The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (150 page)

Anyone visiting
DCA
between 2009 and 2012 observed–and heard–all sorts of hustle and bustle behind the fences and tarps screening the future
Cars Land
from Guests’ view.  It was thrilling to see the mountain range rise, at first merely bare steel beams which were eventually clad in the colorful rock work of the
Cadillac Range
.  By early 2012, the finished mountain range rose majestically above the construction fencing.

And b
y the end of February 2012, the little town of
Radiator Springs
had largely taken shape.  Guests standing in front of the
Blue Sky Cellar
entrance could look over
Cars Land
’s construction fences and see the stunning replica of
Radiator Springs
’ main drag.  There’s the
Cozy Cone
!  And there’s
Flo’s V8 Café
!

The moment I
knew
that
Cars Land
was going to be
magical
was a February 2012 night when, heading into the
Blue Sky Cellar
, I caught a blaze of neon out of the corner of my eye, turned, and looked over the construction fence at
Radiator Springs
. I gasped.  Because it’s pretty in the daylight, but, at night, with the neon blazing, the main street of
Radiator Springs
in
Cars Land
is a near-perfect example of the
Imagineers
bringing fantasy to life in three dimensions. 
John Lasseter
stated he wanted to make
Cars Land
“as authentic as possible”.  Honor is due.

On every subsequent trip to
DCA
between February and the grand opening in June, I coaxed friends and family to stand outside the
Blue Sky Cellar
and drink in that amazing neon view.  Nor were we alone–the word was out!  Locals and Guests in-the-know gathered at that spot to admire the soon-to-be-unveiled land and to trade intelligence and rumors.  What would they serve at the
Cozy Cones
?  Would the
Radiator Springs Racers
offer a
FastPass
option?  Would
Luigi’s Flying Tires
really work, or break down like the
Flying Saucers
did?

As summer approached and
knots of Guests continued to gather in front of the
Blue Sky Cellar
, Cast Members would join in the conversations, sharing exciting and candid insider knowledge about what Guests could expect when
Cars Land
finally threw open its gates.  Uniformly, the Cast Members predicted big success for the amazing
Radiator Springs Racers
.  They also predicted that lines for the
E-ticket
attraction would be monstrous, and suggested Guests take advantage of
FastPass
and
Single Rider
options.

Suddenly, i
t was almost June 2012.  Guests could hear
Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree
being tested beyond the fence, could hear the whirling of the ride vehicles, and the comical little square dance tunes that
Mater
called. 
Annual Passholder
sneak preview dates were announced.  Cast Members like my sister-in-law attended CM
Cars Land
previews.  She and my brother reported that
Cars Land
was amazing, but warned about insane lines for the
Racers
; “Go
Single Rider
,” was their advice.

In June I attended a couple of
Cars Land
sneak previews, the first with my sister.  After presenting our event tickets were were issued wristbands color-coded with the time of our sneak preview.  We queued early in a line that ultimately stretched from
Cars Land
’s
Pacific Wharf
entrance all the way across the bridge, all the way to
Paradise Pier
.  In front of us were a man and a woman, probably in their fifties, who had traveled
from Arizona
for the preview.  This is the level of anticipation and commitment that
Cars Land
had inspired in Guests, even before it officially opened.

At the appointed time, the line moved forward, and we passed through the
Pacific Wharf
gate into
Cars Land
.  This entrance leads Guests into the desert at the base of the
Cadillac Range
. 
Ornament Valley
takes your breath away.  The
Imagineers
have perfectly conveyed, through color and scaling and sculpture, the sensation of being a tiny human stepping into the gorgeousness of the American southwest.

When you have caught your breath and snapped a souvenir photo, then you notice the
Radiator Springs Racers
merrily tearing through the landscape, two cars vying for victory neck-and-neck, and you instantly realize that you need to be one of those Guests riding in one of those
Racers
.

The lines for the
Racers
were one-to-two hours long during the sneak previews.  We knew that meant lines would be three-to-four hours long once
Cars Land
opened to the general public.  So sis and I cheerfully waited more than an hour to board the
Racers
–and it was a ride that surpassed the hype.

We
investigated every corner of the new land during the sneak previews.  There were hiccups, of course.  Previews by their nature give the park an opportunity to identify problems and friction points and resolve them prior to the grand opening. 
Luigi’s Tires
kept breaking down–shades of the
Flying Saucers
!  Worse, the headliner attraction, the
Racers
, broke down repeatedly, generating palpable tensions in the jam-packed queues.  More troubling than the break-downs–every complex new attraction has technical bugs–was the attendant confusion and lack of communication; Cast Members seemed as baffled as Guests about what was wrong with the
Racers
and when (even if) they’d be running again.

