Walking through Cars Land, you literally feel like you’ve stepped into the movie Cars. I honestly do not see how it would be possible to improve the themeing for this new area of Disney California Adventure.
Every single detail was well thought out and taken directly from the movie. The experience I had while strolling the streets of Radiator Springs is definitely how I’d imagine jumping into a movie screen and becoming an animated extra would be (OK, maybe I’m a little weird imagining myself as an animated character, don’t judge…)!
The Cozy Cone Motel is perhaps one of the most adorable things I’ve ever seen “come to life.” In this post, we’ll walk through each of the Cones, then take a look at the special Imagineering details at the Cozy Cone Motel as well as an “after dark” photo tour of the amazing neon and lit-up cones here! Here we go!
Atmosphere
I got the chance to review some of this food at the media preview a couple of weeks ago, but being there was totally different!
My first thought when I walked up to the Cozy Cone Motel was, “Man I wish I could actually stay here.” It looks exactly like the movie; I mean everything from Sally’s office (aka hotel lobby) to the actual cones, which are perfectly sized to make us humans feel like, well, cars.
My second thought? “Woah, those are some serious long lines!”
But don’t you worry, I will be back very soon to give all of the cones a try…. In the meantime, check out our previous review, and feast your eyes on the amazingness that is the Cozy Cone Motel!
The Cones
We’ll go through each of the cones in order, so you know what to expect!
Cone #1: Churros
The Churro Cone serves up churro bites with cinnamon-chocolate sauce, regular & cinnamon-spiced hot cocoa, and Ramone’s “Pear of Dice” Soda made with dessert pear syrup, mojito syrup, and Sprite. Coca Cola products are also available here.
Cone #2: Ice Cream Cones
This is the place to grab a soft serve ice cream cone in vanilla, chocolate, or vanilla/chocolate twist. You also have the option to “dip” it in chocolate!
“Route Beer” floats in souvenir cups as well as Coca Cola products are available here as well.
Cone #3: Chili Cone Queso
Here you can find savory bites all served in edible bread cones, such as a bacon-scrambled egg cone for breakfast, and chicken verde or chili “cone” queso for lunch and dinner.
Specialty beverages include Fillmore’s Fuelin’ Groovy Ades ($3.79): all-natural lemonade with wild berry foam, or pomegranate limeade with lemon-lime foam. These can be ordered “high octane” (aka added vodka) for $7.50.
Coca Cola products are also available for purchase here.
Cone #4: Cone-Coctions
Cone #4 serves pretzel bites with cheesy sauce and Red’s Apple Freeze, a fat-free, frozen concoction with apple juice, toasted marshmallow syrup, and passion fruit-mango foam.
Cone 5: Popcone
The Popcone Cone features two daily specialty popcorn flavors. The day I was there the options were Dill (pickle) and Nacho Cheese.
You can buy your popcorn in fun Lightning McQueen containers or order it in the standard Cozy Cone Motel paper “cones.”
The Popcone Cone also features Coca Cola products available in optional cone sippers.
Cozy Cone Details and Imagineering
Even though I have not had a chance to try everything at the Cozy Cones, I already know it will be one of my favorite places to sit down and have a snack. Everything is so darn adorable I just can’t even stand it.
Orange lovers like myself will be surrounded by their favorite color! From the cone shades on the tables, to the traffic cone light posts, tail light flower arrangements, and even REAL orange roses, you really feel immersed in Sally’s world.
Night Time at the Cozy Cones
Just for fun we went back after dark to get some night time photos at the Cozy Cones. The neon in Cars Land is so gorgeous that you really need to see it for yourself. The pictures are great, but it’s even more beautiful in real life!
Mater & Lightning McQueen Meet & Greet
If you’re looking to visit Mater or Lightning McQueen, The Cozy Cone Motel is where you’ll find them.
They take turns hanging out in front of Sally’s office all day & night long. You might even get lucky like we did and have one of them drive right past you on their way to the office! (Sorry for the blurry pics, these were last minute phone camera snaps)…
Overall
From the interesting eats to the incredible “in-the-movie” atmosphere at Sally’s Cozy Cone Motel, I know that this spot will be a favorite of many Cars Land guests this year.
I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts and what you’re looking forward to trying on your first visit to this brand new spot, opening June 15th!
Are you planning on visiting the Cozy Cone Motel? Which “cone” will you hit first?
Heather Sievers is the Disney Food Blog’s Dining in Disneyland columnist. See more of her columns here!
Carrie says
Great post, Heather! The only item I had a chance to try on Saturday was the Chicken Verde “Cone” Queso, and it was so bad I threw it away after two bites. It tasted like the caps had come off the salt and pepper shakers when they were seasoning it!
