Any less obvious "can't misses" for Cars fans?

chaunacey

Earning My Ears
Joined
Apr 3, 2013
I have been lurking and learning here for about a year since we initially planned our trip last summer for the opening of CarsLand. Fortunately, we had to cancel our trip due to unforeseen circumstances and are grateful we didn't have to fight the insane crowds that week. We have rebooked for June 9-13 in a Hojo Kid's suite (booked at 20% off during the January Facebook deal). Our kids (5&7) are huge Cars fans and are less familiar with Disney characters. We will have 4-day hoppers and are planning to spend 2 days at each park. I have done much reading here regarding RSR strategies we will utilize those to ride as many times as we can, as well as visit the other Carsland rides and restaurants (Flo's and "Cones"). Are there any other events/activities that would appeal to our kids? I read briefly about a button/pin collection? Any more info on that? Any opinions on Ridemakerz? Anything else to do/buy that our Cars-loving kids would enjoy?

Also, one general question, do people generally buy the ear hats on site or before the trip?

Thanks in advance!
 
I've never built a car at RideMakerz, but I've been through the store a few times with my kids. It looks like it would be quite a fun experience, getting to build and customize your own car. You can of course get kits that are Cars character based.

I'm not able to think of anything otherwise that isn't available in Cars Land. If you're at DCA for two days, you'll experience every bit that it can offer. I would though recommend you are in Cars Land at least once around sunset when they do the street lighting ceremony. It's in the daily schedule they hand out at the gate, but it doesn't get talked about a lot. I like those kinds of things myself though.

Be sure you eat at least one meal at Flo's out on the patio so you can watch the RSR cars go by while you eat. This is the single best experience you can have at Cars Land short of riding RSR. The food isn't my favorite personally, but it's such a great setting.
 
I have never been to Ridemakerz but it's on our list this year. I enjoyed this post:

http://www.disunplugged.com/2010/03/03/ridemakerz/

The LEGO store in DTD is AMAZING! Even if you just look at the LEGO statues outside. I think in the Star Wars gift shop you can make your own lightsaber (if your kids like Star Wars). I also recommend the Jedi Academy show - my DD is horrified at the idea of participating in the show but desperately wants to see it every day we are there.

I've heard about a Cars Meet and Greet but don't really get how that works. Also not sure if the Cars characters are in the Pixar Parade?

Would they enjoy getting collecting autographs from other characters? It would be a way for them to learn more about them but if they aren't interested probably not the best idea. I've been reading up about pin trading myself, I'm sure someone will pass on info about that.

I would wait to buy ears until you are there mostly because I find the "looking for ears" to be part of the fun. There are just so, so many choices.

Have fun!!
 
We were at DLR with our friends and their Cars-loving 4 year old little boy. He did a meet and greet with Mater and Lightning McQueen and I thought the little boy was going to pop from excitement! And when Mater talked to him --- oh my! the excitement that so clearly filled every inch of his little person! It was fantastic!

On a different note, there are tons of little details everywhere in Cars Land. Leave some time to just walk around and look at them, especially if they are fans of the movies.

Also, there's a beatbox car that drives through CL and does a show that we all (including the 4 year old) enjoyed.

HTH,
Dreams
 


Some kids who are into characters meet and greets like to get an autograph book and get autographs from each character. My kids never were into this.

One thing they were into were pressed pennies. There are a lot around DLR and you can get different Disney stamps on the pennies and there are places there (well there were ten years ago when we did it) where you can buy collection books for the pressed pennies.

You also can get a book or look at a website on hidden Mickeys. Searching for them is fun. Start here:

http://www.hiddenmickeyguy.com/
http://www.hiddenmickeys.org/HiddenMickey.html

:wizard:
 
Hi! I have two boys 5 and 3 and they also LOVE Cars. I would recommend waiting to get the ears at the park. They have really cool Cars Land specific ears that I bet your kids will love!

