Carter gives Cars Land two thumbs up!

[luvflorida]

Does anyone know how to move this thread to the trip report forum? I know that's where it should be!

DAY THREE- Wednesday, June 20th- Warner Brothers Studio Tour, then on to Anaheim! After breakfast (room service again) we checked out and drove over to Burbank. It was a short drive, only taking us about fifteen minutes. We had reservations for the 9am tour, but ended up getting there around 8:10. I was afraid we'd hit morning rush hour traffic, so I had allowed plenty of time to get there. We never hit any traffic, though.

Warner Brothers Building

"What's Up, Doc?"

At check-in, the clerk said they had two openings for the 8:30 tour and asked if we'd like to switch from the 9am tour. We did, and off we went to wait in a small theatre area. Each tour group consisted of twelve people. We watched a short film on the history of Warner Brothers Studios and saw clips from many WB films. We were then introduced to our tour guide and we headed outside and boarded our tour tram. We sat three to a seat which was a bit cramped, but there were frequent stops along the way where everyone got out to explore, so it wasn't too bad.

The tour lasted approximately two and half hours and we really enjoyed all of it. We were allowed to take photographs in some of the areas, mostly outdoor areas, but in others we had to put all cameras in a locked bin under one of the seats.

One of the highlights of the tour was a stop at a studio building that contained many original props and costumes from WB movies. The entire second floor was devoted to clothing and props from the Harry Potter films. I am a big fan of Harry Potter, so I made a beeline for the stairs! Again, no photography was allowed and absolutely no touching of the props. It was so tempting to reach out and caress a costume or touch a prop, but I didn't want to be asked to leave the tour. Ha! Ha! And there were several stern looking security guards in the area!

There was a stool in the middle of the room with an employee standing next to it and holding a sorting hat. If you wanted to, you could sit on the stool and he would hold the hat over your head and it would sort you into one of the four houses. The hat "talked" and sounded just like the sorting hat in the films. I was sorted into Hufflepuff.

After about twenty minutes (I could have spent more time looking at everything) we returned to the tram and back to the main building.

A few pics from the tour:

Prop building. I had to take a pic of the fake cacti.

Lamp, anyone? We only saw a tiny portion of the props building.

backlot

This house was used as the Seaver's home in Growing Pains.

Totally fake houses on a totally fake street. The street is curved to give the illusion that it continues around the corner. It actually ended right behind the trees.

One of the buildings had cars on display from several WB movies.

Harry Potter

Goldmember

The Hangover

Arthur

After checking out the gift shop, we headed to our car and set off for Anaheim. YAY!

 

[luvflorida]

We left Burbank around 11am and arrived at the Candy Cane Inn less than an hour later. Megan, Daniel and the kids were on their way from Arizona and due to arrive around 4pm. We knew it was probably too early to check in, but figured we'd have better luck getting connecting rooms if we let them know we had already arrived.

The front desk clerk, James, was extremely nice and accommodating. He was a very friendly guy! Rooms weren't ready yet, but he managed to switch things around and get us connecting rooms on the first floor. He got us all checked in, gave us parking permits for the cars, and told us we were welcome to park there and do whatever we wanted to do until the rooms were ready. He also gave us two coupons, one for a free appetizer at Bubba Gumps and one for a free appetizer or kid's meal at the Rainforest Cafe. We already had plans to eat at Bubba Gumps for dinner, so we used the free appetizer coupon. Nice!

We left our car at the CCI and walked over to Anaheim GardenWalk and ate lunch at Johnny Rockets. After lunch, we walked back to the CCI for the car and drove over to Walmart. We picked up milk, water and juice to stock both refrigerators and some snacks, then drove back to the motel.

By now it was close to 3:30 and our rooms were ready. We unloaded the car, put things away, filled the fridges, and went outside to wait for Megan, Daniel and the kids to arrive. They pulled into the parking lot a little after 4pm.

 

[luvflorida]

Getting a candy cane was the first order of business!

This was our first stay at the Candy Cane Inn, and we liked it very much. We would definitely stay here again. The rooms are pretty much your typical, average motel room. There are standard, deluxe and premium rooms. Nothing fancy, but clean and comfortable. I do have to say, though, the towels were thicker and softer than some towels we've had in more expensive hotels. And they were plentiful, more than we needed.

I can't speak for the standard rooms, but the deluxe had plenty of room for a small crib or pack 'n play. We had connecting, deluxe rooms on the first floor. If you get a room on the left-hand side of the motel (facing the front of the motel) you'll be able to look right out your window, or step outside your door, and see the fireworks at night. Not as good as seeing them from the parks, I'm sure, but not bad!

