Read to Ride on Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters in Cars Land

Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters is officially set to open in Disney California Adventure Cars Land on March 7 replacing the much maligned, slow, ponderous, confusing, and sometimes dangerous Luigi's Flying Tires which were shut down about a year ago.

While the new ride hardly looks like must do entertainment on your checklist, it does look a little bit fun if the annoying soundtrack doesn't get to you.  All in all, you would have to consider the new ride attraction a bit of an improvement over the previous occupant of that space.

Mater Steals Gomer's Act

I sometimes watch reruns of the old Andy Griffith show with my father-in-law. I'm not a fan of the bumpkin Tow Mater character created for the Cars movies by Pixar (more specifically the bumpkin character created by Larry the Cable Guy). I've never been able to put my foot down on why the character bothers me so much (granted, this is a pretty trivial thing to be bothered by). Then, while watching reruns of the old Andy Griffith Show, something occurred to me. Mater is pretty much the same character (in the form of a talking rusted out tow truck) as the Gomer and Goober characters I watched on Andy Griffith. Larry the Cable Guy stole their act (or I should say schtick) from 40 or 50 years ago. There is just something unappealing to me that in a day when we should be striving for wisdom, knowledge, and education, we somehow find time to celebrate being a buffoon. Again, I've probably put way too much thought into this. Kids love Mater and I guess that is all that matters.

Triple Digit Disneyland

An nbclosangelas.com photo

Do you know where Disneyland beats Walt Disney World almost every single time? Low humidity and generally better weather. Well that comparison can fly out the window as for several days this past week, the temperatures in Disneyland sat at around 100 degrees, give or take a degree or two. Now I'm a Disneyland fan but when temperatures hit triple digits - No Thank You. Disneyland is one of the last places I would want to be.

In the oppressive heat, tempers easily melt faster that your pineapple whip and enjoying yourself seems like a real effort as heat relief is the number one thing on your mind. But there's only so many times you can sit through the Tiki Birds singing in their beautifully air conditioned abode and eventually, you have to hit the Disneyland concrete jungle, absorbing heat like a sponge. If its a 100 degrees as the actual temperature, its probably more like a 110 inside the park as people still gather creating crowds and lines and generally sucking whatever air there is in the park right out.

And as you think about getting relief from somewhere, some place, you can think about the gem called Cars Land. Yep, Disney built a beautiful shade less replica of a desert town to enjoy sweltering weather.

The Disneyland Traveler And His Cars Land June Pledge

Here what is?

That's it! I've had enough. My co-worker just returned from a trip to Disneyland with her daughter and grandsons. You would have thought Disneyland was renamed to Cars Land as that one small stretch of land with the big mountains at one end dominates the Disneyland discussion. Of course her grandsons are 2 and 4 and live in a world of Cars, their favorite movie so they now have Cars suitcases, Cars t-shirts, Cars mouse ears, and probably a gazillion other Cars related souvenirs. But I have had enough. I want my Disneyland back.

To their credit, Disney created something amazing with Cars Land. They recreated a town from an animated movie and gave us one of the great ride attractions in recent years with Radiator Springs Racers. While Cars Land itself is relatively small (and crowded and hot in the midday sun), Radiator Springs Racers is huge, dripping with detail, and most of all a lot of fun for guests of all ages. Cars Land probably would have been "cute" without the Racers attraction but with it, Cars Land is an over the top destination for anyone visiting the Disneyland Resort.

So after hearing about Cars Land for a year, making my first trip to Cars Land to see what all the fuss is about myself, and now hearing others talk about their first trip to Cars Land, I'm just about Cars Land out. There's a saturation point. If I hear Larry the Cable Guy do his Mater schpiel one more time, I'm going to beat my head against a wall. Who says there isn't money to be made in being a dufus?

