June 14 Trip: Radiator Springs - A Happy Place!

[perlster]

Since DCAP is closed to the public on June 14, why would guests need tickets, when the wristbands would identify them as the lucky (relatively) few? To answer, perhaps Fastpass machines will be operating in the rest of the park, although this seems rather pointless on a crowd-controlled day.

 

[jessicaerv]

I just picked up the Winner Information Sheet. It says (I'll paraphrase):

Congratulations! Blah, blah, blah...
When: June 14; 9 am to 6 pm.

Admission: Bring this winner letter and a valid photo ID to winner check-in area, located at ticket booth 8 (side note: I didn't realize that ticket booths had numbers, it's been SO long since I've actually used the ticket booths. ) Any who.... At the check -in location I will receive my 4 admission tickets that will be valid on June 14th only.

Check-in: upon check-in, we will also receive 4 wristbands which will allow me access to Cars Land from 9 am to 1:30 pm.

*** The check-in area will be open for Sneak Peek Winners only from 7am to 12:00.

Awesome -- you're the best!!

I received an e-mail finally from the Coca-Cola contest, but you received more information than we did. I wonder if we'll be checking in at Ticket Booth 8 also? Very cloak and dagger.

And it seems like there might be two different time slots for Carsland, one from 9:00 to 1:30 and the second from 1:30 to 6:00. Wonder how they're going to manage it so that folks stay within their allotted time frame... different colored wristbands, maybe? Also, what if you're in the first group but are standing in line for a ride at 1:30? Will they allow you to ride the ride and then leave? This could make for a lengthy wait for those coming in with the second group, if RSR already has a 2 hour wait before the second group even shows up. So then how does one make sure they receive the first grouping designation? I wonder if that's decided by how you came about your tickets or will it be based on when you check in at Ticket Booth 8. If its by check in then I will want to be there as early as possible, as I'm sure most would.

A lot of logistical problems, I foresee.

 

[Shananana]

Since DCAP is closed to the public on June 14, why would guests need tickets, when the wristbands would identify them as the lucky (relatively) few? To answer, perhaps Fastpass machines will be operating in the rest of the park, although this seems rather pointless on a crowd-controlled day.

I think tickets are needed for any event... maybe any grad night'ers can back me up on this. But once upon a time, I remember going to disneyland for some closed-park event and I needed a special ticket. I think this is to keep track of population more than anything else.

Awesome -- you're the best!!

You're welcome; I hope to see you there! I'll be the one running around with the two 7-year-old birthday kids!

 

[perlster]

I remember the "good old days" when you received a badge to get into a special event at Disneyland.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

I think tickets are needed just for scanning to get into the park and possibly the FP machines. At the WOC party a couple years ago they issued use special park tickets along with wrist bands.

 

[Shananana]

I have slept on it twice now, and I'm certain of my review. I'll go over it in the next few posts. But first, an over all review.
Crowd control sucked. Driving up from San Diego was bad enough. It took us almost 2 hours door to parking lot. but then we had to pick up our tickets
This is what we faced:

It took us over an hour. It was awful. The good news is, I bumped into Twinkletoesjohnson and she had an extra ticket! It was Disney magic at work. I had my mom join us later in the afternoon.
Which brings me to timing... I was scheduled for the cars land morning preview, which ended at 1:30, and I thought that was fine. However, Buena Vista Street closed at 2, and that turned out to be horrible timing for us. We did everything in Cars, but got no time on Buena Vista.

Overall disappointments:
The ticket staff should have had winners grouped by sponsor. My window could have been Radio station X. They could have had a Ralphs window, etc. Instead, every window had a master list and it just took FOREVER to get our tickets.

I got to see very little of Buena Vista Street.

Which leads me to my first review.

 

[Shananana]

First off, the cast of characters:

That's my friend Ana, me, Shanna and her son Joaquin and my daughter Josephine. Like I said, my mom joined us, but not until the afternoon. So she missed Cars land, but she got to see her grand baby and went on Toy Story and Soaring. It was all good.

As I walked in (at 10:00!!!), I quickly realized that there would be MUCH better pictures of BVS than what I could take, so I gave up on trying. I did capture one of the monorail crossing, though:

I wish I could compare this one of the old golden gate bridge. I know I've see that picture from almost the exact same spot.

We saw the newsboys performing, a lot of camera crews setting up (with un-disney language ) and we decided to go around the long way through bugs land.

BVS transitions seamlessly to Hollywood Land. It was really nice and we were able to spot 3 characters just hanging out! Handy Manny:

Frozone:

And, one of my faves, Sulley:

And then we were off to Cars Land!

 

[Shananana]

Last Christmas, DH took me and the girls to WDW to visit all things Disney. It was amazing and I loved it. Jo's favorite ride turned out to be Test Track at Epcot.

(On a side note - I really liked Living with the Land and DH loved Expedition Everest. Violet - well, that's a DIFFERENT trip report.)