None of those hiccups mattered, though.  It was an enchanting experience.  Strolling along
Cross Street
, and down
Route 66
, grabbing a bite to eat at
Flo’s V8 Café
, browsing in
Lizzie
’s
Radiator Springs Curios
shop and visiting
Ramone’s Body Art
, spinning through
Towmater’s Junkyard Jamboree
–it was astonishing, like having been absorbed into the film. 
DCA
had delivered on its promises, exceeding all but the most jaded expectations.

This is particularly true at twilight, when all the lights in
Radiator Springs
flicker on in sequence, building by building, and the Chords’1954 hit “Life Could Be A Dream (Sha-boom)” plays throughout the land.  It is particularly true at night, navigating the land by neon glow.  It is particularly true when
Lightning
or
Mater
roll down the street, greeting fans of all ages.  As one little girl, awe-struck, told her mother, “It’s like the movie, mama, but
real
.  It’s really
real
!”

The little girl appeared to be eight years old.  I am not eight years old.  I am a weathered customer service expert of forty-
six.  Yet I understood exactly what the girl meant.  And you will too.  It’s like the movie–but it’s really real.

I was back in
Cars Land
on the night of the official opening.  It was 9 pm and a neon-washed mob scene.  The standard line for the
Racers
was four hours.  The
Racers
’
FastPass
line was more than an hour long, and stretched all the way through the town, down
Route 66
, toward the
Junkyard Jamboree
.  Guests were crushed shoulder-to-shoulder.  There was a queue–a queue!–to enter
Ramone’s House of Body Art
, and you could hardly move once you were inside the store.  A regiment of costumed Cast Members kept order as best they could. 
Luigi’s Tires
were down–again! 
Disneyland meltdowns
happened left and right as cranky Guests and tired children reached their breaking points.

Add it all up, and
Cars Land
was a hit!  I loved every minute of the opening night, the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Openings are
always
insanely crowded.  Over time, the crowds thin out, and rough edges are smoothed by the
Imagineers
.

One thing was clear
at the opening–even in the midst of the chaos and the meltdowns, Guests were already in love with
Cars Land
.  It was a final piece in the puzzle that was
DCA
.  Like
Pinocchio
becoming a real boy,
DCA
on that night finally became a real
Disney Theme Park
.  Those of us crushed in the crowd knew it, felt it, were a part of it.

I haunted the park most weekends that summer, and, less frequently, into the fall and winter
, and, of course, all throughout 2013.  Part of my research methodology is to experience the resort on different days, at different times, in different seasons.  During the summer and autumn the
Radiator Springs Racers
queue remained insanely long, two-to-four hours, but the
Single Rider
lines offered respite, and the
Racers
stopped breaking down. 
Luigi’s Tires
stopped breaking down so often once they discarded the giant beach balls.  Early morning lines were short at the
Cozy Cone
and
Flo’s
.  The stores grew less crowded, though the merchandise remained excellent.  The food remained delicious, even if the customer service was ho-hum.

Most importantly, the
magic
of
Cars Land
not only remained, it deepened.  Returning Guests will know what I mean. 
Cars Land
is a beautifully realized vision; you experience something new every time you stroll though it, even if you’re just cutting from
“a bug’s land”
to
Pacific Wharf
.

* * *

From any standpoint,
Cars Land
is not only
DCA
’s most ambitious expansion to date but also one of its most important. 
Disney
’s commitment to craft a high-quality, lavishly imaginative land at
DCA
demonstrates that
DCA Park
is here to stay and that
Disney
truly wants to get it right for us–the Guests.

TEA–the Themed Entertainment Association, which is to theme parks as “the Academy” is to films–honored
Cars Land
on April 6, 2013. 
John Lasseter
and
Kathy Mangum
, so instrumental in
Cars Land
’s design and success, took the stage to accept the prestigious Thea awards for New Theme Park Land (
Cars Land
) and New Theme Park Attraction (
Radiator Springs Racers
).  Keeping it delightfully whimsical–and never, never, never overlooking a marketing opportunity–the execs paired a bright orange
Cozy Cone
hat and a
Luigi’s Flying Tire
hat with their elegant ensembles.

If
Walt
is looking down (or, as his nurse
Hazel
once affectionately cracked, looking up) at
Cars Land
, if he can see its painstaking craftsmanship and imagination, one can only assume that he heartily approves of this new endeavor, and sees it as a sign that
DCA
is finally aligned with his theme park visions and philosophies.

