| Luigi's Flying Tires |
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 |
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| General statistics |
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| Attraction type |
Bumper cars |
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| Designer |
Walt Disney Imagineering |
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| Theme |
Cars |
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| Vehicles |
21 |
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| Riders per vehicle |
3 |
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| Rows |
1 |
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| Riders per row |
3 |
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| Duration |
~2 minutes |
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| Height restriction |
32 in (81 cm) |
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Luigi's Flying Tires is an amusement ride in Cars Land at Disney California Adventure. Guests ride on tire-shaped bumper car vehicles which float on a cushion of air, similar to an air hockey game. The ride's concept was based on Disneyland's Flying Saucers attraction of the 1960s.
History
The attraction, originally titled Luigi's Roamin' Tires, was announced in late 2007 along with the rest of the Cars Land multi-year expansion plans for Disney California Adventure.[1]
The ride is based on the Flying Saucers attraction that was located in Disneyland's Tomorrowland from 1961 to 1966.[2][3] Instead of floating bumper cars in the shapes of flying saucers, the Luigi attraction features bumper cars whose riders steer big levitating truck tires.[1]
Vice President of Walt Disney Imagineering Kathy Kangum said in 2011 that designing the ride, now named Luigi's Flying Tires, was not easy even with advanced technology. "I think our ride engineers, when we went to them and said, 'Hey we want people to fly,' they would tell you that designing a way for aerodynamics to make that happen was actually pretty difficult," she said.[2] Mary Niven, vice president of Disney California Adventure Park, likened the ride to an air hockey table. "It's like sitting on the table and you're the hockey puck," she said.[4]
When the attraction opened on June 15, 2012, it also featured giant beach balls which gave the ride a more colorful look. After two months, however, they were removed due to increased wait times and some "minor incidents" that occurred when visitors were hit by the beach balls, according to Niven.[5]
Ride
The queue takes visitors through an Italian garden with tire-themed plants. Guests then enter the Casa Della Tires shop and can see Luigi's forklift assistant, Guido.[6]
Once seated in their tire, Luigi gives a countdown and then a compressor pumps air up through the floor's 6,714 air vents. The tires lift about two inches off the floor, at which point riders can make their tire move by leaning in the direction they want to go. The ride lasts for approximately two minutes.[3][7]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 MacDonald, Brady (November 14, 2007). "Disney’s Luigi ride a beloved retread". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 16, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fields, Eugene W. (October 21, 2011). "Ride testing begins in Cars Land at California Adventure". The Orange County Register. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Shady, Justin (December 27, 2011). "John Lasseter Gives Luigi's Flying Tires a Test Spin". OC Weekly. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
- ↑ Owen, Rob (July 26, 2009). "Disney's California Adventure getting $1.1 billion makeover". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
- ↑ Tully, Sarah (August 16, 2012). "Disney already changing Cars Land ride". The Orange County Register. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
- ↑ MacDonald, Brady (October 19, 2011). "Preview: Luigi's Flying Tires at Disney California Adventure". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
- ↑ Vincent-Phoenix, Adrienne (June 13, 2012). "Cars Land Test Drive: Luigi's Flying Tires". USA Today. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
External links
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