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On June 15, 2012, Disney opened the newest land in the Disney California Adventure theme park, Cars Land, based on the Disney/Pixar animated films. Cars Land is the centerpiece of a $1 billion-plus transformation of the California Adventure theme park. Having passes to the park, we have been able to see the whole transformation take place at California Adventure and could feel the excitement as we waiting for June to come around.

I don’t know how to describe the experience of entering Cars Land because in all honesty – there is so much to take in and see and marvel at! You honestly feel like you have walking through the “Cars” movie as you see “Flo’s V8 Cafe” – complete with little gas pumps and 50’s decor all around you. There are little 60’s style shacks reminiscent of the hippie characters in the film that sell healthy snacks but if you are looking for some good ole fashion “pickle flavored popcorn” you can hop on over to the “Cars” locale: the Cozy Cone Motel, a collection of giant orange traffic cones that was home to Lightning’s love interest in the movie but is home to various food kiosks at the park. In the middle of the downtown area is a street light that changes through out the day and into the night with fun flower beds that look like tiny tail lights. When night falls, all the neon lights for the various buildings shine so brightly that you honestly feel like you are in a small little roadside town.

While all this is awesome to take in – truly the main attractions of this area are the new rides that just carry on the theme of the movie. The Radiator Springs Racers are the highlight here and I won’t lie – you have two choices 1) wait in a very long line for up to 2 hours to ride this attraction or 2) get up extremely early to get a fast pass for the attraction before they are all gone! But it is all worth it – the ride starts off with you riding along in a 6 person racer car through some of the scenes in the movie and then you enter the body shop to customize your car for the anticipated race where you try to win your opponent while going 40 mph! It is truly a awesome ride to experience!

Another new ride in this area is Luigi’s Flying Tires – a different kind of ride that requires you to act a as team by rocking back and forth in order to make the tire “fly” across the floor and you try to throw huge beach balls at your family and friends. The last ride in Cars Land is Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree – which at first look seems to be designed for younger kids and after you get on it – you realize how wrong you were! The tractors go in circles slowly and then you are whipped from corner to corner causing loud squeals of laughter from everyone in your car!

Because this a new attraction area for California Adventure – the crowds are quite large and often the lines can be a bit long so if you are visiting for the first time – I would highly suggest you go mid-week or as early as you can so you can see as much as you can without the stress of tons of people around you! I have been to Walt Disney World in Florida and won’t lie – love that all the parks there a lot but truly this new addition to our California backyard – makes us love our little park a little more! Hope you get a chance to come visit and experience it for yourself! Happy Memories!