Imagineering provides loads of summer fun for Disneyland patrons

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

AHAHEIM, Calif. — Magic — the Disney kind of magic — takes time to build.

For two years now, teams have been building Cars Land. But construction crews even get started on a project like this, it all begins with some simple drawings.

Kathy Mangum is with Walt Disney's Imagineering team. Basically, they imagine a project, then engineer it: "imagineering."

"At Walt Disney Imagineering, I think we have the best jobs in the world because we get to create fun," Mangum says.

Cars Land is just their latest creation. The sandstone sort of looks like southern Utah, but when it's finished next summer it will look like Radiator Springs, from the popular Disney "Cars" movies.

Right now, there are a couple of Cars outside the construction fence, and children love them.

Also new at Disney California Adventure: Ariel's Undersea Adventure.

"This is the first time Ariel has had her own attraction," says Disney ambassador Jolie Hales.

From King Triton on the attraction's façade to all the intricate details inside, it's already getting great guest reviews.

"Every little detail is definitely taken into account, and that's the Disney way. That's the way we do things here at Disneyland," Hales said.

KSL's 'Summer of Fun' suggestions:

There is also a brand new ride this year called Goofy's Sky School. When we visited a couple of weeks ago, it was still in the testing phase. But it's all ready to go now.

The ride is based off of Goofy's "how to" videos from the 1940s and ‘50s.

When the sun goes down, it's a great time to visit the elecTRONica section of the park. The "Tron" movies are the inspiration behind this attraction.

A popular show here is Laser Man, which features a guy who seems to control and bend laser beams.

But my favorite part has to be Flynn's. It's an arcade playing ‘80s music, with all the old ‘80s video games to play.

The best way to end your night at Disney California Adventure is to watch the World of Color show. This is where water is sprayed as a mist in the air and images from Disney scenes are projected onto it.

Yes, even the World of Color show came from Disney's Imagineering team.

"You know you're creating new memories for these folks and these families. They're going to keep bringing their kids in, and so on and so forth," Mangum says. "It's just going to cascade, and the fact that you got to be part of it, I just can't say how rewarding it is."

Email: acabrero@ksl.com