Definitely do the meet n greets. Both Mater and Lightning are at the Cozy Cone, and they take turns with the meet n greet. Sometimes Red is out and about too.

We went last year when it was brand new and we literally were in Cars Land almost the entire day. If your kids have seen the movie hundreds of times like mine, they will really love it. It's like walking into Radiator Springs. Really cool! They liked exploring everywhere in Cars Land! I agree with waiting for the lights to come on at sunset. It's pretty awesome!

We like the food a Flo's. You can get a kids meal that comes in a Lightning McQueen car. My kids still play with theirs all the time. I think you can get popcorn in them too. It's a neat souvenir. We also like to eat on the back patio at Flo's to watch the RSR ride. And it's a gorgeous view =) We like to get a dipped cone at the Cozy Cone too. Yum!

One tip for RSR, is that we found the boys could see better in the front seat. Of course the photo at the end doesn't turn out the best because they are so little, but they like sitting in the front and on the sides. A lot of people don't like Luigis, but our kids think it's super fun, and to me that's what matters most. Maters is a blast, but it whips you around pretty good, so I always put my arm around the boys.

There's a show with DJ where he plays music and some girls dance. As an adult, it's kinda cheesy, but our kids like it and love the music. So we usually watch it. It's just in the middle of the intersection there. Oh and make sure to walk around Flo's, there's a display of Doc's Piston cups inside and our boys love to get their photo taken there.

The detail in Cars Land is amazing. You will have SO much fun!!
 
Thanks all. I have a bunch more to add to my itinerary and will definitely wait to get our ears in the park. I'll have to bring this thread along so I don't forget any of these tips.
 


My daughter (11) really enjoyed the Sh-Boom song when the neon lights came on in the evening, she was 'driving' up and down the street just like they did in the movie. We really liked all the little details in Carsland.
 
Don't forget to enjoy Carsland at night. It is really beautiful! There is a walkway from the Pacific Wharf area that comes really closes to RSR. We were walking there at night and the cars started racing. My DS thought the cars were coming right toward him! He started running and we all had a good laugh.
 
Definitely walk from Flo's to the Pacific Wharf and back. The views are insane. What is actually 300 yards away looks 2 miles away.

Also, be sure to find this mural to the left of the Stanley fountain/courthouse. It's out of the way. If you can, ask a wandering (no tripod) PhotoPass photographer to walk over with you to take your picture.

images
 
ValpoCory, thank you for posting that picture of the mural--I have never seen that before, and I thought I had paid really good attention in Carsland!:confused3
 
ValpoCory, thank you for posting that picture of the mural--I have never seen that before, and I thought I had paid really good attention in Carsland!:confused3

No problem. It's easy to miss. I knew it was in the movie in that location, so made certain to check in real life.
 
This is a great thread - we are really looking forward to just visiting Radiator Springs and taking in all the details as much as we are the rides.

We plan to watch the original Cars movie a few days before flying down to LA. That way it can all be fresh, even though I have heard that movie about 200 times when my kids were younger. :crazy2:
 
When we were there in November we were able to get a collection of Pins from CM in Cars Land. They would give four of them if you would do a dare. I had to sing "A Whole New World" in the middle of the street. Totally worth it for my little girls who badly wanted the buttons. Keep an eye out for them.
 
A few things that my kids loved in Carsland... other than the obvious RSR of course:

1) Collecting buttons. They hand them out most places in Carsland. We got them at Flos each time we ate there and at Cozy Cones. By the end of our trip, both girls had every single button. They enjoyed collecting them.

2) DJ - He comes out with a crew of dancers several times a day. It's very cool at night as he lights up like crazy. The dancers like to include young crowd watchers too.

3) Don't miss Mater's Tractors! We heard of so many people who "didn't bother" because it didn't look like much fun. We all loved it and rode it at least 5 times. Lines tend not to be long on this too. The music so so cheeky.

4) Town "light up" - if you hit Carsland at dusk (CMs know what time this is), you can watch them light up the town. It's pretty neat to see. Plus Carsland is 10x more beautiful at night. It's amazing!

