Ah, Buena Vista Street. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
1. Los Feliz Five and Dime.
Ta-da!
Just like Main Street is a shopping street, so is Buena Vista Street. But unlike Main Street, Buena Vista Street’s stores are all interconnected throughout the whole street. On the East side, you start with Los Feliz Five and Dime.
Even the exterior is awesome, including small murals like this:
That’s very Los Angeles-y
Love those little outfits.
Anyway, Los Feliz Five and Dime is your go-to hat store on Buena Vista Street.
I love the open-beamed ceilings
There you will find your hat writing machines, for all of your hat writing needs.
And cute hats on display
Los Feliz Five and Dime is also your destination for Red Car Trolley merchandise.
Shirts
Hats
Picture frames
I know, I’m REALLY into the trolley, okay? Theo is going to LOVE it. I’m sure he would also LOVE this:
Remote control Red Car Trolley, whaaaaattt???
Actually I think Kevin might like that as much as Theo would. Theo recently got a remote controlled Lightning McQueen for his half-birthday that he loves. Mostly I think he just gets a kick out of driving it under furniture and then reversing it to drive back out again. Although he is getting relatively adept at turning.
Well, he was, until we had to take it away because he wasn’t doing something he was supposed to do (I can’t remember what, but he had a choice–do it or lose Lightning McQueen). I think I’ll be nice and give Lightning McQueen back tomorrow.
ANYway, I also love that Buena Vista Street honors Disney history. We’re so used to the modern Mickey, it’s really fun to see a plush version of the original Mickey.
In a conductor costume!
I feel like I might need to own that.
And when you’re in ANY Disney store, don’t forget to LOOK UP!
Tin toys!
Telephones!
You guys are going to love Buena Vista Street when you get a chance to see it!
Such a gorgeous place, y’all! I love this time period. I should, since my house was built in it. And I also love the Disney details, right down to the trash cans.
I will!
For those of you familiar with DCA’s original Sunshine Plaza entrance, which I personally disliked, Buena Vista Street could not possibly be more different.
A look down the empty street
Buena Vista Street was made to look a lot like Main Street, and it does.
Fun!
There’s a lot of Buena Vista Street-specific atmosphere here–lots of cast members in character, like the cyclist
Delivering newspaper
And this woman with her “pet dog”
Cute!
What’s great about her is that she wanders through the stores like she’s shopping.
Even the characters have their dapper outfits on–something you don’t find on Main Street.
Newsboy Mickey
See how my bangs are swept to one side there? I ended up with a sunburn on half of my forehead. Classy.
And even Chip and Dale.
Although Pluto’s idea of dressing up is a little unimpressive.
One fabulous thing Disney did with Buena Vista Street as well as Cars Land is to plant a TON of fully-grown trees. There’s a lot of nice shading in the area.
Here, for example
The building details are awesome. I particularly love the newspaper
Bugle! Who uses that word anymore?
So much fun stuff on Buena Vista Street! Go see it!
Luigi’s Flying Tires is one of three new attractions in Cars Land, found inside (well, actually in the backyard of) Casa Della Tires.
It’s not a tire shop–it’s a ride!
But before I talk about Luigi’s, I need to talk about the Flying Saucers.
The Flying Saucers was a much-loved but short-lived attraction at Disneyland, opening in 1961 and closed in 1966. Walt himself reportedly loved the idea. Picture a giant air hockey table with people sitting on the pucks and moving around on a cushion of air, bumping into each other like bumper cars. And also beaning each other with beach balls. Or just watch this short video I found on Youtube.
Cool, hunh? Unfortunately it was expensive to maintain and there were safety issues. Although my favorite part of the video is the guy at 0:15 taking a picture and smoking a cigar.
Talk about a different era.
Well, Luigi’s Flying Tires is an updated version of the Flying Saucers.
It’s like the Flying Saucers!
You sit on your very own tire, capacity 1-3 people, and ride around on a cushion of air, leaning in the direction you would like to go.
In fact, right outside the building, you can get a good look at your ride vehicle.
You can even take a picture in it!
Oh, just like in the movie, you can find Casa Della Tires by its distinctive leaning tower of tires!
