About Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy

Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy is located next to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith. When guests cruise inside, they will come face to face with Lightning, who appears live on stage. The theater features a 17-foot-tall wraparound screen that stretches more than 200 feet end to end, enveloping guests in high-octane fun.

During the 10-minute show, Lightning shares racing knowledge gathered over the course of his illustrious career. And if there’s one thing he’s learned over the years … things don’t always go the way they’re supposed to. But with the help of Mater, Cruz Ramirez and other friends from Radiator Springs, Lightning is bound to get back on track. Sometimes you just have to turn right to go left!

Our Thoughts on the Attraction

The Queue, or lack thereof can be disconcerting. There is a queue area to the left of the building. There are several umbrellas and fans to help keep waiting guests cool. When we arrived we were the 3rd family in the queue area. Many other families were checking out what is technically the post-show area while they waited. When the “doors will be opening soon” announcement was made, those families made there way to the queue area and worked their way in front of the families who had been waiting under the umbrellas or near the fans. I feel there needs to be an actual queue system to avoid the mad rush and keep things orderly.

Once you enter the theater there are benches for you to sit on. The show takes place on the large screen and a raised stage so there isn’t a bad seat in the house.

Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy is a fun show for all ages and…it is air conditioned with seats so you might as well enjoy that for the 10 minute show. When you exit the show you can meet Cruz Ramirez and DJ. You cannot meet or take pictures with Lightning McQueen. As we were exiting I heard several parents telling children that they were going to take pictures with Lightning and that just isn’t offered.

We enjoyed the attraction and I’m sure we will visit again. It also gives me something else to do while Ron and the boys are riding Rock ‘n Roller Coaster! If you are ready to book your next Walt Disney World vacation just Email Me and we will get started!

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Toy Story 3

The Toy Story 3 segment was the longest of the entire show, and it really started to drag on. Savannah loved the Barbie and Ken scene, even though it went a bit long. The Green Army Men section was also popular with our group. We all felt we could have done without the Spanish Buzz section. While this segment was very well done, we had attended Toy Story 3 on Ice 6 years ago and this was just an abbreviated version of that show.

The Little Mermaid

As you know this story takes place both under the sea and on land. They did a great job differentiating the two locales using mostly lighting to tell them apart. I spoke to a 3yo friend of mine who attended the show and she was very confused by the fact that Ariel had legs when she was under the sea. Her costume at that point in the show are blue/green pants which look similar to her normal tail but since her legs were separated, it was confusing. The Little Mermaid segment was a re-purposing of the same segment from the 2013 Disney on Ice Rockin’ Ever After.

Cars

The Cars
section was the only one that was new to us. Mickey and Minnie had gone to look for help when their roadster broke down. While they were gone everyone’s favorite tow truck, Mater came by to help out. Lightning McQueen, Sally, Ramone, and Flo also come by to meet the new roadster. This part of the show was basically cars drifting slowly on the ice. We enjoyed this section a lot!

Frozen

We believe this section was identical to the one in last year’s Disney on Ice 100 Years of Magic show. Even though Ron and I have seen it before, we thoroughly enjoyed this part of the show. In this brief re-telling of the story, adapted for the ice, we see Anna meet Hans and then ask Elsa for her blessing of their marriage. Of course, when Elsa gets angry there are pyrotechnics instead of icicles. As the story progresses we meet Kristoff and Olaf.

We always enjoy our visits to Disney on Ice. Disney on Ice Worlds of Enchantment will be touring Florida and Georgia this spring. Visit the website for dates and ticket information.

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Maybe you have a little driver in your family. the Lightning McQueen Racing Wheel with Wii Remote Stickers make a great gift for that child.

PDP also has the iPad and iPad 2 Disney Cars kit for $49.99.

Visit PDP for all of your gaming accessories this Christmas,

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Celebrate today’s opening of Cars 2 with some awesome downloadable fun. These include Mazes, Soap Box Dragster Activities, T-shirt Designs, a Radiator Springs Play Set and much, much more! Click HERE to download.

