Disney
hopes visitors will get their kicks on Route 66 when Cars Land, the main
attraction in a billion-dollar renovation to "Disney-fy" the
underperforming California Adventure next to Disneyland, is unveiled Friday.
"We
want you to immerse yourself in storytelling; to become part of the
story," said Debra Kohls, Disneyland manager of public affairs, during a
recent preview tour. "You're not just going on a ride."
Like
the Disney/Pixar movie "Cars," the new California Adventure park
attraction bridges the generations -- from people who really did travel decades
ago along Route 66, experiencing real-life towns that resembled Radiator
Springs, to the youngest among us who can only imagine the adventure, and who
dream that cars and trucks with names like Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater
actually exist.
When
Cars Land opens later this week, guests will find a colorful combination of artistry,
imagination, adventure and nostalgia.
"It's
a spectacular time for us," said Kohls, predicting diehard Disney fans
will be lining up all night Thursday to be the first admitted to the new
attractions. California Adventure will be closed on Thursday to prepare for the
grand opening the next day.
In
the 12-acre Cars Land, which has been constructed on a former parking lot, is
Radiator Springs, an imaginary city nestled in Ornament Valley. A nearly
life-like mountain range has been crafted to mirror the rugged southwest United
States landscape.
Cars
Land features three new attractions: Radiator Springs Racers, a ride that puts
guests in convertibles that race around canyons and desert scenery; Luigi's
Flying Tires, a version of Disney's Flying Saucers, where guests steer tires
that float on cushions of air; and Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, where small
tractors pull guests around in trailers.
In
addition to rides, Cars Land is packed with dining spots, such as Flo's V8 Cafe,
where apple and chocolate mud pies are served up, the Cozy Cone Motel and
Fillmore's Taste-In. Next to Flo's is Ramone's House of Body Art, a car
souvenir store, just one of the many shops where all types of "Cars"
memorabilia can be found.
For
those of us who have actually traveled quirky Route 66, the sights and sounds
of Cars Land will seem eerily reminiscent of those that passed outside our car
windows. Remember the monuments created from hub caps? The tee-pee shaped
motels? The other downright weird things? Yep, you will find them in Cars Land.
The Disney imagineers meticulously collected and re-created some of the finest
treasures that once cluttered Route 66.
Beginning
with brainstorming, creation of Cars Land has been a five-year effort by
hundreds of contractors, architects, model makers, designers and landscapers. The
effort included a 10-day road trip down the Mother Road by imagineers, with
Route 66 historian Michael Wallis pointing the way.
"If
we were going to bring Radiator Springs to life, we had to travel 66, starting
in Oklahoma. We were trying to re-create the environment; the beautiful rocks;
all the details of Route 66," said Kohls, noting as examples that Flo's V8
Cafe is inspired by the Midway Cafe in Texas. The iconic Sandhills Curiosity
Shop in Erick, Okla., also provided inspiration for Cars Land.
Walt
Disney's California
Not
to be overshadowed by Cars Land is the new Buena Vista Street, where guests
enter the park through streamline moderne gates. There they will find the
California Walt Disney embraced when he arrived as a young man, suitcase in
hand, said Kohls. The flavor of 1920s and 1930s California has been re-created
in the art deco store fronts, Spanish-tile roofs, wrought- iron balconies,
fountains and shade trees.
Cars
Land and the new Buena Vista Street are the final phases of a multi-year, $1.1
billion renovation of Disney's California Adventure park, which opened in 2001.
Even
Disney officials admit California Adventure, which is located adjacent to the
storied Disneyland in Anaheim and originally designed to celebrate what is
unique about California, has been a disappointment from the start. Opening with
a prediction of 7 million visitors the first year, that attendance goal has yet
to be reached.
While
Disney officials decline to make public their parks' attendance figures, AECOM
Economics, a research firm that tracks theme parks, reported the number of
people who pass through California Adventure's gates inched up to 6.3 million
last year.
Initially
overshadowed by Disneyland, California Adventure lacked the sparkle and unique
features of a Disney theme park. Its opening rides were mediocre. Missing were
the traditional Disney characters.
In
a 2010 interview with The Wall Street Journal, Walt Disney Co. CEO Robert Iger
candidly admitted the shortcomings.
"Steve
Jobs (was) fond of talking about brand deposits and brand withdrawals. Any time
you do something mediocre with your brand, that's a withdrawal," Iger told
The Journal. "California Adventure was a brand withdrawal."
Iger
said Disney officials debated the park's future, at one point considering
making it simply a part of Disneyland. That plan was snagged by the price tag,
including the cost of building a transportation system to create one large
park.
"We
all concluded that the only way we would improve returns on that park is if we
made it better and we made it bigger. And we decided to put what is now
(around) $1 billion into that," he said.
Among
the earlier phases in the five-year California Adventure renovation was to
"Disneyfy" -- or include Disney characters -- in the entire park. An
example of that strikes visitors near the entrance. What once was a huge
California sun blaring out from the Paradise Pier Ferris wheel is now a huge
smiling Mickey Mouse.
Many
of the original attractions were closed and reopened as "new
inventions." For example, Mulholland Madness closed in 2010 and reopened
as Goofy's Sky School, based on the short film "Goofy's Glider."
A
crowd-pleaser, which is credited with increasing attendance, is the nighttime
spectacular World of Color, a water-and-fire show that opened in 2010. It is
just one of the many live entertainment features that park creators hope will
keep visitors lingering in California Adventure, making it a full-day stop on a
multi-day visit to the two Anaheim parks.
Cars
Land is a much-needed tie between the park and the successful Disney movie,
"Cars."
Kevin
Rafferty, director of Walt Disney Imagineering and a self-proclaimed "car
nut," admits that his work on Cars Land has been a dream job.
In
a California Adventure preview video interview, Rafferty got misty eyed as he
recalled his own childhood memories of Route 66. He also recalled a recent
night, when he and his co-workers test-drove the Radiator Springs Racers. He
said he flashed back to a road trip through Utah he took as a kid. He
remembered being in the back seat of his father's '62 Bonneville, looking
through the rear window.
"That's
the moment I realized how real and amazing this all is. I couldn't believe we
were actually building this thing."
The
new stuff will cost you
Admission
to California Adventure and Disneyland just got more expensive, as prices have
jumped 9 percent for a one-day pass and 30 percent for the premium annual pass
that includes parking. The price increase comes just days before the
long-awaited completion of the California Adventure's renovation is unveiled.
Visitors
who are 10 years of age and older and who pass through the gates of California
Adventure and Disneyland on Friday, which is the grand opening of Cars Land,
will pay $87, a nearly 9 percent increase in the one-day one-park admission.
The
premium annual pass, which gives access to both parks, with no block-out dates,
now costs $649, a 30 percent increase.
Debra
Kohls, public affairs manager of Disneyland, explained the summer is the
traditional time for theme parks to increase admission prices. She said the
increase is justified by the value that has been added to California Adventure
and to Disneyland.
This
story appeared in The Bakersfield Californian on June 9, 2012.
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