We Need More Cowbell! Aug 2012 TR *NEW*10/15 - Last Day & Wrap Up 4 NEW POSTS!

[khertz]

How fun that Dumbo flies over!!

Your trip sounds super fun so far! Cant wait to see all your pics from Cars Land

The Dumbo part was SO cute, especially considering we had recently watched the movie with DS prior to our trip. I really adore Dumbo, and he looked so happy flying over the Castle!

Hopefully I can post an update this afternoon while DS is napping...he's been sick for almost a week, so I haven't had as much time to DIS with him not going to daycare and taking care of him at home.

I never got to see MM&Y. I'm kind of bummed they did away with it.

I actually liked the Disneyland fireworks better than Wishes! I never thought I'd say that because Wishes is just about my favorite thing in Disney World. I like that Tink is more involved in the DL version.

Can't wait to see pictures of Radiator Springs!

I'm bummed we will be in WDW for the transition period to the new show. I really wanted to experience MM&Y on the Castle better since we didn't have the best view in November. But I would have been happy seeing the new show too. Guess we will be waiting until next year to see that!

I did like the Tink interaction & Dumbo especially during Magical, but nothing compares to Wishes for me, except maybe Holiday Wishes!!

Hopefully I can update this afternoon with our Cars Land morning.

 

[khertz]

DAY 2: Saturday August 25th

Our first full day in DL started off VERY early with our alarms set for 6 am. With just the two of us to get up and get ready, our mornings went by a lot quicker than they do with DS along! We got dressed and were down to the valet by 6:30 to leave for the park. In hindsight, we probably should have left even sooner, but we still managed to be outside the gates of DCA before they opened at 7 am for the AP/resort guest early entry.

There were a lot of people there, but not as many as I had expected, and it was a very manageable amount of people. When the gates opened, we followed the crowds to Cars Land (we had an idea of where it was, but weren't positive...the park looked a LOT different in May with all of the constructions walls up!). We were halfway down the street before I realized neither of us had the camera out to take pictures! I did end up getting pictures of everything else later in the morning, but for now your picture tour of Radiator Springs starts halfway down the street. lol

We were stopped for the line about halfway down the street, but it started moving quickly as they opened more switchbacks in the line, I'm guessing. Gave me lots of time to snap some pictures as we moved at an even pace down to everyone's destination, Radiator Springs Racers!

Luckily the ride was up and running! We probably could have walked right on if we had gone through the Single Rider line, but we wanted to ride at least once together so we stuck with the standby line and I had more time to take pics. I also took some time to call and check in on how DS was doing with my parents. We waited about 25 minutes in the standby line...not bad at all!

Preview of the track from the line!

Continued in next post...

 

[CandleontheWater]

Oh my gosh, radiator springs looks so amazing! I know that many people don't agree with me, but I SO hope that it gets built at the studios. I want the chance to see it sooner, rather than later, and since WDW is my "home" park, I'd be able to see it more often too!

Can't wait to see more!

 

[khertz]

DAY 2 Continued: Saturday August 25th

Finally, it was time for us to get in our car! We ended up in the front row, which gave us a great view on our first ride. I don't want to give away too much of the ride, but I will post the few pics we took on our first race.

The ride starts out with a slow, pretty ride through the hills of Radiator Springs.​

We didn't take pictures in the second part of the ride this time, but we did later. Basically you go inside the ride building and you're driving through the town at night. You meet up with Mater and some of the other cars in here. Then you start getting ready for your race.

Luigi's Tire Shop

Doc

Getting ready for race time!

We burst outside and go through the race track...Amazing! People compare this to Test Track, but it's really so different. Especially this part, which has turns and humps vs. just going really fast around the loop at the end of TT. So much fun!

When the race is over, you meet up with Lightning McQueen and Mater at the end before exiting the vehicle.

After our exciting first ride on RSR, we wanted to ride the other Cars Land attraction that tends to get backed up during the day, Luigi's Flying Tires. First, I had to get my picture with Stanley, then we headed over to the Casa Della Tires.

This ride was just okay. I'm glad we only waited 10 minutes for it, because I would have been really disappointed to ride it after a long wait. We couldn't get much speed going, so it was like really slow bumper cars on an air hockey table. Fun, but definitely not something we needed to do again.

A Photopass Photographer was out taking pictures with Red the fire engine, but we wanted a pic with all of hills in the background and she was happy to take it for us.

After that, we decided to go over and ride RSR again through the Single Rider line before that got too backed up too. We only ended up waiting 5 minutes and we were placed in the same car, just one of us in the front row and the other in back. This time, DH took some pictures of the darker inside portion of the ride.

This time we got a new paint job!

We decided to leave Mater's Junkyard Jamboree for another time, so we started to make our way out of Cars Land. Lightning McQueen was coming down the street as we exited.

Kachow!​

UP NEXT: Checking out the Pier

 

[CandleontheWater]

Wow, RSR looks so cool! What a neat attraction! I'm glad you guys got a chance to ride luigi's flying tires, because I've been hearing they have been having lots of problems.

That rock work is really amazing, great pic of you and DH!

