A Southern CA City Pass Vacation to DLR and a few other parks...

[scrpbookr]

After so much anticipation we were finally in Carsland!

It was so nice to just be there and try to soak it all in!

The wait time for Radiator Springs was at 50 minutes. We decided to join the queue and it ended up taking more like 40 minutes to get through it. This was without fast passes.

I enjoyed all the details in the queue...

This glass bottle collection is embedded into the wall and gives a really neat lighting effect.

I love the sight of this from every angle!

Before long it was time for us to load into our very own race car!

Waiting for our big race!

Dad and Reagan - We had the front seat...

Beginning our adventure!

It seemed almost impossible for me to get pictures but I did try...

Here's Sheriff...

Mater!

Flo's within the ride...

A snippet of Filmore...

Guido and Luigi...

Lightning and Mater...

And a farewell message!

Back outside where we can appreciate this skyline some more!

A picture of Reagan with the Tin Lizzie statue...

And my dad along Route 66...

Coming up in the next post.... Luigi's Flying Tires!

 

[scrpbookr]

Our next attraction was Luigi's. The imagineers did not disappoint with all thier clever themeing ideas on this attraction!!

Approaching from the side...

These flower planters just melt me! How do they come up with these clever ideas!?!!

A front view...

This is another queue that keeps you completely entertained!

A peek at the fun to come!

Some instructions on how to accomplish the task...

My camera and I were having fun taking it all in...

I was thrilled to see that they have this photo op when you're almost done with the que...

Almost our turn to take a flyin' tire for a spin...

Look at these topiaries!! They think of everything! I.LOVE.DISNEY!

We've found our tire... time to fly!

And we were done...

It was fun but I think with practice you would get better at making your tire fly.

Next entry... the Cozy Cone!

 

[scrpbookr]

Just when I thought I couldn't be any more impressed the Cozy Cone Motel proved me wrong. This whole area is so adorable!

Here's Reagan next to the Popcone stand...

Or you could pick Cone Queso... There were about 5 cone themed kiosks.

Dad and Reagan with with ice cream cones...

How cute are they at thier Cozy Cone table!!?!!

A wider shot of the area....

The Cone food kiosks are around the back of the motel. Here is the sign out front...

Lightning was greeting in front of the lobby. I was eager for Reagan to finish his cone so that he could meet him...

He's a little man with a lot of cone left! I didn't get one of my own because I figured he could never finish the whole cone alone.

I continued to wander and take it all in while the guys worked on their cones. Lightning's shiney hiney...

Flow's is just across the street and down a smidge from the Cozy Cone...

Time to head back to the Cozy Cone to see if the guys are finished with thier ice cream...

To the right side of the lobby....

This cute little cone fountain sits in front of the Cozy Cone lobby...

I'm not sure how many pictures of the Cozy Cone sign one should take but I probably exceeded the limit...

Finally! With a tummy full of ice cream Reagan was ready to meet Lightning!! Here's Mr. Cute Stuff waiting in line...

Casually approaching Lightning as they make small talk...

This picture makes me happy! We were meeting Lightning!

I had to get in on the action, too! I can't help myself!

We made it just in time. Lightnings meet ended shortly after us.

Mater pulled in just after him...

I can't believe it's really Mater! *squeeee!*

Okay... time to move on to our next adventure!

 

[scrpbookr]

Next door to the Coze Cone is Radiator Spring's Curio shop...

There are adorable antique gas pumps out front....

Here's another picture of Luigi's from out front of the curio shop...

And Ramone's is diagonal from there...

Down a bit in the other direction and across is Sarge's. We did some souvenir shopping here later in the evening...

Reagan with the cute baby tractor photo op by Mater's Junkyard Jamboree...

The Junkyard Jamboree sign...

The queue for Junkyard Jamboree was a highlight for me. With Reagan being 5 for this trip we were really into Cars and the movie Mater's Tall Tales had been a favorite recently. During our shore trips the summer before we had really grown his Mater Tall Tales collection with trips to the Disney Store. This que really highlighted the different stories from that movie. We loved it! This first pic shows when he was a firetruck and then when he was Mater the Greater....

