena Vista Street that you can engage with.  And the Officers have the power to issue you a citation! Our Girl got one for "Infectious Display of Municipal Optimism." Another great (and free!) souvenir!

Then I met Mrs. Incredible!

and I hung out in Merida's meet-and-greet spot. Her movie "Brave" opens Friday, June 22!

Find the hidden Pinky!

We also saw the Minnie's Flygirls show, which we recommend:



And we saw the Pixar's Play Parade.  We are not really parade people, but this was pretty cool.  There are several floats which shoot water, so we felt especially lucky to be under a big umbrella.





By then, it was time for us to head back to Carsland!

Can you find the hidden Pinky?

We rode Radiator Springs Racers another four times, and lost four times. 

Some people shouldn't drag race, I guess.

In the evening, we got to go to another private party! With more free food and liquor!

Humans seemed to feel the food was much better at this party than at the Carsland party. 

There was a Big Band playing hits from the 20s and 30s.  They were excellent:

 

As Our Girl said, "It's like Bioshock, before everything turned homicidal."

Down the street from the Big Band was the Mad T Party band playing more contemporary hits.  Then it was time for the World of Color Show.

We got light-up Mickey ears as a gift.  What we didn't realize was that we were going to be part of the show!  The ear colors can be sync'ed with the program - it's called "Glow With the Show":

See how our ears are all the same color?

This YouTube video is from that night and it does a great job of showing how it all works.  My Humans can be jaded folks, but this just left them speechless.  It was completely amazing:

And after all that - the parties, the food, the rides, the presents - it was time to go home.  As Our Girl said, "That was one of the best times I ever had.  I wouldn't change a thing. 

Except I would wear sunscreen on my feet."

I think that says it for us all.

All our stuff from our adventure

°O°