Vehicle Review: 2018 Hyundai Elantra Eco - Disneyland and Food Adventures!

It's time for another vehicle review and this time it is the 2018 Hyundai Elantra ECO. The Eco is for economy and let's see if the vehicle delivers in terms of fuel economy and in value. The base features include 15-inch alloy wheels, Apple CarPlay and Android auto capabilities, heated front seats, 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system, HD and satellite radio, hands-free trunk, blind-spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert, and a rearview camera.

Of course I am heading out to Disneyland as we welcome back Pirates of the Caribbean back with some changes to the auction scene!

Time to hop in the driver's seat! The seat is large and comfortable!

The cabin is spacious! All the displays are large and bright with all of the controls easily within reach.

Lots of legroom in the back!

My friend Stephanie and I went to Disneyland to check out the changes to Pirates of The Caribbean and on our way we ran into this guy! He was wondering why the rum was gone!

Vehicle Review: 2018 Toyota Corolla SE - Dapper Day at Disneyland and Avengers: Infinity War World Premiere

It is time for another vehicle review and this time it is for the 2018 Toyota Corolla SE. This sporty vehicle was going to be my ride for the week of Dapper Day Weekend in Disneyland and my transportation to the Avengers: Infinity War World Premiere in Hollywood!

The stunning good looks of this car is what you will notice first. The headlamps are multi-LED projectors with LED accent lights. And the wheels are large 17-inch alloy wheels.

All of the seats are super comfortable and easily adjustable. There is also a huge amount of legroom for the rear passengers,

The cockpit is spacious with plenty of leg room. All of the instrumentation is easy to reach and to adjust if need be. The large 7-inch touchscreen is part of the SE Premium Package and brings SiriusXM and a navigation app.

For our first day of Dapper Bounding, we had to go to Cars Land and meet Lightning McQueen! Charlotte made a 1950s style dress for herself and a matching camp shirt for me in a fabric print only meant for a Pixar Bound. The lime green material is filled with luxo lamps, one of the iconic symbols of the Pixar Animation Studios. We choose to do a Pixar Bound since it was Pixar Fest at The Disneyland Resort with all sorts of fun Pixar related food and entertainment offerings! Pixar Fest lasts until September 3rd, 2018!

For those of you unfamiliar with Disney Bounding, it is just using color combinations and accessories to emulate a particular character. Cosplay on the other hand is trying to completely copy the characters costume. Dapper Day is a huge unofficial event that happens in the Spring and the Fall at Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris. The idea was to create a feeling of the early days of Disneyland in the 1950s when people wore nicer clothing to the parks. Dapper Bounding is emulating Disney characters with a Dapper flair. Hope that all makes sense. I live for Dapper Day and cannot wait for the Fall Event!

Vehicle Review: 2018 Mazda3 Grand Touring - More Disneyland Adventures!

It is time for another vehicle review and this time it is for the 2018 Mazda3 Grand Touring! This is my first time reviewing a Mazda3 and based off it's stunning good looks I knew it was going to be a great week of driving!

My best friend Brittney came down to visit me and all of her luggage easily fit in the trunk! It was off to drop off all of her luggage and then to spend our first night in Disneyland!

Reflecting on a magical night in Disneyland with my best friend!

This is what it looks like when you are literally the last car in the Toy Story parking lot! It was such a smooth drive both to and from the park and we would be heading back early the next morning!

And this is what it looks like when you are one of the first cars in the Disneyland parking lot the next morning! The 2018 Mazda3 Grand Touring made it such a joy to even drive in Southern California traffic. We zipped our way in comfort and style!

As many of you know one of my favorite things to do at Disneyland is to eat! Stopping at Redd Rocket's Pizza Port in Tomorrowland for lunch!

I am also always on the lookout for new food items to try at Disneyland! Here is the limited cherry vanilla cotton candy! Subtle in flavor but it was so good!

You get a powerful 2.5L 4-cylinder engine that produces 184 horsepower that gets 30 MPG combines and 27 MPG in the city and 36 MPG on the highway! This is just a purely fun vehicle to drive and it handles so well on the road! You will just want to hop in and drive, even if you have no particular place to go!

Take a 360 degree look inside the 2018 Mazda3 Grand Touring! You get heated leather seats, keyless entry, dual-zone climate control, a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system, a heads-up display, heated steering wheel and a moonroof. 

