Disney•Pixar 's Cars 3 Road to the Races Tour Charlotte, NC Recap

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We're still counting down the days until Disney·Pixar's Cars 3 hits theaters nationwide.  Trust me when I say the Cars fever is real in the YUMMommy household.  Thankfully, the kids (and I) got to attend the Cars 3 Road to the Races Tour stop this past weekend with lots of other Disney fans.  Yep, Lightning McQueen and the crew raced into the Charlotte Motor Speedway and it was awesome!!  You can check out some of the fun we had below.

As soon as we walked into the event, JJ made a break away straight towards the Mattel tent.  They had an interactive play table set up with one of the new Cars 3 race track sets and it was all the rage.  We got in just before the play area started to get swamped.  Kids also got to watch Lightning McQueen as he raced against Jackson Storm, Cruz Ramirez, Mater and more as well as get a look at some of the new Cars model cars.

Once I was able to pry the kids away from the Mattel tent, we headed over to check out the Coppertone tent.  They were giving away samples of their new Coppertone SPF 30 Whipped Clearly Sheer sunscreen.  While we had already put on sunscreen before we left home, we still tried it out because the struggle is real when it comes to finding a sunscreen that works well for brown skin.  We want to protect our skin because we sunburn and get skin cancer too, but we don't want to look ashy in the process or have to invest a fortune for specialty tented sunscreens.  That can get pricey when everyone in your family is different shade of brown and you have to order different shades of tented sunscreen.

I say all of that to say that I think we've finally found a sunscreen we love and that just might love us back.  It is important to note that you want to rub this sunscreen in good in order for it be sheer.  Moo lathered hers own and didn't rub it in and had streaks on her arms and face as you will see two pictures down.  LOL.  I offered to help her, but she said didn't want me to embarrass her by treating her like a baby in public. 

With our new layer of sunscreen intact, we tried our hands at changing a race car tire while still at the Coppertone tent.  I have to admit that I was rather in impressed at how well my kids did, especially JJ.  The staffer operating the booth commented on how fast he was able to unscrew the bolts and how well they handled using the drill.  I guess seeing me using power tools around the house and at Grandma's has taught them a few things.  Needless to say if Lightning McQueen ever needs some new pit crew members, these two will definitely be waiting!  Disney you know where to reach me.

We took a break from pit crew duties to show off our dazzling smiles and pose with #95 in the Crest photo tent.  It's nice to finally know Lightning's secret to having camera ready smile.   After we got our photo taken, we got to step over and give the Crest prize wheel a spin.  We all won Cars 3 themed Crest toothpaste.  Although, I was kind of hoping to score some of the temporary tattoos or a Lightning McQueen toothbrush instead.  Not going to complain though because you can never have too much toothpaste in this family.  Thanks Crest and Disney!!

We headed over the Dole tent and I got to sample delicious green smoothie.  They passed out recipe cards so that folks would be able to recreate the smoothie at home.  Sadly it had almond milk in it.  So the kids weren't able to try it.  Also, the guy passing out smoothies recognized me from winning the Food Lion Frugal Blogger Cook-off and from my appearance on Charlotte Today!!  I felt like a local celebrity.

The Almo coloring mural tent was another big hit with the kids.  As you can tell from the picture above, the kids really let their creativity run wild with their coloring skills.  We even got cute mini packs of crayons afterwards.

Hands down our favorite park of the Disney·Pixar's Cars 3 Road to the Races Tour event was getting to have our pictures taken with Lightning McQueen, Cruz, and Jackson!!  My little was so impatient and keep asking every five seconds why we couldn't just skip to the front of the line.  He was so close one of his favorite celebrities yet so far away at the same time.  Can I just say that Lightning looked so cool in person!

Okay, confession time.  While we will always love McQueen, I became super smitten with the detailing on Cruz's paint job.  I mean how amazing does her blue metallic detailing look?!  And those blue rims are to die for.  If you didn't know this about me before, I love sports cars.  And if we were passing out awards for best dressed sports car, Cruz would have definitely gotten my vote.

Yes, I totally matched part of my outfit and my lipstick to Lightning McQueen's paint color.  What can say, I love the color red!  Also, shout out to guy who took everyone's picture with Lightning.  He was by far one of our favorite staffers at this event.  He was so patient, polite and fun.  His energy was through the roof and he did a fantastic job of interacting with the kids and making them feel special.  We truly felt like we were walking a red carpet thanks to him. 

We're excited to see how Jackson Storm's relationship/interactions with Lightning McQueen are going to play out in Cars 3.  If you've seen the movie trailers then you already know that this year Jackson Storm became one of Lightning McQueen's biggest competitors on the track.  I really hope he doesn't end up being a "bad guy."  Also, his body structure/frame was amazing!

When we finished snapping pics with the stars of Cars 3, we head over another tent and got to make our own cars!!  JJ picked Lightning McQueen and Jackson Storm.  Moo opted for Cruz Ramirez.

Each car takes about 15 to 30 minutes to make from start to finish, but they look really cool once they're finished.  Lastly, we ended our time celebrating the upcoming Cars 3 release by enjoying some unreleased footage from the actual movie and a behind the scenes look at how Cars 3 came to life.   Overall, we had a blast and I hope that Disney will consider more tours like this for future movies. 

It truly was a great way to continue building up the excitement for Cars 3, but at the same time it gave us fans something to hold us over until Cars 3 rolls into theaters nationwide on June 16, 2017.   Check out the Road to the Races Tour page to see if Lightning and the crew are coming to a city near you next!

Is your family excited about Cars 3?