Tom and Donna Date of Irvine watched the construction of Cars Land and collected “Cars” pins for years in anticipation of opening day of the massive Disney California Adventureexpansion.

But they couldn’t wait until Friday’s opening, instead spending an extra $50 apiece to get a sneak peek on Saturday, an option available to holders of annual passes. And they weren’t disappointed.

“I think it’s beautiful,” Tom Date said. “When you come in, wow, it brought tears to my eyes. It was emotional.”

(Register’s Disney News Mob to flock to Cars Land and Buena Vista Street this week. See how to participate.)

Saturday marked the first time that outside visitors could get inside the new areas of California Adventure, which is officially concluding its five-year makeover on Friday when general visitors can get in. Check back later for a slideshow by clicking on the photo.

This weekend, Disney scheduled private events for annual passholders and other guests to see the two major additions – Cars Land and Buena Vista Street, the Main Street, U.S.A. of Disneyland’s neighbor.

Disney’s gamble

Bob Iger, president and chief executive officer of the Walt Disney Co., was among those in Cars Land on Saturday, with his sons.

In less than a week, Iger will begin to find out if the decision to invest $1 billion to reform the struggling California Adventure will pay off. Since its 2001 opening, California Adventure has fallen short in attendance and allure of original projections.

At one point, Disney executives hatched plans to combine Disneyland and California Adventure into one massive park, but they figured out that the logistics wouldn’t work. Instead, Disney decided to overhaul the younger sibling.

The makeover cost more than the original park. Although Disney won’t disclose the initial construction cost, it has surfaced that the company spent $1.4 billion on the 2001 resort expansion that included California Adventure, the Downtown Disney shopping district and a substantial hotel investment.

Mary Niven, vice president of California Adventure, said Disney should get an indication by the end of the year if the latest effort worked.

What’s new

Friday’s opening is the biggest chunk of the project, which has been rolled out annually since the 2008 opening of the Toy Story Mania! ride.

On Saturday, thousands of visitors wandered Buena Vista Street and also Cars Land, 12 acres resembling Radiator Springs, the fictional town in the “Cars” movies.

Cars Land includes three rides: Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, Luigi’s Flying Tires and Radiator Springs Racers. Even at Saturday’s private event, the line for Radiator Springs Racers lasted an hour.

Shops and restaurants are designed after buildings in “Cars,” including the Cozy Cone Motel, with food stands selling “cone”-themed foods, including “popcone,” which also drew long lines.

At the park’s entrance, Buena Vista Street is lined with shops and businesses inside a row of buildings modeled after those in Los Angeles in the 1920s and 1930s – when Walt Disney came to California and started his career. The first Starbucks in any Disney park is opening inside the Fiddler, Fifer and Practical Café.

Fan excitement

Before the park opened at 8 a.m. Saturday, hundreds, if not thousands, of fans lined up in the esplanade, stretching more than halfway across to Disneyland.

Bryan Shaw, 19, of El Centro, said he arrived at 11 p.m. Friday after driving six hours. He was kicked out of the esplanade for a while by Disney security, so he left to load up on coffee at International House of Pancakes before returning early Saturday morning.

“I wanted to be the first one,” he said.

Shaw wasn’t. He was fourth or so. But he didn’t seem to mind and happily took off to explore once the gates opened.

Ellen Tamburo, 39, of Duarte thought Disney officials filled a hole in California Adventure with Cars Land.

“I’m glad they re-did it,” she said. “It was missing something.”

Check back later this week for massive coverage of Disney California Adventure’s grand re-opening. Learn more about the Disney news mob.