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Disney Revs Up for Cars Land Opening

Radiator Springs ride

Ladies and gentleman: Start your engines!

On June 15, the Disneyland Resort will open the highly anticipated Cars Land, a new, 12-acre section of the Disney California Adventure Park. Based on the Disney-Pixar blockbuster Cars, the land features three new attractions: Luigi’s Flying Tires, a spinning, bumper car-style ride in which the tires float on a cushion of air; Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, where riders whip around behind a baby tractor “do-si-doing” to tunes from Mater’s giant jukebox; and the thrilling Radiator Springs Racers, a ride that includes lots of fun encounters with Cars’ characters and ends with an electrifying race to the finish line.

Immersing guests in the fictional town of Radiator Springs, Cars Land uses characters and settings from the movie to create Cars-themed dining and shopping locations too. You might want to fuel up with a “cone dog” or “chili cone carne” at the Cozy Cone Motel, or enjoy a sit-down meal with a view of Ornament Valley at Flo’s V8 Café. And don’t forget to make a pit stop at Ramone’s House of Body Art and Radiator Springs Curios before you hit the road to explore other new additions to the park.

Gateway to Cars Land

Opening the same day as Cars Land are Buena Vista Street and the Carthay Circle Theatre. Beginning June 15, guests will enter Disney California Adventure along Buena Vista Street, designed to recall the era when Walt Disney first arrived in California in the 1920s. The street features Red Car Trolleys, inspired by the transportation system that once served Southern California, and the Carthay Circle Theatre, modeled after the site of the 1937 world premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The theater also includes the Carthay Circle Restaurant, which will serve as the premier dining location in Disney California Adventure.

The debut of these new attractions caps the Disneyland Resort’s five-year, $1.4 billion transformation and expansion of Disney California Adventure Park. But, in oh-so-Disney fashion, an imagineers’ work is never done. There’s lots more in store for Disney California Adventure this summer, so … stay tuned.

Take a peek at this video of Cars Land...brought to you by Disney Parks on YouTube.

 Radiator Springs ride

Ladies and gentleman: Start your engines!

On June 15, the Disneyland Resort will open the highly anticipated Cars Land, a new, 12-acre section of the Disney California Adventure Park. Based on the Disney-Pixar blockbuster Cars, the land features three new attractions: Luigi’s Flying Tires, a spinning, bumper car-style ride in which the tires float on a cushion of air; Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, where riders whip around behind a baby tractor “do-si-doing” to tunes from Mater’s giant jukebox; and the thrilling Radiator Springs Racers, a ride that includes lots of fun encounters with Cars’ characters and ends with an electrifying race to the finish line.

Immersing guests in the fictional town of Radiator Springs, Cars Land uses characters and settings from the movie to create Cars-themed dining and shopping locations too. You might want to fuel up with a “cone dog” or “chili cone carne” at the Cozy Cone Motel, or enjoy a sit-down meal with a view of Ornament Valley at Flo’s V8 Café. And don’t forget to make a pit stop at Ramone’s House of Body Art and Radiator Springs Curios before you hit the road to explore other new additions to the park.

Gateway to Cars Land

Opening the same day as Cars Land are Buena Vista Street and the Carthay Circle Theatre. Beginning June 15, guests will enter Disney California Adventure along Buena Vista Street, designed to recall the era when Walt Disney first arrived in California in the 1920s. The street features Red Car Trolleys, inspired by the transportation system that once served Southern California, and the Carthay Circle Theatre, modeled after the site of the 1937 world premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The theater also includes the Carthay Circle Restaurant, which will serve as the premier dining location in Disney California Adventure.

The debut of these new attractions caps the Disneyland Resort’s five-year, $1.4 billion transformation and expansion of Disney California Adventure Park. But, in oh-so-Disney fashion, an imagineers’ work is never done. There’s lots more in store for Disney California Adventure this summer, so … stay tuned.

Take a peek at this video of Cars Land...brought to you by Disney Parks on YouTube.

Radiator Springs ride

Ladies and gentleman: Start your engines!

On June 15, the Disneyland Resort will open the highly anticipated Cars Land, a new, 12-acre section of the Disney California Adventure Park. Based on the Disney-Pixar blockbuster Cars, the land features three new attractions: Luigi’s Flying Tires, a spinning, bumper car-style ride in which the tires float on a cushion of air; Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, where riders whip around behind a baby tractor “do-si-doing” to tunes from Mater’s giant jukebox; and the thrilling Radiator Springs Racers, a ride that includes lots of fun encounters with Cars’ characters and ends with an electrifying race to the finish line.