Pics of the Candy Cane Inn

There are lots of trees, bushes, vines and flowers throughout the property.

Quiet, outdoor areas on the second floor.

This is how close the back of Cars Land is to the CCI. If you could cut a door through the wood, you'd have easy access to Cars Land! You'll also be able to tell if the Radiator Springs Racers are up and running, because you can hear the revving of the engines as they round one of the bends in the track. It wasn't loud or constant, though, and didn't bother us at all. In fact, I liked hearing the cars!

Deluxe room

The fridge is on the shelf above the counter to the left.

And...the bus! I didn't think we'd even use it since the CCI is so close to the parks, but there were a couple of times that we could have kissed that bus when we saw it waiting for us!

 

[luvflorida]

Before we left on our trip, I bought a few surprises for the grandkids to have each night when we returned to the motel. The idea was to avoid spending time with little ones in the gift shops in the parks, and it worked quite well. Neither child stepped foot in any of the park's shops, and they were always excited to know they had a surprise waiting for them back at the hotel. Carter, more so than Vanessa. She's still too young to realize that there are goodies just waiting to be bought all over the parks!

Even without going into the shops it's easy to see all the tempting toys. Every time we walked past the World of Disney Store in Downtown Disney, Carter would look at each toy on display and casually remark, "I never had THAT toy"..."and I never had THAT toy..." He never asked for anything, it was just funny the way he said it about every toy. You would think the poor child didn't have a roomful of toys at home!

Larry and I had the keys to both rooms, so before the kids arrived, I set out their surprises for the first day:

Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse came from the Disney Store back in Tucson, and the towels I picked up earlier in the day from Walmart.

They loved their surprises!

But wait...

Minnie is for Vanessa!

Oh, well! Carter had his heart set on Minnie, but he shared it with Vanessa. She was happy with Mickey, but really didn't care which mouse she had!

I forgot to take pictures of the other two days, but on the second day, Carter got a set of CARS and Vanessa got a set of Pooh Bear toys from the Disney Store. For the last night, they each got a beach pail and sand toys since we were going to Huntington Beach before heading home. Carter's was a CARS set and Vanessa's was a Minnie Mouse set. They were five dollars each at Walmart and actually very sturdy.

 

[luvflorida]

The kids had been cooped up in the car for a good part of the day, so Megan and I took them over to work off some energy in the kiddie pool.

The Candy Cane Inn has a small pool for little ones in an area next to the regular pool. It's 18 inches deep all around.

The kids had a good time splashing around.

The regular pool is nearby. It's not a huge pool, but is in a pleasant area behind the office. A continental breakfast is served each morning in an area by the pool.

Time to dry off and get ready for dinner!

We walked over to Bubba Gump at the Anaheim GardenWalk.

"Table for two, please!"

After dinner, we walked over to Downtown Disney. We enjoyed watching this guy play a variety of drums.

And Daniel and Carter built cars out of Legos and raced them.

It was getting late, so we headed back to the CCI. Both kids were tired and went right to sleep without a problem. Carter was very excited knowing he was going to Cars Land in the morning!

 

[nunzia]

I didn't even know WB had a tour..looks like alot of fun..and so cool HP stuff is there. The Candy Cane has always looked very appealing. They don't offer bookings on hotels.com so I've never booked there, but it looks very nice and seems like all reviews are positive.

 

[StephNJer]

I'm enjoying reading your trip report, keep it coming! Your Grandkids are beautiful. What a sweet surprise they had waiting for them in the hotel.

I've never stayed at CCI, and have always heard great things about them, but I may have to stay there sometime based on your pics. It looks nice!

 

[teachU2]

I'm really enjoying your trip report and pictures! So much fun! Thanks for sharing!

 

[luvflorida]

DAY FOUR-Thursday, June 21st- We were up and ready to head out by 7am. After eating breakfast by the motel pool, we walked over to Disneyland, got through the security check and were inside DCA by 7:40am. There was already a crowd waiting inside the park and there was a long line to the left for fast passes for RSR. Our plan of attack was for Larry to head over to the fast pass line with all our tickets while the rest of us would head straight to Mater's Junkyard Jamboree as soon as the crowd was set free.

Happy baby!

Studying the park map.

Here it is! It was so exciting just to see the signs!

We got to Mater's a little after 8 and the wait time was 20 minutes. Megan, Daniel and Carter got in line and Vanessa and I went to find a good spot to watch and take a few pics.

