Fairly odd RSR question (spoilers?)

[NorthernCalMom]

Just out of curiosity (we're going in August, so there'll be probably enough crowds that we're lucky to get to ride it at all, given that we have little children and can't use the single rider line): I saw that the last portion of the ride is a "race." My 4-year-old is extremely competitive and tends to angrily pout for a while if there is anything that involves comparing oneself against another, which she doesn't win. I consider her "losses" life lessons, so I'm not avoiding them but it helps both me and her if we can prepare for it ahead of time.

Hence, my question: On the pictures, there's usually Lightning McQueen racing another car. Does the former always win, or is that somewhat unpredictable? Again, I don't think it'll be realistic to pick the car we use, given how busy it'll probably be, but if I can warn her ahead of time (reminding her that we won't be able to decide which car to pick and don't have any influence over the speed, we don't know if we'll "win" the race, that it's not about winning but about enjoying the ride), I hope to cut down on subsequent moping.

So, any of you who rode the ride: Who "won" in your case, or was it a tie?

 

[nunzia]

None of the cars is really Lightning McQueen..they are just different colors. I have no clue who won in my race..everyone was laughing and such and I didn't hear. It is really not made a big deal of, so your DD may not even notice. Is she tall enough to ride? It is pretty intense.

 

[NorthernCalMom]

Thanks Nunzia! That sounds promising and will hopefully discourage her frantic keeping track of who is going to be first. Yes, she's finally tall enough for everything at California Adventure, with the exception of "California Screaming" (which I have not intention of riding anyhow... I'm a coaster wimp). I'm 5'11", and both of my girls take after me height wise. Last year she was still missing 1/2 inch for being allowed to do the Redwood Challenge Trail's zip line and rock climbing (and went into the line a combined about a dozen times hoping that different CMs would come up with different measurements...).

 

[sheetz]

It's supposed to be randomized so you don't know if you'll win. Maybe you can prepare her to lose, like tell her most people lose their first time until they get better at it. Then if you happen to win say you were lucky.

 

[DLR29]

You can't control who wins or loses, but it is REALLY close (I've won twice, lost once). The winning car is only a few feet ahead at the finish line.

Also the audio for the winning car definitely says something along lines of "Congrats, you won!". The audio for the losing car says something like "Good job! Great racing out there", so she may not even know who wins!

 

[luvflorida]

We just got back from Disneyland last night. Our 3 1/2 year old grandson (he'll be four in two months) rode the Radiator Springs Racers four times, and later today I plan on posting about his experiences in Cars Land.

He absolutely LOVED the RSR! To address your concerns, none of the cars are Lightning McQueen. The cars are just different colors and you get in whichever car pulls up in front of you. The winner of the race is downplayed, almost to the point where you might not even realize which car wins. There is so much going on and the ride is so exciting, that crossing the finish line first is hardly something you notice! Our grandson's car lost the race three out of the four times he rode, but I don't think he ever even realized whether his car won or lost.

We were a little concerned if our grandson would even be able to ride the racers, because he is just 40", but he measured fine at the ride. I was also concerned that he might not like RSR because they do go quite fast during the racing part of the ride, but he LOVED the ride!

 

[cats mom]

I have one of those ultra competitve kids too and even though the pp's are correct that a lot is going on and the win/lose thing is downplayed, my guess is your DD will know whether her car won or lost. I swear it's just built into their DNA.

DS won once and lost once. He says winning was better, but the ride was enough fun that there was no pouting over the loss. I think you're wise to ask the question and prepare her in advance though.

FWIW there really is no way to choose the winning car in advance, even if they'd allow it.

 

[Rhonna]

Could you tell her the computer that runs the ride controls the winner and it's random, that it has nothing to do with who is in the cars, that even if the cars were empty the computer determines the outcome? Would she comprehend that at her age? Or do you think telling her would spoil the magic for her? The simple truth often works the best.