The 2018 Mazda3 Grand Touring comes with a huge amount of features outside of the vehicle as well! LED fog lights, LED headlights and running lights, blind spot monitoring, rain-sensing wipers, automatic headlights, adaptive front lighting and more!

It was a great week of driving around the Southern California area all week! A wonderful vehicle that will become your favorite as it did mine! Great looks, an interior that looks premium, and a fantastic driving vehicle that is very comfortable and stylish!

With all the premium packages the 2018 Mazda3 Grand Touring as tested came in at $28,370.

Vehicle Review: 2017 Mazda CX-9 Signature AWD - Summer of Heroes, Cars 3 and Legoland

It is time for another vehicle review! This time it is the 2017 Mazda CX-9 Signature AWD! I reviewed the 2016 version back in December of last year! The 2016 version was one of my favorite and most luxurious vehicles to drive last year and the 2017 version is largely unchanged. Here is the link to that review:

Vehicle Review: 2016 Mazda CX-9 Signature Edition

Let's take a look at the fun adventures I had in the 2017 Mazda CX-9 Signature AWD while checking out the Summer of Heroes at Disney California Adventure, podcasting, media screening of Cars 3 and a trip to Legoland California! Wow, a busy week so let's get started!

The sun is rising on a new day and the fluid lines of the 2017 Mazda CX-9 Signature make the vehicle look like it is in motion even when parked. I love the large mouthed grill, the large and expressive LED headlights and fog lights as well as the large 20-inch alloy wheels.

 It was worth it to be up early to get ready to check out the Summer of Heroes at Disney California Adventure for the food, characters and of course the newest attraction, Guardians of The Galaxy: Mission Breakout!

Click the link to learn some of my tips to get the most out of your visit to Guardians of The Galaxy: Mission Breakout!

Sasaki Time's Tips for Enjoying Guardians of The Galaxy: Mission Breakout at Disney California Adventure!

I got to meet one of my favorite Marvel characters, Black Widow!

After spending time with super heroes it was time to slow things down and head into Radiator Springs.

While in Cars Land I got to meet Larry The Cable Guy who voices Mater in the movie Cars! Larry was super nice and was happy to take the time to pose for this selfie!

Vehicle Review: 2015 Hyundai Genesis with a Visit to The Walt Disney Studios and 5 days at Disneyland!

Time to review the gorgeous 2015 Hyundai Genesis which I was able to drive in Arizona last year at a media event with Hyundai! I could not wait to spend a week with the Genesis and take it to visit The Walt Disney Studios and of course The Disneyland Resort for 5 days with my friend Charlotte visiting from Australia! We will be riding in luxury for this trip!

The comfortable leather seats would be my home for the next week! I couldn't think of a better way to spend a week! The air cooled seats were also most welcomed with the hot weather we were having in Southern California. The seats are also heated if it ever decides to finally cool off here. But it was time to hop into the seats and head to The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank!

The powerful 3.8L DOHC V6 GDI engine easily helped us cruise through the freeways of Los Angeles. The comfortable cockpit could have kept us inside for hours of just driving around. With 311 HP there were no problems moving around that Los Angeles and Orange County traffic. The Genesis averages 22 MPG combined with 18 in the city and 29 on the highway.

A light rain on the way to the studios didn't hamper us or the Genesis with its rain-sensing wipers and auto defogging windshield. Even the dual power outside mirrors are heated.

The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank is one of my favorite places to visit. This was my surprise for Charlotte and she loved her time spent on the studio lot. This is the iconic corner of Dopey Drive and Mickey Avenue with the original Animation building in the background.

Please note that you have to know someone who works here to be allowed onto the studio lot. But if you ever get a chance to visit, it is definitely worth your time to be surrounded by the rich history of The Walt Disney Company.

The famed Team Disney Burbank building that is being supported by all seven dwarfs. In the front is the large sculpture of the Disney Legends award. This award is given to those who have made great contributions to the company. Their hand prints are immortalized in Legends Plaza in front of the Team Disney Burbank building.

Later that same day we are off to Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland! Charlotte was Honey Lemon and I was Hiro from Big Hero 6! Check out my awesome Baymax candy bucket!

