A nice move by the Disney Parks Blog for sharing this mockup photo-realistic of Radiator Springs Racers created by Disney’s Yellow Shoes Creative Groups. The picture is meant to be used in in advertisements or other promotional material as Cars’ Land zooms closer to reality. The mockup is a composite of images intended to give you a glimpse of what the attraction will look like when it opens this summer. It should provide a big jolt for California Adventure when it does.
Yes, it looks a lot like Test Track with eyes, but the pre-viz video that leaked last month show the attraction to be a lot more than that. Are you looking forward to the attraction or does the idea of an attraction based on Pixar’s ‘Cars’ not do it for you?
Below the jump is full video from the D23 Expo presentation focused on Radiator Springs Racers:
It looks like someone has leaked the pre-visualization video built by Walt Disney Imagineering to demonstrate how a complete ride-through of the Radiator Springs Racers, the main attraction of Pixar’s Cars’ Land at California Adventure, will look, feel, and sound to a guest. Not sure… Read More »Cars’ Land Radiator Springs Racers – Pre Viz Video
Over at California Adventure the area now known as Cars’ Land (the apostrophe makes it possessive, which I guess is an important clue to the theme) is getting closer to opening. Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, where baby tractors twirl and swing around, pulling trailers behind them… Read More »Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree Now in Testing Mode
2011 was a crazy year. A Tsunami nearly wiped large portions of Japan off the map and earthquake damage closed Tokyo Disneyland Resort. Disney Parks President Tom Staggs was struck with an idea while walking through California Adventure, less than 6 months later a partnership with James Cameron and his Avatar property was announced, but will it be a proper answer for Harry Potter? We have to wait and see. Meanwhile, Cars’ land in California and an expanded Fantasyland in Orlando hurdle toward opening while their neighboring parks sit neglected and with various states of under-utilized capacity.
2012 has the potential to be just as crazy, although we hope less natural disaster and tragedy is involved; to start, it’s a leap year so we get an extra day for crazyness to drop in. Additionally, it promises to provide the first glimpses of Next-Gen technologies used on a wide scale, a look at how Imagineering can build a world with detail rivaling Harry Potter at Universal when given the budget (we hope, they still can), and the Magic Kingdom will open the first phases of its Fantasyland upgrade, some of which are ahead of schedule. At sea, the all-new Disney Fantasy of Disney Cruise Line will join the fleet with it’s own brand of shipboard fun along with many of the old favorites..
Here’s a quick leap around what’s in store in 2012:
Sorcerers invade the Magic Kingdom (early 2012) – In an all-new interactive experience, “Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom,” Merlin the magician will recruit guests as apprentice sorcerers to undertake missions to subdue villains and ne’er do wells. Armed with magic spells in the form of special cards, guests must search for the magic symbols that lead them to animated villains’ hiding places. By casting different magical spell cards, players can do battle with Yzma, Kronk and other “baddies” hiding throughout the land. From fireballs to frantic frogs and cyclones, there are spells to bring down each and every villain, with a simple flick of the wrist. This immersive role-playing adventure is included with park admission.
New Fantasyland (early 2012) – The largest expansion project in Magic Kingdom history will open in phases beginning February 2012 at Walt Disney World Resort, featuring attractions and experiences in an area that will nearly double the size of Fantasyland. Among the novelties, guests will be able to fly high with The Great Goofini or with Dumbo the Flying Elephant, “immerse” themselves in Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid and “be our guest” at the Beast’s Castle. Out of the gate in early 2012 will be Great Goofini coaster, Fantasyland Train Station and – for the first time anywhere turning counter-clockwise – the first half of the Dumbo the Flying Elephant attraction. Completion of The New Fantasyland is scheduled for 2014 with most new experiences open by 2013.
Royal Guest Rooms (mid-February 2012) – Imagine waking up in a place where Disney Princes and Princesses have stayed. Beginning mid-February 2012, Walt Disney World guests staying at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside will discover special treasures left behind by the stars of favorite animated films such as “Aladdin,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Princess and the Frog.” In quarters befitting the young Princes and Princesses of the family (their parents, too!), guests can unwind amid remarkable décor. They’ll be able to watch “fireworks” swirl as they recline in ornate beds, curl up in custom linens and more. It is majesty and fun, rolled into one. Each of the 512 Royal Guest Rooms sleeps up to four guests in two queen beds.
