Last night the Disneyland Resort rolled out the red carpet for the grand opening of Cars Land. The new 12-acre land brought out a cavalcade of Hollywood stars, including talents from the “Cars” films including Larry the Cable Guy, Bonnie Hunt and Cheech Marin. The new land opened with a ceremony that included Disney executives discussing the challenges in re-imagining Disney California Adventure and the collaboartion between Pixar and Walt Disney Imagineering on Cars Land. A blast of fireworks, a shower of confetti and the flipping of a switch to turn on Radiator Springs‘ neon signs marked the land’s grand opening and a fantastic celebration for all in attendance.

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[center]Inside Dateline Disneyland[/center]
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks
  • Cars Land lights up with Hollywood stars, neon, fireworks
    Stars and Disney executives come out for Cars Land debut
    • Red Carpet arrivals
    • Cars Land Grand Opening Ceremony
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[center]CARS LAND GRAND OPENING[/center]

Last night Hollywood stars and Disney-Pixar executives turned out for the big Cars Land grand opening, making the completion of Disney California Adventure’s major five-year remodel and expansion project. Below, stars from ABC’s “Once Upon a Time”
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Edie McClurg, voice of Minny from Cars 2
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Nolan Gould from ABC’s “Modern Family”
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Also from “Modern Family,” Ariel Winter.
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Rico Rodriguez from “Modern Family”
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Various Disney Channel stars
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Disneyland Resort President George Kalogridis
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

And of course the voice of Mater, Larry the Cable Guy
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

In front of Cars Land, the stage was set for the grand opening festivities
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

A live band warmed up the crowd
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Disney CEO Bob Iger took the stage, discussing the challenges of fixing Disney California Adventure and the opportunity to collaborate on a larger level with Pixar following Disney’s acquisition of the animation studio.
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs followed Iger, calling Cars Land a “defining moment” in the history of Disney California Adventure.
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

And finally, John Lesseter came up to discuss creating Cars Land and working with the Imagineers
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Lasseter continued in a sort of roast of his colleagues, asking what Bob Iger and Tom Staggs would be like if they were Cars characters. Below, Bob Iger as a sports car.
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Or, as a semi-truck since he runs the massive, multi-faceted Disney Company.
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Below, Tom Staggs as a “muscle car”
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Or, since he’s such a smart guy – a smart car.
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

And finally, as a fun ice cream truck since he runs Disney’s fun theme parks
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

John and Tom went on to introduce key talents in the Cars films to the audience.
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Randy Newman, composer for “Cars”
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Brad Paisley, who wrote songs for the films
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Edie McClurg, voice of Minny in Cars 2
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Richard Kind, voice of Van in Cars 2
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Thomas Kretschmann, voice of Professor Z in Cars 2
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Michael Wallace, voice of Sherriff in Cars.
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Jennifer Lewis, voice of Flo
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Cheech Marin, voice of Ramone
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Bonnie Hunt, voice of Sally Carrera
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Finally, Larry the Cable Guy took the stage, saying that we couldn’t open Cars Land without Lightning McQueen and Mater who were still on their way
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Then, the festivities began
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

The stage pulled apart and Lightning and Mater drove up Cars Land’s Route 66
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

An EZ Charge battery was brought out to power the Cars Land neon…
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

John Lasseter flipped the switch, the neon flickered on and the fireworks lit up the Cadillac Range
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Fun neon signs for the grand opening party
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Open bars and buffets down Route 66
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

And dancing in the street to celebrate the Cars Land grand opening!
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

For more on Cars Land, including photos, video, reviews and more from the new land, see our Cars Land overview:
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

Also, for discussion and more information and more see our Guide to Cars Land on the MiceChat forums!
cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworks

cars land grand opening, Cars Land grand opening lights up with Hollywood stars, neon and fireworksThat wraps up our coverage of the Cars Land Grand Opening festivities. Stay tuned for more Disney California Adventure grand re-opening throughout the weekend!

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[B]- Andy[/B]

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Andy Castro
Andy Castro
http://datelinedisneyland.com
Andy is a Southern California native and a life-long fan of Disney theme parks and animation. From 2007-2016, Andy wrote the weekly Dateline Disneyland photo, news and opinion blog here on MiceChat. Today, Andy continues to produce occasional Dateline Disneyland articles and additional special guest content for MiceChat.
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