Disney’s Done It Again – Cars Land I Fantastic!
By Lorenzo Marchessi
Just when I thought Disneyland’s California Adventure could not be improved, Disney’s Imaginers based in Glendale, create a new family attraction called Cars Land. Along with the complete redesign and redressing of the front end of the park, Cars Land, is the real-world version of Radiator Springs. That’s the fictional town in the Disney/Pixar film “Cars” released in 2006 with its sequel Cars 2 in 2011.
If you have watched the film, you will have noticed the detail in both design and humor of how they translated the ‘human’ world to a ‘cars’ world. This is the heart of the attraction. It is exactly like in the movie, when you walk down the main street of the town with you see all the exact detail as if you walked into the movie Cars itself!
Take note of the signs, the details and even things like lights have all been adapted to this Cars theme. Some of the license plates, signage and even details in the food are all nods to the Cars film. It is amazing and colorful, Fun and funny!
There are three rides new to the park in Cars Land now. The first I’ll mention is Luigi’s Flying Tires, which is exactly like being on a giant air-hockey table top. You float across the surface, using your body weight as a steering wheel, on a cushion of air. Fun for the kids definitely but it might get tedious for the adult. The queue for the ride, while you are waiting, has an amazing Italian ambiance.
The next ride, which is far better and more fun, is the one that reminds me of the old carnival attraction ride called the Tilt-A-Whirl. An amazing piece of engineering where you swing, twist and spin over three spinning circles. It’s called Maters Junkyard Jamboree. It’s surprisingly fun and you get to hear Larry the Cable Guy sings several country-twanging songs as you spin.
The best ride, by far, is called Radiator Springs Racers. Here you board a racer and travel along a uniquely designed track through Radiator Springs, for real, and it’s entire southwestern desert motif, indoor and outdoor. Complete with a full waterfall! You board a racing car, get fueled, painted, meet all the characters from the movie, scare tractors, get chased by police and the lastly you actually travel along the race track to win a real (simulated) car race. High speed fun is the big surprise at the end.
If you have never been to Disneyland’s California Adventure, now is the time to go. Cars Land is amazingly detailed and colorful, especially at night with its full neon lights, but it is a great fun edition to the park overall. Oh, and if you are wondering, do the single rider line if you can separate from your party, you’ll cut about 75% of your wait time! Have some fun only the way Pixar can give it to you in Cars Land.