Cars Land

Cars Land is a themed area of Disney California Adventure, inspired by the Disney·Pixar franchise, Cars, and Route 66 in America. 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.[1] 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.

Cars Land
Looking down Route 66 in Cars Land
ThemeCars, Radiator Springs
Area12 acres (4.9 ha)
Attractions
Total3
Disney California Adventure
Coordinates33.8056° N, 117.9187° W
StatusOperating
OpenedJune 15, 2012
ReplacedTimon Parking Lot Bountiful Valley Farms

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.

As revealed in The Imagineering Story, initially the park was going to be called "Carland" and would be themed after the automobile in general. It was not until after Cars was seen as a viable franchise that it was rethemed and renamed "Cars Land".

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.[2] 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
Mater's Junkyard Jamboree
Luigi's Flying Tires

Radiator Springs Racers

Radiator Springs Racers – 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

Mater's Junkyard Jamboree (renamed Mater's Graveyard JamBOOree during Halloween and Mater's Jingle Jamboree during Christmas) – 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.

Similar attractions to Mater's Junkyard Jamboree have been built since the ride opened with Cars Land in 2012. The most recent example is Alien Swirling Saucers, a whip ride which opened in Disney's Hollywood Studios version of "Toy Story Land" in 2018.

Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters

Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters (renamed Luigi's Honkin' Haul-O-Ween during Halloween and Luigi's Joy to the Whirl during Christmas) – 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.

Former attractions

Restaurants
Flo's V8 Cafe at night

Cozy Cone Motel

The Cozy Cone Motel features five different cones, each with a different menu of food and drinks, including churros, ice cream, snacks, pretzels, and popcorn. The motel office in front is not accessible to guests, although the interior is decorated as it was in the films. Additionally, the front and side entrances of the motel is a common space for character meet and greets, with guests being able to meet Lightning McQueen, Mater, and, most recently, Cruz Ramirez.

Flo's V8 Cafe

Flo's V8 Cafe serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert with traditional American homestyle fare. Part of the indoor dining room is located inside of Doc Hudson's Ornament Valley Medical Clinic, while guests can also dine outdoors underneath the gas pumps and at tables behind the restaurant. Decor inside pays tribute to the "Motorama Girls" story from the Cars Storybook and deleted scenes, and to the Fabulous Hudson Hornet's Piston Cup titles.

Fillmore's Taste-in

Fillmore's Taste In is a quick-service snack stand serving pre-packaged snacks and drinks.

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. There is one other entrance is a street from Ornament Valley from Pacific Wharf which is called 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 (38 m) high and covers 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2).[3]

See also

References
  1. Rafferty, Kevin P. (2019). "The Road to Cars Land". Magic Journey: My Fantastical Walt Disney Imagineering Career. Disney Books Group. ISBN 9781368045148.
  2. Los Angeles Business (17 October 2007). "Disney engages in mass renovation of California Adventure". BizJournals. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  3. Vaugn, Mark (July 23, 2012). "Radiator Springs Comes To Life". Autoweek. 62 (15): 24. ISSN 0192-9674.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.