Radiator Springs Racers - WDWNT Archive 2007-2010

“Topping Out” Cars Land

WDWNT Author on October 29, 2010

I witnessed a milestone in the multi-year expansion of Disney California Adventure park today. I joined some media and watched the “topping out” ceremony for the Cadillac Mountain Range’s tallest peak. At 125 feet, it’s the most visible part of the new 12-acre Cars Land, which is scheduled to open in 2012.

At the base of this mountain range will be the entrance to Radiator Springs Racers, the E-ticket thrill ride which will headline Cars Land along with other attractions, food and merchandise shops all based on the Disney-Pixar blockbuster, “Cars.”

“Topping out” is a traditional construction event among construction workers and engineers that takes place when the highest piece of steel is installed on the frame of a building. Today, we were privileged to observe this ceremony, which marked a major milestone in the construction of this new and exciting land.

As part of the tradition, the final beam is painted white and signed by the ironworkers, steel design engineer and construction management. This piece of steel will be part of the Pinnacle of the Cadillac Range, representing a 1959 Cadillac, whose tail fin was also known as the Pinnacle.

Several key people were on hand to explain the significance of this milestone, including Vice President of Disney California Adventure park, Mary Niven, Walt Disney Imagineer Kathy Mangum, and Walt Disney Imagineer Jim Kearns.

Mary Niven described the event as a huge milestone for Disney California Adventure park. “Literally and metaphorically, we’ve reached the other side of the mountain,” she said.

And there’s more exciting news about Disney California Adventure. World of Color, the nighttime spectacular which opened this past June, has now been seen by more than 1 million guests! And for those of you who have been in the park recently, you’ve seen Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure rising along the parade route. When Little Mermaid opens in 2011, along with Goofy’s Sky School and some brand new restaurants, we will have completed our work in the Paradise Pier section of the park. Whew – time flies!

Check back on the Blog later today to see video from today’s “topping-out” ceremony and time-lapse footage that shows the mountain range coming to life!

Radiator Springs Racers Testing is at Full Speed

WDWNT Author on June 25, 2010

From the Disney Parks Blog:

“Cars” is one of my all-time favorite films from Pixar and that’s why I’m so excited to give you a peek at the vehicle testing for Radiator Springs Racers. This thrilling new attraction is set to open in 2012 with the debut of Cars Land at Disney California Adventure park. Vehicle testing is an important milestone in the development process and that means we’re one big step closer to racing through this new land. Testing is expected to continue through the end of July, then the car comes off the track while construction is completed.

The bright cars you see here will each carry six guests through the twists and turns of Ornament Valley. Radiator Springs Racers covers a lot of ground – nearly half of the 12 acres in Cars Land! Check out our video and imagine what this high-speed adventure will be like.

“Start Your Engines!!!”

WDWNT Author on May 10, 2010

From the Disney Parks Blog:

Vroom, Vroom…Vroooooom! If you’re in Disney’s California Adventure park this week, you just may hear the sound of engines revving. It’s very exciting because you’re actually hearing the first early ride system tests for Radiator Springs Racers, the new E-ticket attraction coming to the all-new Cars Land, which opens in 2012.

This Radiator Springs Racers test vehicle arrived this morning, and while you’re not likely to get a good view of the car on a visit to the Park, we’re sharing some fun behind-the-scenes photos we took earlier today.

Radiator Springs Coaster

WDWNT Author on October 17, 2008

It looks like there might be a change in the planned ride system for Radiator Springs Racers, according to Screamscape:

It’s been months since we’ve heard any kind of update about Cars Land, but the latest rumor sent in this week is a doozy. One of the big assumptions about the Radiator Springs Racers ride, based on the concept artwork, is that the ride was assumed to be using a new version of the same ride system Disney first put to use on Test Track in Epcot years ago. That alone was enough to make some people cringe because the Test Track ride system was far from perfect and caused the opening of the ride to be delayed for many months. Even when it did open, the system was flawed and the ride was well known for frequent and prolonged breakdowns. California natives also introduced to a stripped down even more troublesome branch-off of the same general concept that was used to great Disneyland’s biggest attraction failure, Rocket Rods. To be fair Disney Imagineers did use the Test Track ride system again, and fixed the problem, to create the Journey To The Center of the Earth attraction at Tokyo DisneySea. However if the latest rumors for the Radiator Springs Racers are true, we may be seeing an entirely new ride system being created, one based more on the concept of using a tried and true roller coaster track system that Disney will attempt to hide from view. Apparently Disney is said to be working with one of the major coaster design companies on this concept right now. Anyone know more?