Preview: Luigi’s Flying Tires at Disney California Adventure

Riders aboard Luigi’s Flying Tires will use a pair of joysticks to steer the levitating bumper car as it floats atop a surface similar to a giant air hockey table.

The new ride debuting in the 12-acre Cars Land at Disney California Adventure in summer 2012 recalls the short-lived, breakdown-prone Flying Saucers that moved from Disneyland to Yesterland in 1966.

> Photos: Luigi’s Flying Tires at Disney California Adventure

Luigi, as you may recall, was the excitable 1959 Fiat 500 who ran the tire shop in the animated movie “Cars.”

Instead of piloting a flying saucer, riders in the new Luigi C-ticket ride will steer a Fettuccini Alfredo-brand big-rig truck tire through tilting towers of retreads in the storage yard behind Casa Della Tires.

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Visitors will queue through an Italian garden with tire-themed topiary before entering the tire shop where Luigi’s forklift assistant, Guido, will be busy at work.

Near the main entrance to the ride, a play area will feature a tire jungle gym, slide and kid-sized cars.

Cars Land, the 12-acre themed land under construction at California Adventure, will feature three new rides set amid a faithful re-creation of the isolated red rock desert town populated by Lightning McQueen and other vehicles in “Cars.”

Note: A similar version of this article ran online several years ago. We decided to run the article now as the ride’s debut draws near.