The Cars wing of the Art of Animation Resort opened yesterday, June 13th. Sorry that coverage of the opening of Cars Land over at Disney’s California Adventure is so lousy. This will have to do.
Someone had asked about pricing on this hat when we took a look at the rest of the Art of Animation merchandise.
It’s $19.95 or 2.5094 keychains.
But we’re interested in Radiator Springs, A Happy Place.
And Cadillac Range.
And Ornament Valley. This section of the resort officially opens June 18th. Like the Finding Nemo Wing, it only houses family suites.
It isn’t anywhere close to as bright as Nemo, which is fine with me.
This is one of the only places where you can pose next to these Cars characters.
The Hudson Hornet.
Hello.
The rear end.
Others:
We’ll take a look at the others as we progress. The ground underneath and around the various characters is soft as I’m sure Disney realizes every single Princess Snowflake that runs through here is going to claw at the eyes and kick the hubcaps. In other words, they’ll look this good until…well….probably yesterday.
Our version of the Cozy Cone Motel, which is the facade for the area’s pool.
To the side.
And the windows:
T-minus two seconds until those cone planters are for sale…I hope. Cultivating mescaline has always been a dream of mine.
The pool in three parts:
I can picture some fist fights erupting over those cone cabanas. Just put your towels down the morning you arrive and pick them up when you leave. Or don’t even bother picking them up, it’s your vacation!
It’s obviously much smaller than the Nemo pool and I can envision overcrowding being an “issue.” While nowhere near as elaborately themed as the Big Blue Pool, it will certainly appeal to those who are staying in the Cars wing due to the theme. Like the main pool, it is gated and RFID protected.
Everything is themed.
Just look up at the electrical lines that “power” the lamp posts.
Each of the buildings’ main entrances has an elaborate entrance.
In this case, Mater. You’d think those imagineers could build something straight! Everything is so crooked!
And rusty! Shut it down right now!
A closer look:
This license plate is going to become important later!
Like right now.
Sarge’s Surplus Hut with the requisite flag and canon logo. I don’t think it opens.
Maybe I will move in. My cottage in the Canada Pavilion is getting a little cramped with all of the women around.
Pretty cool!
Unfortunately they were having a problem with poop here too. It seems to follow me wherever I go. That’s an industrial size Roto Rooter truck behind the sign. The entire area stunk. Dinner in 15 minutes, kids!
Over to Luigi’s Casa Della Tires. That child invading my photography space should give you an idea on size.
Don’t worry, I promptly kicked him out of the way after he fulfilled my needs. It might be your vacation, but pictures for the Internet trump your family’s enjoyment of anything and everything.
Sup playas!
More information for your brain. Don’t worry, this isn’t going to turn into a sense website. There is no room with all of THIS NONSENSE.
Okay, one more while we’re here.
Fillmore’s Organic Fuel and Wheel Well Motel.
Fillmore:
The children were trying to open the doors. Not sure the parents would want to see what goes on in there!
A better look at the Wheel Well.
Butt(e) gas.
It’s an election year. Prices might continue to drop!
Lightning:
Shiny, but for how long?
Carrera de Vil, Carrera de Vil…
Inside, WDW Research is researching one thing or another. I’m not sure what an Engineering Punch List is.
Q: Will the building fall over?
A (Please Circle One): Yes/No
Each floor has its own painting outside the elevators:
Along with some paintings of rocks. The halls inside are as dark as the Nemo wing’s.
Snacks.
Swimming cars.
Another fact.
A look from the back.
Like the other buildings, the backside each features a character as its animated.
I think the funniest thing I read about the resort was that some people feel like it’s “unfinished” because of the line drawings.
But you’re sort of missing the point of the whole thing. See how Squirt on the left and Dory on the right cover the buildings and then meet here at the end, fully colored in and animated? Yeah, that’s the point.
That about sums things up. I like the Cars section a lot. It isn’t quite as bright or “in your face” as the Nemo area around the Big Blue Pool. Inside, the suites themselves don’t seem to be as bright either.
But I think the Lion King section is going to be my personal favorite.
I love all the trees and vegetation.
And Rafiki!
A few more of basically the exact same thing:
Wheeeee.
You may remember me praising the Landscape of Flavors quick service in Landscape of Flavors at Art of Animation Menu, Food, Seating, Condiment Pictures AKA Part 2. It turns out that it totally sucks with people around!
Nobody knows what they want to order. Since the food is different than most other quick services, there is a lot of discussion going on.
