Goofy About Roadtrips: Never Built Disney California Adventure

Never Built Disney California Adventure

Cars Land at Disney California Adventure is one of the most popular lands in any Disney Park and brought its park from an afterthought to a mandatory addition to any trip to Disneyland. But it was not always supposed to be the land it is today.

Cars Land started development as an original land not tied to any specific Disney intellectual property, just tied to a love of classic cars and roadside tourist trap style attractions.

Its E-Ticket, which would eventually become Radiator Springs Racers started life as a ride called Road Trip USA. But eventually, Disney decided this ride needed an IP attached to it in order to ensure it was a success.

So they decided to roughly tie it in with the recent hit Disney film A Goofy Movie, allowing you to go on your own road trip with Goofy across a desert landscape.

Goofy About Roadtrips Billboard Concept Art Disneyland Resort

The basic idea was kept the same from the original Road Trip USA concept, a road trip through the Californian countryside passing by the landscape and tourist traps, but this time you would be traveling alongside Goofy.

This is basically the same story as A Goofy Movie, minus Max Goof as it is not clear if he would have been included in the attraction as he did not appear in any released concept art although several scenes are reminiscent of moments in the movie.

Goofy About Roadtrips Concept Art Disney California Adventure

This ride would have been relatively calm compared to what it would end up becoming, but with a similar ride vehicle. In a way, it would have been similar to Autopia, but trying to tell a full story along the way instead of just being a scenic journey.


Eventually, Disney decided it made more sense to make a change for the entire land, and theme all of its attractions based on the Cars franchise. This really ended up being a perfect fit with the preexisting concept. Disney was designing a neon Carsland based on a small isolated town, and Cars was about a small town populated by car characters in a neon-lit town in the desert. The concepts were made for one another.





Goofy About Roadtrips would evolve into Radiator Springs Racers, although with a lot more thrill in the final version of the ride, and Cars Land became one of the most successful additions to Disney California Adventure since it opened.


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