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Disney sets opening day for Cars Land at California Adventure
A collection of Mattel die-cast vehicles from the Disney-Pixar film 'Cars' are displayed at an exhibition in Los Angeles
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FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images
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The red rocks of Disney California Adventure's new Cars Land are visible beyond the water in the photo. The new section of the park opens June 15, 2012 and includes three new rides.
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Susan Valot/KPCC
)
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Disney sets opening day for Cars Land at California Adventure
Disney sets opening day for Cars Land at California Adventure
Disney has officially set the date for the opening of Cars Land, the newest part of California Adventure: June 15.
You can already see the giant red rocks from “Cars” in the background at Disney California Adventure. The 12-acre Cars Land will add three rides as well as retail and restaurant space to the park.
It’s part of a billion-dollar overhaul of California Adventure that plans to bring in more Disney characters and family-friendly rides.
Industry estimates rank California Adventure as the 11th most popular amusement park in the world, but it gets fewer than half as many visitors as Disneyland itself.
Disney hopes Cars Land and other renovations will help boost those figures.
Cars, despite being both one of the worst-reviewed and poorest-performing of Pixar's canon, has famously high merchandise sales.
Over 300 toys, bedding, backpacks and other licensed goodies were brought out in the months before the "Cars 2" opening, according to the L.A. Times.
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But despite skeptical expectations, Cars 2 netted a solid $68 million at the box office.
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