So here is the Disneyland Traveler pledge for the month of June. I'm not going to write one word or post one picture about Cars Land for the next 30 days. I'm not going sing Cars Lands praises for how amazing it is or bother you with how sick and tired I am hearing about the place. There is still a Disneyland out there worthy of blog posting and discussion without reference to Cars Land. The Enchanted Tiki Room turns 50 years in a few weeks and in my book, talking birds trump an idiot talking tow truck any day of the week. Now that's something to write about.

Of course, if Cars Land disappears into a sink whole, all bets are off.

Cars Land is Great...BUT...

I still remember a co-worker a few weeks ago telling me how amazed she was at Cars Land. "They really did create the town of Radiator Springs" she said. Yes they did as I gazed upon the new star of Disney California Adventure for the first time. Cars Land is amazing, exquisitely detailed in the daytime, jaw dropping gorgeous lit up in neon at night. And you can see why everyone says that the Cars Land signature attraction, Radiator Springs Racers, is Walt Disney Imagineering's greatest attraction since the Indiana Jones Adventure in the early 90's.

Radiator Springs Racers is a great ride, about 4 minutes of pure fun and amazing sights. And it's fun for all ages proving that great ride enjoyment isn't dependent on a roller coaster as is the route for most theme parks. The only disappointing part of Radiator Springs Racers is the fun seems to end much too quickly. It whips through the amazing show building at a pretty good clip, then really takes off when the ride gets out on the track. The ride gets an A+ in my book though if you were to push me up against a wall, I would say Toy Story Midway Mania is still my favorite ride in DCA.

We ate at Flo's V8 Cafe twice during our stay. They serve a fine meal at a good price considering it's Disney. And they serve the Racer 5 IPA to boot, a fine beer on a warm day. We also visited most of the "Cozy Cones" for their snack food concoctions and drinks and found them to be very good for the most part. If you want to eat in DCA, you could do worse that what is served up in the town of Radiator Springs in Cars Land.

Of the six days we spent at the Disneyland Resort, about 3 days were spent in Disneyland, about two and a half days in Disney California Adventure, and about a half a day in Downtown Disney. That seems about right. By the time we left DCA last Wednesday for the last time, I had seen enough of Cars Land. Too much of a good thing perhaps? I don't know, I just know that I had spent enough time there and knew I was done with the place even though we still had two more days left on our trip. Here is the problem. You can build themes for park areas around Paradise Pier or Adventureland, building area themes that are actually based on movies is a bit more trickier as is the example over in ToonTown or A Bug's Land - these are park areas based on movies that are now quite old and mostly forgotten. What will Cars Land be like in 10, 15, 20, years from now? Cars remains a hot property for Disney and Pixar despite the fact that Cars 2 was Pixar's worst movie by far, but will it always remain that way?

There are other problems with Cars Land. One, there is little shade there. With the place still pulling in large numbers of people, a hot day in there can be stifling. Two, the Luigi's Flying Tires attraction is silly and a bad idea (Mater's Junkyard Jamboree on the other hand is far more delightful). And finally my main reason for why Cars Land grew tiresome - the voice of Larry the Cable Guy as Tow Mater seems to be heard constantly almost everywhere. To me, that voice is like fingernails across a blackboard.

Now that I have experienced Cars Land, as an adult, I can only think of two reasons to spend any amount of time there - I like Flo's as a counter service dining restarurant and Radiator Springs Racers is great and a must do on every trip. The rest of it - well I can mostly leave it.

Assembling A Disneyland Trip - #1

So now the fun begins as I begin to think about where I absolutely must be on the Disney property on certain days and at certain times.  It all starts with knowing what time the parks open and close and what shows are performing on what days. During our trip, Disneyland and DCA will have early closing Mon - Thurs. Bummer.  It gets the old Disneyland Traveler in bed at decent hour but limits some of the peformances. Basically, Fantasmic and Fireworks will on go off on the Sunday and Friday nights on the days we are there. (World of Color performs every night - no issue)

 

BUT

 

I haven't seen Cars Land yet. And by all accounts, everyone says you must see Cars Land at night and its nice to be there when the lights come on.  On Sunday night there is the time and opportunity to get the full effect of Cars Land even if we don't even get on a ride on a crowded night.  There may be chances to see it during the week but with DCA closing at 9, the time is severely constrained. So on the Sunday night of our first day in the park, you can probably find me over at Cars Land at dusk. I'll be the one with the camera (if Mrs. DisneylandTraveler can find the camera which seems to be a current issue).

