The Radiator Springs Reality session was a panel discussion on Cars Land, featuring John Lasseter, Kathy Mangum, Kevin Rafferty, Jennifer Mok, and Roger Gould. They are putting a lot of thought and effort into the details of this all-new land, and really want guests to feel like they are in Radiator Springs.

John Lasseter, shown here with his Cars 2 namesake, John Lassetire, spoke about the re-imagining of Disney California Adventure, and one of his goals in bringing Disney characters into the park – something the original park was lacking. (He had to stop himself a couple of times from saying some uncomplimentary things.)

He also showed off his custom Cars Land hardhat, painted by Chip Foose.

One of the early concepts for a new land in DCA was Car Land – going along with the car-based culture of California.

I think all along John Lasseter wanted to bring back his favorite ride from Disneyland, the Flying Saucers. And that has become Luigi’s Flying Tires in Cars Land.

Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree has 22 baby tractors pulling a car that whips around behind them. They built a car and pulled it behind a real tractor in the figure-eight pattern that the attraction will have. The attraction will also feature a jukebox made out of old car parts, new music and dialog for Mater, and lots of Mater’s tall-tale memorabilia in the queue.

The head honchos are all smiles after a test ride last summer. (Ride testing begins next week.) Of Cars Land’s 12 acres, Radiator Springs Racers is 6 acres. There are two different body styles for the cars and each comes in four different colors.

Kathy Mangum showed this time-lapse video of the construction of Cars Land, from ground-breaking pretty much up to the present time. The sun shines a lot in Anaheim!

Some of the turntables for Mater’s (some of them are already covered up).

A look down the main street of Radiator Springs through a very wide-angle lens. The framework for the Court House is visible in the middle – it’s the last to go up because of the need to move construction equipment through that area.

Lizzie’s Curio Shop:

Examples of some of the car-inspired design details that are going into the Curio Shop and wherever else they can put them.

A Fettuccini brand Flying Tire. The silver handles on the left and right of the seat are air valves which will allow riders to spin the tire.

Ramone’s House of Body Art

Here you can see the dual slots on a steeply banked curve of Radiator Springs Racers. They promise g-forces, 40 mph top speed, and you never know which car is going to win.

The final scene in the ride is Taillight Caverns.

Jennifer Mok talked about the landscaping and plants and trees they are bringing in to simulate the desert environment of Radiator Springs – while still providing some shade for the guests!

There’s going to be lots of different kinds of strange-looking cactus.

Roger Gould talked about some of the story details. Radiator Springs Racers is set during Cars 1.5, and the rest of Radiator Springs takes place post Cars 2. Flo’s V8 Cafe, pictured here, has been expanded due to the new-found fame of Radiator Springs. (They joked that Flo’s is going to be so popular they might need to put in a Fastpass system for the restaurant!)

Ramone’s custom paint system has a familiar name.

Luigi has a framed blessing from the Pope-mobile!

Radiator Springs was founded by Stanley (Stanley Steamer), who offered free water and replacement radiator caps to cars that overheated at his Stanley’s Oasis establishment. If I remember correctly, this will be part of the queue for Radiator Springs Racers.

They had to build various audio-animatronics of the cars – this is Mack. (Does that make them auto-animatronics?)

They still aren’t saying when Cars Land will open – just summer 2012.