As
Walt
always said, when you build things around Guests–what Guests like, what they want–then you never can go wrong! 2014 promises to be
Cars Land
’s best year thus far.
Did You Know?
  As most fans of
Disney
and
Disney-Pixar
films know, little to nothing is random in those movies; careful thought goes into everything.  So, why is
Lightning McQueen
’s racing number “95”?  In honor of 1995, the year
Toy Story
, the
Pixar
film that launched an empire, was released.
Did You Also Know?
 
Cars 2
, which opened in June 2011, received mixed reviews; the animation was stunning, but some viewers disliked the
World Grand Prix
plot, which was very different than the setting and theme of the original
Cars
.  Notwithstanding the tepid critical response, the film has grossed around$560 million worldwide
.
 
Did You Also Know?
  In
Cars
and
Cars 2
,
Pixar
’s “lucky charm”
John Ratzenberger
voices
Mack
, the truck tasked with transporting
Lightning
to his races. 
Holiday Vision:
  For its first Christmas season at
DCA
,
Cars Land
went all out in a small-town way perfectly in keeping with the
Radiator Springs
setting.  Modest garlands and wreaths fashioned from whitewall tires were hung across the main drag. 
Luigi
decorated his leaning tower of tires like a Christmas tree. 
Flo’s V8 Café
boasted fake silver trees with pink and blue decorations–vintage 1950’s & 60’s holiday décor!  If you can visit the resort during the holidays, swing by
Cars Land
for a very retro Christmas, and a classic new year!
Rose Parade Vision:
  In honor of
Cars Land
’s 2012 launch,
Disneyland Resort
entered a
Cars Land
-themed float in the 2013 New Year’s Rose Parade in Pasadena.  And what a float!  Millions lining Orange Grove and Colorado Boulevards, or glued to their TV sets at home, watched in wonder as
Destination:  Cars Land
rolled down the streets of Pasadena.  Replicas of beloved
Cars
characters,
Radiator Springs
’ landmark signs, and the majestic formations of
Ornament Valley
were rendered using flowers and natural materials.  Signs spun on turntables,
Flo’s V8 Café Waitresses
danced, miniature
Radiator Springs Racers
dashed past a real waterfall, and
Radio Disney DJ Ernie D
and
Disney Channel
star
Zendaya
(
Shake It Up
) rode in a floral replica of one of
Luigi’s Flying Tires
.  When the float appeared to break down amidst billows of smoke,
Audio-Animatronic
Mater
appeared and gave the float a jump start.  Oddly, the float did not win one of the Rose Parade’s many awards–but it was a
big
winner with parade goers and viewers at home.
Teen’s Eye View:
  Amazing.  It’s like you stepped into the movie.  When it lights up, it’s so pretty.

Cars Land Attractions

Luigi’s Flying Tires
  Must be 32” or 81 cm tall to ride.

[
FastView:
 
Lots of fun—but not worth a long wait in line.
]

Guests who fondly recall
Disneyland
’s
Flying Saucer
attraction in
Tomorrowland
were among those lining up to ride
Luigi’s Flying Tires
when
DCA
’s
Cars Land
opened in 2012.

In
Cars
,
Luigi
is a 1959 Fiat 500 who owns and runs the
Cassa Della Tires
shop in
Radiator Springs
.  Proud of his Italian heritage and a fervent fan of Ferraris,
Luigi
is initially inclined to be dismissive of
Lightning
’s racing skills; for
Luigi
, the only
real
racing car is Ferrari.  But
Luigi
warms to
Lightning
over time, as the race car’s skills and spirit become apparent.

The inimitable
Tony Shalhoub
voices
Luigi
and gives him just the right balance of snobbery and likeability.  Grown-ups know
Shalhoub
as TV’s “Monk” or Julia Child’s husband in the 2009 film “Julie & Julia”.  Kids and adults know him as Caesar Flickerman in “The Hunger Games” films.

Luigi’s
Flying Tires
is located on the east side of
Cars Land
, south of
“a bug’s land”
and southwest of the
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
.  Guests board vehicles designed to look like giant tires and, in the tradition of hovercraft, high-powered blasts of air support the tire transports.  The cushion of air, and the Guests’ own shifting weight, propel the tires around the tire yard.  It’s rather like floating across a giant air-hockey table.

