When Cars Land opened in 2012, the thing that amazed me the most was how immersive the land felt in every single way, and how every little thing in and around the land was highly detailed. Almost eight years later, those aspects of the land are still what impress me the most about it. Whether you're shopping at the Curios or joining a race on Radiator Springs Racers, you're surrounded by numerous details that are highly reminiscent of the movie. While there are many, there is one that stands out to me that I love the most and that's the Cozy Cone Motel.
Cozy Cone Motel Planter. Photo by Megan Walker.
Nestled in the middle of Radiator Springs, the Cozy Cone Motel is one of my favorite places to stop for a quick meal or a snack, and the immersive nature of the spot makes it a lot of fun to stop in and visit. The Cozy Cone Motel is made up of five different cones, each offering a different menu of items. It also makes it a fantastic one-stop shop for snacks as you can make your way down the cones picking up different snacks along the way.
Each cone offers a different kind of snack, you'll be able to see which cone has which snack by the sign on the top of the cone.
- Cone 1 is the first of two dessert cones, this one featuring churros with dipping sauce. Cone 1 offers the regular array of beverages, as well as a special drink called Ramone's “Pear of Dice” Soda. The soda is a little sweet, but it does have a nice pear flavor that's pretty unique. It's not something I could get all the time, but every now and then is refreshing!
- Cone 2 is my favorite cone of them all because it offers ice cream cones! This cone has soft-serve ice cream in either chocolate, vanilla, or a chocolate-vanilla swirl flavor. They also offer a variety of toppings like sprinkles or my personal favorite “road gravel”, which is crushed up Oreo-type cookies. Another highlight of this cone is that they often offer seasonal varieties of ice cream flavors or toppings like Halloween colored sprinkles, or a peppermint soft-serve cone modeled to look like a Christmas tree, complete with a star on top. Finally, in addition to the ice cream cones, you can also treat yourself to a “Route” Beer float at this cone.
- In the middle, Cone 3 is where you'll find your first real food of substance with the bread cone snacks. This cone offers three different “bread cones”, always offering a Chili Cone Queso and a Bacon Mac 'n' Cheese variety. These are served in the “bread cone” which is exactly what it sounds like. These are delicious handheld “cups” in which to hold your snack and the best part is you get to snack on the cone afterwards. These bread cones are incredibly tasty; they're always very soft and because they hold the food, they always have the delicious flavor and sauces of the food soaked into them, offering a second round of snacking after you finish what's inside. The third offering at this cone is a seasonal cone option, which rotates generally once a month. They also tend to change and match the seasons, for example, one of my personal favorites is a spicy mac 'n' cheese option they've offered in a past Halloween season. These cones are the perfect size for lunch and are also great for sharing if you're hoping to leave room for other snacks and treats. The drinks offered here are a non-alcoholic and an alcoholic version of both all-natural lemonade and pomegranate limeade (the alcoholic versions feature vodka mixed in).
Cozy Cone Motel. Photo by Megan Walker.
- Cone 4 offers the second more substantial snack option at the Cozy Cone Motel, featuring pretzel bites served with cheese dipping sauce, and a cheddar garlic bagel twist (like the one at Maurice's Treats in Disneyland). Both of these options are great snacks while you're roaming the parks; I personally love the bagel twist, it's always very soft and flavorful! Cone 4 also has some specialty beverages, this time of the frozen variety. Offered here are the Red's Apple Freeze (which is super tasty and refreshing), and frozen lemonade, both great choices for a hot summer day.
- Finally, Cone 5 has the ultimate park snack: popcorn! The best part of their popcorn though is that it comes in multiple flavors. At Cone 5 you can get regular butter, dill pickle, buffalo ranch, white cheddar, sriracha, pizza, or garlic parmesan flavored popcorn. I personally love the pizza popcorn, and the Sriracha is a great spicy option if you love spice. Additionally, Cone 5 offers a specialty beverage as well in Doc's Wild Grape Tonic. This one definitely tastes like grape so, if you're a fan of that, make sure you try this! It's pretty sweet, but it can be really refreshing.
Snacks aren't the only great thing about the Cozy Cone Motel though, before you leave the area you have to make sure you stop by and look around the main office of the motel. You can't go in, but make sure you peek around the windows, there are a ton of Easter eggs located within the office, not to mention how highly detailed the Imagineers made it. Also, make sure you swing around to the front of the motel to get your picture taken with one of your favorite pals from Cars, as they rotate through for meet-and-greets with guests!
Cozy Cone Motel Lobby. Photo by Megan Walker.
Whether you're looking for a pit stop for a tasty snack, or if you're just wandering around the parks admiring the amazing details and Imagineering that went into them, make sure you spend some time in and around the Cozy Cone Motel next time you visit the resort. It really is a beautifully detailed area that doubles as a great place to stop to eat .