Launch of Disney Fantasy (March 2012) – The Muppets leading guests in an interactive detective adventure game around the ship. Guests’ own drawings springing to life and dancing with animated Disney characters. Two new Broadway-caliber, spectacular musical stage shows. A Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for magical princess and pirate makeovers. A fanciful water play area called AquaLab. Disney Fantasy, the newest ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet, will bring to life these innovations and more, offering a cruise experience from stem to stern that caters to every member of the family. The 4,000-passenger Disney Fantasy will sail week-long Caribbean cruises from Port Canaveral, Fla., with its maiden voyage scheduled for March 31, 2012.
Disney Cruise Line Visits New Ports, Offers New Itineraries (beginning May 2012) – For the first time ever, Disney Cruise Line will set sail from three new ports in 2012 – New York, Seattle and Galveston, Texas – with several new itineraries planned. Beginning in May, the Disney Magic will sail 20 cruises from New York – including eight-night cruises to the Bahamas, five-night cruises up the New England coast to Canada and two-night weekend cruises. Also beginning in May, the Disney Wonder will sail 14 seven-night cruises from the Port of Seattle to Tracy Arm, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan, Alaska, as well as Victoria, British Columbia. Beginning in September, the Disney Magic will sail 12 seven-night cruises from the Port of Galveston to the Western Caribbean.
Disney’s Art of Animation Resort (May 2012) – A new resort hotel inspired by Disney animation will feature 1,120 family suites themed after “The Lion King,” “Cars” and “Finding Nemo,” and 864 themed rooms in “The Little Mermaid” wings. Animated scenes will carry throughout building exteriors and room interiors and feature larger-than-life icons from the animated films in courtyard areas. Nemo will be the first wing to open, in May 2012, at the resort hotel — Disney World’s 25th. The “Cars” wing is scheduled to open in late July and “The Lion King” wing in late September. The final wing, themed after “The Little Mermaid,” will debut in late 2012. Crowned by a 35-foot-tall model of King Triton, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort will be located next to Disney’s Pop Century Resort.
Hit the Road with Mater and Lightning McQueen (summer 2012) — Some of the biggest thrills in the Disney California Adventure expansion are just down the road. Crowning the multi-year expansion project in 2012 will be the opening of Cars Land, inspired by the Disney•Pixar blockbuster “Cars.” Cars Land will feature three immersive family attractions showcasing characters and settings from the movie, including one of the largest and most elaborate attractions ever created for a Disney park: Radiator Springs Racers, a twisting turning, high-speed adventure through the town and desert valleys of Radiator Springs. Other Cars Land attractions will include Luigi’s Flying Tires (striking a chord with anyone who remembers the Flying Saucers in Tomorrowland) and Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, a spinning attraction with a musical, hoedown theme. Guests also will enjoy “Cars”-themed dining and shopping locations.
Which of these coming attractions are you most looking forward to?
Disneyland has released details of the upcoming holiday offerings at the resort and there’s a lot that’s new. New segments include a new Holiday segment for ‘World of Color’ and an updated section of “The Magic, The Memories, and You!” Additionally, Toontown gets some updated cheer a new exhibit focused on Walt Disney’s love of trains will debut in the Disney Gallery.
On September 25th at the 4:50 pm show of Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular at California Adventure there was a frightening malfunction of the flying carpet effect during the show. Thankfully, redundant safety systems prevented any real injury, but the show was stopped and the audience evacuated while performers on the flying carpet swung upside down above the audience.
This video shows the moments after the carpet flipped over. Both performers can be seen strapped into the carpet, but the Jasmine performer is obviously (and understandably) upset. So don’t watch the video if that bothers you:
Here’s another angle that shows the carpet actually flipping over:
Well, at least it wasn’t anything violent.
I wasn’t going to post about this incident, chalking it up to a freak accident, but it turns out this is not the only time the flying carpet effect has had problems. Spoilers and more details below:
A new car model was spotted on Test Track today by Twitter user @shawnathon33. Thanks to Shawn for permission to use his photos here. Apparently, more of these vehicles will be rolling out soon eventually replacing all the existing cars. I’m told that these are… Read More »New Car Spotted on Test Track