Not a great picture to capture the leaning aspect. Derp.
Okay, so you go into the building right into a tire showroom.
It’s all like mahogany and stuff
Oh, and here’s probably the most BRILLIANT thing in all of Cars Land–roaming vendors.
Popcorn and cold soda/water
Not only can you find these vendors walking around on the streets, they also wander through the lines, so if you’ve got that long wait for Radiator Springs Racers and feel like you’re going to die of dehydration halfway through, there’s a vendor to the rescue!!!
Plus the popcorn smells so danged good I almost bought it right there in line.
Genius.
Anyway, after the tire showroom, you think you might be getting closer but you’re kind of not, as you hit a bunch of switchbacks in a souvenir room.
Cars and Route 66 stuff
But finally, you make it out of the building! So you’re there, right?
Nope
But at least you get to see the ride!
And the top of someone’s head
There are fun signs telling you what to do
Lean. That’s basically it.
You might think you’re there, but around the corner are more switchbacks.
Over by the fence
There’s a cool-looking topiary Francesco.
Well, it will be cool-looking when it grows in and fills out, but hey, the land just opened.
I love Disney’s little details. Even the planters are stacked tires.
And the fence posts too!
When you go to board, you get your little…triangle. It’s like the feathers on Dumbo where you hold them up and they collect them to make sure nobody’s riding twice or something.
I’m not sure why it’s a triangle
It was at this point that I asked the cast member why there were beach balls. He answered in a very fabulous voice, “Because it’s festive!!! And also as an homage to the original Flying Saucers ride.”
The beach balls do tend to congregate around a certain corner by the end of the ride however.
Over here
And actually the MOST important thing (other than the leaning thing) is that you’re not supposed to step on the rubber part of your tire, you’re supposed to step on the platform.
No feet on the rubber!
Stepping on the tire part could cause it to deflate, which is bad, since the ride depends on being inflated.
There’s an unfortunate downside of Luigi’s Flying Tires, which is that the tires can be difficult to maneuver. You need to lean, but not too far or you’ll over balance. There’s definitely a sweet spot. I had fun, but I wouldn’t wait more than 45 minutes or so for it.
And my biggest piece of advice is that the lighter the tire is, the easier it is to maneuver around. Weighing the tire down just makes it less mobile. So when boarding, I think it’s worthwhile to break up your group into smaller numbers with a weight balance so you can get the maximum fun from the ride.
Over at Disney California Adventure (aka the Mouse-Next-Door), a new entrance plaza is unveiled–Buena Vista Street. Just as Main Street, U.S.A. is supposed to represent a small-town main street at the turn of the century, Buena Vista Street represents the streets of Los Angeles as Walt encountered them when he stepped off the train in 1923. Which incidentally is the year after our house was built.
Anyway, replacing “Sunshine Plaza” (of which I was never a fan), Buena Vista Street is everything you would want a park entrance to be, and more. Like Main Street, the details are exquisite, from the architecture to the window displays, everything is lovingly detailed.
For the preview we entered through a super-secret doorway in the walls. By the time you read this, you’ll be able to walk right in.
Super secret!
You’re immediately hit with some amazing buildings.
Sepulveda Bldg (home of the bathrooms)
Even the lockers are awesome
And one thing members of my family are particularly looking forward to–the Red Car Trolley.
The Red Car Trolley is a real working trolley. It will run up and down Buena Vista Street all the way to the Tower of Terror.
There is a small queuing area
The interior of the trolley is fantastic too. And seriously, it had that “new trolley smell.” Like the new car smell, except in a trolley. Heh.
I really really really really can’t wait to eat at the Carthay Circle restaurant. The chef is the same one from the Napa Rose, and it looks amazing. However, since it’s inside the park, we have to wait until Kevin’s pass is no longer blocked out. So, like, September. Ah well, it will be crowded this summer anyway.
The trolley is fun to board and the conductors are really happy to be running it.
I just really like this picture:
And here’s a shot of the length of Buena Vista Street!
Stay tuned for more Cars Land/Buena Vista Street coverage!
My Year With The Mouse 