The ride, which replaces Luigi's Flying Tires, officially opens to the public on Monday. But anyone can stop by and watch these cartoon Italian roadsters "dance" around Luigi's backyard. And, given the excessive wait times for any new Disney attraction, that might be the best way to experience Luigi's right now. Heck, that just might be the best way to appreciate this attraction when the wait times come down to normal, too.
Disney's next-generation trackless ride technology opens up fresh narrative possibilities by allowing vehicles to move and interact in ways that were not possible on traditionally tracked rides. Starting with Pooh's Hunny Hunt at Tokyo Disneyland and continuing through Hong Kong Disneyland's Mystic Manor and Walt Disney Studios Paris' Ratatouille ride, trackless systems have allowed riders to explore classic tales in unique new ways.
Here in Cars Land at Disney California Adventure, Disney's placed these trackless vehicles outside - with no dark ride narrative, as found on those other attractions. Instead, Luigi's cousins, visiting from Carsoli, are dancing around the backyard of Luigi's Casa Della Tires. They'll let you climb aboard for a ride, but the real joy is watching the entire field of cars as they swerve and spin around one another, eventually driving into formation for a line dance. Ever since Cars Land opened, we could watch cars dancing around each other — up the road at Mater's Junkyard Jamboree. That's nothing new. But seeing dozens of cars break out of their circles and into sharp lines, moving back and forth, then side to side, in perfect synchronization? That's new... and impressive.
Unfortunately, you miss that impressive sight when you're riding aboard the cars. Sure, it's fun to be out there spinning around, but without a vantage point at the edge of the action (which comes too rarely when on the ride), you feel like you're just riding another spinner. It's fun, but just not as impressive as it should be, or is from the sidelines.
Here's a look at Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters, from the front, back, and on the ride itself.
But, hey, at least these cars drive themselves, without forcing you to learn how to contort from side to side to get them moving, as was the case on the Flying Tires. For most fans, that's enough of an upgrade to make Luigi's a must on a Cars Land visit again.
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Or maybe a horn and a way to flash the lights or maybe some windshield wipers to to spray the other cars while they dance nearby. Or maybe some indicators on the dashboard synchronized to the dance and you could get points if you turned the steering wheel in the right direction as it happened.
It does look really cute and I look forward to watching it in person some day, but I have yet to see a video of someone on the ride that seems to be having a good time.
It's a well known fact that rain is not a common occurrence in Southern California. There are far more sunny days than rainy ones and for a large portion of the year rain does not fall. Are you aware that Southern California is a desert climate?
Second, there are a dozen or more other rides and attractions at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure which are impacted by the weather, yet it doesn't seem to be a real concern among guests or management.
The fact is the park isn't short of attractions and things to enjoy on a rainy day. And many guests dotting their yellow Mickey Mouse ponchos will still ride a ride like this in the rain.
Lastly, you shouldn't use absolute terms like "never", since your claim that Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters will never have more than 10 minute wait is already untrue.
I enjoyed it more than the flying tires (which I didn't think were horrible)
There were a ton of smiles while people were riding. People were doing various versions of the "hands in the air" bit at the end, lol
I am interested in this trackless ride theory. However, isn't Tower of Terror and the Great Movie Ride also trackless?
The RFID technology used in Tower of Terror for the 5th dimension is quite a bit more advanced than the wire in the floor method, but again it keeps the ride vehicles essentially on a given route following the radio frequency.
Pooh's Hunny Hunt at Tokyo Disneyland was considered the first true trackless ride system. It uses electronic sensors embedded in the floor and a Local Positioning System that is connected to a master computer that monitors and controls the vehicles on the ride. It randomly decides the paths the vehicles will take, making decisions in fractions of a second and communicating the decisions to the vehicles via wireless technology.
The real difference is there is no wire or radio frequency devices in in the floor that are being followed. Also, the experience is very different since multiple vehicles can be in a given area and interact with each other in ways that track would prevent from happening. The props, doors, walls, and other vehicles are the only limiting factors of where a vehicle can drive so long as they remain on the electric sensors embedded in the floor. Basically, they can drive anywhere, any direction and steer any which way within the restricted footprint.
That's what makes this truly trackless. Following a route via wire or sensor is not trackless.
I think one of the flaws of Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters is the fact that the vehicles neatly line up in symmetrical ways for much of the ride, thus giving the impression that they're on a track and wiping away the trackless magic.
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