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Luigi's Flying Tires

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Luigi's Flying Tires
"Bumper cars" riding within the Luigi's Flying Tires attraction
Disney California Adventure
AreaCars Land
StatusRemoved
Soft opening dateSpring 2012
Opening dateJune 15, 2012 (2012-06-15)
Closing dateFebruary 17, 2015 (2015-02-17)[1]
Replaced byLuigi's Rollickin' Roadsters
Ride statistics
Attraction typeBumper cars
DesignerWalt Disney Imagineering
ThemeCars
Vehicles21
Riders per vehicle3
Rows1
Riders per row3
Duration~2 minutes
Height restriction32 in (81 cm)

Luigi's Flying Tires was an amusement ride in Cars Land at Disney California Adventure, at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. Guests rode on tire-shaped bumper car vehicles that floated on a cushion of air, similar to an air hockey game but also very much like a hovercraft. The ride's concept was based on Disneyland's Flying Saucers attraction from the 1960s. The attraction closed on February 17, 2015. It was replaced by Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters.

History

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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.[2] The ride was based on the Flying Saucers attraction that was located in Disneyland's Tomorrowland from 1961 to 1966.[3][4] Instead of floating bumper cars in the shapes of flying saucers, the Luigi attraction featured bumper cars whose riders steer big levitating truck tires.[2]

Executive Vice President of Walt Disney Imagineering Kathy Mangum 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.[3] 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.[5]

When the attraction initially opened on June 15, 2012, it also featured giant beach balls in an effort to give the ride a more colorful look (the attraction was originally intended to open without beach balls.)[6] 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.[7]

On February 6, 2015, Disney announced that Luigi's Flying Tires would close on February 17 to make room for a reworked attraction.[8] It was replaced by Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters,[1][9] which opened on March 7, 2016.

Ride

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The queue took visitors through Luigi's Casa Della Tires shop and out back through an Italian garden to Luigi's tire yard where the ride took place.[10][11] Once seated in their tire, Luigi gave a countdown and then a compressor pumped air up through the floor's 6,714 air vents. The tires lifted about two inches off the floor, at which point riders could make their tire move by leaning in the direction that they wanted to go. The ride lasted for approximately two minutes.[4][10]

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Luigi's Flying Tires.

References

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  1. ^ a b Glover, Erin (February 6, 2015). "Luigi's Flying Tires to Become All-New Experience at Disney California Adventure Park". Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  2. ^ a b MacDonald, Brady (November 14, 2007). "Disney's Luigi ride a beloved retread". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 27, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  3. ^ a b Fields, Eugene W. (October 21, 2011). "Ride testing begins in Cars Land at California Adventure". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on May 14, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Shady, Justin (December 27, 2011). "John Lasseter Gives Luigi's Flying Tires a Test Spin". OC Weekly. Archived from the original on September 21, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  5. ^ Owen, Rob (July 26, 2009). "Disney's California Adventure getting $1.1 billion makeover". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  6. ^ Hill, Jim (September 3, 2012). "Why For are the ride vehicles for Luigi's Flying Tires being retooled". Jim Hill Media. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  7. ^ Tully, Sarah (August 16, 2012). "Disney already changing Cars Land ride". The Orange County Register. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  8. ^ "Luigi's Flying Tires to close at Disney's Cars Land - ABC7 News".
  9. ^ Glover, Erin (July 27, 2015). "First Look: Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters Rolling into Disney California Adventure Park". Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Vincent-Phoenix, Adrienne (June 13, 2012). "Cars Land Test Drive: Luigi's Flying Tires". USA Today. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  11. ^ MacDonald, Brady (October 19, 2011). "Preview: Luigi's Flying Tires at Disney California Adventure". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
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