5) Meet and greet with Mater and Lightning. One of them is almost always at the Cozy Cone. Line moves fast and for the little Cars fans, it is so exciting when they actually talk to them.

6) Cozy Cone treats. My dh and kids loved the ice cream. I couldn't get enough of the pretzel bites with cheese. They were so soft and yummy!

7) Flo's kids waffles breakfast. We all had this two days in a row. The waffles are so tasty and the bacon and fruit are perfect side kicks. Cheap too.

8) I second (third?) taking the walkway between the wharf and Carsland, especially at night. There are beautiful photo spots there and very little people. There is often a photopass photographer there too. They took our favorite picture from our trip there.
 
I was thinking the other day, trying to list all the Cars 2 references in Cars Land. I came up with just 4.

1. Sir Tow Mater sign -- Pathway near LFT exit
An-entrance-sign-for-CarsLand-from-BugsLand-620x370.jpg


2. Picture of Shu Todoroki -- LFT Queue
cars-2-shu-todoroki.jpg


3. A couple images of Francesco Bernoulli -- LFT Queue
cars-2-franceso-bernoulli.jpg


4. A line in the son "Let's Go Driving", which plays as one of the 7 Mater songs at MJJ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvZZf3i77VQ
"I was a spy for the good guys,
A hero in England and France."

Any others?
 
I have never been to Ridemakerz but it's on our list this year. I enjoyed this post:

http://www.disunplugged.com/2010/03/03/ridemakerz/

The LEGO store in DTD is AMAZING! Even if you just look at the LEGO statues outside. I think in the Star Wars gift shop you can make your own lightsaber (if your kids like Star Wars). I also recommend the Jedi Academy show - my DD is horrified at the idea of participating in the show but desperately wants to see it every day we are there.

I've heard about a Cars Meet and Greet but don't really get how that works. Also not sure if the Cars characters are in the Pixar Parade?

Would they enjoy getting collecting autographs from other characters? It would be a way for them to learn more about them but if they aren't interested probably not the best idea. I've been reading up about pin trading myself, I'm sure someone will pass on info about that.

I would wait to buy ears until you are there mostly because I find the "looking for ears" to be part of the fun. There are just so, so many choices.

Have fun!!
Thanks for sharing this.. I loved the link about Ridemakerz... Now I'm considering it!!!
 
Thanks for sharing this.. I loved the link about Ridemakerz... Now I'm considering it!!!


Omg my hubby and my son will love doing this!! I bet I can convince my hubby to do this for him and my son and I can do BBB for our daughter :goodvibes I think this is a good trade off :)
 
If you stay at a DLR hotel, you can do RideMakerz on certain mornings before the store even opens, so a quiet, non-crowded, personal session with your kids and any others from the three hotels who signed up. My three sons did this, and it was just us and a bro-sis pair with their parents. So we all got lots of attention from the staff. After all, we're all there definitely to buy and there's no one else but you, so we got a special experience.

DJ's dance parties are a lot of fun, and kids are invited to dance right next to fim with the girls. So, an extroverted child can have a lot of fun getting right in the mix.

In November, we were disappointed to discover that there was no Lightning or Mater in the Pixar parade, maybe because they're almost always in Radiator Springs now or we just saw it on a weird day.

If you guys collect lots of Cars 1:55 diecast vehicles, watch out for your wallet at Sarge's Surplus in CL. The store features both hard-to-find characters (we got the Popemobile, who has his own name, in November, which became a lot more fun in the past month) and DLR exclusives like RSR cars like the ones in which you ride and Lightning in Mickey ears and Mater in a Goofy hat.
Also at Sarge's: the Carsland CD. We LOVE this, the 3yo requests it daily. The songs from Mater's Junkyard Jamboree are all there, and they are really clever. It also is such a fond memento of our time there. I only wish they had sold a CD of the altered Christmas songs you can hear in CL at Holiday time.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top