Cars Land Preview: Flo's V8 Cafe and Luigi's Casa Della Tires

In yesterday's tour of California Adventure's new Cars Land, we took a look at the Cadillac Range and Sally's Cozy Cone Motel.

Today we'll zero in on Flo's V8 Cafe and Luigi's Flying Tires.

Flo's serves down-home comfort food in a fanciful gas station setting.

Inside there are fantastic panoramic views, such as this window which looks out on the Cadillac Range and Radiator Springs Racers.

Note the light fixture above! And here's another:

There are more mid-century Googie touches here and there, such as the patterns on the tables:

And we loved the juke boxes at the food ordering stations:

As for the food, it was the best non-Club 33 meal I've enjoyed at a Disney park in some time. My turkey plate included classics with a twist, such as grilled corn with peppers mixed in and mashed potatoes with the skins:

The brioche roll was outstanding too. It could have turned out as nondescript cafeteria-style food, but this was Really Good Stuff! My son loved the New York strip loin. On a future visit I'd like to try the Coca-Cola pork loin.

The Disney Food Blog has lots more photos and information about Flo's menu. If Flo's can keep up the good quality, this is a fantastic new addition to California Adventure in every aspect.

Catty-corner from Flo's sits Luigi's Casa Della Tires and the Luigi's Flying Tires ride:

John Lasseter wanted to recreate a version of Disneyland's gone-but-not-forgotten Flying Saucers ride. The tires are sort of like a Hovercraft, they rise up and then move slowly around the ride area. The ride is a little slow, and there's a learning curve learning how to steer...

...so the Imagineers decided to add to the fun by adding huge Italian beach balls to the ride. I'm somewhat amazed the lawyers let them do this, but fortunately it's hard to imagine anyone getting hurt with them.

Although Luigi's is the least successful of the three new rides, I have to say I enjoyed the Flying Tires more than I expected, having read about the design issues. I liked the Italian theming and the cheery Dean Martin-style music, and our family enjoyed a good laugh trying to manuever the tires and toss around the beach balls.

That said, it's easy to imagine this ride could be upgraded in some fashion in the future. Given that there's a huge section of the tire which guests need to carefully step over while entering the vehicles, one also wonders how durable the tires will prove to be.

The raves for Cars Land have started pouring in, such as Brady MacDonald's review in the Los Angeles Times, which says the land is "enveloping and breathtaking" and that "it feels like walking into a movie."

And I loved a guest quote in the Orange County Register: "I think it’s beautiful. When you come in, wow, it brought tears to my eyes. It was emotional."

Ditto that!

More photos coming soon!

Previously: Disney California Adventure: Cars Land Preview.

Update: Cars Land Preview: Radiator Springs Racers and Mater's Junkyard Jamboree; Cars Land Preview: Around Radiator Springs; Disney California Adventure: Buena Vista Street Preview (and More!); Disney California Adventure: More Buena Vista Street.