And when he was a Materdor....

And from his monster truck days...

When he saw a UFO...

And a couple of ride shots...

Filmore's is across the way from Mater's...

It's a refreshment stand...

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a...0130308141056471.JPG/ps=50/r=0/rx=720/ry=480/

We had discovered that there are a few different ways to enter/exit Carsland. One is where we came in by the wharf. These signs are near an exit/ entrance over by Bugsland...

We spotted Red on our way through this area, too...

Coming up in the next entry.... Bugs Land!

 

[scrpbookr]

As you leave Carsland towards Bug's land you start to see billboards like this...

And just before you enter you begin to meet a few new friends...

This is the welcome sign down near Tower of Terror and Hollywood Blvd..

I love how the land is canopied with these clover to provide shade and make us all feel bitty bug sized. The lights are shaped like lightning bugs! Clever!

I decided that we should do this portion of the park completely. Reagan was at pretty much an ideal age for it at 5. I figured the next time we were there he would have outgrown it.

Francis' Ladybug Boogie was our first ride here...

It has a bit of a tea cups feel to it...

love these expressions!...

The back side of the 45 record sign that you see while on the ride. Very clever!

Another glance up at the clover canopy that gives you the illusion of being small....

Flik's Flyers....

The sign made out of a paper airplane is too adorable!

Look how the rides are shaped like different types of containers.... like animal cookies. The center of the ride looks like a Coolwhip container...

Chinese food takeout containers and snack boxes...

Drive 'Em Buggies was our next ride. Which is a bumper cars type ride...

It has a flea circus theme. The little cars you drive are fleas...

Cute posters within the attraction...

These crayons are to keep you headed in the correct direction....

Tell that to the 5 year old behind the wheel...

The whole ride is under a rain umbrella with Christmas lights hanging in it's spokes.

This popsicle stick bench was a favorite in this land and seeing my Dad and Reagan together with it makes it even better!

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

This is good so far!!

 

[scrpbookr]

As I mentioned previously we really did Bugs Land completely since Reagan was at the ideal age and would soon outgrow it. Our next ride was Heimlich's Chew-Chew train...

Heimlich himself....

A self portrait while we waited for the train to depart...

We ate our way right through this ride! An apple first...

A watermelon next...

Circus Cookie time...

A cupcake next...

hard candy...

Candy corns...

And once our bellies were full we got back off the train. I took Reagan's picture with Heimlich...

The splash pad/water play area in Bugs Land...

Another Bugs Land entrance....

The last attraction on our Bugs Land "to do" list was It's Tough to be a Bug Theater...

I love all the posters in the waiting area....

Little Shop of Hoppers...

My Fair Ladybug...

Antie and a Cockroach Line...

so clever...

Beauty and the Bees...

A Stinkbug Named Desire...

I like this picture my Dad took of Reagan and I just before the show...

Drama masks.... bug style...

It's showtime!

Bye, bye Bugs Land. It has been a pleasure!

I'll stop here and pick up in the next entry with the Pixar Play Parade.

 

[scrpbookr]

We went a bit early to try and find a good spot for the Pixar Play parade. With the low crowd levels we had I'm not sure that this was necessary though.

Here come the parade vendors...

I remember it was a bit before sunset at this point and it was cooling off some. I'm a dress girl for the most part spring through fall. I had worn a dress this day but unsure about how warm it would be I had a pair of leggings tucked into my purse "just in case" I ended up slipping them on both park evenings as the sun went down. They kept me cozy as it got cool.

We stood in front of the Hyperion Theater. Here comes the parade!!

Sulley!

A good picture of the sign for the scrapbook page! Instant title!

The Monster's hazard team!

Incredible's Time!! Love the hoover boards!

The Incredible's dancers...

Uh Oh! The baby is on fire!

These pogo stilts were pretty impressive!

They could get quite a bit of air...

Here comes Crush!

The Nemo dancers...

Another cool Nemo float....

Jellyfish!

LOVED the diver's mask detail!

It was fun to see Heimlich again after riding his train earlier in the day. He's a cutie!!

Bug's Life dancers...