Short story: About a month ago, Megan and Daniel took Carter and Vanessa on a road trip to see parts of the real Route 66. They thought it would be a fun way for Carter to experience some of Route 66 before going to Cars Land. It was a neat idea and they had a lot of fun. They traveled from Tucson up to Flagstaff and over to Winslow and Holbrook (the town that Radiator Springs is based on) and back through Williams and Kingman, Arizona.

There was a place they stopped at along the way that had an old truck parked out front. The truck looked a lot like Mater and Carter had his picture taken beside it. He thought it was pretty awesome! Supposedly, the owner of the truck had decked it out to look like Mater, but couldn't call it that (Disney wouldn't like that!) so the name on the side of the truck said "Tow Later".

Even though Carter got to see parts of the original Route 66, when he stepped into Cars Land, I know he believed that was the REAL Route 66 and the true home of Lightning McQueen and Mater!

I tried to get some good pictures of them on the ride, but I was holding Vanessa and trying to balance my camera at the same time. Not easy! Carter loved Mater's Junkyard Jamboree! And I think I had just as much fun watching them!

It's a peppy little attraction with catchy tunes sung by Mater. It's one of the first things you see and hear as you enter Cars Land from the end of Buena Vista Street.

It's fun just watching everyone on the ride. Lots of laughter and smiling faces! A word of caution, though. If you ride this with little ones, hold on to them! I took Carter on Mater later that evening and I was surprised at how much we slid around on the seat. I had my arm around Carter and at one point we slid sideways and the face of my watch smacked into the side of the cart. If my arm hadn't been there, Carter might have hit his head instead. When Carter rode with his mom and dad, he was between them, so no problem. It's a really cute, fun ride. Just hold on to the youngsters!

We were just putting Vanessa in her stroller when Larry joined us. He had five fast passes for RSR with a return time of 1:10-2:10. Woo! Hoo! Not sure of the exact time, but later in the morning fast passes were no longer available for the day. Along with fast passes for RSR, Larry was given five passes for Grizzly River Run. Total time for him in the FP line was about 35 minutes.

As we were getting ready to head over to the Cozy Cone Motel to meet Lightning McQueen, a cast member came up to Carter and asked his name. He told her and she said she thought he was the Carter she was looking for. She said Mater told her to be looking for a little boy named Carter wearing a red shirt and to be sure to give him a special button from Mater.

Carter thought that was just the neatest thing ever! He said he KNEW that Mater knew he was visiting that day!

 

[luvflorida]

Not far from Mater's ride is the Cozy Cone Motel and that's where Lightning McQueen and Mater take turns meeting and greeting guests. McQueen was there so we got in line. When it was Carter's turn and he walked in front of the car, McQueen said something that sounded like he was asking if Carter was "detailed". I didn't quite catch what he said and I don't know if he always says the same things or not. It was funny, though.

After watching Lightning McQueen drive away, we headed over to A Bug's Land. We wanted to do some attractions that Vanessa could enjoy, also. There really isn't much in Cars Land for babies, toddlers or those that don't meet the height requirements for the rides.

Carter and Vanessa had the best time in A Bug's Land! Vanessa loved the Chew Chew Train. We all rode it together, then when Carter, Megan and Daniel were going on other attractions in Bug's Land, Larry and I rode the train with Vanessa at least four times. By far, Carter's favorite ride in A Bug's Land was the Drive 'Em Buggies. He got the biggest kick out of them!

I loved the smell of the animal crackers as we rode past them on the train!

Drive 'Em Buggies

Poor Grampa is back there all by himself.

Vanessa waving to all the Buggies. And no, we didn't leave her there all by herself!

Flik's Flyers

We then went to the 10:15 performance of the Disney Junior Stage Show. Both kids loved it! Vanessa especially liked the streamers and bubbles that came floating down from above. If time had allowed, I would have taken them back a second time.

 

[KaChow]

What a magical moment! My DS would DIE to get a button from Mater! Loving your TR, keep it coming!

 

[luvflorida]

What a magical moment! My DS would DIE to get a button from Mater! Loving your TR, keep it coming!

That button is certainly very special to Carter! Love that Disney magic!

I'm trying to post the rest of Day Four, but photobucket is acting crazy!

 

[luvflorida]

Okay, let's see how long photobucket keeps functioning tonight. The next two photos go along with my last post.

Waiting for the Disney Junior Stage Show.

Jake and the Pirates

After Disney Junior, Megan and Daniel took Carter to the Muppet Vision 3D Show and Larry and I strolled Vanessa up and down Buena Vista Street.