How cool too that Lightning McQueen was just driving down the street, talk about being immersed!

 

[khertz]

Oh my gosh, radiator springs looks so amazing! I know that many people don't agree with me, but I SO hope that it gets built at the studios. I want the chance to see it sooner, rather than later, and since WDW is my "home" park, I'd be able to see it more often too!

Can't wait to see more!

I think it would be fun if they built it in the Studios, but maybe with a different headliner attraction than RSR to make Cars Land appealing on both coasts! It was really amazing to see in person though, pictures can't really do it justice. You hear everyone who describes it say it's like you walked right into Radiator Springs, and it's soooo true, down to the one blinking traffic light (which now I'm cursing myself because I don't think we got a picture of it!). It feels like you're in the movie. The Imagineers did an incredible job on Cars Land!

Wow, RSR looks so cool! What a neat attraction! I'm glad you guys got a chance to ride luigi's flying tires, because I've been hearing they have been having lots of problems.

That rock work is really amazing, great pic of you and DH!

How cool too that Lightning McQueen was just driving down the street, talk about being immersed!

Yeah, I'm also glad we rode Luigi's after they took out the beach balls, because I don't see how getting hit in the face by a beach ball would make that attraction any more enjoyable! lol

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Great, great pictures of Carsland!! It looks liks so much fun! Seeing your pictures got me more excited about visiting DCA in 4 weeks. And love your picture with Stanley's statue. The gold tooth had me cracking up.

 

[khertz]

Great, great pictures of Carsland!! It looks liks so much fun! Seeing your pictures got me more excited about visiting DCA in 4 weeks. And love your picture with Stanley's statue. The gold tooth had me cracking up.

I really did my best to avoid seeing a lot of pictures or videos of Cars Land so that all of it would be a surprise. However, seeing it all in person, none of that mattered anyway because it is so authentic you could never see all of the little details in pictures. You are just going to love it when you see it in person!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Great updates!! Cars Land looks amazing! So authentic to the movie!

Cant wait to see more

 

[MEK]

I looked at your pictures and they are wonderful. I have to say that Cars Land looks so freakin' cool! Why isn't there one in Disney World????? I really, really want to see it in person.

What a great morning. Can't believe the park opened at 7am. Yikes. That is early and you still had a 25 minute wait. Yeah for the singer rider line!

 

[tofubeast]

Love the pics!! So cool. I can't wait to see it with my own eyes, but it will probably be at least a couple years from now. On the flip side, the lines should be a bit shorted by then.

 

[khertz]

Great updates!! Cars Land looks amazing! So authentic to the movie!

Cant wait to see more

It was so amazing to see in person. I can't believe how much detail they put into that section of the park! And even though it was busy, it was wide enough to not feel super congested during the day. They did a fantastic job themeing Cars Land.

I looked at your pictures and they are wonderful. I have to say that Cars Land looks so freakin' cool! Why isn't there one in Disney World????? I really, really want to see it in person.

What a great morning. Can't believe the park opened at 7am. Yikes. That is early and you still had a 25 minute wait. Yeah for the singer rider line!

Well, the rumors are that Cars Land will be coming to WDW at some point in the future...maybe it will turn out to be true! It would be great for DHS to have something like this, but maybe change up the attractions so it's not a carbon copy of the one in DL.

7 am park opening was SO EARLY!! It was hard waking up that early on vacation, but when it's Disney, you gotta do what you gotta do, right? We definitely wanted to experience Cars Land and RSR without waiting several hours, so getting there early was our only option. The Single Rider line stays consistently about 30 minutes later in the day, but it was nice being able to just walk right on early in the morning.

Love the pics!! So cool. I can't wait to see it with my own eyes, but it will probably be at least a couple years from now. On the flip side, the lines should be a bit shorted by then.

Hopefully so! While RSR is a GREAT attraction, I definitely couldn't see myself waiting 3+ hours for it!! If nothing else, at least the line for FP's probably won't be as nuts as it is now.

 

[skier_pete]

So glad you guys got to take advantage of the AP early entry! Great pics of Carsland and RSR. It was neat to see the queue, as we only rode with FP, so missed out on much of the details. Pictures still hardly do it justice, though. The ride is so much fun and the animatronics are like nothing ever seen. I for one would not mind them putting it in Florida, and I would want RSR in tact.

As far as Luigi's goes, THAT's the ride they could skip in Florida! We still had the beachballs - and I thought they added a bit of fun to what was ultimately a pretty boring ride. It gave the ride an objective - which was to try and scoop up a beachball. Otherwise it would be just leaning and trying to slowly move around the floor. I agree, more than a 10 minute wait makes that one completely skippable.

 

[jenny105]

OMGosh! How cute! It looks just like the movie. I really hope they bring this to Disney World. I wonder if they will since they have a similar ride in Test Track. I'll take this over Avatarland any day!

 

[dtr_angel]

Cars Land looks absolutely amazing!!! I bet Paxton would love it!!!

