Cars Land After a Decade: How Are We Feeling?

[Animaniac93-98]

Agreed.


I always thought that was partially because it was originally “Car Land” on the drawing board.

Disney spent $2.3 million on the decision of whether or not too add that S.

It involved going right to the top with Bob. He has a history of trying to remove them from Disney's products.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Disney spent $2.3 million on the decision of whether or not too add that S.

It involved going right to the top with Bob. He has a history of trying to remove them from Disney's products.

I can’t remember which attraction, but Kevin talks about going to a big board room planning meeting about naming an attraction in his book. In the end they used the name he had been calling it all along!

Amazing what Disney will spend money on! Ha.

 

[Brer Oswald]

I think Cars Land is great, and I think a lot of that is due to the fact that Radiator Springs is such a well constructed place in the film.

That movie IS Radiator Springs. It was barely in 2 or 3, and those films struggled.

It also helps that it isn’t a huge location. It’s an intimate place, and is easier to recreate.

 

[Beenhereawhile]

Well for us it remains a top favorite land! Wdw has nothing like it..well avatar area but it pales in comparison. As far as the shops go, Main Street USA is a favorite area as well and it’s all shops!

 

[wdrive]

10 years wow.
I remember following it’s construction every day thinking how slow it was going. Come to think of it, it was the first thing I really followed in a Disney park.
As if I’ve been talking to strangers online about theme parks for over 10 years now

 

[Brer Oswald]

Cars Land is still the best thing about DCA, but that also sounds like a back-handed compliment because it's based on one of the worst Pixar films. It's stunning when you're in the queue for RSR, but then you see Mater and Lighting McQueen and you think "oh yeah, those guys".

We've been comparing the Marvel areas at Universal and Disney, but even with the improvements made to DCA in 2012 [or made worse since] I would still rate Islands of Adventure as a better park.

At the time of its release, you could definitely make the argument that it was the weakest link, but we have hard more than enough mediocre Pixar films since for it to be called “one of the worst”.

 

[mickEblu]

I prefer “Cars Land” to “Radiator Springs: A Cars Land” or Star Wars Galaxies Edge. You Know they have to slip in the IP name somewhere.

Cars Land is Disney’s best single IP land. Some single IP lands work like Cars Land and Harry Potter and some don’t. It’s really simple, all the imagineers have to ask themselves is - “would people like to walk around this place?” For me the success of Cars Land has nothing to do with the movie although I did enjoy the first one. It’s what Disney does best, lands based on romanticized versions of the past. In this case it’s Route 66/ car culture/ Americana. It’s inviting and the neon lights at night take it to next level. Do I spend a lot of time there? Not really. No more than anywhere else that’s not named New Orleans Square or the Plaza Inn. My favorite place to sit at DCA is still Paradise Gardens.

I’ve come to appreciate Cars Land more through the years. Partly because I think time does that and partly because I compare it to new additions like Galaxies Edge.

Harry Potter/Hogsmeade was just well suited to be a single IP land. I wish Disney could have just saw that for what it was and not come to the conclusion that the world was demanding these hyper real ultra immersive experiences. All Universal did with Potter was what Disney had been doing all along. Give people a fun, whimsical and/ or inviting place to enjoy themselves in. I mean I guess you could argue it all goes back to food and merch sales but that’s another conversation. I’m going to USH on the 18th and I’m pretty sure I’m eating at 3 Broomsticks. Not only does it have a great atmosphere but if I’m not mistaken it’s still the best food in the park. Not a lot of great options at USH.

 

[Brer Oswald]

It’s really simple, all the imagineers have to ask themselves is - “would people like to walk around this place?”

I think this is the most important thing to remember when designing for a theme park. Some things are better suited for a land. Some are better suited for a roller coaster. Some a show. Forcing something is never a good idea.

 

[Old Mouseketeer]

Except for being a boy many decades ago, I am none of those things. I own cars and I appreciate their engineering, but I don't love them. I have never watched a single second of NASCAR, and while I lived in several states in the US South I don't wish to return there. I drink cocktails instead of beer in bottles, I don't drop my g's when I speak, and I'm not generally a fan of dusty environs.

The most Cars Land approaches my lifestyle is Flo's V8 Cafe, because I am a huge fan of The Supremes and Motown in general. Other than that, it may as well be an alien planet.