I had praised the fact that there was so much room behind the lines for people to read the menus. Unfortunately, the words are so small that a lot of people were having trouble reading them from that distance. And you need to stand smack dab where the entrance into the line is to have a head-on look at the menu. The lines are so far apart that it’s going to be difficult for a parent with two children to have one child stand in line alone while the other parent is off elsewhere. By the time you stand in two lines, the food from the first line is going to be cold. Everything is painfully slow. I waited in line for 14 minutes for my Surf and Surf Burger and the resort isn’t even 25% full! Can they increase staffing? Yes, but there is only one register at the front of the line to take orders and that seemed to be what took so long. We’ll see if they install others. Just imagine how long it takes for someone to decide what toppings they want on their burger:
Especially if that person is in another line!
And oh my gosh is it loud! And this is with only 20% of the resort full, if that! Just listen to all that silverware clanging around! And they’re playing music over the top of it! I’m not sure you really get the feel for how loud and hectic it is from the video.
This is the Surf and Surf Burger ($10.29).
As described.
I wanted to like this one a lot more than I ended up liking it. On the positive side, it was very filling. Five hours later I was still full, which is rare for a Disney quick service meal these days. The Crab Cake itself didn’t fall apart on me. If anything, it bizarrely held together even as I was trying to pull it apart to inspect it. I’m not a strong guy, but I am generally known for my ability to pull apart patties. There was definitely some crab inside of it. How much is hard to say. The bun was amazing. I wish they would roll the brioche out resort-wide as the wheat/whatever buns they generally serve are garbage. The fries are the same as your usual Disney fries, though the “house made seasoning” adds a little zip. I preferred them over the usual salted variety. On the downside, it was a mess to eat. You’ve got a wet, slippery crab cake on top of a wet, slippery piece of lettuce, on top of a wet, slippery tomato, on top of wet, slippery sauce. And then shrimp are falling out all over the place. I thought the flavor was overwhelmingly fishy. Don’t tell me the sodium content of this thing.
I still hold out a lot of hope for Landscape of Flavors. I respect what they’re trying to do. I’m just not sure it’s going to work. There wasn’t anyone in the Tandoori line, while 15 or 20 people hovered around the burger line. I’m not sure they’re going to speed things up just based on the inherent time it takes to prepare everything. In the next Art of Animation Update, we’re going to try the Cheesy Pesto Bread and the Gelato, both of which are going to take a chunk of time to prepare as well and I was the only one in line. I can foresee the addition of some more basic items on the menu as well. A year down the line, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a barbecue station replace the Tandoori station. We’ll see though.
Oh right, you wanted to see the inside after I ate half of it, right?
Heaven help us.
The covered bus stops already came in handy though!
We’ll check out some more pictures of the Nemo area next.
Thank you for the AoA hat pricing and SKU.
I’m not sure if you were kidding or not (I’m rarely sure if you’re kidding or not), but a punch list is a construction term. As a project is nearing completion, all of the disciplines walk through and make notes of stuff that still needs to be done. This list is called a punch list. Therefore, and engineering punch list is a compilation of all the engineering stuff that still needs to be done.
Education right along with your Disney fix!!!
and, an. . . . .
Why in the world would they create a restaurant with a capacity of only 527 in a resort that has nearly 2,000 rooms? Not to mention, people from POP coming over. Josh, you are right: heaven help us!
They need to sell those bumper stickers in the gift shop. I want the Flo’s Cafe and and Filmore’s Organic Fuel for my car. 🙂
Maybe I’m odd, but the colors on those buildings make me want to have a seizure. If they are muted compared to Nemo, I don’t think I’d like it either.
The word “relaxing” does not come to mind there. “Overstimulating” comes to mind instead. Ug.
A lot of people take their food to go back to the room especially breakfast. I’m planning to get Breakfast to go while my mom gets showered on my trip in a month. Time does matter there.
Oooh, I am totally loving the Cars section, I hope the cars don’t get completely thrashed by the kids. I have hope, since the sweet little ‘vette over at Pop is still in decent condition, and it’s a real car.
I think both look super fun, especially for any kiddos in your party.
It looks great! So cute, with all the details. I bet people are going to try to add more bumper stickers to Fillmore eventually….someone will have to keep an eye on that. And don’t fret, I’ve “covered” Cars Land at DCA for you, without even having been there yet (borrowed pics and info – it opens tomorrow) over in my October trip report. Take a look when you’re not too busy. That’s the last time I’ll plug my PTR (pre trip report).
cooolll
we are booked at mermaid on sept 15, the first day it opens.Then i will tell you about the busses and food when it’s at capacity
We went to check out AoA on Monday and I was crushed, CRUSHED that those little artist paintbrush pens I’d seen in your first set of photos was SOLD OUT. The CM in the gift shop told me more were on the way, but really, of all things, the place has been open for like a month and they sell out of pens?!
I ordered the veggie burger when I was there, and if you think your surf burger was messy, you should really try the vegetable burger. They scoop it out of a vat and throw it on the grill and it comes off looking like a mound of guacamole. And I waited 10 minutes for them to cook it! Those buns and fries are amazing though.