Disneyland
’s
Flying Saucers
, on which
Luigi’s Flying Tires
are loosely based, were plagued with problems including but not limited to capacity, mobility, and reliability.  Few Guests could board at once, vehicles held only one Guest each, lines were long, and the saucers were notorious for being difficult to navigate and for stalling frequently.

Disneyland
attractions tend to succeed when Guests and Cast Members can control the experience.  Alas for the
Flying Saucers
, which essentially lurched around their metal arena like pucks randomly dithering about the afore-mentioned air hockey table, no one seemed to be able to properly control them, and Guest experience and operational flow suffered.  With all of those challenges, the
Saucers
only ran from 1961 to 1966 before they were retired.

That said, despite
–or in some cases because of–the imperfections, some Guests had a real fondness for the unpredictable
Saucers
, and have long lobbied to bring them back.

Imagineers
promised that updated technology had improved the hovercraft attraction, making
Luigi’s Flying Tires
much more reliable than the
Flying Saucers
ever were. 
Imagineer Mike Kilbert
created an innovative ride system for
Luigi’s Flying Tires
.  Based on air hockey engineering concepts, it’s driven by gargantuan fans and promised to be sleeker, simpler, and far more reliable than the
Flying Saucers
. But is it?  Early buzz was positive.
John Lasseter
himself tested the attraction in late 2011.  A Guest whom I encountered at the
Blue Sky Cellar
in February of 2012 stated that one of his friends had test-driven the tires, and that the attraction worked wonderfully.

But the test phase can never perfectly mimic the
reality of day-in, day-out wear-and-tear, thousands upon thousands of Guests boarding the
Flying Tires
and tilting them across the tire yard from 8 am to 11 pm, seven days a week.  The big question wasn’t how the tires tested, but how they would perform once
Cars Land
opened and a tsunami of Guests descended.

Luigi’s
is a good looking attraction at the corner of
Route 66
and
Cross Street
.  The
Casa Della Tires
shop from the movie has been brought to life, complete with twinkling lights and a soaring “leaning tower” of tires.  Guests enter the queue through the front of the shop.

Imagineers
are brilliant at getting every little detail right, and the interior queue is lined with a multitude of items to divert your attention while you wait.  There are rows of cleverly named whitewall tires, and cases of colorful racing memorabilia.  The queue winds and shifts frequently, a classic
Disney
technique for making Guests feel like they’re always in motion, always getting somewhere.  Delightfully peppy Italian-American songs–“That’s Amore” sung by Dean Martin, “Mambo Italiano” sung by Rosemary Clooney (George’s aunt)–are reflective of
Luigi’s
taste, and are intended to put waiting Guests in a festive mood.

But after thirty, forty, even sixty minutes of waiting, the interesting environment and chipper music just isn’t enough to buoy one’s spirits.  Especially after Guests finally reach the exterior queue, where the tire yard appears tantalizingly close, but is still such a long wait away.
  If you have small children (or impatient adults) in tow, be prepared with games or diversions to pass your time in line.

The hard fact is, the
Flying Tires
load and unload
en masse
.  That
always
means long wait times if a ride is popular–and the tires are popular.  Large groups of people boarding and then exiting an attraction at the same time always create delays.  There are elderly people who need to be cautious during loading and unloading.  There are children who need to be securely restrained within the vehicles by parents or guardians.  There are Guests who can’t decide which tire they want to board, and waste time dithering between vehicles.  There are Guests who just seem to be slowpokes.  There are Guests being transferred to and from wheel chairs.  Put it all together, and it can take five or more minutes between tire flights.

Once you finally reach the boarding area, large signs display instructions showing you how to “drive” the tires–lean in the direction you want to travel–and warn you
not
to step on the draped outer edge of the tires, but rather to step over them and directly into the vehicle.

Cast Members will ask you how many people are in your group and direct you to boarding lanes, no more than three Guests per tire, each party receiving a single wooden slice of pizza.  When you’re cleared to board, move rapidly but safely to the tire of your choice.  Step over the outer edge
of the vehicle to board it, and help little ones do the same.  Ensure the single seat belt is properly fastened across everyone in your party.  Cast Members will check your belt, and collect your pizza slice.  And then … cue the music!  Cue the gargantuan fans!  Your flying tire is about to lift off!

If you’ve made it this far, and the attraction hasn’t broken down, bada-bing, bada-boom, you are in for a treat.  Because the tires really
are
mad fun.  The fans roar, the music plays, the enchanting little strands of light twinkle above you if it’s night.  Your tire floats–yes, floats!–on a cushion of air, and drifts in the general direction of wherever you shift your weight.