Backstage Magic October 2014 Trip Report

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 ride’s 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 I’m 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 Ariel’s Undersea Adventure! Next we went to Cars Land and went on Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree and Luigi’s Flying Tires. During Mater’s 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 Bug’s 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 didn’t 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 O’Shanter. 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 can’t 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 can’t help but wonder if the restaurant atmosphere was the reason we were unable to have these extras...
 
DAY 6
Around 7:15 am, we went to the Chip n’ Dale Critter Breakfast at Storytellers Café for the final breakfast of our adventure. We enjoyed the meal with some of our favorite people: the Canadian couple, the mom and daughter, and a couple who live in Boston. The breakfast lasted longer than it was scheduled because no one wanted to leave.





Once everyone went their own way, we went into California Adventure with the couple from Canada. The two husbands went to get Radiator Springs Racers Fast Passes, while the wife and I went to guest services to inquire about a lost item. We saw Oswald close to the entrance, so I got in line while she went to guest services. The two husbands arrived just in time for the pictures!



Unfortunately, or fortunately, the Fast Pass machines for RSR were not working, so we made a note to check on this later. We went to the lost and found to report the lost item and then went into Disneyland. We started with the refurbished Alice in Wonderland and then went to Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. I love, love, love the new Alice ride! I couldn’t stop smiling at all of the fun new additions! (I am really excited to see what Disneyland can do with upcoming refurbishments of the other Fantasyland dark rides.)



We went back to Fantasyland and ran into the family we met at the Grand Californian before going to Anaheim at the entrance to the Casey Jr. Circus Train. We all enjoyed the train and then went on Snow White’s Scary Adventures together. It was getting close to the starting time for Mickey and the Magical Map, so we headed over to the Fantasyland Theatre. We had made arrangements for VIP seating, which was an exciting opportunity! The seats were off to the side, so the view wasn’t great, but the benches were padded. I really do like this show even more each time I see it!





After the show, we realized we hadn’t been on Jungle Cruise yet, so we went to Adventureland. My husband stayed behind, which was lucky for him that he didn’t get drenched by the stupid piranhas! Once we were off the ride, he decided to go back to the hotel for some rest. The other couple and I went on the Haunted Mansion Holiday where we looked for secrets from the special talk after the Halloween party. We were really hungry at that point, so off to Hungry Bear Restaurant we went. Being so close to the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, we couldn’t pass up a ride.

At that point, we were all pretty tired, so we went over to California Adventure to check on the Radiator Springs Racers Fast Passes for the Canadian couple. The machines were working again and they got tickets for early evening. We walked over to Soarin’ to get in the single rider line. I decided to pass and told them I was going back to our hotel room to get my husband’s park ticket so I could get them an additional set of Fast Passes for RSR. We made arrangements on where to meet and split up. I ran into some fellow adventurers at the hotel and spent a few minutes talking. After a quick trip upstairs and an explanation to my husband, I went back into the park and got Fast Passes for almost 2 hours after the first set.

The single rider line at Soarin’ was pretty quick and we met a little while later so I could give them the Fast Passes. (It was really important to me that they get a ride on RSR while it was dark.) We walked into the hotel together and stopped to talk once we arrived on our floor and needed to go in different directions. We made plans to keep in touch and hugged good-bye. I went back to our hotel room to rest before getting ready for Mickey’s Halloween Party.

We left our hotel room and went over to Fantasyland to wait for ToonTown to open. Once the party started, my husband went to the treat trail near Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, while I asked where the characters would be. Having never met them before, I was the first one in line to meet Horace & Clarabelle and my husband ran up just in time to be in the pictures. We went through the treat trail from Minnie's house to Mickey's house and then on Donald's boat. I took pictures with Chip & Dale while my husband got more candy. We both took pictures with Mickey & Minnie and then I took pictures with Donald. We really loved that the different costumes than they wear in the other parts of the park!



We headed straight for Town Square and got in line for the villains in separate spots to get both groups. The first group was Dr. Facilier, Maleficent, and Cruella. Maleficent asked what my favorite part of the party was and I told her that it was her. She responded with of course. I was wearing an Abby Cadabby shirt and Cruella said she had always wanted a Muppet coat, but I told her there was not much fur. She was upset that I already been shaved and said she would have to wait for the fur to grow back. The second group was Jafar, Evil Queen, and Hades.



We went over to Pirate Wharf to meet whoever would be there. I had been hoping Jack Sparrow would be switching with Captain Hook and Mr. Smee, however when I found out they were switching with Peter Pan and Wendy, I was glad to see the villains. (The TV show Once Upon a Time has had a negative effect on my view of Peter Pan.) While in line to see Hook and Smee, I realized that I had forgotten about seeing the princesses on the way. We backtracked a little and I took pictures with Belle, Tiana, and Aurora after the parade break. It is possible that we could have seen Pocahontas, Mulan, and Jasmine if we had gotten there before Pirate Wharf, but you never know. We continued with our route and I took pictures with the Genie while Aladdin was on a break. Critter Country was next and I was disappointed that only Pooh and Tigger out. I had been hoping Rabbit might be there. We walked through the treat trail around Splash Mountain and made our way to Innoventions. We went through the treat trail inside the building and I took pictures with Phineas and Ferb. I went through the Innoventions treat trail again and waited for Agent P to come out for pictures. At that point, we were hitting the wall after the jam-packed trip. We made our way to Town Square for the Werther’s Originals treat trail and went back to the hotel around 11 pm. (After weighing the treats once we returned home, we had almost 11 pounds.)



We arrived at our hotel room door and found a goodie bag hooked on the door handle. There was candy at the bottom of the bag, apple crisps on the top, and a postcard. The postcard had the Fab 5 and was from the Canadian couple thanking us for guiding them around the park. I took one of the postcards out of the desk drawer and wrote them a message for my husband to tuck into their doorway. It wasn’t until later when I opened the bag that I noticed the candy was all Peanut Chews! Such a fun memory from the Halloween party we attended together earlier in the week. At that time we also found a little Disney shopping bag with a beautiful pin in it! The pin is in the shape of a Mickey head with Walt’s face and a Mickey in color on the outside. You open it up and there are black and white Mickeys on the inside of the doors. In the middle is a picture of Walt and a Mickey in color. Such a thoughtful gift from some lovely people!
 
DAY 7
We woke up early for a character breakfast at Mickey’s Surf’s Up Breakfast. The food was good and we really enjoyed seeing Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, and Pluto. Stitch was as mischievous as ever, which was a little annoying, and some of the Cast Members were not the best. This was a disappointing meal after so many great character meal experiences during the trip!







We went back to the room and my husband took a nap while I finished up packing. We got ready to leave the room and went down to the valet for our car. I started getting teary-eyed and had to stop myself from crying as we left.

I know others have said how you really get to know the people on your adventures and how you can make life-long friends, but we didn’t quite have that experience on our first trip. I am so glad things were different this time around. We really did enjoy the company of the other guests and honestly look forward to keeping in touch and hopefully seeing them again in the future!
 
Wonderful trip report, I loved all the pictures! Thanks for taking the time to write it for all of us to enjoy.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!











facebook twitter
Top