DAY 5
We met around 7:15 am for a Chip n Dale Critter Breakfast at Storytellers Café and sat with our favorite people from Canada. We took pictures with Kenai, Koda, Chip, Meeko(!!), and Dale. After breakfast we entered California Adventure through the hotel entrance.
We walked over to Soarin Over California and split into our two groups. The Kermits went on the ride first and then had our backstage experience. After the ride, we went downstairs and stood behind the screen while the Animal group rode the ride. We were shown the beads that create the scents and were quizzed on the rides five computer generated items. The two different groups were able to guess four out of the five, but the last one stumped us all and I think Im going to keep it a secret.
Next stop
Carthay Circle Restaurant. We were walked around the lobby and told about the different pictures. We went upstairs and continued the tour. The ceiling, tables, pictures, private rooms, everything was wonderful!
Then we were given another surprise
We were going to go into 1901! (Yay!) It was so special to see all of the additional pictures and memorabilia! We loved the picture of Walt with Burl Ives and the movie director chairs with the names Walt, Lillian, Roy, and Edna. We all gathered together for a group photo and yet another surprise! We would be eating dinner at Carthay Circle Restaurant!
We were told about our next destination once we were outside on the patio: Cars Land! We walked through toward City Hall where we stopped. Can you guess what happened next? We separated into our two groups. Kermit went on the ride first, separated into 3 cars. Once we were off the ride, we went into a Cast Members Only door near the City Hall. A Cast Member peaked out of another door and was startled to see all of us, until he saw the
Adventures by Disney sign. We walked the long way around the back side of Radiator Springs Racers to the maintenance area for the vehicles. It was really interesting learning how they maintain the cars, why the third shift is the busiest, the computer that keeps track of the car notifications and maintenance, the map that shows where each vehicle is on the track, and so much more!
We left the backstage area over by Toy Story Midway Mania where we waited for the Animal group to join us. At that point, we were told about the group ride on TSMM and that there would be a prize for the highest score. The Canadian husband won with a score of 190,100, barely beating one of our guides by about 5,000 points. He only beat my score by about 50,000 points. We walked over to the Pacific Wharf area for the prize presentation
A churro! Plus churros for everyone!! Before we separated for on-our-own time, we were given 5 Fast Passes and told where to meet for the farewell evening. We also think this was when Summer-Rose and Jason announced they had found another time capsule and gave us the pin of the day.
We took a quick poll on who wanted to go on California Screamin and a group of us walked toward the ride. The Canadian wife, the daughter, one of the members of the family from the Grand Californian, and another couple went on the ride. The mom, the Canadian husband, and I waited to watch them. My husband went back to the hotel for a break. After the ride, we split up into smaller groups and I went to lunch at Pacific Wharf with the Canadian couple. I had the yummy cheddar cheese ale soup and they ate at Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill.
Being so close, we had to go on Ariels Undersea Adventure! Next we went to Cars Land and went on Maters Junkyard Jamboree and Luigis Flying Tires. During Maters ride, I was trying to take a picture of the couple and the wife said she could see what was about to happen
No picture, but I did totally slide right across the seat!
We walked through A Bugs Land so I could show off the area and walked toward the Hollywood area to ride on Monsters Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue! We saw a father and daughter from our trip and spoke with them for a few minutes. Being so close to Tower of Terror, we talked the Canadian wife into going on the ride while her husband and I waited and watched for her picture to come up on the monitors. While we waited, we briefly spoke with another husband who had just gone on TOT while his wife was learning to draw Olaf. (It seems I have at least temporarily learned my lesson regarding rides I do not like.) Our TOT was a surprise to the Canadian wife as she was expecting the elevator to move, but it just started dropping.
We headed over to Soarin, but unfortunately it was down and they didnt have an estimated time it would start working again. We walked over to Grizzly River Rapids and the Canadian couple rode it while I went back to the hotel. I told my husband about the afternoon while I relaxed before getting ready for dinner.
We went downstairs to the lobby where we met the group and Summer-Rose. We were led to a conference room where Jason was waiting. They gave a short speech about our group and trip and then started a slide show of pictures taken during our trip. The guides then started a round of memory sharing and I was one of several people who had to fight tears when I spoke.
Jason told us that he had a surprise for us. He would periodically sing a little here and there during the trip and we all encouraged him. His surprise for us was a song performed to the tune of My Way by Frank Sinatra. I was smart enough to hit the record button on my camera and have the video for an amazing memory! (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkOOC9k9lY8&feature=youtu.be)
As a group we walked over to Carthay Circle for dinner. We sat at a table with the Canadian couple, Summer-Rose, and the parents and daughter we had lunch with at Tam OShanter. My husband had the grilled Angus New York steak and I had roasted free range chicken breast. The dinner, the Carthay house biscuits, and the Valrhona Milk Chocolate Creme Brulee Tart were all delicious. It was our first meal at the restaurant and it was worth the wait!
We walked over to the VIP area for World of Color and it was a lot more crowded that I thought it would be. I guess I had just assumed it would only be our group.
Once the amazing show was over, we stayed in the area talking for a while before walking back to the hotel. Again, we stopped to talk once we were inside and our number slowly dwindled as people went off to shop or go back to their rooms. Right before going into our room we told the Canadian couple about making arrangements for VIP seating at Mickey and the Magical Map and the Aladdin show for the next day!
While I would not really change anything about the evening, I cant help but mention the surprises we hoped would continue from our first adventure. The dining location from our first trip was Stage 12, an unused building in the Hollywood area of California Adventure, where we had a catered buffet dinner. We were surprised with a visit and photos with Mickey and Minnie, which was fun! But the ultimate thing we were looking forward to was Disney artist, Stacia Martin, creating a personalized drawing of a Disney character for us. We already had our character picked out! Carthay Circle Restaurant was a much better location, however I cant help but wonder if the restaurant atmosphere was the reason we were unable to have these extras...