Glow Fest and the 'UP'ular Remix!

I recently checked out Glow Fest at California Adventure and got some pictures!  Glow Fest is a street party complete with colorful lights, music, dancers, and video screens. It  takes place in Sunshine Plaza and the Hollywood Pictures Backlot.

They have a few bars throughout Glow Fest where guests can purchase drinks that come in a light up glass or with a glowing swizzle stick.  Here is a picture of the Cosmopolitan in it's martini glass that lights up.

I liked Glow Fest and think it is a good place for people to unwind after a full day at the park but I sort of wish it was more kid friendly.  The music that is played is mostly remixes of songs that adults might recognize but not the kids.  The only song I saw children singing to was the Justin Bieber song.  There was one remix though that I heard at Glow Fest that I really liked that had sound clips from the movie Up.  I think it's pretty cool!  What do you all think? 

Toy Story 3 at El Capitan

"Toy Story 3" is currently in theaters and if you have not seen it yet you really should!  I really enjoyed this movie!
I saw "Toy Story 3" at the historical El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. It is a restored movie palace from the 1920s that is now operated by Disney.  Several Disney film premiers have been held here including the premier of "Toy Story 3". 

 

You can see Disney movies at this theater and it's a fun experience for the whole family.  Before the movie, they have an organist that plays Disney songs.  The ticket usually includes a live show before the film or some kind of activity afterward such as character meet and greets or movie props on display.  The event after "Toy Story 3" was the "Toy Story 3 Fun Zone".

 

The Fun Zone had several different activities such as Rex's Races and Escape from Sunnyside Maze.

 

They had an area called Lotso's Lounge that was for birthday parties.

People could line up to meet Buzz and Woody or see them in their show called "Dancing with the Toys."

 If you don't want to wait in line to take pictures with Buzz and Woody, there are a few other picture spots that you can take some fun pictures at!  My favorite was the Ken and Barbie cutouts!

 

El Capitan theatre is a fun place to see a movie and a great landmark to visit, so if you can't make it to see "Toy Story 3" there, then you should try to check out the next Disney movies such as "Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue" or "Tangled."

You can see El Capitan theatre in the backdrop at the Hollywood Pictures Backlot at California Adventure.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter

This past weekend was the Grand Opening of Universal Orlando's Wizarding World of Harry Potter!  Although it is not Disney, this new addition to Universal is going to provide some competition to Disney World.  I never had much interest in going to Universal before, but as a fan of the Harry Potter series, I would now love to visit there sometime.  It looks great!  Lucky for me a family friend from Puerto Rico, Melvin, was able to be there for the grand opening!  He was kind enough to let me use some of his pictures for the blog.  Here they are!  Thanks, Melvin!

Check out how busy it is!

It's the Sorting Hat!

Dragon Challenge!

Thanks again for letting me share these, Melvin!  These pictures are awesome!

Toy Story Attractions at Disney World

Toy Story 3 comes out tomorrow! To celebrate, I thought I'd share pictures of the Toy Story attractions I was able to do at Disney World a couple weeks ago.

Pixar Studios Area
In Disney's Hollywood Studios at Disney World, there is a Pixar Studios section in the park.  This is where you can find the ride, Toy Story Mania.

This area has large Barrel of Monkey toys hanging around!

Toy Story Mania
We have Toy Story Mania at California Adventure so originally I wasn't planning to go on this ride but I'm glad I did because the queue for this ride is very cool!  It is designed to really make you feel like you are the size of a toy!

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
In the Magic Kingdom, you can ride Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin!

Meet Lotso!
At Disney's Hollywood Studios, they have a Character Meet and Greet with Lotso!  Lotso, short for Lots O' Huggin' Bear, is a new character from the Toy Story 3 movie. You can read more about him in my previous post, Meet Lotso!
At Hollywood Studios, we were able to meet and take pictures with him.  He gave everyone big hugs!

 Are you going to see Toy Story 3?  I got my tickets ready for tomorrow and am looking forward to it!

