DCA Reopening Weekend - 06/16/12

Hey, everyone. Following my graduation, my father came into town with his family and we all went to Disneyland. I was able to check out Cars Land, among the recent additions.

We didn't go opening day, sorry. Granted, we didn't want to deal with record crowds.

We checked in our hotel Saturday Morning and started heading into the parks.

Right outside the park we passed by these, well... I think you can figure it out.



And we finally arrived. It has been quite a while since I've been here.






Nifty sign, don't remember seeing it before.



Got a little bored in line for tickets, I admit.



The new entrance, looks good. You can even see some of Buena Vista Street in the back. Let's take a closer look, shall we?



The crown of the Carthay Circle Theater.





Looks good, but what am I doing waiting outside? Let's go back in time.



Wonderful details, and inclusion of Walt Disney's "original" creation, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.



The Imagineers have done a wonderful job here, it is a significantly much better replacement of the Sunshine Plaza.



They have a plaque up for the rededication of the park.



Here, you can get your (overpriced) opening weekend memorabilia.





Everything looked okay for the most part, no big deal. Not worth buying, to be honest.



So these apparently sold out opening day... yeah. They're supposedly hats...



We crossed under the bridge and entered the Carthay Circle Area.



Did I forget to mention they have a store named after me now?



The Carthay Circle looks really great up close. There's an expensive restaurant inside, so no details on that.

But to the bulk of the report, it's that new thing they added. It's really huge, it's new, everyone loves it, it's..



The new Ghiradelli shop! That's what we have all been waiting for, right? Oh, right, there's a huge new land next door, I should cover that.



And here it is. We wanted to go straight to Radiator Springs racers, so we cut through the Pacific Wharf, didn't enter through the main entrance to the land. We'll get to that a little later.

I have to admit though, I can get easily distracted with a camera:





And then we finally arri-



Guys. Guys. Guys. Guys. In person, this is really phenomenal. The Imagineers did a FANTASTIC job employing forced perspective, this place looked really huge, and felt like it, too!



I mean, just look at those details!



A car zooms by for Radiator Springs Racers. Guys, in person, this looks really great.



You get quite an airtime pop right here, but nothing extreme.



This thing is just massive, it's fantastic.



Your eyes are not deceiving you, but the picture is. It was actually a 4 hour wait. On Friday, it was a 6 hour wait. Thankfully, Fastpass came in handy. We read online that the Fastpass wait time was 2 hours on Friday, so we'll see how long it takes.



In line, you get closer to the rockwork and landscaping. The details they have are just better the more you notice them!



The queue starts right here, goes under a bridge where the cars zoom over the first airtime hill. It's really neat to be in line and be able to see all the cars racing, but not for everyone waiting 3 hours in 90 degree temperature in broad daylight.



If you didn't know, the rockwork in the landscaping is supposed to represent the rear of an old Cadillac.



Made it past the bridge in around 5 minutes. So far, not bad.

And right around the corner, we witnessed the land's true gem. Ladies, gentlemen, I present to you,



The original Radiator Spring!



Also known as the 8.75th wonder of the world!



If you have or haven't seen the movie, Cars, just some backstory: Stanley, the founder of Radiator Springs, started out as a radiator cap salesman who discovered the springs, and started charging passerbys who needed a break from their journey to cool down. These buildings are the remnants of the "original" Radiator Springs, which is originally known as "Stanley's Oasis."

tl;dr this is cool stuff



And, wait. Only 15 minutes passed by, and we're already by the station! That was a ridiculously short wait! Granted, the party in front of us overheard us, and commented that they have been waiting for 3 and a half hours. Oops?



And after a roughly 20 minute wait, we finally boarded. I must say, this was a great ride. Wonderful juxtaposition of a scenic excursion, dark ride, and high-speed, adrenaline-filled racing. I feel like there could have been a little more, but for what it was, it's easily one of the best rides that Disney has ever opened to one of their theme parks. Definitely worth waiting 5 hours for.



Time to check out the rest of the land. As for the Flying Tires, well..



..Great concept! Though, terrible capacity, and boring ride. Don't need to go into it, moving on.



Looks straight out of the movie, absolutely ridiculous.



Just look at it!



Flo's looked really great, too.



Busy, busy, busy, streets of Radiator Springs.



Interesting thing they did with the Cones, though.



Each cone is a food stall. One is popcorn, the other has Churro bites, etc.



The Churro bites were at least good.

If you ever swing by the Cozy Cone, try to find this 'lil guy right here:



Now some time for a brief tour inside the staple restaurant of Carsland:



The queue for the restaurant starts in an openly lit atrium space with a rad chandelier.



The rest of the line.



Seating areas.



This is what really impressed me. I really like how they juxtaposed seating with a view of RSR, great decision.



You get your food here. The menu is pretty limited, nothing too appealing (to me, at least), but I'm biased.



Another rad chandelier, and what appears to be an oversized rear-view mirror?



Yep, an oversized rear-view mirror! With a mural of the (slutty) motorama girls! Apparently drag queens.





Cool props all around, really adds to the experience.



Time to check out Mater's.



It was an okay ride, definitely fun for the little ones. Ran a little short, though.

I was actually a little surprised with how much detail they put into the setting and the queue:



And that's it for Carsland for now, we'll return later in the evening.

Now for Paradise Pier!



Always a wonderful sight.



Screamin' shimmering against the sunset.



Overview of the whole Pier/boardwalk area.



Nicely lit entrance.



Seems they have changed the pattern on the tents over the queue for Screamin'.



The train waits to be launched.



And off it goes with a new paintjob! Must be a new feature.



Overlooking the station area.



Just taking note of some small details I have to model for my recreation, don't mind me.



Getting there..



And we're ready to go!



Fun ride, as always; nothing has really changed.



It was then time for Toy Story Mania.



Just going a little ADD with the photography, don't mind me.



And almost into the ride we go!



Bet you can't guess which score is mine.


All right, that'll do it for now. More to come later!

Cool a113. Nice pics.

That looks so cool!