 

I do want to see Fantasmic so that will have to wait until Friday which works out since the Sunday night performance of Fantasmic will have the alternate ending with the Mark Twain still in refurbishment until mid-week. It should be running for the Friday night show (watch it be cancelled due to wind and all my planning shot to you know what).

 

If I have the energy after 6 full days in Disneyland, maybe I can catch both Fireworks and Fantasmic on Friday. That's a big "If". 

Disneyland 2012 Review - A Crown Jewel & Some Stubbed Toes

Cars Land at Night - Photo By Disney

It's been quite a year for the Disneyland Resort, a record breaking year in fact. And it all began with the Disneyland California Adventure relaunch back in June. The new and improved park now featured Cars Land, a place where Disney really did get it right. Cars Land isn't perfect but it is pretty darn close. Cars Land gave Disney imagineers the opportunity to build their best attraction probably in decades with Radiator Springs Racers and they came through in big way. So maybe it wasn't the best decision to try and build a fast pass distribution area next to the ride that already experiences wait times in the hours instead of minutes. That idea was eventually scrapped with the fast pass distribution now sitting just outside of the people packed "land". And maybe the slow moving and awkward Luigi's Flying Tires wasn't the best choice as a secondary ride but everything else in Cars Land seems to hit on all cylinders so to speak. Great job Disney.

Cars Land's Radiator Springs Racers - Photo by Disney

Remember the tacky Sunshine Plaza entrance for DCA? It's now just a bad memory as the absolutely lovely Buena Vista Street takes its rightful spot as a grand way to enter a premier Disney Park. Streetcars, entertainers, very nice retail establishments (including a Starbucks), a new Partners statue, and the iconic signature Carthay Circle restaurant all welcome guests into a full days worth of entertainment in Disney California Adventure park. Half day park? Not any more. Again, great job Disney with Buena Vista Street.

With the relaunch of Disney California Adventure, the people came, and came to the Disneyland Resort in 2012. The hotels filled the and problems with the economy, that still exist to a great extent, fell by the wayside. The new and improved Disneyland Resort left Disney executives smiling ear to ear as both parks seem to fairly equally split the large crowds coming to the resort, an occurrence that never happened in DCA's previous years of existence.

But as great a year as the Disneyland Resort had, let's not forget about a few missteps along the way.

People are still talking about One More Disney Day, an event that Disney promoted that turned Leap Day (February 29) into what was hoped to be an all night festive party. As One More Disney Day progressed from morning to nighttime seas of people swarmed Disneyland causing long lines, gridlocked areas, and increasingly unruly behavior by some of the guests. The understaffed cast members did their best to control the mobs but by many accounts OMDD was a decent into chaos. Now you will find people out there who say they had a great time at the event but Disney forums and discussion boards filled with comments of guests who had a completely different take on what transpired.

Disney California Adventure was a huge success and was hugely expensive at a price tag of over a billion dollars for the improvements. Disney needed to pay for the improvements and to capitalize on their new and improved park. So back in May, Disney announced its largest price increase ever in daily admission, park hopper multi-day tickets, and annual passes. Oh boy! Reaction and outcries  came swiftly causing a huge rift in the Disney community with those who could or would continue to pay the high prices versus those who felt they were being priced out of the park they loved so dearly. It's another gap between the haves and the have-nots, whether that gap is real or just a statement of principle. Nobody wants to pay higher prices of course and even with the high price tag to get in, there is no shortage of people who will pay for their Disney experience. It's just the way it is.