Red Car Trolley

Walt and Mickey!

We caught a performance by the Red Car News Boys which Vanessa found quite entertaining. So did we!

Mickey Mouse happened to walk by and he waved to Vanessa. She was not at all impressed! This was our first clue that the character breakfast we had scheduled for the following morning might not go as well as we hoped it would.

Five and Dime Jazz

Megan, Daniel and Carter met up with us and we decided to head over to Pacific Wharf to grab some lunch before heading over to RSR for our 1:10 time slot.

The above photo reminded me that, at the risk of causing a heated debate, I have to address the strollers in Disney thing. I read so many complaints here on the boards about people being run into by strollers, and I'm sure it does happen. However, I've found that a lot of the time it's the other way around. We are always so careful with strollers and try hard not to bump or run into anyone, yet we're always trying to dodge people that think nothing of walking or stopping right in front of a stroller. I've had people practically fall into the stroller trying to run in front of it.

Okay, I'm done with my stroller vent! Everyone needs to watch where they're going, with or without a stroller! Also, excuse any dirt you see on our strollers. The nicer, double stroller was left at home! That way, if one got stolen, it wouldn't be as big a loss!

 

[ManusDei]

I love your trip report, this is awesome! I'm so glad you guys had a great time. Looking forward to the rest of this TR!

P.S. I must admit, I'm likely the type of person to totally walk in front of a stroller dangerously close, so I'm terribly sorry on behalf of myself and those people!

 

[PinkBudgie]

I'm loving your cute report. We love staying at CCI too and have stayed there 3 times now. I lost track of days. What day of the week did you go to CL and get those early return times for RSR?

 

[luvflorida]

I love your trip report, this is awesome! I'm so glad you guys had a great time. Looking forward to the rest of this TR!

P.S. I must admit, I'm likely the type of person to totally walk in front of a stroller dangerously close, so I'm terribly sorry on behalf of myself and those people!

Apology accepted! It just seemed to happen a lot on this trip. Maybe due to the crowds and everyone so enthralled with looking at everything in Cars Land. It wasn't that big of a deal, but I do remember we were stopping a lot because people were not really paying much attention to where they were going.

I'm loving your cute report. We love staying at CCI too and have stayed there 3 times now. I lost track of days. What day of the week did you go to CL and get those early return times for RSR?

We got a return time of 1:10-2:10 on Thursday, June 21st.

 

[luvflorida]

DAY FOUR- continued- So we left Buena Vista Street and walked over to Pacific Wharf. We got sandwiches from Pacific Wharf Cafe and sat at a table near the water. The sun felt good and the views were nice. It was a relaxing lunch.

Carter liked the Power Packs that were offered at some of the eating places.

I like this shot with Mickey's Fun Wheel in the background.

We watched Phineas and Ferb's Rockin' Dance Party then headed over to Cars Land and the Radiator Springs Racers.

There were a lot of people there! The single rider and stand by lines were long, but the fast pass line didn't look long at all. People were walking down the ramp with ease. There just seemed to be a lot confusion in the area with people all over the place. We had decided that Megan, Daniel and Carter would ride first while Larry and I stayed with Vanessa. A CM measured Carter (he's 40" and his sandals put him a tiny bit taller) and off they went.

We weren't going to do the baby swap since it wasn't really necessary. Larry and I would ride as soon as the others were done. A cast member saw us standing there with Vanessa and walked over and handed us a blue piece of paper. We've never done a baby swap and weren't sure what the paper was for. I read it and told the CM that we had fast passes and didn't really need to do a baby swap. She smiled and said, "I'm only trying to help you out, (and here she was being funny) buuuuuuuuuuuut...if you don't want an extra ride on the racers..." Whaaat? I didn't realize we could the baby swap pass and THEN use our fast passes.

While we waited for Megan, Daniel and Carter to return, Megan texted me the color of their car and the color of the car they were racing. Even with that info, we missed seeing them go past us. At that time, we didn't realize there was a much better viewing area on the other side by Flo's Cafe. We were standing by the exit area. The next day, I got much better pictures!

I think they were only gone about twenty minutes when we spotted them walking back from riding. The fast pass line couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes or so.

They LOVED RSR! Carter was smiles and wanted to ride again! I was afraid the ride would be too intense for him, but his favorite part was when the cars raced. He kept saying he liked "the tractor tipping part, where Frank went fast!"

Happy little guy! He LOVED it!

