Photo by Angela Ragno

Yep, the hotel room that Angela & I have been using as our base of operations at the D23 EXPO features a primo view of all 10 acres of the Cars Land construction. Where – just last month in an unusual sort of ground-breaking ceremony – John Lasseter climbed up into the cab of a bright-orange excavator and then personally ripped up the first patch of asphalt in the old Timon parking lot.

As you can see, the Cars Land construction team has now removed the rest of the asphalt and have now begun the grading process.

Photo by Angela Ragno

The folks at WDI don’t expect to go vertical with this project ‘til sometime after the first of the year. And that it will then take the better part of a year to get all of the steel in place necessary to support all of the rockwork that Guests will see when they visit Radiator Springs.

To be honest, the Imagineers have never really attempted a project like this before. Where – in essence – they’re taking a background painting for an animated feature and then attempting to duplicate that in the real world.

What we’re talking about here is 6 square acres of rockwork ...

Photo by Angela Ragno

… which will be tall enough to hide the Radiators Springs Racers’ immense show building as well as behaving … Well, sort of like a berm for this portion of Disney’s California Adventure. Effectively blocking Guests’ view of the Anaheim Convention Center next door.

Now I know that 5 square acres of rockwork doesn’t sound like all that much. But picture all of the rockwork that you can see while riding Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad & Splash Mountain attractions. Now double that. THAT’S the amount of rockwork that the Imagineers are going to have to sculpt & paint in order to bring Radiators Springs to life.

Photo by Angela Ragno

An interesting side note here: As part of the DCA redo project, the Imagineers have decided to close the Golden Vine Winery in January for a three month-long rehab. Which has left the staff of this high-end eatery scrambling to find temporary positions around the Disneyland Resort.

The upside is … Once work is complete, the Golden Vine Winery will feature all-new facilities and will be more in keeping with WDI’s bold new vision for DCA. Which celebrates the California that Walt Disney first encountered when he arrived in the state back in the 1920s.

EDITOR’S NOTE: My apologies if today’s article is somewhat on the thin side. I’m actually writing this in the pre-dawn hours on Sunday as Angela & I get ready to head back over to the Anaheim Convention Center to cover the final day of the D23 EXPO.

I’ve literally come across dozens – if not hundreds – of great stories while wandering the floor and/or sitting in on various D23 EXPO panels & presentations. Many of which I’ll try and share with you here in the coming weeks.

So hang in there for another day or so, okay? Trust me. The wait will be worth it.

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