Pixar 25th Anniversary Weekend Celebrating Cars 2 at Epcot

We celebrated my husband's birthday this weekend at Epcot. Coincidentally, it was also Pixar's 25th Anniversary Weekend Celebrating Cars 2. This worked out perfectly because we are big fans of Disney/Pixar movies and can't wait for the the premiere of Cars 2 in theatres June 24. The event also coincided with the final weekend of the 2011 International Flower & Garden Festival at Epcot (May 13-15).

Upon entering we received a special park map highlighting the various speaker sessions, meet & greets and celebrations around Epcot.

We immediately headed to Pixar Celebration Central.

An area was set up along a red carpet with billboards of fun facts from Pixar films.

My favorite was about the Luxo Jr. Ball. My husband knew this info, but I did not. Luxo Jr. was Pixar's first short in 1986. This was where the iconic ball made its first appearance, and it has since appeared in almost every Pixar production to date. I will be on the lookout for the ball in Cars 2.

Speaker sessions with Jay Ward (Cars Franchise Guardian), Jonas Rivera (Producer, Pixar Animation Studios) and Michael Giacchino (Composer) were held inside Pixar Celebration Central, along with Pixar character photo opps.

My daughter went straight for a picture with Mater-- her favorite Cars character.

Other characters included The Incredibles, Lots-o'-Huggin Bear & Mr. Potato Head from Toy Story 3 and friends from Up & Monsters, Inc.

The highlight of the day for my daughter was the Cars 2 "Race Around the World Showcase".

The race began at the entrance of the World Showcase where you picked up a race passport.

Your mission was to collect six stickers from different checkpoints around the World Showcase.

Once the book was filled with stickers from each of the checkpoints, you received a commemorative button.

Overall, we had a great day. I think we're all even more excited about seeing Cars 2 {opening in theatres on June 24}. I only wished we had more time to see everything-- ultimately, the rain sent us home.