One of the more memorable scenes in Cars 3 is coming to life after Disney announced the opening of its new attraction, Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy, at the company’s Hollywood Studios park at the end of March. The attraction is based on the giant simulator scene in the third Cars movie that Lightning McQueen used — he actually destroyed it — as part of his training with Cruz Ramirez. Details of the attraction are still vague at this point, but reports indicate that Disney is investing heavily in recreating the giant racing simulator from the movie, complete with a large, custom-made project surface. Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy opens on March 31, 2019.

Disney Cars 3 Driving Simlator

Some people say that attractions like this are best saved for young kids, but I respectfully disagree. Part of what made Cars 3 a great movie was its ability to resonate emotionally in ways the first two movies never did. Pixar was able to tap into that emotion by telling a story about growing old, chasing the glory days of your prime, and the subsequent relief of passing the baton to a younger generation, knowing full well that you left an indelible mark in their lives. That said, Cars 3 had its entertaining moments, too, and for me, at least, one of those moments was when Lightning McQueen asked to be strapped into a giant racing simulator without knowing what it was in the first place.

That giant simulator is what Disney is building as part of its new attraction, Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy. You're probably wondering, then, why it’s called Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy if we can’t try out the racing simulator. Well, the “academy” part of the whole experience involves an interactive aspect to the attraction. Disney didn’t expound on what that entails, but a few reports have suggested that guests — that’s us — will be the “new recruits” of the academy. If that’s the case, there should be a physical aspect to the attraction that Disney hasn’t announced yet. Whatever it is, we’re already excited about this new attraction and what kind of experience it’s going to offer once it opens in less than two months.

Cars Land is the area inside theme park where you can ride attractions like Radiator Springs Racers and Luigi’s Rollicking’ Roadsters. Given the fan base that the movie franchise has, especially with the young kids, Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy should be worth the massive investment Disney’s making on it. At the very least, it’s another attraction that all of us can enjoy in our next visit to Los Angeles, California.