This parade float was amazing!

Flick!

There was swinging acrobatics going on back on the float!

This parade dancer came over and interacted with Reagan a bit. I missed the true moment. Pesky camera delay! We've upgraded to a DSLR since then so I'm hoping we'll have that issue less in the future. *crosses fingers!*

I'm going to stop there and post the rest of the parade pics in the next entry. We're nearing the end of our California Adventure day.

 

[scrpbookr]

Continuing on with the parade.... Toy Story was up next!

An amazing Tinker Toy creation!

The Green Army Men...

This flying saucer with the aliens was too cute!

They're so adorable!

Off they go...

Buzz dancers!

And Buzz himself!

Mr. Potato Head in the dump truck...

And Hamm, Jessie, Woody and Rexx...

Again, adorable! I really enjoyed this parade!

Slinky bringing up the rear...

Here comes Mater! The parade ended with a bit of a Cars theme...

I liked the Thanks For Playing message on the back of Mater...

These parade pictures are really putting me in the mood for our Disneyworld trip. Less than 2 months now!

Our evening continued on. I had a few plans. I wanted to see the neon in Carsland. I wanted to let Reagan get a souvenir. We needed some dinner and we had fast passes for the viewing of World of Color.

As we headed to Carsland these balloons caught my eye...

The Carsland sign as it was getting dark...

And looking up Route 66 as Carsland lights up...

We went into Sarge's Surplus. It was there that Reagan found his souvenir.

He picked this little Radiator Springs Racer model that you put together. It's tiny. Once done it about Matchbox scale. I think it was a good choice. I imagine it is something you can only get in Carsland but maybe not.

More neon...

Flos...

Ramones...

Cozy Cone...

One last peek at Carsland before our next destination...

More in the next entry...

 

[scrpbookr]

After getting a feel for Carsland at night we still had a bit of time before our World of Color Fastpasses. We ended up in the Animation building where we enjoyed Turtle Talk with Crush. This one amazes me every time! I'm looking forward to this on our upcoming trip to Disney World and on our Disney Cruise!

This animation example on display had us pretty impressed, too!

We ended up back on Buena Vista where we visited the Partner's Statue before ducking into Starbucks for a bit of something to eat and a warm drink. We had sandwiches and then grabbed hot cocoa and a sweet treat to take with us to the World of Color show...

The Paradise Pier area is lovely at night!

Before long the World of Color show began...

I have a soft spot for the movie UP.... especially the balloons! My favorite part of the show is when the balloons were reflected on the water and rising up...

After the show we headed back to my Aunt's home for the night. We had just finished 4 park days in a row with one more to go! We were pretty tired and ready for bed!

After a good night's sleep we were ready for our next adventure!

My Aunt lives in Orange so it is only appropriate that she have her very own orange tree in the back yard. Each morning she had oranges off of her tree for us. Such a treat!

Reagan took the camera outside with him to get a closer look at the orange tree. Here are a couple of the pictures he took...

I was able to use the timer on the camera so we could get a picture all together...

It was soon time to say goodbye. We were off on our way to Universal Studios Hollywood for the day....

 

[TheChapman6]

I love the pics and your story! It's fun to see details!

 

[scrpbookr]

I easily admit to being partial to Disney and not being too excited about our Universal Day. It was included in the So Cal City Pass we purchased so it made sense to give it a try this trip. Even though I'm not a huge Universal fan I was pretty shocked to realize that I didn't know that City Walk existed. It is this Downtown Disney type of complex just outside of Universal that somehow I had never heard anything about. I'm sure this addition has been added since I moved away from So Cal but I still can't believe I knew nothing about it. All that said it is a pretty impressive area!

From the parking garage you exit the garage and enter the City Walk complex while you make your way to the Universal gates. Imagine our surprise knowing nothing about City Walk....

It was pretty early in the day on a Thursday. Things were pretty empty...

Johnny Rockets and Jamba Juice...

I thought the Los Angeles Sock Market was a catch store name...

Ben and Jerry's....

