Pandora ACE Disney Racers: My World of Avatar Concept Cars

In the Summer of 2017, I visited Walt Disney World and experienced Pandora: The World of Avatar at Disney's Animal Kingdom.  The Windtraders shop at the exit of the star attraction, Flight of Passage, contains a wide variety of merchandise.  Curiously, an obvious item wasn't made: Disney Racers cars of a Banshee (the dragon-like star of Flight of Passage) and a Leonopteryx (the "villain").  I love Disney Racers, so I thought I'd make my own.

Make no mistake, the Banshees are the stars of Pandora.

My Banshee Disney Racer car is made out of thin foam sheets.  The wheels are cut out of plastic sheets.  And he's painted using Sharpie Paint Markers.

Maybe it is OK that there were no Pandora Disney Racers for me to buy.  These were fun to make!

The Banshees are brave, but they are no match for their orange nemesis.

This guy is called Toruk, the Last Shadow.  As in the last shadow you see.  Before you die.  Aaaa!

On a side note, Windtraders in Pandora sells a latex version of Toruk that reminds me of a rubber chicken.  It is hilarious.

If you go to Pandora at Walt Disney World, and you can't remember the names of the Banshees or Toruk, you can call them dragons.  Most everyone I heard does.

I came up with a second set of ACE Pandora Disney Racers, inspired by the Navi River Journey attraction.

With these Pandora Ace Disney Racers, I felt like I was channeling the carved wooden folk art you can find at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.

The Hexapede is a gazelle-like creature that appears in Flight of Passage and the Navi River Journey.

This creature displays moth-like appendages when threatened.

The Hexapede has been embraced by Disney for its cuteness.

The Hexapede has to be fast to outrun predators.

The panther-like Thanator is the apex land predator of Pandora.

Curiously, the Thanator does not have a role in Flight of Passage or the Navi River Journey.

I wanted the Thanator car to have a greaser/rockabilly flair.

In the Avatar movie, the Thanator put aside its predatory behavior to help the Navi.

The Navi Racer was the last one I designed, and the most fun.

The Navi Racer design was fun because it was really, really simple.

The animatronic Navi seen on the Navi River Journey attraction is eerily realistic.  As far as blue alien kitties go.

The Navi Racer was heavily inspired by the Cheetah Hunt roller coaster car at Busch Gardens Tampa.

Wave 3 of the ACE Disney Racers are some big Pandora creatures.

The Hammerhead Titanothere is a dangerous, rhino-like beast.  The Direhorse is a friend to the Navi.

The Direhorse reminds me of a cross between a Trojan Horse and a Zebra.

Pandora at Walt Disney World really needs a Direhorse Carousel.

In Pandora, the Direhorse is featured in both Flight of Passage and the Navi River Journey.

The Hammerhead was the last Racer I worked on.

In the movie, this creature acts like a bulldozer.

The Hammerhead Racer is kind of like a Punk Garbage Truck.

Making the Pandora ACE Disney Racers, I learned that working with Sharpie Paint Markers is fun, but messy.

My Disney Racers Concepts: Dueling Aladdin Sidekicks and Lady and the Tramp: Dog vs Cats

Grease Monkey Klepto Riff Raff Street Rat Rod

Way back in 2002, Disney and Hasbro released the Disney Wild Racers line of die cast cars.  At the time, they were sold in themed packs of two characters.  The cars themselves had names in addition to vanity plates.  It was during this time that I thought of different sets I wanted to see.  I recently found the drawings I did and tweaked them just a little bit.  One idea I had was for an Aladdin animal sidekick set.  Aladdin's friend, Abu the monkey, just had to be a Disney Racer.

I've decided to name each car like Disney Wild Racers did with their cars.

The car for Abu is Grease Monkey Klepto Riff Raff Street Rat Rod.

The Iago car is Molting Motor Mouth.

Molting Motor Mouth

Jafar's henchman parrot, Iago, is the perfect foil for Abu.

Tramp from Lady and the Tramp is a favorite character of mine.  The Tramp car is called Dashing Radical Mongrel.

Dashing Radical Mongrel

For whatever reason, I did not draw a design for Lady.  In my mind, I was thinking of "dueling" character sets.  Even though Disney Wild Racers had sets of friends (Like Mickey/Pluto and Timon/Pumbaa).