Make a Guido Bookend

Tow Mater Cookie Treats

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The prize pack includes:

CARS 2 t-shirt in youth sizes of S, M, L, XL

CARS 2 set of 3 bumper tickets

CARS 2 temporary tattoo sheet (2 per winner)

CARS 2 puzzle

Mandatory 1st Entry Leave me a comment telling me who your favorite Cars character is.

Bonus Entries: Leave a separate comment for each entry.

• Like Cars 2 on Facebook
• Follow @DisneyPixar on Twitter
• Follow @MomMaven on Twitter
• Tweet this Vroom! Race on over and enter to #win an awesome Cars 2 prize pack from @DisneyPixar & @MomMaven http://bit.ly/kowEJV (you may do this 2x a day)
• Like this post on Facebook using the button at the bottom of this post
• +1 this post on Google using the button on the bottom of this post
• Blog subscribers, GFC friends, Networked blogs followers and Facebook likers each get  entry

This giveaway is open to US entries only. The winner will be chosen by Random.org. the giveaway ends at 9pm EDT on 7/5/11. The winner will have 48 hrs to respond before I pick an alternate winner.

Disclaimer: I received nothing in exchange for this giveaway. All opinions are 100% mine.

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“The ‘Agents on a Mission’ tour lets fans get face to face with ‘Cars’ favorites Lightning McQueen and Mater, plus the very cool, very savvy spy Finn McMissile, a new character on ‘Cars 2’ roster,” says MT Carney, president of marketing for The Walt Disney Studios. “This movie is filled with fun, action, heart and a lot of laughs—we want to get everyone geared up for ‘Cars 2.’”

Star racecar Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy) take their friendship to exciting new places in Disney•Pixar’s “Cars 2” when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix. But the road to the championship is filled with surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Mater finds himself torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret mission orchestrated by master British super spy Finn McMissile (voice of Michael Caine). Directed by John Lasseter and produced by Denise Ream, the fast-paced fun includes a colorful new all-car cast, complete with menacing villains and international racing competitors.

State Farm brings Disney•Pixar’s “Cars 2” adventure directly to fans with the “Agents on a Mission” tour, showcasing cars modeled after their big-screen likenesses. The cars will be outfitted in Goodyear tires and transported from coast to coast (and back again) by Mack Trucks, Inc. Visitors can check out the cars and take part in a variety of “Cars 2”-themed activities, including a video kiosk, e-photo opportunities, games and giveaways. They can also enter the “Agents on a Mission” sweepstakes, which features 18,000 prizes, including a new car.

“State Farm is thrilled to present the ‘Cars 2’ ‘Agents on a Mission’ tour,” says Pam El, marketing vice president, State Farm. “Like our force of 18,000 agents across the U.S. and Canada, whose mission is to help people realize their dreams every day, families can become secret agents by participating in fun ‘Cars 2’-themed missions at the tour and online.”

The tour will run through June, hitting the U.S. red-carpet premiere in Los Angeles, and wrapping up in San Francisco and Sonoma.

FUN FACTS ABOUT THE CARS FROM THE STATE FARM “AGENTS ON A MISSION” TOUR

Size Matters – The replica cars are the largest production radio-controlled replica cars ever built.

• At 1000 foot pounds of torque – the electric motors provide enough power to theoretically climb a telephone pole!
• Finn weighs in around 1,760 lbs.
• Lightning McQueen weighs in around 2,250 lbs.
• Mater weighs in at just over 2,700 lbs.

Art in Motion — Because of the unique scale of these vehicles, all the exterior pieces had to be fabricated from scratch. No actual “off- the-shelf” car parts could be used. The sculpting process for each vehicle’s body took 6-10 days, totaling 1000-1600 man hours. After the cars were carved in foam, a fiberglass mold was created, and from that the final bodies were produced.

• The chassis for the cars are Model-T replica frames.
• Mater is hand-painted, using a proprietary system that creates real rust on his cab and bed.
• Because the cars had to reflect the designs of the film’s characters, the control systems (switches, lights etc.) had to be built into the various parts of the car. These have been hidden from view.