While the bulk of the attention was turned toward DCA in 2012 and its spectacular success, we can't forget about that 6 month refurbishment of the venerable Matterhorn in Disneyland. While the majestic mountain was getting a fresh coat of paint, fans were wondering about the changes going on inside. Turns out, there were none which many found disappointing. On top that, the beloved "cuddle seat" ride vehicles were replaced by a cramped space sled few find comfortable in any way. The mountain looks great, the ride took a turn for the worse.

Indiana Jones Adventure had 17 week refurbishment in the fall of 2012. Again, fans of the ride were wondering about changes when all that really happened was to fix existing scenes that weren't working as they should and the addition of some enhanced lighting features. Again, no big surprises from a lengthy closure of a popular attraction.

And I couldn't close off 2012 at Disneyland without some thoughts about the expanded Christmas Candlelight Processional. By all accounts, it was a fantastic event when all went well. But bad weather cancelling a few of the performances and the unsightliness of the staging area during the day in its prominent location of the Main St. train station kind of presented some issues for Disney. They want the expanded event to continue but need to have it set up in a location that that is more supporting of those who want to attend. The new (covered) Fantasyland Theater or the Hyperion Theater (indoors) at DCA have been rumored to be possible spots for a popular event. In either case, while it bucks with the tradition of the current event staging) both would solve a number of problems with the event as Disney tries to build on it.

2013 won't bring nearly the change that historic 2012 brought about. There's a 9 month refurbishment of Thunder Mountain Railroad coming very shortly. It is rumored that Innoventions will be demolished in the next few months to prepare space for the new Iron Man attraction. The D23 event in August 2013 should bring news of the next major building projects that will occur in Disneyland. But the one thing you can count on, like death and taxes, is sometime before summer, Disney will raise admission prices once again. They won't be raised to the jaw dropping levels of 2012, just enough to take a few more dollars out of your wallet and put it in Disney's bank account.

Epcot's Test Track 2.0 Reboot - Wow!

Test Track Entrance - A Kevin Yee Photo

Although the new reboot of the Test Track attraction at WDW's Epcot is only in the cast members preview / invited guests phase of operation ahead of its official opening next weekend, and video is supposedly forbidden by Disney, it didn't take long for the first POV ride through to hit YouTube thanks to Theme Park Review.

All I can say is Cars Land's Radiator Springs Racers - detailed, ornate, cute, special, fun..... The new Test Track - well, it's Radiator Springs Racers for grown-ups. Wow - Chevy meets Tron.

Is Radiator Springs Racers All That It's Cracked Up To Be?

I'm probably going to be the last one in my family of Disneyland crazed nuts to ride on Radiator Springs Racers. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. On second thought, it's a bad thing since it means I haven't been to Disneyland in awhile. The only good thing is hopefully missing out on the two and three hour wait times which is common on all but the slowest of days.

But for those in my family who have got to ride the Racers I'm getting some rather interesting feedback. My question to them is simple. "As reported by many people, is Radiator Springs Racers the best ride in either park?" I have yet to get an unqualified "Yes!".

Here is what I do get back.  "It certainly is a great ride and lot's of fun." "It's high tech and way cool."

But is it the best ride in either park?

"Well, I wouldn't go that far, I think I have other favorites."

And my favorite response....

"It's a great ride but it just doesn't feel like a Disney ride."

(And Indiana Jones Adventure feels like a Disney ride?)

Oh well, some day soon, I'll just have to check it out for myself

Poor Luigi - Flying Tires Struggle To Have Fun

Luigi's Flying Tires - Cars Land - DCA
Beach Balls Now Removed

As predicted by many, the Luigi's Flying Tires ride in the new Cars Land is experiencing growing pains. Over the last week or so, the colorful beach balls that were added to the ride when it opened in June were gradually removed. Now the beach balls are gone entirely.

The beach ball element was added as means in inject some energy into the slow moving and slow loading ride. Kids loved the beach balls but as kids have a tendency to do, tracking down a colorful ball of their very own became job one when boarding the ride. Strapping in and taking off were secondary so what was slow to begin with just got slower with the beach balls distracting attention from keeping the ride moving.

