Three Tips To Surviving Cars Land Crowds

Yesterday, I finally hit Cars Land at California Adventure to see what all of the hype was about.  The rumors that it's crowded are true, but here are three tips to take with you the next time you visit the park.  I also included some fun photos from the day.  I will be doing a few Disney posts throughout the year as I put my new Annual Pass to good use.

This ride is worthy of the hype--Radiator Springs Racers.

Three Tips to Maximize Your Cars Land Experience:

1.  Arrive Early:  I cannot stress this enough.  If the park opens at 8AM, this is the first place you go. Don't stop to eat, use the restroom, grab a map of the park.....just beeline straight to Cars Land.  In fact, map out your route before you go, so you know exactly what you are doing when you get there.  If you think this area will easily be a Fast Pass type of attraction, think again.  Fast Passes were gone by 8:30AM on a Sunday.  Make this area of the park a priority and spend your morning here.  Get it done and then enjoy the rest of your day at Disneyland and California Adventure. Annual Passholders, this is the time to register for your early entry to California Adventure.  Dates are very limited at this point, but it is a great perk for Passholders.

Lydia grabbing the beach ball at the start of Luigi's Flying Tires.....a ride not worthy of the wait.

2.  Single Rider Line:  Thanks to my friend, Lydia, who had been to Cars Land earlier in the week, this was the greatest cheat of the day.  If you are able and willing to split up your party, try this line first.  While the wait in the Standby Line was already at two hours for the Radiator Springs Racers within thirty minutes of the park's open, we easily breezed through the Single Rider Line in thirty minutes.  Yes, we did get split up, but only by a car or two.  This made the day so much easier for us since we hit the hottest ride in the park first.  This doesn't work on the other two attractions in Cars Land since there is only a Standby Line for the Radiator Springs Racers and trust me, you will wish there was a Single Rider Line for the ridiculous wait for Luigi's Flying Tires which is a mediocre ride at best.

The crowds at Cars Land on a Sunday.

3. Get The Heck Out:  After you have hit the three attractions (The third attraction is Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, more of a kiddie ride.), get the heck out of Cars Land.  It is so crowded since it is the height of the summer season.  This is not the place to stop and eat or shop right now.  If you live in the Southern California area and have the luxury of returning in the fall, wait to see the rest of the sights and save the photo-ops until September.  This area of the park can suck up so much time and take up most of your day if you don't plan accordingly.  California Adventure has upgraded the park in the last few years with fun attractions like Monsters, Inc:  Mike & Sully to the Rescue, Toy Story Mania, and The Little Mermaid-Ariel's Undersea Adventure, you want to make sure to hit all that it has to offer.  (Don't forget Tower of Terror and Soarin' Over California, my two favorite rides in the park along with the new Radiator Springs Racers.)

I hope these tips help your day at the park that much easier and stress-free.  Let me know if you have any great tips to maneuver through Cars Land that I missed.  I will be bringing you more ideas as the season progresses.

More photos from my day at Disneyland and California Adventure are available on Instagram:  @KristynBurtt.

 Under the sea with Ariel!

 It's always fun running into friends....Lydia, me, Hank Chen, and his friend, Christina.

 The Aladdin show complete with an elephant! 

 The view from the new Carthay Circle restaurant......so delicious!

 And I ran into more friends!  Seth Maxwell, CEO of the Thirst Project, was headed into Carthay Circle as I was headed out.  

Disneyland's Club 33

UPDATE:  Check out the latest information on the waiting list and new perks for Club 33 here. 

Anyone that knows me understands that I am a HUGE Disney dork. The parks have always been a fun place for me to visit whether I was 3 or 33 years old. My family spent a considerable amount of time visiting Walt Disney World in Florida during cold winter breaks when I was a kid and once I moved to LA in 2000, Disneyland became a fun day trip several times a year. I became clued in on a private club that Walt Disney had built to entertain VIPs at the park back in 2001. Walt never had the opportunity to see this club finished, but I made it my mission to find a way into the famed Club 33.

I spent countless visits taking my picture next to the sign, hoping that maybe one day I would make my photo a reality. Well, 2010 was the year it all came true. My super cute boyfriend was able to make a connection with someone that had a corporate membership, and that is how my December 2009 birthday gift came to be. It really was one of those friend of a friend of a friend of a friend situations, so whomever you are, thanks for making one of my top wishes come true. Scratched off the bucket list!