Fill ‘er Up — The cars are all electric powered. Each runs on four automotive-style batteries at 48 volts and can run for 30 minutes at full speed.

No Speeding Zone — The cars can travel up to 10 miles per hour.

Rev It Up — The engine sounds and exhaust sounds are recreated through a 200-watt sound system under the hood.

• The cars are controlled by a high-tech radio-control system normally used for high-end RC hobby cars.

Tricky Tires – Lightning McQueen’s tires are one of a kind due to their unique size and were fabricated by Goodyear specifically for the “Agents on a Mission” tour.

• Lightning McQueen is so low to the ground that he needs specially designed ramps to get over even the smallest bumps.

You’ve Got the Look — There are three sets of eyes that are held to the windshield by magnets. The fiberglass windshield is imbedded with iron filings which attracts the magnetic eyes.

Disney•Pixar’s “Cars,” originally released on June 9, 2006, grossed nearly $462 million worldwide. It was nominated for two Oscars® and one Golden Globe® Award, winning the first ever Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film.

Presented in Disney Digital 3D and IMAX® 3D in select theaters, Disney•Pixar’s “Cars 2” hits the track on June 24, 2011. The film marks DisneyŸPixar’s 12^th feature-length animated film and will be released as Pixar Animation Studios celebrates its 25^th Anniversary this year. The Studio, founded in 1986, has earned 29 Academy Awards® and seven Golden Globes®. To date, its 11 feature films have grossed more than $6.5 billion at the worldwide box office.

For more information about the movie, the tour and a list of cities, check out Disney.com/cars. Like “Cars 2” on Facebook: facebook.com/pixarcars, and follow “Cars 2” on Twitter:twitter.com/disneypixar. To enter the “Agents on a Mission” sweepstakes, go to Disney.com/agents. For more information about State Farm and the “Agents on a Mission” promotion, like State Farm on Facebook: facebook.com/statefarm or follow State Farm on Twitter: twitter.com/statefarm.

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June 24, 2011 Disney-Pixar’s cars 2 rolls into a theatre near you. Lightning McQueen, Mater, Fillmore, Mack, Luigi and Guido are all coming back to entertain you this summer. I know we have 6 more months to wait but I wanted to share this fun video.

Don’t forget to Like Cars on Facebook to keep up with the latest Cars 2 news.

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Auto-B-Good is the Emmy Award winning animated series that teaches great lessons in character development to children ages 4-10. The 10 characters are all cars with distinct personalities and they make up the town of Auto. The lessons are well played out throughout each episode and after viewing them with your child there are plenty of ways you can apply what has been learned in each lesson. I can easily see how you could use 1 episode each week as the basis of your homeschool character/Bible curriculum.

I reviewed “Blazing the Trail-Season Two-Volume 6”. The episodes on this DVD are “Breaking New Ground” which is about caring and empathy, “Level 39” which is about willpower, “Western Hero” about hero worship, and “Road Rage” which focuses on self-discipline.

The people at Rising Star Studios want to give 1 lucky reader of TheMomMaven their own copy of  “Blazing the Trail.”

Mandatory 1st Entry: Visit AutoBGood.com and click on “about the show” and then on “character traits” and read about the different character traits featured in episodes of Auto-B-Good. Then come back here and leave me a comment telling me which character trait you’d like to focus on with your child.

Bonus Entries: To be completed after the Mandatory 1st Entry

• Follow AutoBGood on Twitter
• Like Auto-B-Good on Facebook and leave a comment about this giveaway (with a link back here) on the Auto-B-Good Facebook wall.
• Tweet about this giveaway and include @MomMaven @AutoBGood and a link to this giveaway in your tweet
• Blog Subscribers get 1 entry
• GFC Friends get 1 entry
• Networked Blog Followers get 1 entry
• Facebook Likers get 1 entry

This giveaway is open to everyone! The winner will be chosen at 10pm on August 6, 2010.

Disclaimer: I received 1 copy of this DVD for the purposes of this review. All opinions are 100% mine.

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