Luigi's Flying Tires with Beach Balls
The balls have now been removed from the ride.

And of course with people madly tossing large plastic balls around there were a few "incidents" according to Disney as getting unexpectedly whacked in the head led to some minor injuries and complaints here and there.

So the balls are now gone. Disney is looking at alternate ways in bring energy to the attraction starting with removal of some weight from the underside of the tires for a joy stick controller that was never implemented which, in theory, should make the ride move a little faster. Other things are being discussed as well. No one yet has said this ride is a complete failure but that certainly remains a possibility.

MiceChat's Dateline Disney (link here) posted this video this morning. Keep in mind before this ride ever takes off, guests will likely have been waiting 60 minutes or more to get on. And this is what you get:

Raining On The Radiator Springs Racers Parade

Radiator Springs Racers - An L.A. Times Photo

Imagine, if you will, that you planned a couple of days at the Disneyland Resort - say last Thursday and Friday for instance. Suppose your planned trip down there was primarily to experience the highly publicized Cars Land and all it has to offer. Suppose you are not a Southern California local and your trip involved the cost of an airplane flight and the booking of a hotel room. A little trip like that would not be inexpensive.

Now suppose you get over to Cars Land and found out that Radiators Springs Racers had just shut down and they don't know when the giant attraction will reopen (though you could be getting different information depending the case member you spoke with). Suppose it never reopens in the 2 days you are at the park. It just happened. For the most part, Radiator Springs Racers was down for the count last Thursday and Friday. A freak Southern California summer rain storm didn't help and as a sudden power outage shut down several attractions in Disney California Adventure. But the Racers was the one ride that wouldn't come back up to normal operation the way it should.

Outages on Radiator Springs Racers have been common since the ride opened less than a month ago with some outages being relatively short and others being several hours. But an outage of almost two days? Not good.

The Disneyland veterans and frequent visitors to the park over on MiceAge cut the ride some slack the first couple of weeks saying that new rides frequently have break downs while thay get dialed into regular operation. They point to the problems Indiana Jones had when it first began taking on passengers. But now you begin to sense the forgiveness sentiment is turning as problems with the Racers continue on a fairly regular basis. They forum posters are starting to let their frustration and displeasure come out. Was the ride really ready for prime time summer operation? Some still are in the forgiving mode saying the ride is new and give Disney a chance to continue to work out the bugs but Disney veterans question why should there even be bugs at this point since the ride is base on existing technology (EPCOT's Test Track attraction) that has been in operation for years.

One thing is for sure, Disney does not make any guarantees when it comes to ride operation. They have a way out when a big ride shuts down unexpectedly. But what about the guests who had their lofty plans to come down and enjoy the wonders of Cars Lands at Disney's invitation through its massive media campaign? Well....sorry about that, there's plenty more to do Disney will say. For some people, they are not going to feel any better.

DCA Buckles But Doesn't Break During Cars Land Opening

Cars Land - Opening Day - June 15, 2012
An O.C. Register Photo

Disney won't do it. They are very secretive when it comes to numbers reporting but MiceAge's Al Lutz put the numbers out there (based on inside sources). Disney California Adventure broke its all time attendance record with the Buena Vista Street and Cars Land Opening on Friday. Some 43,000 people passed through the turnstiles. The record fell again yesterday (Sunday) when 45,000 people entered DCA. And most of them headed right to Cars Land. Attendance will continue to be high through this week with the possibility of more records next weekend before the summer blackout period begins for Southern California pass holders. 

Yes it was crowded as evident by some of the pictures coming out. And while Cars Land was near impossible to navigate, most felt the rest of Disney California Adventure handled the record crowds quite well. DCA did flex and bend with the crowd levels but did not break into chaos gridlock as some had predicted. Disney could be on to something. They may finally have made California Adventure into a very nice, thematically rich, full featured, full day theme park, and a park that can be enjoyed by high numbers of guests.