You receive free admission to both parks the day of your reservation and we checked in at Guest Relations over by California Adventure. Our day happened to be the wettest day I have ever been to at the park, but no lines makes for easy ride hopping. The reservation was for 1 PM, so we were told to check in 15 minutes early. We headed over to New Orleans Square and checked in by pressing the hidden bell. They asked for the name of the reservation and then buzzed us in. Turns out, our table wasn't ready, so we had to go out and do the whole process again ten minutes later. Hey, it's Hollywood, you always get a second take. To see my grand entrance, here is a short one minute clip: Club 33
Once we were let into the lobby, the concierge gave us a brief history of Club 33. It is decorated much like a Parisian hotel lobby right down to the lift that was replicated by Disney Imagineers. Americans are kind of chubby, so the lift only holds about 3 average sized people...maybe in France it would be 4 or 5 people. There is a set of stairs to the left of the lift, so half of us hiked it up while I rode the elevator to the top floor.

Much of the decor was selected by Lillian Disney with lots of antiques like this harpsichord rumored to have been played by Elton John during a visit.
The infamous bar! Yes, this is the only place in the Disneyland park where you can drink. (California Adventure allows alcohol to be served in several restaurants.) The bartender was quite a character, but we enjoyed him because he said, "heavy price, heavy pour.". Yep, the drinks were strong and delicious.
Along the walls, there were beautiful wardrobe sketches from the movie, Mary Poppins, along with renderings of Disneyland back in the 1950's, and a fantastic photograph of Walt with Shirley Temple at the Academy Awards.

During media interviews when I worked at the Kodak Theatre, I was always asked about the restrooms. I don't know why people are obsessed with how fancy a bathroom is, but if you are one of those people, these next two photos are for you. This is what the Club 33 bathroom looked like.....vanity area....

And their really odd shaped toilet........

For me, I always want to know about the food. So, all of you foodies out there, enjoy!

The menu....I chose the Monkfish, but our waitress kept trying to get us to order the Chateaubriand. She never stated that it was the best on the menu, she made it sound more like a fire sale on beef.

The opening course is a buffet of cheeses, lobster tail, shrimp, salads, and soup. I was hungry.....

And then my meal came, so I had to find some room for my Monkfish with Lobster Bisque.

But wait, there's more! Dessert buffet filled with every sweet you can imagine. The purple cake thing was not so good, but my Hostess cupcake lookalike was amazing.

But there's even more! It's my birthday celebration, so I also received a Mickey Mouse chocolate mousse cake. Yum!

After eating we headed outside to the balcony to check out the view....

The wet view below with umbrellas and ponchos in sight. This is looking towards the Fanstasmic stage. If you eat dinner at Club 33, you might be able to catch the early showing of Fantasmic from this location. The back end of the balconies leads you into New Orleans Square by the restaurant, Bayou.

The infamous vulture that Walt didn't live to see, but it was designed as one of the Disney animatronics to talk to the dinners and listen in on their conversations.

In fact, he had microphones built into the chandeliers so the person behind the vulture could spy on people dining at Club 33. (microphone in the center of chandelier hanging down.)

And all good Disney attractions lead to a gift shop. We bought an $18 (suckers!) shot glass with the Club 33 insignia. We also managed to take home a few napkins lifted from the restroom, our cocktail stirrers, a pen, and a few chocolates. Hey, it's a once in a lifetime visit! We spent over 3 hours here and it was well worth it....especially the ride on Space Mountain after a few cocktails!

Are there any Annual Passholders reading this? I would like to get my hands on these vintage pins. Email me if you have the hookup. (My first and last name at Gmail)

Now, a few parting shots of our day around the parks....Tower of Terror!

Space Mountain.......

Buzz Lightyear......

Thanks for celebrating with me at Club 33!

Just a few Club 33 details:

14 year waiting list for membership

Waiting list is CLOSED as of Spring 2007

$10,450 to join for an individual and an annual fee of $3,275

$27,500 for a corporate membership with an annual fee of $6,100

Reservations are taken up to 90 days in advance for members and up to 60 days in advance for guests.

P.S. For those of you that are Hidden Mickey fans, they do exist at Club 33. It isn't in the architecture, but in the cast members' Club 33 uniforms. Happy searching!

Many thanks to Disney Food Blog for linking to this post. If you are a Disney Dork and a foodie, this is the site to check out: Disney Food Blog