Radiator Springs Racers

Radiator Springs Racers is a slot car ride in Cars Land at Disney California Adventure. The attraction features a third-generation version of transport technology originally developed for the Test Track attraction at Epcot in Walt Disney World. Radiator Springs Racers is themed to the fictional world in Disney Pixar's Cars. At a cost of over $200 million, the attraction is the most expensive at Disneyland Resort and one of the most expensive theme park attractions in the world. It accounted for about 18% of the entire cost of the $1.1 billion expansion of Disney California Adventure Park. The attraction takes guests in a six-person vehicle through encounters with characters from the film series Cars. Guests then race another vehicle through turns and hills, ending with a randomized race result. History The attraction, along with the rest of the Disney California Adventure multi-year expansion, was announced on October 17, 2007. However, the first indication of the attraction and the new land was some concept art published in the Dreaming section of The Walt Disney Company's 2006 annual report. By late 2009, construction on the attraction and the land within it began and was finished two and a half years later. At the "What's Next?" presentation at Disney California Adventure on June 11, 2010, Imagineer Kathy Mangum gave a brief rundown of the attraction's storyline. Ride testing began in early 2012 with soft openings the following spring. The ride officially opened to the public on June 15, 2012, with wait times of up to six hours. The line would stretch towards Paradise Pier, bypassing Cars Land. Radiator Springs Racers was ranked second in the Amusement Today Golden Ticket Awards for best new ride for 2012. Incidents On May 24, 2022, shortly after 8:30 PM PST, Radiator Springs Racers was closed down after a ride vehicle started emitting black smoke just before crossing the finish line of the ride, with guests yelling to be let off of the ride. As a result, the ride temporarily closed on May 24, 2022. An unknown Disneyland spokesperson says that the ride will remain closed indefinitely out of an abundance of caution, as work is likely being done on the ride vehicles.