But I love Cars Land. Because it just works. It's genuine and charming and real. And yet I understand it was created out of nothing on an old chunk of the Disneyland parking lot. But it works.

It's just always about you, isn't it? I said that Cars (and by presumed extension Cars Land) expanded Disney/Pixar's appeal to several demographics. I never said one had to be in one or more of those demographics to enjoy it.

 

[Old Mouseketeer]

As far as I'm concerned, Cars Land is the best of the three single IP lands in the US Disney Parks. It's got it all- and it's just plain fun. Fun is something that's missed in Pandora and Galaxy's Edge. Sitting on Flo's patio eating breakfast and watching the cars zoom by is a must do experience. Cars Land is the crown jewel of the park even after 10 years, the New Orleans Square of DCA. One of very few reasons to return to the park.

Your description reminds me of the old days of Tomorrowland Terrace (1967 version). You sat right in the middle of the "world in motion". All around you there was motion: the subs gliding by; monorails departing and arriving with their distinctive horn' Skyway gondolas rising into the air; Carousel of Progress turning; Peoplemover popping their lids around the station and moving past on all sides; and Rocket Jets spinning high over head. Plus you had the bandstand periodically rising up out of the ground! You almost overlooked the mediocre hamburger (which wasn't nearly as overpriced back then) and having to drink Coke instead of Pepsi.

 

[DavidNoble]

Can't say enough great things about Cars Land. They did a phenomenal job in putting the land together, making it interesting and something you are eager to be within. Each time I've visited, it's been my go to place just because of the design, attractions, and ambience. They knocked it out of the park.

 

[Ne'er-Do-Well Cad]

having to drink Coke instead of Pepsi.

One of the wildest opinions I've ever seen on the internet.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

The last best thing added to DCA

 

[Stevek]

I absolutely love the signature attraction and the overall theming. I feel completely immersed in the world of Cars when I enter. I think the two other rides are ok but fill a need for family/kid based attractions. Mater isn't the most exciting ride system but Disney certainly loves it given they've used it in other parks around the world.

 

[mickEblu]

DCA needs more rides that “take you somewhere.” RSR and GRR are the only two.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

DCA needs more rides that “take you somewhere.” RSR and GRR are the only two.

You don't feel like you're the star in a Pixar film at Pixar Pier?

 

[Ne'er-Do-Well Cad]

Another thing that I love about cars land is how much you can see and hear guests enjoying the land. Between Maters Junkyard, Dancing Cars, and the Racers, you see and hear guests having a good time. Contrast that to Galaxies Edge.

This is critical.

In many ways Galaxy's Edge reminds me more of Islands of Adventure than Disneyland, with its larger-than-life scale and design and its thematic emphasis on danger and excitement. The difference is that everywhere you turn at IOA, there are coaster trains full of screaming guests soaring above you and logs/rafts of laughing guests splashing beneath you. When I first visited GE, it felt so reminiscent of IOA that I kept expecting to hear the roar of a coaster -- but it never happened. Instead, the rides and riders are hidden from the walkways and there's an eerie quiet in much of the land. This creates a real disconnect.

 

[mickEblu]

This is critical.

In many ways Galaxy's Edge reminds me more of Islands of Adventure than Disneyland, with its larger-than-life scale and design and its thematic emphasis on danger and excitement. The difference is that everywhere you turn at IOA, there are coaster trains full of screaming guests soaring above you and logs/rafts of laughing guests splashing beneath you. When I first visited GE, it felt so reminiscent of IOA that I kept expecting to hear the roar of a coaster -- but it never happened. Instead, the rides and riders are hidden from the walkways and there's an eerie quiet in much of the land. This creates a real disconnect.

The sound of invisible spaceships taking off or the sounds coming out of the cantina for the 3 seconds you walk by it don’t do anything for you?

 

[Ne'er-Do-Well Cad]

The sound of invisible spaceships taking off or the sounds coming out of the cantina for the 3 seconds you walk by it don’t do anything for you?

Honestly, I've walked through Galaxy's Edge several times, and I'm not 100% sure I've heard the much-hyped spaceships. But yeah, lol... it's not the same. Disney should've at least ponied up the money for the Bantha ride.

 

[DLR92]

Carsland is the weakest theme. I think only Raider Spring Racers will be the only last standing attraction that will stand of time. Everything else will be obsolete in degrading popularity.