Hello Kitty! I have had jobs since I was about 11 but my first "big girl" job at 15 was working at the Hello Kitty store in our mall. Everytime I see a Hello Kittty store it brings back really fond memories! I don't love Sanrio as much as Disney at this point in my life but it does hold a special place in my heart for sure!

Never ending restarurants, stores and entertainment!

Bubblers in the sidewalk for water play...

Hard Rock Cafe!

Another Citywalk sign...

This is a flight simulation tube along the way...

A very cool billboard...

And that is what I captured of City Walk! Who knew!?! Next up entering Universal....

 

[scrpbookr]

Once we made our way through the Citywalk area we were greeted with the Universal globe...

Woody Woodpecker greeted us as well!

I talked my Dad and Reagan into a picture in front of the fountain...

It was a new day in a new park which means Reagan needs a bit of time to study the park map. I really do find this endearing about him...

Once we moved on my Dad seized the opportunity to meet Marilyn Monroe. One of his neighbors is a huge fan and he wanted to share the picture with her.

With a scrapbook page in mind I took pictures of some of Marilyn's photo props...

Always thinking about the scrapbook....

As we walked through the park I was enjoying all the picturesque movie sets...

We ran into Beetlejuice! Here some of the characters just seem to roam somewhat free and interact...

Reagan is always willing to help out and took a few minutes out of his day to work on a jackhammer project...

A Flintstone area! Who knew such a thing existed!?!!

I watched this as a kid and was excited about it. I'm not sure Reagan even knows who the Flintstones are. Maybe??

There was a Shrek area that we really enjoyed!

We entered a nearly empty Shrek queue to see the 4D show...

I liked all the clever posters in the waiting area...

The show was entertaining but I remember feeling like I was full of donkey saliva after due to the 4D effects...

Reagan had a chance to meet Shrek and Fiona which was a real treat!

Across the way were a few more cute Shrek related details...

And last but not least for this post.... My Dad and Reagan with their BIG catch!

More Universal coming up...

 

[scrpbookr]

The Curious George section at Universal was really fun. It's primarily a water play area.

Reagan and I have enjoyed sharing both the Curious George show on PBS and the George's books so getting to meet him was a special treat! He was very curious about the bag Reagan was carrying and decided he needed to inspect it further...

They were having a grand time!

Such a cute pose!

This whole Simpson area was another section I knew nothing about. It's pretty extravagant! I'm not a fan and Reagan is much too young for the Simpsons so we just took the area in while passing. If my DH was travelling with us he would have enjoyed this area.

Kwik-E-Mart.... very clever.

At this point we decided to check out the Lower Lot. The views of LA just before taking the escalators down are fantastic!

A panoramic shot...

And the series of escalators that take visitors from the upper to lower lot and back again...

One of the main attractions in this area is the Jurassic Park ride. I was trying to get a feel for if it would be appropriate for Reagan. It sounded a bit scary for him so we just took in the area and then played on a Dino playground adjacent to the ride. Approaching the Jurrasic Park area.

The Dino Playground was pretty cute! Reagan got into dino character...

A lot of "monkeying around" went on!

There were dinosaurs everywhere!

We watched a few of the Jurassic boats arrive...

And Reagan had a near miss with another dinosaur...

My, what big claws you have!

That's it for dinosaurs! Next up robots!

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

This is good so far!!

 

[kaoden39]

I've enjoyed reading your trip report today. Your son is a little doll! Thank you for sharing your story.

 

[scrpbookr]

I've enjoyed reading your trip report today. Your son is a little doll! Thank you for sharing your story.

Thanks, Michelle - I've been keeping up with your TR, too. It looks like a really lovely family getaway! Those times are so precious! I was sorry to hear you weren't feeling well when you returned. How are you doing now?

 

[scrpbookr]

This is good so far!!

Thanks for reading along WDWJonasGirl! I appreciate your notes as we've gone along.

 

[scrpbookr]

As we finished up with all our dino fun we decided to head towards the Transformers attractions. On our way there we passed the Mummy ride and this VERY tall pharaoh. We have no idea about this movie but Reagan still wanted to pose. Is it Curse of the Mummy, maybe? Not sure... Regardless there was a ride...

