Cars Land is a themed area of Disney California Adventure, inspired by the Disney·Pixar franchise, Cars. The 12-acre (4.9 ha) area, built as part of Disney California Adventure Park's $1.1 billion expansion project, opened on June 15, 2012. It contains three rides as well as shops and restaurants, all situated in a replica of Radiator Springs, the fictional town in which most of the first film's events take place. The area's main attraction is Radiator Springs Racers, a racing ride that uses the technology of Epcot's Test Track.
History
Most of the present-day site of Cars Land had been used as the "Timon" parking lot since 2001; the lot had been designated as future growth space for Disney California Adventure when it was originally designed in the 1990s, and was partially built over with The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the Flik's Fun Fair section of A Bug's Land. A small portion of Cars Land was built over the site of the Bountiful Valley Farm, one of the park's original attractions.
Concept art for "Carland" appeared in the "Dreaming" section of the Walt Disney Company's 2006 Annual Report, released on December 12, 2006, six months after Cars was released in theaters. The concept art depicted a racing simulator ride, but provided no specifics; Disney CEO Bob Iger stated at the time that the concept art depicted projects at various stages of development, and that some of the projects depicted "may never be built."
On October 17, 2007, Disney announced a 5-year, $1.1 billion renovation and expansion plan for Disney California Adventure. The plan included a major overhaul of several existing areas of the park and the addition of Cars Land, an area themed to the 2006 film; Cars Land would be anchored by Radiator Springs Racers, a Cars version of Test Track, a ride at Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort. Cars Land along with the re-designed entrance plaza, Buena Vista Street, were the last features of the 5-year project to be completed, and opened on June 15, 2012.
Attractions
- Radiator Springs Racers â€" a slot car dark ride. The attraction takes guests in six-person vehicles through the winding roads up the mountains outside Radiator Springs and by the waterfall scene in the first film. The cars then enter the mountain and take a semi-wild ride through the outskirts of town where they encounter a number of characters. Eventually, they enter Radiator Springs at which point the track splits into two: one goes into Ramone's while the other into Luigi's. From here, the cars enter a briefing room where Doc gives guests some advice for the upcoming race. The two tracks come back near one another and two cars stop side-by-side. The race begins as the vehicles accelerate out of the mountain and through hairpin turns and steep banks, ending with a randomized race result and then a brief trip through Tail Light Caverns. The technology used is similar to Test Track at Epcot in Walt Disney World in Florida, and Journey to the Center of the Earth at Tokyo DisneySea.
- Mater's Junkyard Jamboree (renamed Mater's Graveyard JamBOOree during Halloween and Mater’s Jingle Jamboree during Christmas) â€" an attraction in the style of a whip ride themed to Mater's Junkyard. Mater is the Master of Ceremonies of the Jamboree. The vehicles are baby tractors which pull trailers attached to them that move around with the music.
- Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters (renamed Luigi's Honkin' Haul-O-Ween during Halloween and Luigi’s Joy to the Whirl during Christmas) â€" Guests queue in Luigi's Casa Della Tires shop and ride in vehicles that move and spin around to Italian music. The attraction uses a trackless ride system, similar to Aquatopia at Tokyo DisneySea. The ride vehicles are depicted as being Luigi's cousins who have come to Radiator Springs for a dance celebration. The attraction, which officially opened March 7, 2016, replaced Luigi's Flying Tires, the original attraction in this location.
Restaurants
- Cozy Cone Motel
- Flo's V8 Cafe
- Fillmore's Taste-in
Characters
- Lightning McQueen (dressed as a superhero during Halloween)
- Mater (dressed as a vampire during Halloween and as Santa Claus during Christmas)
- Red (dressed as a clown during Halloween)
- Cruz Ramirez (dressed as a pirate during Halloween)
- DJ (dressed as a punk rocker during Halloween)
Shopping
- Ramone's House of Body Art
- Sarge's Surplus Hut
- Radiator Springs Curios (renamed Radiator Winter Curios during Christmas)
Layout
The layout of Cars Land from the guest's perspective is one of looking down the main street of Radiator Springs, USA, as seen in the original Cars film. There are references to the events of Cars 2 throughout the land, such as a billboard (seen when entering from A Bug's Land) that gives Mater the title of "Sir," and a signed photo of Finn McMissile with Luigi and Guido in Luigi's Casa Della Tires, in addition to souvenirs from their World Grand Prix trip in a display case.
The main street is Route 66 coming in from the Golden State area, across from the Golden Vine Winery and Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar. The other two entrances into the land are through a path in A Bug's Land between the entrance of Heimlich's Chew Chew Train and Tuck and Roll's Drive 'Em Buggies, and through an archway as a part of the rockwork making up Ornament Valley from Pacific Wharf. The two other entrances are the same path crossing through the middle of Cars Land. The path's name is Cross Street. At the end of Route 66 is the courthouse/firehouse where the street splits. To the left of the split is a backstage access gate. To the right of the split is the entrance to Radiator Springs Racers. In the distance, the Radiator Cap and Ornament Valley Range can be seen. The eastern edge of the Ornament Valley Range includes the Cadillac Mountain Range that consists of Cadillac tail fins that are 125 feet (38Â m) high and covers 300,000 square feet (28,000Â m2).
See also
- 2012 in amusement parks
References
External links
- Official website archived from the original on February 14, 2012