Mickey's Halloween Party is an amazing evening! There are treat stations throughout the park, special character meet and greets, special entertainment and pretty much all of the attractions open to enjoy! Here is some of the 15 pounds of candy that came home with us! The vent is a separate ticket event and sells out every year! Make sure to get your tickets as soon as they are available.

The large 9.2 inch high definition touch screen navigation with SiriusXM is bright and clear even in direct sunlight. We chose to listen to Siriusly Sinatra as we held our own Dapper Day to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Disneyland. The Lexicon 17-speaker discrete logic 7 audio system is impressive and made it seem like old blue-eyes was singing live.

Here we are in the pilot house of the Mark Twain. Charlotte made her dress and my Hawaiian style shirt. The diamond pattern was perfect for the Diamond Celebration at Disneyland. The pilot house is a special request you can make with the Cast Members at the Mark Twain. Just ask and maybe you can get up to the pilot house to "steer" the big boat around the Rivers of America. Please keep in mind that the Cast Member chooses who gets to go with them to the pilot house and that the River of America goes down for a massive rehab starting January 10th, 2016 to make way for Star Wars Land. The Rivers of America should return sometime in 2017.

Another favorite reason for visiting The Disneyland Resort is the food! My favorite thing is that there is a great emphasis on seasonal food items to keep you coming back for more! One of my favorite seasonal items from last year came back and it's the apple pie funnel cake! It's massive and Charlotte and I could not finish it!

And since it is the 60th Anniversary of Disneyland, the resort has these great photo locations in both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure! There are three in Disneyland and another three in Disney California Adventure! Such a fun way to remember the 60th and have some fun photos as well!

Another day and it's time to show off the awesome 18-inch alloy wheels of the Genesis! These large tires really grip the road! There are other great safety features including lane departure warning and lane keep assist, front and rear parking assistance system, smart cruise control, electronic parking brake with automatic vehicle hold with the Tech Package. You get the HID headlights with auto-dimming outside mirrors, blind spot detection and rear cross-traffic alert, and parking guidelines with the Signature Package.

And today's Disneyland Resort adventure takes us to one of my favorite lands, Cars Land in Disney California Adventure! The Imagineers really out did themselves here and created a land that looked like it came right out of the movie!

We also stopped by the Hyperion Theater to see the Aladdin show! The musical leaves in January of next year so make sure you see it before it goes away on January 10th, 2016! Replacing it will be a Frozen musical in summer of 2016!

After watching Aladdin we then headed to one of my favorite buildings, the Disney Animation building! My favorite thing to do in here is to draw with the artists at the Animation Academy! You get a drawing board, a piece of paper and a pencil! They supply the instructions and it is really a lot of fun! Zero is one of the newest characters that they are teaching how to draw! At the end you get to keep your drawing! So you have a free souvenir!

Five days at Disneyland have come and gone way too fast! Thank goodness for beautiful days like this! The power tilt-and-slide panoramic sunroof of the Hyundai Genesis is open and taking in the blue skies and white puffy clouds of another gorgeous Southern California day! Time to hit the parks one last time! If the sun is too bright then the Genesis also has power rear sunshade as well as manual rear side sunshades with the Signature Package.

A picture perfect day in the park! One of my favorite things to take a photo of while in Disneyland! I'm sure that Sleeping Beauty Castle is one of the most photographed places on the planet.

A perfect day calls for a perfect snack! The dole whip float is perfect on a warm day!

Heading over to Tomorrowland we can see the first signs of the Star Wars Launch Bay opening November 16th of this year! I cannot wait to see the new Star Wars offerings that begin that day! A new destination for Star Tours, a Star Wars layover to Space Mountain called Hyperspace Mountain, a new Jedi Academy, the Galactic Grill for Star Wars themed food offerings and Star Wars Launch Bay!

A practically perfect way to end our 5 days at The Disneyland Resort with Mary Poppins!

Now it's time to say goodbye to not only my lovely friend Charlotte but to the 2015 Hyundai Genesis as well! Thanks for a fun week and hope you enjoyed the review and our adventures with all things Disney!

The stunning 2016 Hyundai Genesis was amazing to drive, with a powerful engine and great handling.  Fantastic safety features will keep you and your family safe while enjoying the lap or luxury. The stunning lines are eye catching and let people know that you have arrived.

The 2015 Hyundai Genesis RWD 3.8 as reviewed came in at $49.950.00.