Though they share no screen time, I chose Si and Am the cats to duel with Tramp.

The Siamese Cat car is called Twin Tran SiAm.

Twin Tran SiAm

I liked the idea of representing both characters on one car.

Eventually, the Disney Wild Racers line was discontinued by Hasbro.  The toys live on as Disney Racers, sold at Disney theme parks.  These days, the focus is on Disney, Star Wars, and Marvel characters.

Buried Treasure Planet: Unreleased Disney Wild Racers

Disney Wild Racers Treasure Planet John Silver

Recently I was the victim of eBay sniping.  At literally the last second of the auction, a bloodthirsty pirate took away my chance at getting a highly coveted collectible that I'd known about for years, but never seen.  A John Silver Treasure Planet Disney Wild Racer.

What is interesting is that this particular eBay auction listed the car as "BEN" (the obnoxious robot) from Treasure Planet.  This car is clearly not BEN, it is Silver.  It is Silver's arm as a car.

The popular Disney Racers die cast car collection started out as "Disney's Wild Racers" made by Hasbro back in 2002.  The cars were sold at toy stores and retail giants like Walmart.

New waves of Disney Wild Racers were announced, but never released.  Among those announced was a set of cars for Disney's 2002 animated film, Treasure Planet.

The Treasure Planet set was going to feature BEN and Silver.  I have to admit this Silver car looks better than I ever imagined.

There was also an eBay auction for a different, unpainted prototype version of the Silver car.

I lost that auction, too.

The unpainted Silver car is pretty slick, too.

It's not surprising that the Silver car was never released.  Treasure Planet did not do well at the box office, and the Disney Wild Racers line was discontinued at toy stores.  Luckily, the line became Disney Racers and continues to be sold at Disney theme parks.

Another unreleased Disney Wild Racer is Buster the dog. *

UPDATE 02/18/2025:  OK, I wrote this a long time ago, and I now think this is Baloo the Bear from The Jungle Book.

Baloo was announced as a Wild Racer, to be sold with Shere Khan. But Baloo was never released.

Buster the dog was the villain in the 2001 movie Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure.  The paint scheme and nose made me think it was a dog, but the ears do look like a bear, and it has Baloo's tufts of hair.

I'm not sure who this character is supposed to be.

Is this the long lost Jungle Book Baloo Disney Wild Racer?  I'm leaning towards yes.

Disney Wild Racers of Shere Khan and Bagheera were made and sold (as was a Kaa the snake track).  It is curious that the planned Baloo car was never made.

It is rather shocking that Zero dog did not make it past the prototype stage.

Zero Disney Wild Racer

Zero the dog (with Skeleton Jack) from The Nightmare Before Christmas seem like they'd sell like crazy during the Haunted Mansion Holiday season at Disneyland in California.

It looks like Zero would have been similar to the "invisible" Cheshire Cat Disney Racers.

Dr. Finkelstein from The Nightmare Before Christmas was also made into a prototype Disney Racer.

Dr. Finkelstein also seems like a no-brainer to sell at Disneyland.

Jack, Oogie Boogie, Zero and Finkelstein could sell really well as a boxed set.

Rex and Woody had been announced many years ago as a set for Disney Wild Racers.

Eventually, Woody was released at the Disney Parks.

Given how many Toy Story character Disney Racers have been made, I'm rather shocked that Rex was never produced.

I failed to get any of these Unreleased Disney Racers when they were being sold on eBay.

By 2016, the Disney Racers line has morphed and grown into something very different. Star Wars and Marvel are the big focus now, which isn't that shocking, because they sell.

The search continues for more buried Treasure Planet Disney Racers...

Thanksgiving In Venice (Florida) With Walt Disney World As Dessert

For me, going home for the holidays now means going to Florida.  My Thanksgiving 2015 trip ended with a visit to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.  I went on Saturday, November 28th.  And yes, it was as busy as you would imagine it might be.  By the time I got to Disney, I was tan from spending five days on the beach in Venice, Florida.  I also grew a beach beard in that amount of time.  Going back to work and getting compliments was fun.

I grew up going to Venice, Florida on Summer Vacations.

In August 2015, my parents decided to permanently vacation in Venice by moving there.  On November 21, I made the (very) long drive down to spend Thanksgiving with the family at the beach.

