Car customizing shop for kids opens largest interactive experience, complete with real-world show cars!
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (March 25, 2010) – Fun is about to shift into overdrive at Downtown Disney Westside at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. RIDEMAKERZ®, the first-ever car customizing experience for kids and kids at heart, is opening this week for a limited engagement at the 120-acre entertainment, shopping-dining complex. This opening follows the October 2009 launch of a RIDEMAKERZ shop in Downtown Disney in Anaheim, Calif., that won the company recognition by Chain Store Age magazine as best worldwide “Pop-Up” store.
The RIDEMAKERZ experience invites guests into the ultimate car customizing shop where they can build a one-of-a-kind radio control car or “RIDE”. Between bodystyles and colors, tires and wheels, lights and sounds, accessories and decals, RIDEMAKERZ estimates there are more than 649 million possible build combinations, not including individual decal placement.
“The RIDEMAKERZ experience is pure fun, and the process is designed to spark creativity, encourage collaboration and build confidence,” says RIDEMAKERZ ZEO (CEO) Larry Andreini.
In a nod to real-world car culture, RIDEMAKERZ has agreements with several automotive manufacturers to offer versions of today’s most popular cars in its line-up. Guests, or “Customizers” can choose from the Ford Mustang and F-250 Super Chief Alternative Fuel Concept Truck, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R and C6RS, Dodge Ram, Challenger, and Viper, MINI Cooper S, and Scion xB. Retro hot rods, fire engines, racecars, cab-over tow and dump trucks, and many more favorites are also available.
Complete RIDEZ range in price from $10 to $32, depending on body and paint style chosen. Radio remote control can be added for an additional $25, and custom accessories range in price from $2 for grill guards, spoilers and hoods scoops to $15 for themed kits that include a wide range of complementary accessories. RIDEZ measure approximately 12 inches long, or 1:18 scale, and are easy to assemble with snap-in, snap-on components that do not require glue.
“RIDEMAKERZ delivers a high-octane experience and one-of-a kind fun,” said Downtown Disney Vice President Keith Bradford. “We’re excited to add RIDEMAKERZ to our existing portfolio of unique offerings at Downtown Disney. It fills a niche our guest’s have been looking for.”
RIDEMAKERZ’ Orlando shop, which occupies the former home of Virgin Records, delivers an even higher-octane experience to visitors by incorporating a specially designated radio-control test track and real-world auto salon. Eight world-class show cars are on display, including a Chevrolet C5.R racecar built by Pratt & Miller Engineering for General Motors.
The display also features an F150 NASCAR Pace Truck and Dodge Ram from the personal collection of legendary car customizer Chip Foose, as well as a MINI Cooper from the private collection of famed movie car designer Fireball Tim Lawrence.
“The RIDEMAKERZ brand and this shop, in particular, are close to my heart,” said Foose during an autograph session at the grand opening on March 25th. “I learned about car customizing from my Dad, and now I get to help pass that experience on to fathers, sons and families across America.” Foose also serves as an advisor to RIDEMAKERZ.
ABOUT RIDEMAKERZ
RIDEMAKERZ’ mission is to have great fun making cool RIDEZ – with the ultimate vision of contributing to the positive development of kids. Inspired by Build-A-Bear Workshop, a partner and investor, and the increasingly popular car customizing movement, RIDEMAKERZ is about the joy and fun of creating something great, something artistic, and something unique.
RIDEMAKERZ currently operates six shops in Arizona, California, Florida, Missouri, South Carolina and Virginia. Visit RIDEMAKERZ.com for locations, more information or to purchase RIDEZ.
ABOUT WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT
Walt Disney World Resort is a contiguous 40-square-mile, world-class entertainment and recreation center featuring four theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom); two water adventure parks (Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon); 34 resort hotels (24 owned and operated by Walt Disney World, includes seven Disney Vacation Club resort properties); 81 holes of golf on five courses; two full-service spas; Disney's Wedding Pavilion; ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex; and Downtown Disney, a 120-acre entertainment-shopping-dining complex encompassing the Marketplace and West Side. Walt Disney World Resort is also included in vacation packages of Disney Cruise Line.
Located at Lake Buena Vista, Fla., 20 miles southwest of Orlando, Walt Disney World Resort opened Oct. 1, 1971. Open daily, year-round.
Re-Imagined "Star Tours" Coming to California and Florida in 2011 and Major Fantasyland Expansion at Walt Disney World Scheduled for 2013
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo detailed plans for future lands, attractions and adventures that will be delighting Disney guests for years to come, at the first D23 Expo. Most notable among the announcements were the confirmation of an all-new Star Tours attraction and the largest expansion in the history of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.
"Storytelling is the DNA of Disney dreams and we're always exploring new ways to tell new stories in new places," Rasulo told a crowd at the Anaheim Convention Center in California before taking them on a "behind-the-magic" tour of their favorite Disney destinations.
Rasulo announced that a new 3-D version of the tremendously-popular "Star Tours" attraction will debut at the Disneyland Resort and Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2011. Based on the iconic Lucasfilm "Star Wars" films, the attraction will include immersive new elements that will take guests to many familiar places in the Star Wars galaxy.
For Walt Disney World in Florida, Rasulo outlined plans for the largest expansion in the history of the Magic Kingdom, vastly increasing the size of Fantasyland by 2013. Guests will soon be able to:
- Visit their favorite Disney Princess in her castle, cottage, or chateau to share a dance with Cinderella; celebrate Sleeping Beauty's birthday with the Good Fairies; or join Belle in an enchanting story performance in the Beast's castle library.
- Be Our Guest and dine in one of three enchanted rooms inside the Beast's castle.
- Fly with Dumbo high above brand new circus grounds, twice the size of the existing attraction with a new interactive, three-ring circus tent.
- Journey under the sea with Ariel, The Little Mermaid, in her very own attraction - also opening at Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim in 2011.
- Meet Tinker Bell and her friends in the magical world of Pixie Hollow.
Rasulo provided updates on the multi-year expansion of Disney's California Adventure including the new "World of Color" attraction slated to open in the spring of 2010 and the addition of the 12-acre Cars Land scheduled to open in 2012 where guests will literally step into the town of Radiator Springs and its six acres of hand-carved rockwork.
Rasulo noted the progress of several other recently-announced projects including the three new lands coming to Hong Kong Disneyland by 2014; the Disney Dream, the new ship being built by Disney Cruise Line; the many diverse itineraries being offered by Adventures by Disney that take guests on 19 unique, once-in-a-lifetime guided vacation experiences; and Disney's first family destination resort on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.
Rasulo's keynote presentation was only part of the D23 EXPO experience. Guests were able to discover:
- Never-before-seen models of upcoming Disney attractions.
- Up close and personal visits with Lucky the Dinosaur and Wall-E.
- A preview of the most advanced Audio-Animatronics figures ever created by Walt Disney Imagineering.
- Displays showcasing cutting-edge effects technologies that are being developed for Disney attractions, shows and venues.