By: Andrew Bermudez
Note: Since this trip report is from the cast member/annual passholder preview, no photography was allowed, hence the lack of pictures. In a strange twist of irony, though, my brother and I seemed to be the only people without a camera. It's perplexing, but oh well. I'll add pictures in the future. Besides, with a little detective work, I'm sure you can find accompanying pictures online.
Back in 2007, Disney announced that it had planned a $1.2 billion refurbishment and expansion of its troubled California Adventure park. The plans involved bringing more Disney characters into the park, replacing the hip and edgy decor with timeless themeing of a "California that never was," and introduce more big-budget E-ticket attractions. The refurbishment has brought along several popular attractions and has so far been successful.
This Friday, June 15th, the refurbishment will officially end with the openings of both Buena Vista Street, the park's new entrance area reminiscent of 1920's Los Angeles, and Cars Land, a 12-acre land recreating the town of Radiator Springs from the Disney/Pixar film Cars. However, since my brother Daniel Bermudez works as a cast member, we were allowed to explore the two new lands early.
We did not spend much time in Buena Vista Street, since our preview time only lasted four hours. We did stop here and there along the street, looking at several of the shop windows. From what we did see, I must say that I was very impressed. It'll certainly be a great beginning to a day at the park.
However, what really impressed was Cars Land, which is what I'll be focusing on. To make a long story short, the land makes you feel like you're actually in Radiator Springs. They spared no dollar in making sure every detail matched the film. They even went beyond by making areas not seen in the movie, like Stanley's Oasis, for example. Here is a breakdown of every attraction, shop, and restaurant in the new land.
Radiator Springs Racers (Attraction): The main attraction in the land is also one of the best attractions around. It uses the ride technology created for Epcot's Test Track to take you through memorable moments from the first Cars film. There's also a side-by-side racing finale that takes place entirely outdoors. I don't want to reveal too much about what happens since Cars Land hasn't actually opened yet, but what I can say is wow! Disney has really done it again with another excellent E-ticket ride that is sure to become a Disney Parks classic attraction, amongst the ranks of Pirates of the Caribbean and Indiana Jones Adventure. It's a great attraction that you must go on during your next visit to Disney California Adventure. Both FastPass and Single Rider services are available for this attraction.
Luigi's Flying Tires (Attraction): We did not go on this attraction, since the wait time was a consistent 60 minutes during our visit. However, from what I've heard, the ride isn't supposed to be that good. Generally speaking, it's a reboot of the old Flying Saucers attraction from Disneyland, this time themed to tires. However, when the line is shorter, I'll give it a try.
Update: I've been on the attraction now, and I must say that I agree with a majority of the guests. It's just too frustrating to get your tire to actually move to have any fun. Leaning back semi-worked in getting the tire to move, but overall I sadly cannot recommend this attraction. The line is well-done, though.
Update: I've been on the attraction now, and I must say that I agree with a majority of the guests. It's just too frustrating to get your tire to actually move to have any fun. Leaning back semi-worked in getting the tire to move, but overall I sadly cannot recommend this attraction. The line is well-done, though.
Mater's Junkyard Jamboree (Attraction): This ride was the pleasant surprise of the day. On this attraction, guests sit in trailers pulled by tractors. The tractors then spin around on large circular discs, with tractors moving from disc to disc. With these sudden changes in direction, the trailer with the guests inside whips around. While there's not much to it, it's actually a lot of fun swinging around out of control in that trailer.
Flo's V8 Cafe (Restaurant): The premier dining location in Cars Land, Flo's V8 Cafe serves up pies, ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and other favorites from 1950's diners. Now I know that 1950's style diners have become sort of a cliche at theme parks, but this one at least takes it up a notch. The music may be similar to you local shopping center's Johnny Rocket's restaurant, but the decor and special vinyl records make it something only found in Cars Land.
Cozy Cone Motel (Restaurant): If Hollywood Land's hotel is an attraction (The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror), then Cars Land's hotel is a restaurant! All of the food options here usually involve cones, like the Chili Cone Queso, cone-shaped cups, or Popcone (the flavored popcorn from Tokyo Disneyland). We tried Red's Apple Chiller, which was a very good drink.
Filmore's Taste-in (Restaurant): We did not try any food options from here, as we ran out of time. From what I've heard, they serve soft drinks, fruit smoothies, and fresh fruit.
Radiator Springs Curios (Shop): The main pin trading and Vinylmation location for Cars Land, this shop features t-shirts, mugs, and other souvenirs that... uh, can be found elsewhere in Disney California Adventure. The merchandise here seems to be the generic products found elsewhere in the resort (why are there Star Tours pins here?), but the highly detailed decor in the store makes up for it.
Sarge's Surplus Hut (Shop): This Quonset hut-themed store features Cars toys, including exclusive toys of the Radiator Springs Racers vehicles and LEGO Cars sets.
Ramone's House of Body Art (Shop): We did not enter this store, since we ran out of time. However, I've heard that this store features tons of exclusive merchandise, including exclusive hats and shirts.
Well, that's all that this impressive land has to offer. Because of this, you may be fooled into thinking that every nook and cranny can be scoured in just under two hours. However, this is not the case. The Imagineers have really put a lot of thought and detail into this land. There's so much to it that we weren't able to check everything out during the preview time. We will certainly go back into this land the next time we're in Disney California Adventure, and you should too. You won't be disappointed.
Cars Land and Buena Vista Street open publicly on June 15th, 2012.
Radiator Springs Curios (Shop): The main pin trading and Vinylmation location for Cars Land, this shop features t-shirts, mugs, and other souvenirs that... uh, can be found elsewhere in Disney California Adventure. The merchandise here seems to be the generic products found elsewhere in the resort (why are there Star Tours pins here?), but the highly detailed decor in the store makes up for it.
Sarge's Surplus Hut (Shop): This Quonset hut-themed store features Cars toys, including exclusive toys of the Radiator Springs Racers vehicles and LEGO Cars sets.
Ramone's House of Body Art (Shop): We did not enter this store, since we ran out of time. However, I've heard that this store features tons of exclusive merchandise, including exclusive hats and shirts.
Well, that's all that this impressive land has to offer. Because of this, you may be fooled into thinking that every nook and cranny can be scoured in just under two hours. However, this is not the case. The Imagineers have really put a lot of thought and detail into this land. There's so much to it that we weren't able to check everything out during the preview time. We will certainly go back into this land the next time we're in Disney California Adventure, and you should too. You won't be disappointed.
Cars Land and Buena Vista Street open publicly on June 15th, 2012.
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