Venice is on an island, and it is known for the shark's teeth you can find on the beaches.  I have decades of experience finding them.

My parents live about a mile away from Caspersen Beach, which is a great place to find shark's teeth.  These are just some of the many that I found on  this visit.

Downtown Venice is home to a number of shops, including a shell shop that I always have to see.  They always have funky stuff that reminds me of Gilligan's Island.

Venice had a Christmas Parade on Saturday, November 28th (I missed it because I went to Orlando).  People were allowed to stake their spot for the parade on Wednesday, November 25th after 6PM.  It was kinda wild.

Venice, Florida is known for its Cheetahs, apparently.

I'm wondering if the people who had this made were thinking of Busch Gardens in Tampa (which isn't far away).

My buddy, Reed Randolph, goes to Ringling College of Art & Design in nearby Sarasota.  I saw this at a store in Venice and thought of him.

It's a small world, after all:  My parents' next door neighbor has a son who attends Ringling, too!

When I was in college, I made this bronze tree based on Splash Mountain at Disneyland in California.  My Dad asked me to make the Elves (which are made out of Sculpey) in 2007.  They live outside in my parents' back yard now.

These days, the Elves share their tree with lizards.

Florida souvenir Disney merchandise has been around for as long as I can remember.  I saw this Monsters University Florida Keychain at the Venice Walmart.

My close friends, Liz and David (and their three kids) moved to Orlando in December of 2014.  My plan was to finish my Thanksgiving trip with them at Walt Disney World on Saturday, November 28th.  Late on Wednesday night, my friend Liz texted me asking if I had got my ticket yet.  I had not.  She said I better get it now so we can schedule Fastpasses.  So I got online and did that quickly.  At midnight, Liz was able to book the coveted 8:50PM Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Fastpasses for everyone for Saturday night.

On Friday, November 27th, I left Venice at 5:00 PM and headed to Orlando.  Driving on I-4 passing through Walt Disney World, I got very excited.  By the time I got to my friends' house, and we unwound and watched an episode of Portlandia, I was wired.  I think I slept two hours, maybe.

The plan was for us to be out of the house (in Lake Mary) by 10:00AM, which we accomplished.  We decided to stop by the McDonald's at the CrossRoads of Lake Buena Vista, and eat on the drive to the Magic Kingdom parking lot.

We parked in the Peter Pan lot, and then walked to the Transportation and Ticket Center.  We hopped on the Monorail (the kids loved the Star Wars monorail, which we did not ride).  Finally, we were at The Magic Kingdom!

I would not say that my friends are Disney fanatics, but because they are here all the time, I can safely say that they know more about how this place works and how to get around more than I ever will.

We were actually talking about the Barber Shop.  David wanted to get his hair cut---so we found that on Main Street.  It turns out they were really busy!  You do need an appointment to get your hair cut.

Walt Disney World knows how to put up a Christmas Tree.

So, I got pictures of the animated windows at the Emporium on Main Street.  The windows are for Mickey's Christmas Carol.

While looking at my pictures, I realized that, much to my horror, I never actually went in to the Emporium on this visit!  Aaaaugh!!!!

Getting the detail for these windows would have been much better at night, I think.  But my camera battery was dead by then.

At first I was disappointed with these pictures, but looking at them now, I like that you can see the sunny day on Main Street.

Going in to this trip, we knew that not everything could be done in one day.  I did everything that was a priority to me, and I was happy with that.  There was no way we could have done more in one day.

We did not even set foot in Adventureland (though I saw the Flying Carpets as we walked by in Frontierland).  I also did not enter Storybook Circus.  The only Beauty and the Beast thing I saw was Enchanted Tales with Belle.

Somehow I also totally missed the Hub and did not get a good picture of Cinderella Castle.

Looking at this food got me thinking.  I've only been to a few restaurants at the Magic Kingdom: Pinocchio's Village Haus, Cosmic Ray's, and Pecos Bill's Cafe.  That is crazy.

Even though there is an attraction called Pete's Silly Side Show at the Magic Kingdom, you can't meet Pete anywhere.  Here you can at least see him in a window.

This is the first time in a while that I've been to Walt Disney World with kids (ages 10, 9 and 8).  It was fun!  It helps that they really know their way around the parks.

