L.A. Trip - Day 6: Disney California Adventure, P.M.

Ok, this is a long post with lots of photos.

After lunch we went back to Cars Land and used our FastPasses for Radiator Springs Racers.  We also took our time and looked around a bit.

The detail is incredible.

Blue is in the lead

Neck and neck through the turn

No vacancy at the Cozy Cone

Instead of being kitschy hotel rooms, each of the cones sells a different kind of food:  Churros, soft serve ice cream cones, chili "cone" queso, "cone"-coctions (pretzel bites with cheese sauce), and pop"cone" with 2 rotating flavors each day.  They also have several specialty cold drinks.

An expanded look

A look down the street.  Take a right at the end to get to Radiator Springs Racers.  Flo's V8 Cafe is a quick-service diner

A look at Flo's

Mater's Junkyard Jamboree.  We didn't ride this one.

We went ahead and got 2 more FastPasses before we left the area, then walked over to the Bug's Life Theater to see the 3D film It's Tough To Be A Bug, complete with in-theater animatronics and special effects.  This cute little film is a favorite, as the real effects in the theater push it way over the top.  There are a couple of gleefully horrifying moments (I won't give them away here, but remember the world of insects is not all butterflies and ladybugs!), and during one of these a little girl 2 rows behind us, prob. 8-10 years old, was screaming her head off.  The whole audience was screaming and laughing at that point, but hers was one long sustained shriek as if she were auditioning for a slasher film.  I hope she wasn't traumatized, but at the same time it was really funny.

Shrinking down to bug size

Next we rode Tower of Terror again.  Todd had a hankering for soft-serve after that, but the only ice cream in the area was the scooped variety, so we went on a hunt.  Before we got too far though we rode Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sully to the Rescue.  This was a another dark ride like Snow White, Pinocchio, Winnie the Pooh, etc. where you're essentially riding through the story of the movie.  It was really cute and had an amazing set piece of the scene where they're whizzing through all the doors while trying to catch up to Boo's door.

Cute

We then headed over to the Paradise Pier area for Todd's ice cream, which we got from (go figure) the Paradise Pier Ice Cream Company stand.  We found a bench in the shade while he ate it.

Lost in ice cream bliss

Scenery

After the snack, we headed back toward the front area of the park and the Hyperion Theater for the 4:45 showing of Aladdin:  a 40 minute broadway style retelling of the movie.  The show was ok, but the Genie performer was great and the flying carpet effect through the theater was good.  We had great center seats on the mezzanine level, but it was a little warm and stuffy inside.  Glad we got to see it though; next year it's being replaced by a Frozen-themed show.

Before the curtain rises

Aladdin, disguised as a prince, enters on an elephant

Part of the "A Whole New World" scene

Jafar, transformed into a giant cobra

We rode Soarin' after the show let out, then dinner after that was a very delicious corn dog from Corn Dog Castle at the pier.

How could we not?

So good.

As we were sitting at a table eating our corn dogs, we noticed something different in the water of the lagoon - all the nozzles and jets that had previously been submerged were now sticking up out of the water.

Getting ready for the show.  Must be quite a feat raising all that.

By the time we finished dinner our FastPass window had arrived so we rode Radiator Springs Racers one more time.

A better shot of what the front of the Cars cars look like

It was dusk then, and we had time to do one more thing before we needed to be over at the World of Color viewing area.  Todd really wanted to ride the Grizzly River Run rapids again, so we headed over there and just like that morning, there was no line - we walked through the queue and right on the raft.  Luckily we didn't get too wet this time.

Grizzly River Run and Grizzly Peak at dusk

Then it was time to get in place for the show.  We got there, found the sign for our area and gave our tickets to the cast member.  We had a perfect location - in the center near the front with only 2 very short Japanese girls standing in front of us.

We watched the sun go down and played Fun Wheel Challenge:  a Simon-like memory game where you use your mobile phone to match the colors in the order shown on Mickey's Fun Wheel.  The winner of each round gets to control the lights on the wheel for 30 seconds.

People begin to gather as the sun goes down

Paradise Pier at dusk

A Mickey-shaped screen is hoisted over the Mickey-shaped Mickey on the Fun Wheel.  The coaster was still running for a little bit, but the ferris wheel was closed in preparation for the show.

Getting darker.  A Mickey-shaped Mickey is now projected onto the Mickey-shaped screen that was draped over the Mickey-shaped Mickey on the Fun Wheel.

Playing Fun Wheel Challenge

On with the show!  This was a special 60th Anniversary show called Celebrate! (I'm not sure what the World of Color looks like normally).  The show used giant sprays of water, projections, moving colored fountains, music, film and fire.  Hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, it started with a brief history of Mickey Mouse, then featured segments on Disney animation, villains, Disneyland, and Frozen - featuring a full-length rendition of "Let it Go".  As a nice surprise bonus, clips from the upcoming Star Wars film were also included.  The show ended with a bang with (what I've read was) a 150-foot tall fireball that definitely left an impression.  I didn't take pictures during the show, but here are some examples from the net:

Photo from wdwinfo.com.  Presumed credit to Craig Williams.

Photo from wdwinfo.com.  Presumed credit to Craig Williams.

Photo from wdwinfo.com.  Presumed credit to Craig Williams.

Photo from wdwinfo.com.  Presumed credit to Craig Williams.

As the show ended and everyone was leaving, and excellent cover by Christina Perri of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" played while the fountains stayed on.

After the show

Goodnight Mickey

The park closed when the show ended, so we hung back and let the crowds dissipate like we did at Disneyland.  On the way out we stopped by Cars Land for some nighttime photos, and stopped in Trolley Treats for a Rice Krispie treat.  We also had a great view of the Disneyland fireworks as we walked.

One last stop in Cars Land.  Supposedly at dusk they have a ceremony on the street when they turn all the neon lights on.

Cozy Cone Motel

If we had stayed here we'd be home by now

One of my favorite photos.  Flo's V8 Cafe.

Flo's in black and white

Everyone's got the same idea

Ornament Valley

It would have been neat to ride this in the dark

Blurry, I know

More Disneyland fireworks

Goodnight Carthay Circle Restaurant.  Thanks for feeding us today.

As we started the day, so shall we end it:  Where is everybody?

Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning is all well and good, but when leaving Neverland it's down this path and up the elevator 'til 9:30

It was another great day at the parks, and we made it back to the hotel at 9:30pm.  I'm proud of us for opening and closing all 3 amusement parks we went to on this trip.