C'mon... How badass is that? Very.

So, June 15th is nearly upon us and Cars Land and the new Buena Vista Street at Disney California Adventure will be unleashed up the world.  Or it may be more apt to say the world will be unleashed upon it.  I’m going to predict that it will be the biggest event (and/or clusterf#&k) since Disneyland’s opening day in 1955.

From what I hear they’ve been doing cast member previews since yesterday and THOSE were insane.  And despite the no-camera rules there are pictures to be had.  Disneyland News Today has some outstanding pics from inside Cars Land that they posted yesterday.  MiceChat also has some great pics of the Buena Vista Street area.

Select press outlets and the Disney suits were touring on Tuesday.  And the big shebang begins next week.  They’ll do the red carpet thing and trot out every B-list Disney star they can get to show up.  It’s all show though, so don’t expect to get in to see that stuff.

Just looking at the pics makes me excited.  And a few people on Twitter yesterday were saying that Radiator Springs Racers is the best ride in either park at this point.  Can you imagine that?  DCA is finally going to hold its own as a theme park! Amazing.

If you’re going to brave the hoards on opening day or even opening weekend, you’ll need a good plan to get anything accomplished.  There’s a strategy thread happening at DisBoards. The big strategy?  Be ready to camp out.  Disney is keeping the parking structure open over night to accomodate.  Fortunately it’s June so the weather should be great.

Step 2 is getting a Fast Pass for Radiator Springs Racers.  You’ll probably still have to wait a monster long time, but it’ll be faster.  I believe the Fast Pass distro center is located near the Bug’s Life area.  Getting lost and not knowing where it is could cost you hours of time.

Which brings me to my own personal opening day tip…. Don’t go.  I know, I know.  First day and all that… If you really want to have a good story of “I was there on opening day and here’s the trials and tribulations we went through to do it,” then by all means, have at it.  But for me, it’s going to be the same rides in six months when the crowds have died down slightly.  I’m thinking about going next February sometime.  I even made sure I wouldn’t be tempted to try by booking myself at the Wits End comedy club in Westminster, CO for June 14-16.

I guess I don’t need the story. 🙂

Disney really is in a strange place as a business right now.  In an economy where businesses are still struggling to maintain, Disney is trying to figure out how to get fewer people to go to their parks.  They just raised prices significantly.  They’re doing after hours events to keep annual passholders out of the park at peak times.  And there will be plenty of times this summer where they have to cut off entrances to the parks when they hit capacity.  Those are awesome problems to have for any business.  How’d they do it?  A quality product and loads of hype.  Always the two ingredients for success.

By the way, don’t forget the Disneyland has some new stuff too. Granted, not as big a deal, but still…. The Matterhorn is reopened with the new side-by-side seating.  The arguments are split, but I’ll miss the cuddle seating.  Best date night ride anywhere.  Also, the Carnation Cafe is reopening.  When DCA gets too horrendous, take some time and go visit the Magic Kingdom as well.

Bottom line… If you’re going to do it, do it all way.  Hold your breath and jump into the deep end or it won’t be worth it.  Or if you’re like me, just wait it out a bit and go when it’ll be a little more enjoyable. 🙂

Are you going to try for opening day or weekend?  Leave a comment below and tell me your plans for doing it up.