Synergy!

The Cars franchise is many people's least favorite of the Pixar features, but hey! The cartoons have fueled a lot of toy sales, and they've now become useful for this:

At least one Wall Street analyst is bullish on the prospects for revitalizing Disney's California Adventure theme park as crowds lined up for Friday's opening of the Cars Land attraction.

The 12-acre expansion is the cornerstone of Walt Disney Co.'s $1.1-billion upgrade of the Anaheim park, which long has operated in the shadow of neighboring Disneyland. ...

"We were impressed by the totality of the [Disney California Adventure] renovation," wrote Bernstein Research Analyst Todd Juenger in an investor note published Thursday. ...

Diz Co. has sunk big bucks into the CA redo. When this 2nd Disney "gated attraction" opened, it was truly one of the worst amusement areas around: two great rides along with a lot of crapola of the type you find at county fairs and church carnivals -- twirling seats on long chains, Ferris wheels, and other innovative stuff -- most of it bordering a large and useless reflecting pool masquerading as a "lake."

The Eisner administration was gleeful about how inexpensively it had constructed this entertainment extravaganza, but from Day One people stayed away in droves, so what, really, was the point? Even the transplanted "Mainstreet Electrical Parade" couldn't save it.

"Cars Land" and all the rest of the expensive do-over is being well-received, and more people will likely show up. But let's face facts squarely: Diz Co. had to do something.