Disneyland Day 5, Part 2: A QUAKE!

When I last left you, we were just checking in for our lunch at Carthay Circle.  They really nailed the decor inside.  It was absolutely beautiful.

Carthay Circle

Of course, being that we were in California Adventure, Mother Nature decided to play along.  In the middle of lunch, there was a small Earthquake.  Nothing major, but the glasses shook and my Mom and I both looked at each other like, "what in the world was that?!"  No one else even flinched.  The other diners went about their lunch, the waiter's kept serving.  It really was like we were the only ones who felt it!  About 5-10 minutes later the manager asked one of the server's (we were seated near one of their stations) if they had noticed any damage from the Earthquake.  He thankfully said no, but when we heard the manager, I let out with "was that what that was?" (I'm a wordsmith.)  He came over and chatted with us.  When we explained where we were from, he laughed and said it would explain why we thought it was unusual!  Anyway, it was entertaining and we definitely were in the right park for it!

We were also glad we were enjoying lunch as it's standard procedure to shut down a lot of the rides to do safety checks.

After lunch, we went back over to Radiator Springs Racers to see if it was open.  It was!  And was running! So we hopped in the Single Rider Line.  We were pulled along with one other person to go into a special loading area to join a Disabled family.  It took us 15 minutes to get on the ride.  15 minutes!  That's unheard of!  We were so excited!

Radiator Springs Racers

We went through Luigi's again for new tires and didn't get to race anyone, so that was disappointing, but it was still a fantastic ride!

Next up on our agenda was a little shopping.  So we went to the back entrance of DCA to hit up Downtown Disney.  After our shopping spree, we headed back to the hotel for a nap before heading back into the Park at night.

Dedication Plaque

We re-entered the Park right about dusk.  The crowds picked up for the evening - Disneyland is very much a Local's Park compared to Disney World!  Since we had such a big lunch, we just got snacks from the Cozy Cones for dinner.  We also happened to walk into Cars Land right as they were turning on the lights for the night!  Definitely neat to see.

After our "dinner," we explored and strolled the park at night.  I wanted something sweet to satisfy my sweet tooth, so we went exploring.  After I found something, we staked out our spots for World of Color.

Reserved area

With our lunch, we were able to get into a reserved area.  We didn't quite know where to go at first, but the Cast Members were all very helpful.

I had read on the DISBoards that it was a good idea to get in front of a railing so no one stands in front of you.  We also were right before a step.  Good since my Mom is short.  I usually don't have a problem seeing over people, but it was nice to not have to worry about someone trying to wedge their way in front of us.

Our view for World of Color

World of Color is simply amazing.  I took a video below, but I don't think it really does the show justice.

World of Color

I was seriously amazed by it.  Once the show was over, we high-tailed it towards the front of the Park.  Our route took us right by Soarin' so we made a quick pitstop (how could we resist?!) before heading out.

Carthay Circle at night

When we were leaving, the fireworks from Disneyland were going off.  It was a magical end to our official vacation!  (Of course we had a few hours the next day before the shuttle picked us up!  So I'm not done yet!