 

[khertz]

So glad you guys got to take advantage of the AP early entry! Great pics of Carsland and RSR. It was neat to see the queue, as we only rode with FP, so missed out on much of the details. Pictures still hardly do it justice, though. The ride is so much fun and the animatronics are like nothing ever seen. I for one would not mind them putting it in Florida, and I would want RSR in tact.

As far as Luigi's goes, THAT's the ride they could skip in Florida! We still had the beachballs - and I thought they added a bit of fun to what was ultimately a pretty boring ride. It gave the ride an objective - which was to try and scoop up a beachball. Otherwise it would be just leaning and trying to slowly move around the floor. I agree, more than a 10 minute wait makes that one completely skippable.

Waking up that early was brutal, but it was so worth it for the early entry. And I was glad we got to see the standby queue at least once, since we used single rider the rest of the time.

Oh yes, if Cars Land becomes a reality in WDW, I sure do hope they leave Luigi's behind. Nice concept, but not a great ride at all!

OMGosh! How cute! It looks just like the movie. I really hope they bring this to Disney World. I wonder if they will since they have a similar ride in Test Track. I'll take this over Avatarland any day!

I'm reading a big thread about Avatarland over on the theme parks board right now. I just canNOT get myself excited over it! I really did not enjoy Avatar seeing it after all the hype surrounding it. And I don't think it fits in with AK, nor do I think it will bring over as many guests to AK as they are thinking it will. Hopefully it quietly goes the way of Hyperion Wharf at DTD...

It would be really awesome if they did something like Cars Land in DHS...another area to be family friendly at that park. DH and I loved DHS as just a couple and spent a lot of our WDW time there, but now with DS we find we don't spend much time there because the only ride he can do that is not 20+ minutes long and killing his attention span is TSM. Hopefully this year we can try our more shows there to give us more to do in that park.

Cars Land looks absolutely amazing!!! I bet Paxton would love it!!!

I think he would too. Hopefully in a few years we can take a trip back out that way so he can fully experience it!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I'm reading a big thread about Avatarland over on the theme parks board right now. I just canNOT get myself excited over it! I really did not enjoy Avatar seeing it after all the hype surrounding it. And I don't think it fits in with AK, nor do I think it will bring over as many guests to AK as they are thinking it will. Hopefully it quietly goes the way of Hyperion Wharf at DTD...

Completely agree and share the same feelings with you about Avatarland. When they first announced the project, it just didn't seem like a good fit. James Cameron (as much as I love most of his movies, Avatar not so much) has such a singular vision of his own projects that I didn't think he would be able to mesh and work well with the Disney Imagineers. Disney has such a huge cache of Pixar movies to tap into for its future projects, I would rather have them spend the money and time on those rather than Avatar.

 

[jenny105]

Completely agree and share the same feelings with you about Avatarland. When they first announced the project, it just didn't seem like a good fit. James Cameron (as much as I love most of his movies, Avatar not so much) has such a singular vision of his own projects that I didn't think he would be able to mesh and work well with the Disney Imagineers. Disney has such a huge cache of Pixar movies to tap into for its future projects, I would rather have them spend the money and time on those rather than Avatar.

I"ve heard it's been pushed back already because Cameron & Disney have 'creative differences.' You think? I never thought it was a good idea because while there are sequels planned, right now there is only one movie. It may not have any staying power. It's not like Harry Potter. A better option would have been Lord of the Rings but I don't see how that would tie in with AK either. As long as they don't build a Twilightland, we're good.

 

[skier_pete]

I'm reading a big thread about Avatarland over on the theme parks board right now. I just canNOT get myself excited over it! I really did not enjoy Avatar seeing it after all the hype surrounding it. And I don't think it fits in with AK, nor do I think it will bring over as many guests to AK as they are thinking it will. Hopefully it quietly goes the way of Hyperion Wharf at DTD...

Not to go too far OT, but I don't get all the dislike for "Avatarland". The movie wasn't great, but the concept for Animal Kingdom is actually pretty fitting - you do realize that "Avatar" was essentially "Pocahantas" with Sci-Fi trappings.

I look at it this way...most Disney fans wanted "Beastly Kingdom" built at AK, right? Well, if done right, this is essentially "Beastly Kingdom", just with different versions of Dragons and Unicorns.

I think Disney made a big mistake announcing that deal without any details or concept art. However, they wanted an investment of that size (half a billion $) to have some sort of name recognition. And not just in the US, worldwide. "Beastly Kingdom" peaks very little interest, "Avatar" at least gets people interested. In the end it will be quality of the product that gets you going and going back. If Universal had bought "Harry Potter" and then put up a shoddy park, no one would be going by now.

 

[afwdwfan]

Carsland just looks absolutely incredible. I would definitely love to see it added to WDW. Anything to add more attractions that can be enjoyed by the whole family would be a nice addition to the Studios for sure.

I'm glad that you were able to get there early enough to take a couple of rides on RSR before the line got really backed up.

As for the Avatar discussion... well, let's just say I'm not that excited about that prospect. I really didn't even like the movie. I guess Disney's gonna do what they wanna do though. I just hope that if they do go forward with it, they make it something awesome, but I would definitely rather see Disney or Pixar movies represented in the parks.