Christmas in Cars Land

Shiny as a New Hubcap

Update 2014

After such a nice holiday visit in 2013 Team Roadboy visited Disneyland, California Adventure and Universal Studios again in 2014. This time we attempted to visit New Years Eve,  New Years Day and the following Saturday.  

While I contend the parks are at their finest between Thanksgiving and New Years, I must advise against visiting the days just before and after Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Years.  The crowds are just too overwhelming.  See resulting blog post: Universal Nightmare.

Had the chance to visit California Adventure last week.  What a joy! All my favorite rides were open. It has been a few years for me and this trip I see that they have completely reworked a new entry (Buena Vista Street), added Cars Land and a first rate sit-down restaurant (Carthay Circle). The seasonal Worlds of Color Christmas show was spectacular and the whole park was festooned for the holidays.

By the way (as always) these photos are embedded at full resolution. Feel free to click them to see more detail!

  

The New Carthay Circle 

Restaurant and Lounge

(Home to the Member's Only Club 1901)

My Favorite Photo of Walt Disney

In The Shadow is His Favorite  Mouse

(The Photo Was in a Private Dining Room in The Restaurant)

A little digression; the real Carthay Circle was actually the theater built in 1929 at 6316 San Vincente Boulevard in LA. It carried sentimental value to Disney since it premiered Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Fantasia (for which a sophisticated new sound system was installed). 

The original theater was decorated with early California motif's and unique in that it had a circular auditorium. Sadly, it was demolished in 1969. 

The new Cars Land was great. The imagineer's attention to detail is simply amazing. 

Radiator Springs Racers Zip By 

The Peaks Are An Homage to Classic Cadillac Tailfins

Christmas At Cars Land

Dining at The V8 Cafe

The "off season" near the holidays is a particularly great time to visit California Adventure and Disneyland! So go enjoy some Disney Magic. A word of advice, if you go over the holidays avoid weekends if you can. Except for Thanksgiving Thursday's and Fridays are typically perfect and have reasonably long hours! 

Roadboy's Travels © 2013