I’m looking forward to trying all the different flavors of popcorn, though. It’s a nice little taste of Tokyo Disney right here at home!
Pudge the Fish says
I’m looking forward to finally seeing Cars Land first hand in August. The rides and restaurants look like a lot of fun (Buena Vista Street too.) However, I can not get past the “look” of the edible cones. They just seem unappetizing to me. The contents sound great. The cones, not so much. Maybe they just don’t photograph very well. Can you give us a description of the flavor and texture? Bready, crispy, waffle-like? Thanks Heather.
marcellina says
Do Mater and Lightning McQueen actually drive around on their own?!? If so that is so cool! I mean, I guess it’s been done before with that dino (Lucky? was that his name?) and I mean things like Push the trashcan gets around on his own right? But for some reason it just seems EXTRA cool that these “cars” are driving themselves around LOL!
Heather Sievers says
@Carrie – Thanks! Bummer about the Chicken Verde, that’s something I was looking forward to trying.
@Pudge – There is a “taste” review of the cone here: http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2012/05/11/cars-land-first-look-food-photos-and-reviews-from-sallys-cozy-cone-motel/ The chili cone carne cone is really yummy!
@Mercellina – They drive, but they have cast members as guides all around them.
Kim says
I was there on Saturday and tried the churros. They were good but the chocolate sauce was cold and with all the cinnamon sugar on the churros, you couldn’t taste the cinnamon in the sauce. I HAD to have one of the cone drink cups, so cute! They were a big seller that day, everyone had one. My mom had an ice cream cone and liked the ice cream but said the cone was stale. I still really like the whole place and want to try the popcorn on my next visit. Great pictures!
Dave A. says
I’d love to try the Dill Pickle Popcorn! That place looks really neat. The TV antennas bring back lots of memories.
Heather Sievers says
@Kim – I tried the same sauce at the Fantasmic event and thought the same thing. The sauce should be more warm and melty, like hot fudge!
@Dave – The Dill Popcorn is SO good!
Lynnette says
I was able to go on Monday and had to try some snacks here. It’s too adorable to pass up!! I had Doc’s Wild Grape Tonic that you get at the Popcone. It was good! Also grabbed the pretzel bites with cheese at Conecoctions. These were tasty. I liked that the cheese had a hint of spiciness to it. I had a small issue with how to eat my snack due to them coming in the cone box. Can’t set it down easily without the contents spilling but difficult to walk around with cone, cheese sauce and beverage in hand. Ended up just taking some time to sit at one of the tables and set it on its side. Friends got the churros and sauce. I think this was the same thing that was at the AP Fantasmic event? I wish the sauce was thicker and more fudge-like. Oh and heated would be good too. Overall though I agree that this is a super fun area for some tasty snacks!
jenifer says
wow it looks amazing cant wait to do our 1st trip to disneyland and see all this awesome stuff it kinda makes me feel cheated at disney world now
Heather says
marcellina-Mater and Lightning McQueen used to drive at Hollywood Studios, before they got their own meet & greet area. They used to drive down the Streets of America, and then it would be a mob scene of people trying to get pics with one of them (they weren’t there together.) I also saw them one time driving near Indiana Jones at DHS, but I can’t remember if they were meetable, or were just driving around.
Sara says
Is there any gluten free options?
Heather Sievers says
@Lynette – I can’t wait to get over there when the lines die down! Wait, will the lines ever die down??? ; )
@Jenifer – You will be in awe of everything! It is so amazing!
@Heather – Thanks for sharing!
@Sara – I’m not sure, but I know the cast members will be happy to tell you. Next time I am there, I will see if I can get any info for you.
Matt says
We tried both the chili cone carne and the chicken verde cones last weekend. I liked both! The chili was flavorful, and having Fritos even at the bottom were extra awesome. By the time I got to the end I was a little full from the bread cone though, but it was a nice match-up with the chili. I was actually half eating it like an ice cream cone, and half using the spoon. Kinda fun!
The chicken verde seemed to be too “wet” to me. It was very soupy towards the bottom. But the taste was good. We also tried the pomegranate limeade with vodka added. It was a delicious drink, but I honestly couldn’t taste the vodka.
Here’s a tip: they don’t start selling the lunch/dinner cones until 11am, but even then we still waited until about 11:15 before they actually started selling them. There was a transition period between breakfast and lunch/dinner. So if you go at 11, expect to wait a little bit until they do the switch-out.
Heather Sievers says
@Matt – Thanks for the report and tip! I still need to try the Chili Verde Cone!