(If you're in the mood to read more about Toy Story check out my earlier post on  Toy Story 3 at California Adventure!)

World of Color Commercial

Check out this commercial for World of Color.  I've seen it a few times on television and thought I would share:

World of Color Fastpass System Part 2- Using your Pass

When it came time for us to return for World of Color, we went to the viewing area. We had to show our fastpasses several times to get there. Our seating area was "Red."

To find your area, look for the lamps that are glowing the color on your fastpass.  A cast member there will take your pass but if you need to leave again to use the restroom, they'll give it back to you so you can return. Make sure you don't leave without one or you won't be able to get back in!
If you get to California Adventure early for your showtime, you will have to find where your color fastpass lines up before the show. For this, don't be shy and ask a cast member! Because on our way back after the show, we saw different lines all over the park waiting for the next show.
We got there a little later so we were able to just walk directly to our viewing area without waiting in line. However, since we weren't there early, there weren't many spots to pick from. While looking for a spot we found out that anyone with a fastpass could go in the Wet Zone, which is actually in the very front, so we decided to do that. It's a good spot for the show but note that it's called "Wet Zone" for a reason. Depending on where you stand and which way the wind is blowing, you could get very wet! They even have cast members in that area selling ponchos!

There is a pre-show before World of Color that manages to distract you while waiting for it to begin. It features different Disney characters who represent each of the viewing area colors.  Green was Mike Wazowski!

World of Color is an incredible show! I didn't take pictures of the show itself because I wanted to just enjoy my first time watching it (and I was in the wet zone!). I'll try to post some pictures after I see it again but you really need to see the show yourself. So if you have a chance you should go see World of Color! It's really worth seeing!

World of Color Fastpass System Part 1- Getting your Pass

The World Of Color fastpasses are being distributed at the Grizzly River Run Fastpass machines. To make sure you get a pass, get there early and be prepared to wait! We got there right as the park was opening and still had to wait in line for 45 minutes before getting our fastpass. The line went all the way to the Condor Flats sign that is near the entrance. (FYI- this is close to Baker's Field Bakery. I ran over there while my fiance' saved our spot in line and got us a Malibu Mocha frappe for us to drink while waiting. Yum!)

They had cast members at the fast machines to make the line go faster. You just hand them your tickets and they get the fastpasses for you.

A couple things you need to know about getting fastpasses:

• all people need to all have entered the park. You can't get fastpasses with tickets that have not been used at California Adventure that day.
• Not all people have to be in line to get the fastpass. You only need one person to wait in line with all the tickets to get all the fastpasses. But again- if you have a ticket that wasn't used to get into California Adventure that day, it won't work.
• If you get a World of Color fastpass, you'll still be able to get other fastpasses afterwards. It won't affect you getting fastpasses for rides throughout the day.

 When you get your fastpass it'll have which showing you can attend (there are 2 scheduled nightly but because of high demand, California Adventure has been routinely adding a third show the last few days). It'll also indicate a color which represents your seating area. It also states what time you should get there for the show.

My next post will talk about what to do when you come back for the show with your fastpass!

About World of Color

World of Color is now at Disney California Adventure! Last Sunday, I went over there to see the show. It was fantastic! The show stars almost 1,200 fountains with some that shoot up as high as 200 ft. We can actually see the top of the water from our apartment balcony and we live like 2 blocks away! If you are in the area or planning a trip to Disneyland, I strongly recommend you see it. It really is quite amazing and a great addition to California Adventure.
In order to enjoy the show, you really need to get a spot in the new area that was recently built for it's viewing.

Some people watch in other areas such as by Toy Story Mania and the new Silly Symphany Swings but from what I've read, you really can't see much from there.
In order to get a good view of the show you need to choose one of the following methods to get one of these spots in the viewing area. There are two ways to do this:

• Make a reservation for one of the dinner or picnic packages that reserves a spot for you (Picnics, Wine Country Trattoria, and Ariel's Grotto). You should do this several days in advance due to the popularity of the new show. I hope to try one of these sometime soon! 

