Race interrupted

Disney California Adventure opened a new land this past June which recreates the town of Radiator Springs from the Disney/Pixar film "Cars".  The new land has three attractions, and the big E-ticket is called Radiator Springs Racers, in which guests sit in a car that initially takes a leisurely drive through the mountains, and then you embark on a race with another car full of guests.  It's really an amazing ride.

A couple of weeks ago, we went on the ride with a group of friends, enough that we filled up two successive cars.  We were in the second car, and we had just gotten to the thresher machine just on the outskirts of Radiator Springs when our car stalled.  Hmmm, ok, a few months previously, we'd been delayed at the very same spot, but after a few minutes, we'd started up again, so we waited to see if that happened again.  When our "engine" turned off and the lights went on around us, we knew there was going to be no further ride.  The ride probably needed to be re-set, but that meant everyone currently on the ride would need to be taken off.  We waited a while, and eventually, cast members came by and were letting our friends out from the car in front of us.  They then came by and released our seat belts so we could get out, and we proceeded to the next car, as each subsequent car was unloaded.  We were then taken to a side exit door, where we were offered passes for a visit later in the day.  As frequent visitors to the parks, we're always interested in seeing what an attraction looks like when it's not operational.

The rest of our group is in the car in front of us as the ride stopped.

Our car was stopped right in front of the thresher.

More guests are walking the path as each successive car is evacuated.

 

The next car to be evacuated.

A good look at what the inside building looks like with the lights on.

 

Guests behind us are waiting to leave the building.

We didn't get to walk through much of the ride, but it was still pretty interesting, even if we ultimately didn't end up going on the ride that day.