This is an entry in our Disneyland 101 Glossary: Disneyland Resort definitions in under 101 words, from Mouse Brief.
After the glossary entry, keep scrolling past the photo for my commentary on how I came to love Radiator Springs plus tips for embracing this special place yourself.
Radiator Springs is a fictional town from the Cars film franchise. Imagineers have recreated it in Cars Land at Disney California Adventure Park. Familiar locations from the films have been duplicated in Cars Land while integrating shops, dining and attractions. For example, Luigi’s Casa Della Tires from the movies serves as a facade for the ride called Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters. Flo’s V8 Cafe is dining location on screen and in Cars Land, but with different fare. Cars Land’s signature ride shares a name with the town: Radiator Springs Racers brings guests through other familiar scenes from the first film.
Thank you for reading this entry in our Disneyland 101 Glossary. For help planning your Disneyland visit, please see our free and complete Step-by-Step Disneyland Prep. But for more on Radiator Springs, Cars Land and all things Disney-Pixar Cars, keep reading.
How I Fell In Love with Radiator Springs and Cars Land
I have to admit, it took me many years to come around to the Cars franchise. I saw the first movie in the theater and I enjoyed it, but it did not make nearly as much of an impression on me as the earlier Pixar films. Talking cars seemed meant for another demographic. Even after I became a parent of that particular demographic, the Cars films were still not important in our home. Then I visited Cars Land in Disney California Adventure Park for the first time, and I fell in love with Radiator Springs.
Finding Radiator Springs
Cars Land is a masterpiece. It puts you in the film. And it is funny that experience should have been meaningful to me, because I never really wanted to be in the Cars films. I think the land worked its magic by placing me in the Lightning McQueen’s experience of finding home. Over the course of the film, Lightning McQueen finds home and a family in Radiator Springs. What makes this especially powerful is that there is nothing immediately extraordinary about Radiator Springs. It has “seen better days,” and Radiator Springs has features you could probably find at many little towns along the “Mother Road.”
Lightning McQueen fell in love with Radiator Springs because of the people… er, cars… well, let’s say community he found there. That is an extraordinary-ordinary experience that tugs at all of us. Either it is something we have experienced or something we hope to find. Imagineers imbued Cars Land with countless ordinary things—billboards, a roadside diner, a tire shop—rendered extraordinary through the specificity and care they put into each piece. And gosh are those pieces clever. You can find so many everyday objects recreated with car parts or referencing bits of the Cars or other Pixar films. It gives Radiator Springs such a homey feeling. I think that’s something that has the ability to reach the best parts of us all.
Having Fun with Radiator Springs at Home and at Disneyland
So that is how I came to fall in love with Radiator Springs. I was not thinking all these things when I stepped into the land for the first time, but these are idea I have gathered after some reflection upon the experience. (Plus, the land has some really awesome rides!) Now we watch the Cars films at home regularly. If you too have come to love Radiator Springs, here are some ways you can embrace that love.
Have a Cars Family Movie Night
We started watching Cars enough at home that I actually developed some fun activities around the film. I have collected those, plus some discussion questions into this guide: Cars Movie Night: Activities, Discussion and a Disney Pixar Classic.
That movie night guide is meant to be low stress. All of our movie night idea involve easy set-up and minimal supplies, so you can actually focus on your family. Plus, you can pick and choose the elements that work best for you. Please take a look at that guide, and you can find plenty more here: Disney Sunday Night Movies. We have guides for Inside Out, A Bug’s Life, Up and more.
Make Cars Part of Your Holidays
If you have a collection of toy cars at home—talking Pixar vehicle or otherwise—consider incorporating them into your holiday traditions. We did that with our toy trains, and I wrote a post about it here: Bring This Easy Christmas Tradition Home on a Small Budget. Maybe you can make Radiator Springs around your Christmas tree!
Visit Radiator Springs
Of course, our favorite Cars activity is visiting Radiator Springs at Cars Land in Disney California Adventure Park.
To plan your own trip, we suggest starting with our free and complete Step-by-Step Disneyland Prep. That will take you through the planning process and help you make decisions about tickets, lodging, dining and how to make the most of your time at Disneyland Resort.
And, to make the most of your time in Cars Land in particular, you may want to consider visiting the land as the sun sets. We have a post about that experience here: What is Sh-Boom Time at Disney California Adventure Park in Disneyland?
There is no Cars themed hotel at Disneyland Resort, but there is now a Pixar themed hotel: Pixar Place Hotel! You can find some Cars elements around that resort hotel, and it is just a great, albeit pricey, place to stay. We wrote about our love for the hotel in several posts, including (1) 5 Awesome Elements of Pixar Place Hotel at Disneyland, (2) 5 Vibrant Tips for Your Pixar Place Hotel Stay, (3) A Deep Dive Into the Pixar Place Hotel Pool, (4) 5 Reasons We Love the Pixar Place Hotel Guest Rooms and even (5) 5 Reasons We Will Return to the Pixar Shorts Court.
Special Bonus Activity for Chicago-Area Families
Finally, we have a little bonus suggestion for Cars lovers in the Chicago area. There is a lovely public park in the Chicagoland suburb of Burr Ridge called Harvester Park, and the playground area is themed to Route 66 (which passes quite nearby.)
The park features tributes to stops all along Route 66 and not the fictional town of Radiator Springs, but we think it echoes some of the spirit of the first film. Plus, there is a tow truck element there that looks an awful lot like Mater. It’s really an awesome park with fantastic play features, and we have a whole article about it here: Get Your Kicks at This Route 66 Tribute Playground.
Get Your Kicks!
Thanks for reading this Disneyland 101 Glossary entry on Radiator Springs and our expanded coverage on one of our favorite fictional towns. We hope you get to visit soon, and thanks again for reading. Ka Chow!