DESERT MEETS CITY: The memory would have to reach way, way back to find another theme park debut that has been anticipated as much as June 15 opening of Cars Land at Disney California Adventure. Online sites have buzzed about it for months and months; visitors to the park have craned to get a peek over the wall. (Actually, the park was rather nice and set up an informational panel to help guests make sense of all the construction they were seeing.) Now a few photos of the completed, oh-so-realistic-looking landscapes that surround the world of Radiator Springs have been released. Are you in the middle of Anaheim, or somewhere near Arches National Park? Or Monument Valley? The clouds and crisp sky add to the feeling you're in the middle of all get-out. But, wait for it: Katella and the 5 and Harbor Boulevard are quite literally right around the corner from these scenes.
PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Hiffmeyer, who has snapped thousands of images for the resort, is the talent behind these snapshots, so we want to give him some applause; they sure are real purty. Which makes us wonder about all the people who will be staring at what *surrounds* Cars Land as much as they're looking at what is *inside* Cars Land. Well, think of some of the lands at Disneyland; aren't you looking at the wilds of Frontierland as much as the rides itself? It's a lovely thing, when the backdrop is as impressive as what's in the foreground.
