Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Disney and Pixar's Cars (2006) with Franchise Creative Director Jay Ward

“Kachow!” In celebration of the 20th anniversary of Disney and Pixar Animation Studio’s Cars (2006), make our theater a pit stop on your summer road trip as Pixar’s Jay Ward shares his experiences contributing to the creation of the beloved feature, managing the character team, and serving as an automotive consultant. Get your tickets before they’re “Real Gone.”

Tickets for Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Disney and Pixar's Cars (2006) with Franchise Creative Director Jay Ward will be available as follows:

• Walt’s Circle Donors: Purchase tickets beginning Tuesday, June 23 at noon PT by emailing membership@wdfmuseum.org.
• Founding, Supporter, and Friend-level members: Purchase tickets beginning Wednesday, June 24 at noon PT by emailing membership@wdfmuseum.org.
• All member levels: Tickets available beginning Thursday, June 25 at noon PST via the Member Portal.
• Public (non-members): Remaining tickets available beginning Friday, June 26 at noon PST online.

Join as a member or upgrade your current membership to receive priority access and discounts to programs like these. For more information, please visit our Membership page.

Jay Ward joined Pixar Animation Studios working in the Art department on the 2001 feature film, Monsters, Inc. He then began early development work for the 2006 film, Cars, and during the production, his deep knowledge of the world of automotives made him a perfect fit to play other significant roles in the making of the film, including character team manager, and automotive consultant to the director and the movie’s creative team. He would go on to manage the Art departments for Ratatouille (2007) and Brave (2012). He also served as Associate Producer on the  short film Presto in 2008.

Ward contributed his expertise on “all things Cars” as a key consultant in the creation and production of Cars Land at Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California, and served as the Creative Director for Disney and Pixar’s feature film, Cars 3 (2017) in addition to the Disney+ series, Cars on the Road (2022). He continues to contribute his artistic passion to everything within the franchise, such as co-designing the Porsche and Pixar Animation Studios “911 Sally Special,” a bespoke vehicle in conjunction with Porsche which was auctioned for charity for a record-setting $3.6 million. Over the past few years, Ward’s current role has expanded to encompass creative oversight of the entire slate of Pixar legacy films, helping create award-winning global franchise projects like Pixar In Real Life, Pixar Putt, the Mundo Pixar experience, and Toy Story Funday Football on ESPN and Disney +, which garnered multiple Sports EMMY® Awards.

Guests of The Walt Disney Family Museum can request American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters on-demand for our Talks, Workshops, School Experiences, Tours, and Storytimes. If you would like to request an ASL interpreter, please fill out the form linked below. Please note: Interpreter availability is not guaranteed and requests must be submitted at least two weeks in advance.

The museum is proud to partner with Bay Area Communication Access (BACA) for our ASL interpreter needs. For more information on their services, please visit BACA's website.

For more information on our Accessibility offerings, please visit our Accessibility page by clicking the link below.