What time does Carsland light up?

[Mousequake]

Title pretty much says it all-- at this time of year, what time does Carsland light up? Being from Oregon, I'm used to it being pretty much full dark at 4:30-5:00, but i suspect that won't be the case in Southern CA.

 

[alex881]

I believe it is 2 minutes after sun set. If your there around sun set you'll get to see it. It's rely cool.

 

[bumbershoot]

The problem is that when you're in the parks you can't tell when the sun is setting.

We were told at twilight. Which, again, is hard to determine when you're in the parks. We were also told a specific time by someone who sounded VERY sure of himself. Thankfully we were there about half an hour early, because it started before I would EVER have considered it twilight or sunset. And it was a good 15 minutes before the CM told us it would be.

I would say "before twilight", if you can even determine when that is, LOL.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We were in Cars Land on Sat., 12/29, and the lights came on at approx. 5:55 pm PST. You can look online to see when the official sunset time was for that day and gauge how much time difference you'll need. As stated above, it doesn't hurt to be 15-20 minutes early just to be sure. Get a snack at the Cozy Cones, find a good spot on Rte. 66, and enjoy!

 

[Pinocchio #1 Fan]

We were in Cars Land on Sat., 12/29, and the lights came on at approx. 5:55 pm PST. You can look online to see when the official sunset time was for that day and gauge how much time difference you'll need. As stated above, it doesn't hurt to be 15-20 minutes early just to be sure. Get a snack at the Cozy Cones, find a good spot on Rte. 66, and enjoy!

This is the best way to do it. Just wanted to add that if anyone visiting wants to know what time sunset is, go to www.ocregister.com and click the weather link at the top right. This is the local newspaper for Orange County, and the weather is from Santa Ana, which is the same as Anaheim, since they are neighboring cities. The weather page also tells you the sunset and sunrise times. You can check this in the morning before you head to the parks.

 

[Mousequake]

We were in Cars Land on Sat., 12/29, and the lights came on at approx. 5:55 pm PST. You can look online to see when the official sunset time was for that day and gauge how much time difference you'll need. As stated above, it doesn't hurt to be 15-20 minutes early just to be sure. Get a snack at the Cozy Cones, find a good spot on Rte. 66, and enjoy!

Thanks! Looks like sunset was officially at 4:52 p.m. on December 29, and it's at 5:05 p.m. for most of our trip next week, so it looks like I should expect light-up to be around 6:00 still.

 

[Dizzy4DL]

Thanks to the OP for asking, this was something I needed to know. See you there next week.

 

[ColoradoLime]

Can I ask a silly question - does something special happen when the lights come on or are you hanging out just to see them come on? I haven't heard about this before so I'm not sure what the deal is with this.

 

[bumbershoot]

Can I ask a silly question - does something special happen when the lights come on or are you hanging out just to see them come on? I haven't heard about this before so I'm not sure what the deal is with this.

Watch the movie; the part when the sun is setting and the lights come on with the new road. It's pretty, it's sweet, and it's over very quickly.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Also, all the neon lighting in CL is the real deal -- the Imagineers went out of their way to find neon artists who could make what Disney wanted. Watching Route 66 light up is like being in the scene in the movie. For fans of vintage cars and vintage neon signs, this is really sweet!

 

[rentayenta]

This sounds so neat.

 

[the donut]

It is amazingly like the movie. After seeing it the first day, my 3 year old demanded that we go back every night for it. He also really got into DJ's dance n drive party that happened shortly after that, if they're still doing it.

 

[danlkrim]

While we plan to enjoy all of DL and DCA, I know Carsland is going to be a highlight for us. DS7 can not wait! My parents were very into 50s so I grew up around a lot old pinball machines and several jukeboxes full of old records. We have a 1958 Ford Fairlane and I went to tons of car shows when I was younger. We drove from Texas to California in the early 70s with many stops along the way including old Tucson, the Grand Canyon and Carlsbad Caverns so Carsland kind of reminds me of him. I'm sure he would have taken us on Rt 66 at some point. My dad loved neon so seeing it light up will be magical for me.

 

[Disneylandfan1]

Where is the best place to view this? Standing near Flo's or the Cozy Cones?

 

[Disney Dreams]

The one tip I can give you to see the moment that it all lights up is:

Whenever you think you have figured out it is going to happen, be there 30 minutes before.

We have tried to see it 4 times. Missed it every single time.

Oh yeah, and when you're there --- waiting --- don't look away. Or step into a store just because you think you're early. Even for a minute.

- sigh -

- Dreams

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Where is the best place to view this? Standing near Flo's or the Cozy Cones?

Either spot should be fine. Just make sure you have a clear view of Rte. 66 and the courthouse. The lighting starts at the courthouse end, so a clear view of that helps.

 

[Crittsmom]

I think, but I'm not positive, that when you hear the Sh boom, sh boom song that is when the lights come on. It is really cool to see .

 

[ManusDei]

I think, but I'm not positive, that when you hear the Sh boom, sh boom song that is when the lights come on. It is really cool to see .

That's correct, it's the same song used in the Cars 1 scene where RS is lit up.

Btw, is holiday lighting over or are the decorations still up? Just wondering, for the holidays they played some holiday music instead of Sh-boom. Oh, and the holiday lights were turned on at this time as well as the normal neon.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Holday decorations should have come down after closing on Jan 6th, the same as for DL. For the holiday lighting, the song was "Winter Wonderland" -- it should be back to the shboom song by now.

 

[Disney Dreams]

Christmas decor has been slowly coming down. On Friday, for example, the castle still had snow on it. Not all the decor disappears overnight. I was not over at DCA Friday afternoon so I cannot comment on Cars Land.

- Dreams