It was a dark and stormy night… Actually, it just rained off and on all night for the “Christmas In Cars Land” Disney Parks Blog Meet Up on Wednesday, December 3. Check in went smoothly once it opened at 7pm that night. We were given our ticket, wristband, vouchers to redeem some special treats, and a poncho because of the rain. From there, we were escorted to the seating area in Paradise Gardens. There we received some cotton candy and a small bottle of water. This gave up the chance to relax and be covered from the rain until it was time for World of Color. About 10 minutes before the show, we were escorted to a special viewing in Paradise Park. This is the 2nd year “World of Color: Winter Dreams” has been presented at Disney California Adventure. This year, it was changed to be a little more “Frozen” inspired. Olaf was once again our host, and it was fun to see for the first time this holiday season. The rain held up during the show, but we were getting wet quite a bit during the show, not getting soaking wet, but it was more of a spritzing. It just had to do with how high some of the fountain were going and the way the wind was blowing. One change that was noticeable if you saw the show last year was that “Glow,” the song used in the pre-show last year, was actually used as a postlude. It’s such a beautiful song, and I’m glad it was used again, even though it was in a different capacity.
After “Winter Dreams,” it started to rain again while we waited for the crowd to clear the area before we were escorted to Cars Land. Once at the entrance to Cars Land, the entire area was dark because they had arranged to do the sunset lighting ceremony for us. That was a nice surprise! Following the lighting ceremony, people went in every direction, but most went to Radiator Springs Racers to take an advantage of a very short wait. I decided not to ride, but to take photos instead. How often can you get great photos of Cars Land at night and in the rain with not too many people around? We all know it doesn’t “weather” in Southern California! Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree and Luigi’s Flying Tires were also available to guests.
It wasn’t long before the doors to Flo’s V8 Cafe opened. That’s where the treats were, and there were plenty of them to go around! And what was available? A wide variety of holiday treats from all around the Disneyland Resort! Chocolate Coffee Yule Log from the Plaza Inn; Praline Cheesecake from the French Market; Gingerbread Shingle Cookies, Regular Gingerbread Cookies, Caramel Apple Muffins, and Holiday Brownies from various locations; and, Mickey Sugar Cookies from the Market House. Hot and cold drinks were also available, including coffee, hot chocolate, hot tea, caramel apple cider, egg nog, and a habañero infused drink. I had the Yule log, Mickey sugar cookie, a regular gingerbread cookie, and praline cheesecake. Oh, and I got a hot chocolate! I don’t do spicy, so I didn’t get a habañero drink, but when I went to get some egg nog, they had run out of the habañero drink. It was also inside Flo’s that we were able to pick up our special parting gift. It was an ornament featuring Lightning McQueen and Mater. Available in Cozy Cone #1 were more treats. You needed a voucher to pick these up. It was a Holiday Mickey Rice Krispie treat and an Olaf Cake Pop. (Of course something ‘Frozen’ was thrown in the great mix!)
Despite the rain, it was a fun event for all! A big thank you goes out to Erin and the Disney Parks Blog Team for all of the hard work they put into this fun event! And if you missed this event, there will be many more events during 2015. Just keep checking the Disney Parks Blog. You never know what will appear!