The passes through Buena Vista St.
An O.C. Register Photo

Care to ride on Radiator Springs Racers? Here is the back of the line.
You are hours away from the Cars Land and the ride itself.
An O.C Register Photo

Cars Land Opens - Dude, You're Stepping On My Toe

Cars Land Opening Day - Morning
A Fishbulb MiceChat Inside the Parks Photo

What could you do with six hours of your life? I'll answer that question shortly. So yesterday Disney California Adventure, with pomp and circumstance, re-opened to the public. Yes, the walls were all down and Buena Vista Street and Cars Land were finally opened to thousands of eager Disney fans, many of whom waited all night to get in. For most of those people, Buena Vista Street is a place to pass by on your way to Cars Land. Yes, Cars Land was the place to be yesterday for seemingly everyone in DCA. The rest of the park was busy, but manageable. Cars Land was a mad house and will be that way for awhile, especially for the next week or so. 

How bad was it? Well, as anticipated, the lines for the two smaller rides - the controversial Luigi's Flying Tires and the surprisingly fun Mater's Junkyard Jamboree almost immediately jumped into the 90 minute wait time category. 90 minutes for rides that are less than 2 minutes long? That's nothing.

Yesterday it was all about the public (and I would be willing to bet that the majority of these people are annual pass holders) getting their chance to get on Radiator Springs Racers. By reports, within 15 minutes of park opening, the stand-by line to get on was 3 hrs. MousePlanet reported that fast passes for the entire day were completely distributed by 9:55 am. No more - the machines were closed. About 20 minutes after the ride opened, it had to be temporally shut down, and people continued to line up with a line that extended back to the Paradise Pier bridge. How long was that line? I saw estimates that it was five and a half to six hours long! What could you do with six hours of your line standing life back? I read a post from someone that they could hop on a plane, fly the 3000 miles to Orlando, take the bus to WDW, check into a hotel, go over to EPCOT, and get on Soarin' in about six hours. A bit of a stretch but not a big one.

Later in the day and through the evening, the stand-by wait time posted 240 minute wait times - about 4 hours. According to MousePlanet, the wait time of 240 minutes was still posted when DCA closed at 11:00 pm. As Disney practice, if you are standing in line for a ride when the park closes, you get on. I guess that means the ride finally shut down for the night about 3:00 am. There might have been some overtime for cast members here.

It will be interesting to see how the crowds progress through the summer. I'm keeping my distance for now. My feet hurt bad enough from walking on a trip to Disneyland. I don't need my toes stepped on as well.

Buy A Ticket...Go See Cars Land...Not !

That's a wonderful picture of the Route 66 main drag of Cars Land just after nightfall. Do you see something missing? If your answer is 'people' then you win the prize (no prizes actually given). Lots and lots of people. A crushing load of humanity is expected.

How many people are going to Cars Land this weekend when the place officially opens Friday morning? Disney will be allowing people to begin line up Thursday night then putting them into groups of about 1000 then letting the groups into one at a time. This has trouble written all over it. Maybe its just me though.

But if your idea is take take your ticket or annual pass and walk through the turnstile on Friday then head right on over to enjoy the sights and rides of Cars Land, I think you got another thing coming. With so much promotional hype (L.A. Times this morning called Radiator Springs Racers Disney's first F-ticket attraction) its hard not to imagine everyone, I mean everyone, not showing up to DCA this weekend. The closing of the front gates of DCA and No Parking are real possibilities.

Does this sound like fun? Look on the bright side, Toy Story Mania and Soarin' Over California may have some of their shortest lines ever (I doubt that would be true but I'm holding out hope for any piece of positive news here).

Early Votes Are In - Cars Land Is A Hit

You know when you watch election returns on TV (do people still do that?) and as soon as the polls close a whole bunch of votes come in from the already counted absentee ballots of people who voted early? Well, the early votes are in on Cars Land and I think we have a pretty clear winner. The place is a hit though not without faults (like most politicians).