We were stopped by one of the researchers on our way out and wound up talking to her for a good 20 minutes. She moved to FL from NJ, like we did. She works for Disney, and her husband works for Universal. In other words, COOLEST GRANDPARENTS EVER!
I am ashamed to admit I’ve never seen Cars (that redneck truck thing has always put me off from watching it) but the Cars section REALLY looks amazing to me. Fans of the film must be flipping. I can’t wait to see the Lion King and Little Mermaid sections!
“I am generally known for my ability to pull apart patties”
HILARIOUS.
Watched the whole video waiting for a surprise ending or something, and at about a minute 35 I got jorts!! Awesome.
Oh wait, did I just get the patties joke?
Hmmm, my friend & I had plans of going over to check out the food court. That crab cake burger was calling me. I love. Crab cakes. Sounds disappointing :(. Maybe thr tandoori ? Love that too! Maybe by august they’ll be more organized! Or not!
I think my fav would be Lion King section too.
Loved this update!!! Thanks for all the hard work, Josh!
I had zero intentions of staying at this resort, but my kids are begging to stay here one day after all the pics they are seeing online.
Thanks for the update !!
Great pictures as usual.
Engineering punch list is like Hulk Smash, except instead of a big green guy with an anger management issue you get a skinny guy with a pocket protector and a slide rule. At least, I think that’s what it is. Might be skinny guy punching things but probably not.
I love waking up to a new review here, Josh. T ‘will be a better Friday thanks to you.
Wow looks great for small children. I like that little basket that your burger was served in ! Great pics Josh 🙂
Wow, the Cars pool is TINY. I love all the other details, though. 🙂
Loving those bumper stickers – Save 2D Animation – such a refreshing change from the dark days of the Eisner regime. I’m impressed with AoA even if I find the rooms a bit garish. I wonder how it will hold up to wear and tear – like you mentioned, if the cars look artificially beat up now, just wait until the the kids get a chance to beat them up for real.
I like the theming of the grounds, but the buildings themselves look like somthing from the former Soviet Union or East Germany from the 40’s, albeit with paint. And how much more would it have cost, especially given the room rates here to put in an actual closet?
At least the poop problem occurred on Route 66, a civilized area. Imagine if they have poop problems in the Lion King jungle. I would assume there is no plumbing in the jungle.
Pull apart Patty who?
Carrera de Vil…… OMG you just crack me up!!! People going by my office must really think I’m crazy!!! I find myself LOL at times and it’s because I’m reading your posts!!! Great, fantastic, amazing job by the way! Our count is 127 days – we’ll be staying at the Art of Animation – our fingers are crossed all the ‘kinks’ will be worked out by then!
Are those cone cabanas really going to just be first-come first-served? I find that hard to believe. Seems like something that would have a reservation system and a charge.
“I’m just not sure it’s going to work. There wasn’t anyone in the Tandoori line, while 15 or 20 people hovered around the burger line. ”
Sigh. About what I expected.
Dan Young is correct on what a punch list is. Usually it is compiled at the end of a project prior to beginning closing out the contract with the construction company.
Love the Cars themed grounds! Not to keen on the 60’s institutional looking buildings.
Now that my kids have seen these pics they’re dead set that this is where we must stay. I actually really preferred this section over Nemo. Any chance we’ll get to see inside a Cars room once they’re open?
I really, really want to stay here, but since we eat all of our dinners at the resort (with our 3 young kids) I’m now second-guessing myself. I love all of the options and ability to customize so much, but maybe that’s not such a great thing after all. Hmmm, maybe the food court at the All Star Movies wasn’t “too bad” after all, since it wasn’t that busy and the lines moved quickly :/
Who is Patty?
Don’t hate me because I get to see the DCA CarsLand before you do and I won’t hate your for seeing AoA before me! CL officially opened yesterday and I haven’t seen it yet. Was hoping to catch a soft opening last weekend but turns out Disney knows how to capitalize (read $$$) on a good thing and they were charging AP holders $50 each for the privilege of seeing it before it officially opened. I wasn’t willing to spend $100 for DD and I to go.
Thinking about going tomorrow, just to catch a look and hopefully ride Radiator Springs.
I’m so looking forward to staying at AoA in about 3 months! I’m planning on taking so many photos-it looks so pretty. Can’t wait to fully see Lion King. I do hope they figure out the food situation with so many of us descending on AoA after LM opens. I’m looking forward to trying out the different choices. But I will be one of those in the Tandoori line rather than the burger one. And I plan on using many SC on the Pesto Bread. I looks really good!
We’re off to The World in 2004 with our Cars fanatic toddler. Hmmm, can’t imagine where we’ll end up…..
(assuming his tastes don’t change too much)
pretty sure this is the first time I’ve ever seen Tow Mater blue. I don’t mean sad.