Transformers we know about. Reagan is somewhat into the toys.
A super cool approach!

We met Optimus Prime...

These costumes were massive!

And then we got in line for the ride...

Here's a blurry queue pic...

Reagan and my Dad on the ride. The ride was breathtaking! I'm out of the habit of thrill rides and Wow! Just Wow!!....

Upon exiting the ride Reagan decided to get a souvenir penny which always seems to be a bit of a workout for him...

These crack me up. He puts his whole little body into cranking that wheel around to smash the penny....

We popped into the store and Reagan picked out a Transformer set for his official souvenir from Universal. It was sort of a Lego type Transformer set. That sort of thing provides a lot of entertainment for him. Not sure what sort of pose this is. You never know what you might get with him. I just go with it...

Here he's getting another look at it. I think I see that the building block brand is Kre-O. ??

We saw that Bumblebee was coming out to greet and we jumping in the queue before leaving the Transformer area. I'm glad the timing worked out to meet both of the Transformers that greet at Universal....

I joined Reagan and Bumblebee for a pic, too. Looks like I got a sweet boy snuggle...

We made our way back up to the Upper Lot where we had a chance to meet Sponge Bob! We had a fun time with him. He had been trying to get my Dad to pose with the family who was in line ahead of us....

There's the correct family to put Dad with!

Sponge Bob's Store!

During our wandering we met Frankenstein, too!

You just never know who you might come across!

Reagan is a big fan of Scooby Doo cartoons and this group was a must meet for us!

My Dad has his Scooby shirt on so it was a must that we get him in the pic, too!

I believe that have a Mystery Machine here at Universal, too but we didn't come across that on our visit.

But we did find the Blues Mobile! We took this pic with Daddy in mind. DH loves this movie!

Okay.... I'm stopping here for now and will continue on in the next post.

 

[scrpbookr]

These next few deserve a bit of a story....

I was telling my Dad that this guy was a live statue. We were standing around starring at him for awhile and debating if he was real or not. I was convinced he was but my Dad wasn't. I don't remember where Reagan stood on the subject. After a few minutes of this a teenage boy sitting next to him knocked on the statue and it made a hollow plastic sound. This one was a fake! Fooled me!

Okay..... moving on a bit. We're wandering around taking it all in when we approach this diner area where there is a Bob's Big Boy type statue . Reagan right away starts to say to me and Grandpa, "Hey, look at this statue. This one is a real guy." He had me laughing so hard. Cheeky little boy!

Later in the day we did come across this fountain with one of the actual live statues so I could prove that they do exist and that I haven't completely lost my mind. The guy standing in the back looking at us in the one. He moved and pointed at us while we were watching him which I'm thankful for. I had a point to prove.

Here is the rest of the diner area. It was cute...

There was a section of neat London sets. (I plan to see London in person this Fall when I visit Paris and Disneyland Paris!)

And Paris!

We watched the Animal Actors show...

Some how they trained guinea pigs to respond on cue...

There were several dogs from the movie Hotel for Dogs.

We were pretty much ready to wrap up our Universal day at this point. We had plans to drive from the LA area to my childhood home in the High Desert and wanted to make the trip before evening rush hour. I took a few more pictures on our way out of the park.

Here is another glimpse of the Curious George and Shrek areas...

Little seating areas/ photo ops on the way out...

A shop with a clever name...

And one last goodbye to the Universal Globe...

And I'll share just a few pics from the visit back to my childhood home. My little brother now lives in my childhood home since my Dad moved down onto the beach in Mexico. This was the first time my brother met Reagan, too. They were fast friends. Reagan is still talking about Uncle Ike and visiting him again. They had a lot of video game fun. My Dad, Reagan and brother, Ike. It warms my heart to see them together! :love

Just Reagan and Ike...

My SIL Alaina and thier three pups!

Reagan and Oscar (who isn't allowed on the couch)...

But how could you be mad at this face...

It was a good relaxing visit. We were there for a couple of days before heading back to the beach in Rosarito, Mexico for the last days of our trip.

One last pic of the 5 of us....

I'll post one last entry from our remaining time at the beach...