Cars Land in Pictures: Route 66 (Disney's California Adventure Park)
Cars land is officially open, and I was lucky to visit with my husband and three kids during the Californa Adventure Grand Reopening Celebration! I wanted to share a few pictures and early thoughts. I'll be sharing more stories this week, culminating in a giveaway next Monday for four passes to Disney's California Adventure so that you can check it out for yourself!
Darya and I were in such a rush to get out in the morning, that we forgot how cool California mornings can be. She's wrapped in my windbreaker, but happy as a clam!
If you follow me on Instagram, you already know that my kids hadn't seen the Cars Land movie. A hastily scheduled movie night the weekend before our trip, was just what the doctor ordered... It's the travel blogger version of cramming for exams. The upside of all that "hard work" was that the movie was fresh as we walked on what felt like a real-life set straight out of the movie. Honestly, having an animated world come to life in such vivid detail was a strangely disorienting feeling.
A massive rockwork serves as the backdrop to Cars Land. It's hard to tell the scale in pictures, but this is 280,000 square feet and 125 feet tall at its peak. For me, it was an element that transported me back to our own family road trips through New Mexico and Arizona. In the early evening it reflects the warm glow of the sun to an absolutely beautiful effect.
The rockwork isn't just ornamental though, it's the race track for Cars Land's "E-ticket" ride, the Radiator Springs Racers. Even if you're not up for the fast moving ride, there are benches where you can sit and watch as the cars roar by, or grab a bite to eat at Flo's V8 Café which overlooks the track.
If the Rockwork and the Radiator Springs Ride are your ultimate destination, Route 66 is the route you'll take to get there. And along the way, you'll see many familiar sites, reworked to house the essentials of a Disney attraction.
The Cozy Cone Motel is here too. Somehow these cones just seem to cute to be real, and as we approached them, I heard Darya let out a deep breath and say "ooooohhhhhh, mommy, look, there's something inside."
Each cone houses a different fast-food option (served in a cone of course). I thought these pretzels were too adorable to pass up.
Somehow the rockwork and the retro color scheme work together to create an environment that's very pleasant to be in. The incredible level of detail adds to the experience too. No element is too insignificant to be overlooked.
At nighttime, the neon lights on Route 66 flicker to life and together, signs like this one
Create an effect like this
I hope I've given you a good visual taste of what it feels like to be in the new Cars Land. Up next: I'll post about the rides inside Cars Land!
Related Links:Orange County, California with Kids
Cars Land: A Sneak Peak at Disney's Newest Themed Land
Disneyland by Memory
10 Activities near Disneyland that Kids and Adults will both love
Disney paid for my flight to Orange County, a hotel room at the Grand Californian Hotel, and gave us advance admission to Disney's California Adventure so that we could check out all the new attractions that have been added over the past few years. They did not ask that I express that any particular point of view.
12 comments |
Posted on June 18, 2012 |
Save to del.icio.us
Subscribe to our feed
Comments
Hotel in warsaw on June 18, 2012 at 4:15 p.m.
well i like this post, the fonts used in those ads look handmade. i bet they can,t be made with computers software.
Eri on June 18, 2012 at 10:35 p.m.
Sounds like a lot of fun. Can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip. I'll be in Southern CA soon, so it's good to hear about your experiences.
Jeremy @ Our Trip To on June 19, 2012 at 4:21 a.m.
We were just in Disneyland and it certainly looked like Carsland was going to be massive. From your shots it looks really cool. What were the rides like?
George Barley on June 19, 2012 at 6:28 p.m.
Amazing place! Just like in the movie. Love the Cone-coction motels! The kids will definitely have a great time playing and strolling around this park.
The Language Journal on June 20, 2012 at 1:05 a.m.
This is a must palce to visit together with your family.I would rather say that children will love to stay here for a while for some reasons that the place is friendly.Bonding time with the family with this place is wortwhile.
Spencer on June 20, 2012 at 4:32 a.m.
Looks like a cool place to visit. My son would love it!
Debbie on June 20, 2012 at 7:01 a.m.
The sign at the Cars Land entrance was hand painted as were many of the other signs in "Radiator Springs" I think that the warmth that comes from a not-typset sign really added to the vibe of Carsland.
Jeremy, I'll be posting about the rides soon. There are three rides in Cars Land, and we enjoyed them all.
Kim on June 21, 2012 at 8:02 p.m.
Looks like so much fun! I can't wait to visit the remodeled CA park. I also love the Grand Californian and wish we could stay there all the time!
Martin Pietrzak on June 23, 2012 at 1:03 p.m.
I can't believe they build Radiator Springs . The movie saves us many times during our rtw travels giving our 3 yr old something to do, when we ran out of ideas...We must go there! Looks like an amazing place!
Christi Hedrick on June 23, 2012 at 4:41 p.m.
I love your blog! And the info you provide has always helped me travel with kids in confidence! We were just at Disneyland for my son's 4th Birthday and it just happened to coincide with the Cars Land Openning but we chose to skip it when we heard that the wait was hours long. We live in So Cal so will probably check it out next year when things settle down...
Traveling Kiwis on June 30, 2012 at 6:07 p.m.
Cars Land looks like fun1 Never heard of it til today.
Lee Carter on September 9, 2012 at 12:47 a.m.
I am not usually a fan of Disney theme parks but I an kind of tempted to steal a child for an excuse to go here.