 

• Get a fastpass which is free and what I did on Sunday.

I was a little nervous that doing the fastpass method would mean pushing through large crowds to get a spot but I was pleasantly surpised to find that it was in fact very organized and I had no issues at all. Check out my next post for an overview of how to get your World of Color fastpass!

Mom's Birthday Song

It's my mom's birthday today!  So I thought I would post this clip from the Disney Channel show, Phineas and Ferb.



Happy birthday, Mami! Feliz cumpleanos!  You're the greatest!

Disney World Vacation Planning Tip

Disney World is made up of four parks, several beautiful resorts, water parks, and more!  Disney World is so large that it can be overwhelming trying to do everything you want to do on your visit.  Before going on our Disney World vacation, my fiance and I looked at the Disney World website and used it to put together a list of what attractions we did not want to miss (Must Do), and which things we would do if there was time permitting.  On our list, we also marked which rides had Fastpasses so we would know which ride to run to first to grab a Fastpass.  We also noted our restaurant reservation times and the times for "Extra Magic Hours."  One of the perks of staying at one of the Disney resorts is that you get to go to their Extra Magic Hours which are the additional hours a park is open only for Disney hotel guests.  We printed out copies of our list and brought it with us on our trip.  The list came in handy and we were able to do everything we had wanted to do!

 

(You can click on the image above to view it larger)

I strongly recommend that anyone planning a Disney vacation take some time to do a little research and create a similar list.  It helps prevent the stress that comes from scrambling and searching through different park maps and schedules while on your vacation.  By having a list, you can have all this information on one page and focus on getting the most out of your stay and having a magical visit!

Glow Fest at California Adventure

The colorful decorations that were put up in Sunshine Plaza and the Hollywood Pictures Backlot are for California Adventure's new street party called "Glow Fest."  This will be starting on Friday, June 11th, along with World of Color.  The party will have music, dancing, and colored lighting.  There are also going to be a couple bars added that sell themed drinks. 
According to the OC Register:
"Disney officials said the live entertainment is meant to complement the World of Color show and provide park visitors something to do at night while waiting to see the show — or after seeing the show.  People waiting to see World of Color can attend Glow Fest before and after the show."

I'm kind of curious to see how this Glow Fest turns out and if it helps with crowd control for World of Color.  I guess we'll find out soon enough!  June 11th is this Friday!

All Star Mickeys around Disneyland!

The baseball themed Mickey statues celebrating the All Star Game have started showing up around Southern California! I got pictures of two that are located at the Disneyland Resort.

This Florida Marlins themed Mickey is located in Downtown Disney by the ESPN Zone.

This Atlanta Braves themed Mickey is located outside the bag check entrance to Disneyland (Downtown Disney side).

There is another Mickey located in the GardenWalk not far from Disneyland but I don't have a picture of it yet!  I'll try to continue posting pictures of these Mickeys as I see them!
For more information regarding the All Star Mickeys, take a look at my previous article on these statues by clicking on the link:
Mickey Mouse All Star Game Statues

World of Color- June 11th

California Adventure has a big day coming up!  The much anticipated nighttime spectacular, World of Color, is set to debut on June 11th.  Over the past week, Disney seems to have been having sneak peeks and previews of the show for cast members.

Colorful decorations have gone up in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot and in Sunshine Plaza in what I think will be the waiting area for visitors before they get to see World of Color.

The show is expected to attract very large crowds so there is probably going to be special Fastpasses for it. From what I've heard, the Fastpass distribution will be at the Fastpass machines that are usually used for Grizzly River Run.

There is a new area they created that will be used for World of Color viewing. This area is already open for guests to walk around in during the day.

 

On Friday, I noticed that there are large tubes of paint that decorate the park and say World of Color on them.  

 

 

World of Color is supposed to be amazing and I'm really looking forward to it!  If you are planning a trip to California Adventure this summer, try to catch the show!