Disney California Adventure – Cars Land, Carthay Circle, Buena Vista Street – Wow!

Hi everyone!

One year ago, I'd posted photos of the upcoming Cars Land area at Disney California Adventure (I still want to type an 's after Disney!)  Now we've had the chance to spend a few days within this new land, as well as in the Buena Vista Street area, and we've even enjoyed lunch at Carthay Circle! I wanted to share a few photos from our trip, with much more coming in the next couple of weeks.

The photos aren't really in any specific order, I'm working on photo walks (and Jeff on video walks) of both Cars Land and Buena Vista Street. When I first visited Disney's California Adventure in 2001, I was underwhelmed. That isn't the case anymore! Disney California Adventure now celebrates the history and heritage of Walt Disney, and I've seen so many guests comment excitedly about Cars Land.

We were told by an Imagineer that we should try entering Cars Land the first time from the Pacific Wharf location. That is what we did, and the view is tremendous! This was our first look into Cars Land:

 

 

 

We were really fortunate to ride Radiator Springs Racers with little wait – just 20 – 30 minutes in the single riders line each time!

 

 

 

The first evening, we enjoyed the Mad T Party, which replaced Electronica. It's a lot of fun, and the band is terrific.

 

 

Luigi's Flying Tires is not as much fun as I'd hoped upon first hearing about it, but we still had a good time. I wish the movement of the attraction was faster! There are so many tiny details within the land, including these tires on the fences (with the attraction in the background):

 

 

The attraction as it looks at dusk:

 

 

 

Some of the elements in Cars Land remind us so much of Disney's Art of Animation Resort in Florida!

 

 

The moon rises over Cars Land:

 

 

Jeff bought himself a cone drink:

 

 

Mater's Junkyard Jamboree is surprisingly fun! And I love how the color of the attraction blends with the Tower of Terror in the background (as do the cones).

 

 

Welcome to Radiator Springs:

 

 

Lightning McQueen and Mater greet guests in Cars Land. In this photo, Lightning McQueen is driving away from the meet & greet location, as Mater takes his place. You can see the Tower of Terror in the background.

 

 

This is one of our new favorite attractions, the Red Trolley! We've ridden it quite a few times so far.

 

 

Posing with Walt and Mickey:

 

 

Oswald's is a gift shop that sells a few Oswald items, along with other gifts and sundries.

 

 

We had a wonderful meal at the Carthay Circle Restaurant – we were there for 3 hours! I never thought I'd eat a $22 hamburger, but now I can say I have. 🙂 The atmosphere is incredible, and we will have full photos and video up in the next few weeks.

 

 

And here we are with Mickey:

 

 

I've taken a thousand or so photos so far between Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, but I expect to take a lot more than that as we work on the photo and video walks in the next couple of days. If you've not been to Disneyland in a few years, I can't think of a more perfect time to plan a trip!