So, as I was telling Jo about the rides, I kept comparing Radiator Springs Racers to TT and she was super excited. I mean check this out:

The que took us almost 1 hour because the ride broke down for about 15 minutes. It wasn't too bad though. I got some cute que pictures:

and

and

(Hmmm... where'd all the people go?)

Finally, we get up to the front and it's Twinkle Toes Again!

Hi Ladies!

And then we were on our way by here:

To answer my husband's question... no, we don't drive over that bridge; it's a miniature. But it super pretty!

So, just like TT, RSR is really slow at first, as a few "fast" points, and then you hit the track. I was explaining it to DH and he noted that only the theming is different. Um, yes and no. The RSR track feels much shorter. And it has a "race" of 2 cars at once. That is awesome - and problematic, I would imagine. Any time a track needs to go back and forth and back and forth, it could easily be a break down point. Whenever I heard about the ride being down, I thought of this. But, you load the same way you do at TT: 3 to a row 6 per vehicle. And each vehicle is on the same track. There are not 2 tracks until later on. There is no cheesy video like at TT, but the concept is very much the same, depending which track you take. The first part of the right is the same:

You take a brief ride outside (see picture above) and then you go through a cave and Whoa! There’s Mac (think of the truck right before your outside speed race at TT – EXACTLY THE SAME.) Same place – same horn, same timing; actually, I think the TT truck might be red as well – or is it yellow? And then you turn a little, see Van and Mini and then speed up and slow down to listen to the Sheriff and Mater. This is not a full stop like in the “break check” in TT, but it reminded me of it a little. Then you go through the town and Sally and McQueen send you to one of two tracks:

Track 1: Luigi’s
This one was my favorite. It’s very much unlike TT because there is a mirror to the left of the car where you can get “new” white wall tires. My husband had to point out how they did that because even I was fooled. What DID remind me of TT was the shaking of the car. Just like the road bumps at the first part of TT, the whole vehicle shook as we got “new” tires. The only difference was that we weren’t moving.

We then went out to see Doc Hudson and waited for our racing partner:

We raced. We lost. And we did NOT go as fast as TT. There were much tighter corners. Three ascents and descents. But it was still going really really fast. The turns are much better on RSR, but I’ll explain that on the next track.

Track 2: Ramone’s
I love Ramone, but I honestly can say that Luigi’s track is better. For those of you who know TT, I know there’s a part in there that’s called environmental testing. I can’t remember if they spray you in the cool temperatures or in the warm temperatures, but getting a paint job was just like that. JUST. And then you are out to meet your racing partner. It wasn't very climatic. But here’s where it gets interesting… the banks on RSR are steep. Very steep. Josephine just had lunch before going on this for the second time, and we got Ramone’s track. It almost puts you parallel to the ground (well, it feels like it.) Since Luigi’s Track is on the inside for turn #1, that track is not as high on the bank. Josephine almost said she didn’t like the ride because she didn’t like being up so high. There’s the last couple of turns on TT that bank hard, but those aren’t as intense as RSR.
And here’s my theory: Ramone’s side usually wins. Not always, but usually.
You cross the finish, bank one more time and then you meet McQueen and Mater one more time and wait for the cars to switch back to one track.
That was fun!

Stay tuned for Luigi’s helpful hints.

 

[MommyLove]

So fun to read! Thanks for sharing!

 

[TwingleMum]

Thanks for sharing! Can't wait for more

 

[AC7179]

Love the report! I feel like I'm right there! Thanks for sharing!
fro zone!

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Thanks so much for taking the time to share!!! Super fun to read about your experience.

And, can I just say that your daughter is about the cutest thing I've ever seen!! She has a million dollar smile and those cheekbones....wowie!!! Soooo cute!!

 

[Twinkletoesjohnson]

Thanks for posting the photo! Nice meeting you guys! I agree with your comments, especially the buena vista closure. I was very sad about that...loved going on midway mania with zero line though!

 

[Velvetia]

Thanks so much for posting - can't wait to hear your experiences on Luigi's Tires and the Tractor Ride!

 

[mysteriouspnai]

Thanks for your post! I loved reliving Media day through your TR. I agree about the BVS thing. It just seems so unfair that people scheduled to go into Carsland from 1:30-6 got to experience BVS in the morning and head to Carsland in the afternoon. In our case (we also got the 9-1:30 slot) we could only experience BVS from 1:30-2 if we chose to stay in Carsland from 9-1:30. Regardless, we were very lucky to have almost zero crowds everywhere else in the park weren't we?