Since we had the baby swap pass, Megan and Carter got to ride a second time. Daniel stayed with Vanessa, and Larry and I took off down the fast pass lane with Megan and Carter. Now, I'm not fond of fast rides and I don't do coasters or anything with too much motion, but I wanted to ride the racers at least once. I'm glad I did! Of course, I was the only person in the car clutching the side and screaming (the photo on display at the photo booth confirmed this). Even though I may or may not have been terrified eek during portions of the race, I would do it again...sometime...not this trip...but sometime.

Spoiler Alert: Stop here and avoid the following pictures if you don't want to see photos from the interior of the ride. I know some people would rather wait and experience it without seeing photos first.

Stand by line

The yellow car we were racing. We were in a dark red car.

So Carter got to ride twice and would get to ride twice the following day. Of course, he wanted to go again as soon as he finished his second ride, but when we mentioned ice cream, he happily took Grampa's hand and walked with us to the Cozy Cone Motel.

 

[luvflorida]

There are five "cones" that serve refreshments and the only one that had a line was the one for ice cream. While we sat and enjoyed our ice cream, Megan went to look around in one of the shops. I think it was Sarge's Hut. She surprised Carter with a toy replica of the tractor and trailer from Mater's Junkyard Jamboree.

Sharing his ice cream with sister.

The kids were getting tired and Vanessa hadn't napped in the stroller, so we decided to go back to the motel to rest for a few hours. On the way out, we stopped and watched the Pixar Parade, then took the CCI shuttle back to the motel.

 

[luvflorida]

Larry and I went to our room while Megan and Daniel put the kids down for naps. The connecting doors were partially open and we coud hear Vanessa playing and talking to herself in her pack 'n play. Carter was asleep within minutes, but Vanessa was wide awake! After about half an hour, she was still wide awake, so Megan suggested we put her in her stroller and walk back to the Parks. So the guys stayed at the motel and Megan, Vanessa and I went back to Disneyland. Larry, Daniel and Carter would catch up with us after Carter's nap. Vanessa fell asleep in her stroller before we were out of the motel's parking lot!

We decided to go to the Disneyland Park and walk around while Vanessa slept.

When Vanessa woke up we had time to take her on It's A Smalll World before the guys met up with us.

Vanessa was absolutely mesmerized by everything in IASW!

This was her expression the whole time, just fascinated by it all. So sweet! We were glad she liked it so much, especially since Cars Land didn't hold much appeal for her. We were looking forward to spending time in Fantasyland tomorrow, knowing she'd love it.

Larry, Daniel and Carter met us after IASW. Larry and I kept Carter and Vanessa with us while Megan and Daniel went off to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. They rode it twice and also did the Haunted Mansion.

Larry and I took the kids on the Storybook Land Canal Boats then headed over to Main Street to get a spot for the 6:30 parade. Larry watched the kids while I went in search of drinks and snacks.

Megan and Daniel joined us and some of that Disney magic came our way. We were sitting on the curb at the end of Main Street and a CM walked over and asked if we'd like to move to a different spot. We kind of hesitated and Megan said, "Sure, if it's a better spot!" The CM told us to follow him and he took us across the street to a small area with benches that were roped off. The rope had reserved signs on it. There were two rows of benches and he directed us to the front row right near the curb. Nice! We thanked him and settled in to watch the parade. We'd never had that happen in all our trips to WDW and Disneyland!

It was too cute the way Vanessa waved to all the floats and characters! She was fine as long the characters kept their distance!

 

[luvflorida]

After the parade we walked over to Tomorrowland, had dinner at the Pizza Port, then rode the Disneyland Railroad around the Park.

Elvis sighting!

Pizza!

Earlier we had told Megan and Daniel that we'd keep the kids with us this night while they went off together to enjoy the Parks by themselves. Larry and I took Carter and Vanessa back to Cars Land so they could see it lit up night. The wait time for Mater's Junkyard Jamboree was only twenty minutes, so I took Carter on it. It was his second time riding it and my first. It really was a lot of fun!

Waiting in line to ride Mater.

It was getting chilly and the kids were getting tired (ok, so were the grandparents!) so we walked back to the CCI. Vanessa fell asleep in her stroller and I managed to get her pjs on her and get her in the pack 'n play without her waking up. Carter watched tv with us and when we heard the fireworks start up, we stepped outside our room to watch them. Carter fell asleep in our room and when Megan and Daniel got back, they put him in with them. They spent time in both Parks and got to see World of Color. They said they really enjoyed their night.

Tomorrow would be another early day. We had 8:10am reservations for the Minnie and Friends Character Breakfast at the Plaza Inn and Daniel was going to stand in line at DCA for fast passes to RSR.