Immersing guests in the fictional town of Radiator Springs, Cars Land uses characters and settings from the movie to create Cars-themed dining and shopping locations too. You might want to fuel up with a “cone dog” or “chili cone carne” at the Cozy Cone Motel, or enjoy a sit-down meal with a view of Ornament Valley at Flo’s V8 Café. And don’t forget to make a pit stop at Ramone’s House of Body Art and Radiator Springs Curios before you hit the road to explore other new additions to the park.

Gateway to Cars Land

Opening the same day as Cars Land are Buena Vista Street and the Carthay Circle Theatre. Beginning June 15, guests will enter Disney California Adventure along Buena Vista Street, designed to recall the era when Walt Disney first arrived in California in the 1920s. The street features Red Car Trolleys, inspired by the transportation system that once served Southern California, and the Carthay Circle Theatre, modeled after the site of the 1937 world premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The theater also includes the Carthay Circle Restaurant, which will serve as the premier dining location in Disney California Adventure.

The debut of these new attractions caps the Disneyland Resort’s five-year, $1.4 billion transformation and expansion of Disney California Adventure Park. But, in oh-so-Disney fashion, an imagineers’ work is never done. There’s lots more in store for Disney California Adventure this summer, so … stay tuned.

Take a peek at this video of Cars Land...brought to you by Disney Parks on YouTube.

West Coast 'sister city' a Great Getaway

This article was originally posted on The Vancouver Sun and was written by Andrew McCredie.

Alcatraz from Treasure Island

Okay, first thing I learned here is never, I mean never, refer to it as 'Frisco.'

City by the Bay, no problem. The Paris of the West, sure. Even Baghdad by the Bay passes muster. But not Frisco, as I discovered on a number of occasions when uttering the F-word to the locals during a recent weekend getaway to San Fran. Who knew?

Second thing I discovered, much to my relief, is that despite not a theme park to be seen, a well-earned reputation for all things romantic, and a counter-culture history not exactly suited for young minds, San Francisco is a great place for kids.

This was my first time visiting the cosmopolitan city with children in tow, and before landing at San Francisco airport on Friday morning - less than two hours flight time from YVR - I was a bit concerned that my nine-and 11-year old, though well-travelled, might not appreciate our three-day visit to this Vancouver-esque city.

GoCar Tours San Francisco

As it turned out, the entire weekend was spent doing kid-friendly activities, and a dizzying 60 hours later while thumbing through a well-worn tourist guide awaiting our flight back to YVR on Sunday, I realized we could have spent another few before exhausting the preteen "things to do list."

They're not official sister cities, but Vancouver and San Francisco have much in common.

There's that over-arching West Coast vibe, from the tolerant and friendly populace to the wide variety and high quality of the food.

There's the climate (insert rain joke here) and the geography.

Moving Masterpieces: Houston Art Car Parade

Photo Credit: Houston Art Car Parade on Facebook

As far as big parades go, the West Coast has its baskets of Pasadena roses and the East Coast has all those flowery bonnets strolling down Fifth Avenue in New York City. But it’s down south, in Houston, where you’ll find the streets blooming with one-of-a-kind “art cars.”

Befitting its Texas-sized roots, the Houston Art Car Parade was the first Art Car parade in the world, and to this day it remains the largest.

This year’s weekend of activities, taking place May 10-12, will celebrate the arty auto-pageant’s 25th anniversary and, as in years past, parade-goers will have a chance to witness a collision of imaginatively decorated wheeled-wonders, from classic cars and motorcycles to giant monstrosities that will have you wondering not only what they are, but how they make it down the street. This parade even has a bit of a “green” thumb, with human-powered vehicles including bicycles, roller-blades and skates of different stripes and sizes participating in the event.

Photo Credit: Houston Art Car Parade on Facebook

So how did Houston end up as the Art Car parade capitol?

In a city that prides itself on art for young and old alike, this particular spectacle started back in 1984, when The Orange Show Foundation, a Houston art center dedicated to preserving and promoting visionary art environments (read: quirky folk art spaces), commissioned the “Fruitmobile,” recognizing that the art car is a mobile visionary art site. This led to the first annual Art Car Parade, co-sponsored with the Houston International Festival in 1988. The parade has grown into Art Car Weekend, attracting participants from around the world and including a series of events that celebrate this art form.

Photo Credit: Houston Art Car Parade on Facebook

The weekend’s festivities kick off with what is widely regarded as one of Houston's wildest parties of the year, the “Art Car Ball.” It’s a chance for fun-loving parade-goers to dress up in their own costumes with moving parts that light up or beep and just might rival a few of the cars out on the street. And to take the party into high gear this year, the one and only Dirty Dozen Brass Band will be providing what’s sure to be a high-octane performance.

This is one place where you can toot your own horn all weekend long—as long as it’s on wheels!