 

[dleyel]

I was there too and saw you in line for RSR. I noticed your darling kids. I was disappointed in how long it took to get the tickets. I waited about an hour and didn't get into the park until about 10:15. It was very quick for the CM to find my name, but some people took a long time. Headed straight into Cars Land when I saw we only had until 1:30. We got on all the rides, but would have liked more time there. Also disappointed Hollywood Land closed at 1:30 and BVS at 2. Did get a pic with Mickey. Didn't see any of the entertainment or ride the trolley. Loved that all the other lines in the park were 10 min or less. I wonder what time they started giving out wristbands for the 2nd shift? All the media equipment detracted from the atmosphere, especially around Cozy Cone and Flo's, but still fantastic to be there with the low crowds. I had planned to get there at 8, but the night before found out my 7th grader had to go before school hours to finish an assignment! Normally that's their last day but this year it was Friday. Meeting friends tomorrow at opening, so we'll see how the crowds are. Hope to see all the neon signs lit up at night. I was originally planning to stay at DL tomorrow, but really want DS15 (couldn't go to preview due to finals) and our friends to see how amazing CL is. Disney really did an outstanding job with BVS and CL!

 

[Shananana]

Thanks all for reading this far; I'm so glad you guys like my comparison of RSR to TT! I honestly can't pick a favorite, but I'm sure Josephine could! I'll have to ask her...
My favorite ride in CL though, hands down, is Luigi’s. I LOVED the flying tires. Why, you may ask? Well, because simply put, I’m a control freak. But seriously, when I first learned how to drive, I hated going downhill because I couldn’t control how fast the car was going. There’s just one way to go: my way. The tires are MADE for me. You control them with your entire body. I would imagine that this is how those segways work, but I’ve never tried them.
Obligatory photos:

This is the best advice that I’ve read when it comes to controlling your tire: put your arm around your co-rider(s). Now, I don’t know if it’s the fact that I had only an extra 45 pounds next to me, or if the arm thing really worked, but it was easy to control the movement with my body. Very intuitive, and Jo and I made it around 60 – 70% of the arena with little to no problems. If I was with my husband, I’m sure it would have been more challenging to work together, but I’m sure it’s possible. My best advice: if you are an adult-only group who is fretting about this experience, get your own tire! Only once did we lean “too far” and I was actually able to feel the tire touch the ground. And I took a video of the whole ride while I did it, too.
The only down side of this ride is the timing. It takes 4 to 5 minutes to load for a 2 minute ride. So, the wait time can easily exceed 3 hours. But it’s SO worth it.
Next up: Last, but not least: Mater's!

 

[Shananana]

Wow. That was so much fun! First RSR, then Luigi's and now... oh no. Mater's. To be honest, I was dreading this ride. I get dizzy easily (I don't do teacups) and Ana has had issues with vertigo. Okay... well it can't be that bad:

And it wasn't. And the kids liked it, I think. And the line was super short (walked on.) And that's all I have to say about that.

On to my FAVORITE part of the new DCA: the food! A wonderful, glowing review of Flo's V8 Cafe.
Yum!

 

[Shananana]

I LOVE food. Love it. I would have married it, if that sort of thing was socially acceptable… but alas, my husband always knows that he is a runner-up. So, after we rode Mater’s we decided it’s noon (yup, we DECIDED the time!) and we needed food. We tried the Cozy Cone before getting into the line for Luigi’s Flying Tires (LFT) but the lines were so long, we just ended up with some pretzel bites. Nothing sustaining.
So, we moved on to Flo’s Café. I tried to get there for breakfast, but the line for tickets destroyed that hope, so we had the lunch menu to choose from. Yum… lunch. Alright… we have kid’s menu for Jo. She picked the turkey sandwich. And I let her get soda because it was that kinda of day. And me? Well, the strip loin looks good, but so does the pork. Hold the phone! Did that say Coca Cola BBQ sauce? It did! Pork it is. I held off on getting a drink for me because I wanted my soda out of a cone. Yup. I bought those. So, we order and I present my DVC discount and the total comes out to… wait for it… $17.92. What!?! (Side note – I know some of you may think “wow! That’s a lot for lunch!” but trust me, for southern California, and Disney in particular, that’s a really good price.) Me: SOLD! We head off to the right to go grab a seat while Ana and Joaquin get there lunch. We get our tray and I’m shocked again:

Look at all of that food!!!
That was a LOT of food. If I knew it was going to be that much, I would have had Jo and I split a plate. And the food was DELICOUS! The pork was hot and tender. Jo got fresh grapes and apples. My pasta salad was not the least bit soggy and the corn didn’t feel like it had just been microwaved. Ah… full tummy.
So as I’m sating myself, I look at Ana and the poster in front of me and read “Gasprin… how a healthy car stays healthy.” Hmmm… I wonder. I look around: I see tools, a clip board and Ana sees an eye chart. Holy car! We’re in the Mechanical Clinic. The transition had been so seamless, I didn’t even notice until after I ate. I didn’t take pictures here because Ana, Joaquin and Jo were still eating and I wanted to go get my Cone drinks. I went to leave, and I was able to spot the Piston Cups! Tip: Even if you don’t eat at Flo’s go in and head toward the right… Then leave back towards the main road. It’s totally worth it!