Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel, Alison! KA-CHOW! My son also loves CARS with the best of them, especially Lightning McQueen and Guido!
Sadly, you won’t be able to enter the gated pools at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort without a MagicBand coded as a guest of that resort, but you will be able to visit the CARS buildings at the Resort to get a beverage from the
Cozy Cone walkup, take photos with all the Cars in the courtyard and enjoy the rest of the Resort. Your son can also coin press a Lightning McQueen penny in the
Everything Pop store inside the lobby, so bring 2 quarters and a very shiny penny! Otherwise, a great bet to enjoy other things CARS would be to seek out Cruz Romero’s meet and greet in
Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater used to be back in the streets of New York, but they drove back to Radiator Springs for a snack at Flo’s, so you’ll have to wait until they get back to visit.
If I can help you find other characters to visit at Walt Disney World Resort, please let me know. You’ve got a friend in me! ~ Lindsey P.