Being in Orlando, I could not help but think about what my friends' kids are really interested with.  The two older kids love Star Wars in a big way.  All three love Mario.  And all three love the LEGO Movie.  They really are the target audience for this part of Florida.

It's time for spirited fun at Walt Disney World!

Here we see the Anheuser-Busch Clyesdale.  Wait, no, that isn't right!

This horse had to weave through a sea of people.

The first attraction we rode was Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.  I had an insanely high score, which was a first for me.  I must have hit a secret target.  Then the ride stopped and the work lights came on.  And the scores were wiped clean.  Noooooo!

We split up in Tomorrowland.  The party I was with went to the PeopleMover while the others had Fastpasses for the Tomorrowland Speedway.

Those of us with Fastpasses for Space Mountain did that next.  Woo hoo!

Robot Pluto was not the craziest dog-related thing I saw at the Magic Kingdom.  I saw a family carrying a live Yorkie in their backpack.

While in the area, we also rode The Mad Tea Party and The Little Mermaid attraction.

We split up again, and some of us had Fastpasses for Splash Mountain.  We also went on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

The wait for Big Thunder was not too bad.  I accidentally got a good shot of the dinosaur bones.

The kids needed a snack break, so I went off on my own to do The Haunted Mansion.  This was also my first time seeing the new Tangled area in Fantasyland, which is really pretty.

The biggest downside to the Tangled area (the "Tangled Toilets") is that the ambient music for this area (chirping birds) seems to have eliminated the howling wolf sound at the nearby Haunted Mansion.  Boo!!!

This was my first time seeing Enchanted Tales With Belle.  I got to see it with two of the kids (one of which was playing the Beast) so that was fun.  The kids really seem to like it.

Is Lumiere an animatronic or a puppet, or a hybrid?  I'm not sure, but he is impressive.  Belle was really sweet with the kids (and adults) who were in the show.

We took in a showing of Mickey's Philharmagic (which had no wait) and then went to Pecos Bill's Cafe for dinner.  Bill's has a brand new menu (burritos and rice bowls).  One thing we liked about Pecos Bill's was the topping bar---you can really load up on corn dressing (is that what it is called?) and salsa and cheese.  They had a cool little Country Bear Jamboree plastic jug that I wanted, but did not get.  After dinner, my friends showed me one of the real alligators that lives near Splash Mountain's boardwalk!

Don't climb over the fences in Frontierland, kids!

I had a Fastpass for a night time ride on Big Thunder Mountain---which is my favorite time to go on that attraction---love the dancers in the building in the town of Tumbleweed.  We also got in multiple rides on Splash Mountain, which was pretty much a walk-on.

We left Splash Mountain and noticed The Main Street---err, Disney's Electrical Parade marching towards us.  We stopped and watched, and then realized that if we did not leave, we would potentially miss our Fastpass for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and then miss some of the Fireworks show.

We did basically see the Parade in its entirety as we walked to Fantasyland.  We made it to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which I really enjoyed.  I did notice that they are very serious about not letting people sneak in the Fastpass line for the attraction---there was a second Fastpass checkpoint!

We left the Mine Train just in time for the Fireworks, which we saw in Fantasyland.  We kept looking towards the castle and then behind the castle to see all the pyro.  Great show!

The last visit was the shops in Tomorrowland.  I had promised the kids that I would get them a toy for Christmas.  It made getting myself something easier, I think.

I got a Peter Pan Disney Racer to go with the Captain Hook Disney Racer I got a few years ago.  Appropriate that we started the day with Peter Pan and ended with Peter Pan.

One of the kids chose a Snowtrooper Star Wars Disney Racer.  The other two chose Disney Collector Packs.

I got a Villains Collector Pack for myself, which had some great characters.  I really wanted Pete---oh well.

I also picked up these magnets to give to co-workers back in the real world.

I regret not getting one of these for myself.

After a Ferry Boat ride, we got to the Parking Lot Tram and then to the Peter Pan lot.  I think we got back to the house in Lake Mary at 11:45PM.  I got up early and started my long drive home at 7:50AM.

I was sad to go, but I will be back to Florida very soon.  Real soon.  Like, in a few weeks.  So I can't complain.