Return to Disneyland - Paradise Pier Hotel and CarsLand

[Melanie]

I'm going to break my trip report of sorts up into separate posts discussing highlights of our trip. Just returned from the Disneyland Resort after not going since 2008. I will never, ever let so much time pass again in between visits! We had a great time.

Paradise Pier Hotel -Loved it, as always. Rooms are spacious, and the beach theming is cute. We had a standard view, but it was decent with the PPH pool and the Adventure Tower at Disneyland Hotel. We couldn't beat the price we got with the military discount. We probably drove Mousekeeping crazy all week with our need for extra coffee and towels, but they were always accommodating.

Ate at the sit down restaurant, PCH Grill, twice during our stay, and had very nice meals each time. We did not do the character breakfast, which is now Surfs Up! with Mickey & Friends. It used to be Lilo & Stitch themed.

The location is great! It’s an easy 5 minute walk to the Disneyland Hotel if you want to enjoy their offerings, or an easy 5-10 minute walk to the Grand Californian, from which you can enter California Adventure via the Disneyland Resort Hotel Guest only entrance, or go into Downtown Disney and walk to the main entrances. Love how everything is so easily walkable at Disneyland Resort!

CarsLand – WOW!! Incredibly Imagineered and executed. For me, attention to detail is similar to Tokyo DisneySea and I had the same reaction entering CarsLand that I had when I first entered DisneySea years ago. CarsLand is gorgeous, and even better at night. The neon is incredible! The most impressive area by far is Ornament Valley (which makes up the Radiator Springs Racers attraction). (pic) You really can’t imagine how ginormous (to borrow Carol’s favorite phrase ) and beautiful it is until you see it in person. All the little details from the lights to the signs and even to how the CMs speak are perfect! See one of my favorite signs below (last picture). "No tires. No fender skirt. No service!".

The attractions of CarsLand –

Radiator Springs Racers – what a fun ride! Job well done, Imagineers. Being a huge fan of the Cars movies (my son was 6 when the first one came out, and was obsessed), the attraction is super clever and racing the other car at the end of the ride is a fun element. The queue is very long, but adorable. The cars and track feel somewhat similar to Test Track, but the similarities end there. For me, especially with the ‘new’ Test Track, RSR is a superior attraction in every way. Rode four times, three times during early entry (highly recommended) and once using single rider. I only won once, and that’s when I did single rider. Maybe my peeps and I are bad luck! Lol We never got a fastpass, but if you want one, they don’t start giving them out until the park opens to the general public and the distribution area has been moved up by the entrance to A Bug’s Land. The line forms quickly.

Luigi’s Flying Tires – cute, but a lot of work! lol Your tire is supposedly floating on the air and you and your ride partner have to lean together to make the tire move in that direction. Our ride was shut down unexpectedly in the middle and we thought it was over. Nope, they started it up again, but the momentum was lost with two such short ‘rides’. When you bump the other tires, it’s not a big bump like you experience with some bumper cars. When the ride first opened, there were beach balls in the ride area, and it’s too bad they took them out. Not sure of the reason for removing them, but I think it would be fun to have them there.

Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree – looked so cute, but we never rode. The tractors swing around a ride vehicle behind it, and it reminded me of the motion of a Tilt-A-Whirl. That’s a no for me! HA! But I chuckled every time we walked past, because Mater was always singing some song or another and he just cracks me up.

Food options in CarsLand – We had a very nice breakfast at Flo’s V8 Café on morning. Food was good, theming even better. And we had the room we ate in to ourselves. Got beers here a couple of times during our stay, and loved that the beer is ‘racer’ themed (Red Rocket Ale, Racer 5 IPA) and the wine is Disney related (Silverado, Fess Parker, MacMurray Ranch). The Cozy Cones are adorable, and again, so clever. I only tried churro bites, but they were yummy. I had planned on getting a Red’s Apple Freeze (same thing as Lefou’s Brew at WDW), but you know…best laid plans. Next time! Filmore’s Taste In offered all healthy goodies from it’s stands.

Shopping – Lizzie’s Curiosity Shop and Ramone’s were the place to get great Cars related souvenirs. Saw some really unique and fun items in there.

Next Up: Our Carthay Circle lunch and World of Color