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Disney Releases More Details On Its New Cars-Themed Land
Say hello to Piston Peak National Park.
Last year, Disney announced an entire land dedicated to Pixar’s Cars at its Magic Kingdom Park in Orlando. Aside from a few illustrations that, actually, looked pretty awesome, the details were otherwise scarce. But today, the company has revealed new information on its next big expansion—including a name.
Say goodbye to Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America (RIP), and say hello to Piston Peak National Park (which, you probably don’t remember, was a real place in Disney’s Planes: Fire & Rescue movie). The new Cars area will be ripe with thick pine forests and snowy mountain peaks, and include a river that runs through the entire land. It will be the largest expansion in the history of the Magic Kingdom.
Disney Imagineers drew inspiration from America’s national parks for this new land, with the Piston Peak mountain range inspired by Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. The faux national park will also include a visitor’s lodge, a Ranger headquarters, and walking trails alongside two designated Cars attractions.
The first attraction, an off-road rally-style ride, will allow guests to weave through the forests and over Piston Peak on a trackless ride vehicle with new characters from the Cars franchise. Disney promises it will be “just like a real race.” A second, yet-to-be-named attraction will be geared toward smaller children and families.
Piston Peak National Park will extend from Liberty Square all the way to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and toward the updated Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster, which is set to re-open sometime in 2026. Guests who want to experience Tom Sawyer Island and the Riverboat before work begins on the new land have until July 7.
Disney hasn’t said exactly when the new land will open. But for such a massive expansion, don’t expect to see anything until at least 2027 or 2028.
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Driver Gets Into Audi. Then He Shows Hidden Audio Feature: ‘VW Has This Too’
‘2012 Camry has it.’
An Audi enthusiast shows fellow owners a feature he believes they might not know about. Here’s what it is.
TikTok creator @a6builds filmed the video inside his Audi A6. “99% of Audi owners miss this hidden audio setting,” he writes in the video’s text overlay.
He then explains what he means in detail. “If you own an Audi, then you will not know this feature exists,” he says.
The TikToker goes to the infotainment screen and hits a series of buttons to get to the Media settings.
“From there, come into Sound Settings and then come over to Balance and Fader,” he says. “And then, use this little trackpad, and that will allow you to put the music anywhere in the car.”
In the caption, he writes, “I can’t believe how long it took me to find this. Do you keep yours in the middle, too?”
In the comments section of the video, several viewers panned the content. “Bruh, like every car has this,” wrote one viewer. “2012 Camry has it.”
A second person said, “[Volkswagen] has this too.”
According to Extreme Audio, the fader/balance setting is not only common but is also one of the more important features on your car stereo.
Essentially, as explained in this Limitless Electronics blog post, the fade setting allows the user to choose how the volume balances between the front and back speakers. The balance setting controls the volume of the speakers on either side of the vehicle.
So, now the question is: what is the best fader/balance setting strategy? The answer to the TikToker’s question might be slightly different depending on vehicle design and preference and/or lifestyle of the individual driver. One Reddit user posted to r/LifeProTips to reveal how they personally choose to use the setting.
“If you mostly drive alone, set the audio fader slightly toward the rear and the balance slightly to the passenger side to account for the fact that you are not seated directly in the center of the vehicle,” the person wrote. “Viola. Perfect stereo surround sound.”
In the comments, one person wrote, “I’ve been doing this for years and it improves the audio to no end. The passengers can’t hear a word you’re saying, though.”
In this Reddit thread posted to r/Audi three years ago, several commenters said they actually choose to set the fade toward the rear seats because it makes it easier to communicate with passengers. Again, it appears to come down to personal preference.
Motor1 contacted Audi and @a6builds via email for comment. We will update this story if either responds.
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