The Clear Winners

Radiator Springs Racers - One of the best attractions ever built by Disney. Fully immersed in theming and fun for the whole family, RSR delivers in a big way. The only complaints I read about were those who wished there were more indoor dark rides scenes or thought maybe the car was just a little too quick going by them. 

Cars Land at Night - Dripping with multi-colored neon with the flood-lit Cadillac Mountain Range in the background, the place looks absolutely stunning at night. It will be an absolute DCA must to catch the moment of the day when they turn the lights on with "Sha-Boom, Sha-Boom, Life Can Be a Dream" playing in the background.

Positive Plusses

Flo's V8 Cafe - The new counter service restaurant is large and spacious with indoor and outdoor seating. Most have commented how much they have enjoyed the main course entrees (beef, turkey, or pork) and really like the apple - cheddar pie. Flo's also serves breakfast though I saw a few negative comments with the breakfast offerings, the most common being what was supposed to be a hot meal came out a little cold. Any DCA restaurant that will serve Racer 5 IPA on tap is OK in The Disneyland Traveler's book. 

Mater's Junkyard Jamboree - This little ride has proved to be quite enjoyable for people of all ages and provides a pretty good jolt of fun as it whips you around. It's a keeper. Not a fast loading ride though. There will be an always present fairly long line.

Cars Land Exclusive Merchandise - The merchandise being sold that is exclusive to the Cars Land area was flying off the shelves. It was being purchased so fast in fact that Disney had to pull some of the hot sellers back in order to have stock for the opening this weekend.

Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time

Luigi's Flying Tires - This was supposed to be the successful return of the Tomorrowland's Flying Saucers attraction of the 1960's. Well that ride had to be taken out after only about 5 years of operation. It was extremely slow loading and required a large operational and mechanical staff to keep it running. Guess what? Luigi may face the exact same problems. Only about 400 people an hour can ride the 90 second ride. It requires a staff of cast members to be on hand to tell people how to operate the thing and the tires get stuck in corners requiring cast members to dangerously go out and physically push the stuck vehicles. Those who get the hang of operating the ride kind of like it, but the operational overhead may just not be worth it. Most complain the queue line moves excruciatingly slow but has nice theming. Unless the wait is 30 minutes or less, it just doesn't seem to be worth it and once it goes into full operation this weekend, it will NEVER be less than a 30 minutes wait. Trouble.

Cozy Corn Motel Food Stands - Looks nice and may still work out OK but having 5 separate cones each selling a different food item and specialty drink has proved to be a problem with the large number of guests in Cars Land. Lines to get the food, even something as simple as popcorn or churros, move extremely slow and then there is the problem of what to do when members of your traveling party can't agree what food items to get. Jumping from cone to cone for different food items proved to be impossible. Once you pick a cone, you are pretty much committed to what that cone has to offer because the wait could be a half hour or more. Ugh!

This Could Be Bad

It's Hot In Here - MiceAge started a thread with some people complaining about the lack of shade, the high numbers of people, and the absorption of heat. Getting overheated is never a good thing. Inside at Flo's enjoying a Racer 5 might be a popular past time.

Dumbest Looking Disney Hat - EVER

Disney has made their share of stupid looking hats over the years. Sometimes it's been intentional. And of course, these "unique" hats come with an exorbitant price tag. But this one takes the cake. We may have a new leader in the clubhouse for probably the dumbest looking hat I've ever seen. Anyone care to wear a whitewall tire as a hat? When he was much younger, if the Boy would have asked me to buy him at tire hat, I would have had to tell Mrs. DisneylandTraveler to take him to the doctor to see if there was something wrong with him. Maybe he hit his head on something. It could be just me. If a hat like this is your fashion statement, good luck to you.

Then again, I had a Davy Crockett "coonskin" hat when I was a kid. Wearing a dead rat on your head would look pretty silly in 2012.

The only reason, THE ONLY REASON, I would think about getting a hat like this is that many are questioning how long Luigi's Flying Tires will be around as a ride. It may have some collector's value at some point in the future. These things could have a future on EBay.

