I love Smarties. You love Smarties. Lightning McQueen, although he races for Rust-EZ, loves Smarties! As we were crossing the border on our way to Florida, we stopped at the Duty Free Shop. And although most people would probably be stocking up on booze and cigarettes, we were just there for a bathroom break.

But put me in large area that sells curios and such, and I’m bound to buy something! Something like:

The Super Loop Racer

This came with three tubes of Smarties and a great toy, so I was hooked on sight. But when I saw that it was marked down to $9.99 US from $24.99 US, my wife had to stop me from buying more than one!

They had me at ‘Smarties’

For ten bucks, you just can’t go wrong! Three tubes of Smarties (170 g each, which not being Gluten Free, I got to eat them all myself) and a cool race track toy was just the ticket to become the first official merchandise buy of our trip.

Not quite ready to race

At first, I thought this was how this toy was set up, so I punched the Launcher over and over again, trying to get McQueen to do the Super Loop of Doom. But he hit the side of the track. He missed completely. He crashed. I gave up! I figured we had another good idea gone wrong on our hands and took a pit stop to have dinner.

But while eating, and eyeing up the toy, I realized I hadn’t quite finished with the assembly yet:

NOW we’re ready to race!

The Launcher slots into the track (a detail they don’t show you on the packaging) which lines up McQueen for a guaranteed trip around the loop. However, you still have to steady the whole thing and hit the Launcher just right to get a full rotation. But it can be done, although I wonder how a younger child would fare.

Again, trust me to find a Disney collectible long before I reach Walt Disney World, and even before I officially start my trip! That’s just SO me.