First Impressions of Cars' Land

[sbk1234]

I just returned from my first visit to Disneyland since the opening of Cars' Land. A few observatons that I invite coment on.

First, my overall impression is great. One thing that struck me is how alive and active the land is. I hope Disney keeps this up, and not just for busy opening season. It never went that long without some kind of entertainment going on. This ended up creating an environment that seemed like a party to me. This translated to it just being fun to be there. We spend a lot of time just "cruising" the area, but we were having a blast the whole time. When they first announced they were building Cars' Land, I was not excited by this idea at all. Now it is my favorite part of DCA. I think a big part is the high energy of the area.

I'll also comment on a surprise about the Luigi Tire Ride Thing (or whatever it's called.) OK, I waited for an hour. I knew what I was doing, I knew what the ride was, and I decided to do it anyway. I'll say that it was not worth an hour wait. No surprise there. What did surprise me was the fact that it thoroughly entertained me. It was fun and I liked it. No, I won't wait an hour again, but hopefully the buzz will die down some, and the lines will get manageable, because I did enjoy it. I'll wait 10 or 15 minutes, but not 60.

Thoughts?

[Sheriff Lightyear]

Re: First Impressions of Cars' Land

I feel the same way about the land, BUT I LOVED Luigi's and I actually enjoyed it more than RSR. I'd probably wait 45-60 for Luigi's and 30 or less for Racers.

Thumbs up for Cars Land from Disney, keep it up. Not the whole basing lands on a sole franchise, but the level of immersion with the environment!

[Seawolf]

Re: First Impressions of Cars' Land

Loved the rock work, neon, and old fashioned looking shops. Flo's V8 Cafe had some great food available which was very tasty; it is a huge relief seeing this category at the resort improving dramatically. RSR's dark portion was more detailed and involved than I thought it would be. Overall the imagineers did a good job with the theme they were told to execute. I do however feel that the money could have been utilized better when you start to imagine what could have been accomplished with an innovative original idea, allowing the Imagineers to go wild. I feel we could have gotten something on par with Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Mater's and Luigi's to me were the let down of the entire land which were very tame and basic attractions with gigantic waits, it sorely needs a more thrilling D-ticket to supplement this gap. I simply don't like the theme, purpose, or their target demographic. The stores did not impress me either with their very generic merchandise.

[sbk1234]

Re: First Impressions of Cars' Land

WHile I agree that Mater's and Luigi's are basic rides, I was actually impressed with how they managed to come up with a back story for each which managed to immerse the guest. Yes, I'd rather they had come up with a theme that was less specific to one particular film/franchise, but in all, I was blown away. I do think that for those totally unfamiliar with the Cars films, it would be easy enough to figure it all out. It boiled down to just a bunch of living cars. The films' stories were superfluous to understanding the land.

[Wild Ol' Dan]

Re: First Impressions of Cars' Land

Howdy Pards,

Ohhhh...how I wish some of you youngun's could have traveled Route 66 like I did with Mom and Dad when I was a kid. It's hard to explain the love one felt for the "mother road". It grew on ya. When you started out in Chicago...it was just a road...but it wasn't long before you started to get the idea that what it was was a series of wonderful experiences...wonderful adventures. I had my very first Buffalo Burger at the Buffalo Ranch in Oklahoma...went deep inside the cave in Missouri...saw the "Tipi" Hotel...and those wonderful Jackrabbit signs through that stretch of great American West...all with Disneyland as our destination way out thar in Californy...

If you truly want to get an appreciation for Cars Land...watch the movie Cars again. It was on TV tonight...and as I watched it I noticed the incredible detail they captured from the mother road...to the movie...and the Park. This was truly a labor of love. My hat is off to the folks at Disney and Pixar for raising the bar and creating a wonderful monument to a beloved stretch of highway...Route 66. It is a monument to to cars of all kinds, shapes, and sizes, a monument to small town America...and the freedom we found out there on the mother road. For us old timers...and especially this particular ol' cowhand...Cars Land brings back some wonderful, wonderful memories...

Adios for now. Talk to ya on down the trail.

Wild Ol' Dan

[Bongo]

Re: First Impressions of Cars' Land

I remember on opening day, I saw the road going down the courthouse. I was really wow'd by the sheer size, and the mountain range was BEAUTIFUL. I nearly ran to the courthouse to admire the beauty. The sheer scale was MASSIVE. It was ENORMOUS! And then a bird perched itself on top of the formation and the mountain lost it's scale.

Nice going bird :verymad:

Also I fell in love with the shakes at Flo's at first sight, er...taste.

[WorldDisney]

Re: First Impressions of Cars' Land

Well I have to say I was VERY impressed as well, but I been impressed just looking at all the pics thats been provided here for years already, so I dont see how I could suddenly be let down once I seen it in person. But yes, CL is clearly one of the best lands not just in the resort, but anywhere. Its just well done on every level. And honestly, you dont really need to know anything about the movie to 'get it'. Its Rt 66 and outside of the actual attractions, it feels like just walking in a little town. I still never remotely got about the 'concern' with this area? I mean ALL people care about if they are immersed in the area and they definitely are. Take Flos for example. Does it help if you get the back story of Flo and being part of a R and B band in the past to enjoy it more? I guess! Does it remotely matter? Not really. ALL that matters is you enjoy the food and love the atmosphere of the place which is amazing. You can take a beer and sit and watch the cars race around the track for hours. I think that sums up 90% of CL in general.

And I like LFT and Maters but neither is worth a long wait! Maters is ALOT of fun and it looks like average waits will be 10-20 mins since even on the busiest days it was 30 mins a lot of that time. LFT is obviously more of a love it or hate it thing and I dont know anyone who thinks its worth more a 20 min wait but with the awful loading I dont see that happening anytime soon. Glad I did it once, but dont see myself riding it anytime in the near future.

And RSR is just an amazing ride! It will probably be 2+ hour waits all summer!

[BroadSword]

Re: First Impressions of Cars' Land

If you truly want to get an appreciation for Cars Land...watch the movie Cars again. It was on TV tonight...and as I watched it I noticed the incredible detail they captured from the mother road...to the movie...and the Park. This was truly a labor of love.

Wholeheartedly agree with this! We went on opening day and walked around. We didn't try to get on any rides because we'll be back when the busy season ends, but wow...when you watch Cars AFTER you've been to Carsland...it is so weird. I mean you can point at the screen and say you have actually walked that street or been in that building. They nailed all the details. Of all the attractions in the resort, it's pretty much the only one where literally step into the movie.

As far as the rides go...they're not really aimed at teens/adults IMO. They're for the younger kids and the young at heart (isn't that Disney's mantra??). Can teens and adults have a some fun on them...of course you can, but don't expect to go there to get on a "Thrill Ride". We were lucky enough to be given one of those broke down ride return passes for RSR, so we did get to go on that and it was fun, but we really like Pixar and Cars anyways.

[smanr24]

Re: First Impressions of Cars' Land

I went for opening weekend..and I was in awe. They did such a great job on it. I thought there was probably way too much merchandise some real cool some not so cool. I cant wait to go back into DCA and I havent said that in a long time.