First Video Look - Mater's Junkyard Jamboree

Here is the fist video look of Mater's Junkyard Jamboree in full swing so to speak. This video was created by MiceChat's Dateline Disneyland. By most accounts, this little ride is surprisingly a lot of fun (if you can get by the rather hick-like music). Even those who can't do a ride like Tea Cups because of motion sickness are saying this ride, while it does have a bit of kick when the trailer whips out, is not affecting them in an adverse way. (i.e. "I need to sit down. I think I'm ready to toss up lunch").

This might be the little gem of Cars Land. For me, still depends on how long the wait is to get on.

  

First Video Look - Luigi's Flying Tires

Here is the first video look of Luigi's Flying Tires in Cars Land. The video was shot yesterday and uploaded by MiceChat. Personal opinion. Ponderous and slow, this is primarily a ride children might enjoy. Adults and parents might be bored to tears. The beach balls were added as an afterthought since test riders once in the floating tires, didn't know quite what to do to have some fun with the ride.

As previously discussed, this might be the slowest loading ride in either Disneyland or DCA (it's debatable but Peter Pan's Flight and Dumbo currently run neck and neck for the slowest rides to load guests). It is estimated that Luigi's line might extend an hour or more over the summer and the ride is only about 90 seconds long. Maybe if its a walk-on with a very slow day in mid-winter the Disneyland Traveler may have to give this ride experience a pass by - just not worth any kind of wait.

First Video Posted Of Radiator Springs Racers - Full Ride Through

Radiator Springs Racers - Official Disney Photo

And just like that we have the first full Radiator Springs Racers complete ride-thru video this one coming from wdwinfo.com and posted to MiceChat. Disney kept photos and videos of Cars Land at bay as long as they could but with Annual Passholders paying anywhere from $75 to $500 for an early admittance and a few hours in Cars Land (benefiting Children's Hospital of Orange County) I guess they thought best to lift the photo and video restrictions that were in place for the Cast Members preview days last week.

Get ready for a very long wait to get on this ride - the best Disneyland attraction probably since Indiana Jones Adventure.

** Update **
I've added a second video that was posted to YouTube shortly after the first. The first video is from the left side track and the second is from the right side track. There is a slight difference between the two tracks inside the show building. The left side passes through Luigi's Tire Shop before entering the race track and the right passes through Ramone's Body Shop. I think the first video is better overall but the second video does a better job filming the interior show scenes.

Enjoy the ride (mega spoiler alert).

More Cars Land Photos and a New Video

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Does it show? Can you tell? I'm a little tired of writing things about Cars Land. I'm officially Cars Land out. But yet there is still another week or so to go. So while I grow a bit tired of all the hype, the chronicler of all things Disney related that I am and really what this blog is all about, continues on. Fortunately with this post, I don't have to do a lot of writing about Cars Land. Disney released another series of photographs by their Disneyland park photographer Paul Hiffmeyer that are just spectacular and gives us the best look yet at the place that is still behind construction walls until later this week.

Also, at the end of this post is a video that Disney showed during its ABC coverage of the Indianapolis 500 pre-race program a few weeks ago where Cars (the movies) and Cars Land chief creator and visionary John Lasseter along with sports broadcaster Brent Musburger, gives one of the best looks yet at Cars Land through video.

Disneyland photographer Paul Hiffmeyer shows us Radiator Springs Racers including the first photographs of the interior of the ride's show building.

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Over to the controversial Luigi's Flying Tires. Potentially the slowest loading ride in either park with one of the longest lines.

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

And finally a look at Mater's Junkyard Jamboree in action. Reports are kind of surprising that this little ride is actually quite fun.

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Being a car racing fan, I watched this video when it first appeared a few weeks ago during the Indianapolis 500 broadcast. I was hoping Disney was going to post it and they finally did yesterday. Do you think John Lasseter is a bit enthusiastic about his new "land"?

I am sure there are more pictures and videos to come.