The name Autopia is a portmanteau of the words "automobile utopia," which was popularized in academic circles by British architecture critic Reyner Banham to describe Los Angeles in his 1971 book "Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies."
Disneyland Autopia History
The Disneyland Autopia, in one form or another, is one of the few current attractions that opened with the park on July 17, 1955. When it opened, it represented the future of what would become America's multilane limited-access highways, which were still being developed. President had yet to sign the Interstate Highway legislation at the time Disneyland opened.
Before the park opened, the cars were tested without the bumpers, and were almost completely destroyed by the test drivers. Bumpers were fitted around the vehicle, but there were still problems with collisions, as a guide rail had yet to be implemented on the ride. Eventually the vehicles were fitted with spring-loaded bumpers to discourage collisions. The Tomorrowland version received makeovers in 1967 and 1999.
The Tomorrowland version was not the only form of Autopia to exist at Disneyland. Other versions, separate from the Tomorrowland version, included the Midget Autopia, Fantasyland Autopia , and Junior Autopia. Of these, the Tomorrowland Autopia existed the longest.
The Midget Autopia opened in 1957. It was the smallest and was the third Autopia track, after the Tomorrowland Autopia and the Junior Autopia in Fantasyland . It was located next to the Storybook Land Canal Boats and the Motor Boat Cruise at the very edge of Fantasyland. It was closed in 1966 and dismantled to make way for 'it's a small world'. The ride was donated to the city of Marceline, Missouri, where it operated for a few years.
The Fantasyland Autopia began originally as the Junior Autopia in 1956. It closed in 1958, and reopened in 1959 as the expanded Fantasyland Autopia. It was a duplicate version of the Tomorrowland Autopia and featured the same theme of the original until 1991, when part of the Disney's Afternoon Avenue makeover of Fantasyland, the ride was transformed into the Rescue Rangers Raceway. The theming was kept until 1992, when the promotion ended. The ride remained open on an interim basis until 1999, when both the Tomorrowland and Fantasyland Autopias were closed.
In 2000, Disneyland replaced both existing Autopia tracks with a new, much larger Autopia sponsored by . The colorful -style cars were replaced by three different kinds of cars: Dusty, an off-road style car; Sparky, a sports car; and Suzy, a Volkswagen Beetle-style car. Each was designed to be tied into the Chevron line of animated 'Chevron Cars', and 4 versions of the Autopia cars were sold as toys during the 2000 summer season at Chevron stations nationwide. The voice of Dusty the Autopia car is voiced by Matthew Howard. He is said to be the youngest Disney ride announcer as of 2004. The ride safety speil was rerecorded in 2004 to remind parents to watch their children due to several minor incidents.
In 2005, rumors circulated that Disney was planning on developing an overlay that would tie in with the Pixar film, , which would have required the ride going down sometime in 2006. However, this did not happen. Also a Cars attraction based on Epcot's Test Track attraction is being planned for Disney's California Adventure Park. It had also been rumored that in 2006 the Autopia cars will be replaced with ones powered by fuel cells. However, this replacement did not happen. Now the future prospect for the current Autopia cars is to be eventually replaced with electric cars if that system is able to prove itself in the Hong Kong version of the attraction. The agreement with Chevron ends in 2010, currently the Hong Kong attraction is sponsored by Honda and is likely to replace Chevron should Disneyland go with the electric cars.
Other Versions
Walt Disney World
The second Disney theme park to open was the Magic Kingdom. An opening day attraction, the Grand Prix Raceway was based on an international car race rather than the futuristic roadways of Autopia. The original sponsor was , as it supplied all of the tires on the Mark VII vehicles.
The ride was expanded in 1973 and remained unchanged until the 1994 remodel of Tomorrowland. Part of the track was also shortened to make room for Mickey's Toontown Fair. The Grand Prix theme and name was dropped in favor of 'Tomorrowland Speedway', but the track and vehicles remained the same, as new theming to coincide with the "New Tomorrowland" overlay was installed.
On December 20, 1999, Walt Disney Company and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway partnered to change the theme of the track. The ride was changed to add items from the famous Speedway, such as the famous ''Yard of Bricks,'' the Scoring Pylon, and the wheel and wing logo. The loading area features panels with the three Indy events: the Indianapolis 500, the and the United States Grand Prix.
Tokyo Disneyland
At Tokyo Disneyland, the ride exists as Grand Circuit Raceway. This version of the ride has remained open since the park's opening in 1983 and has remained largely unchanged. The ride is sponsored by Bridgestone and features a grandstand for visitors to watch the "races" between drivers. The track is described as a "figure eight" shape, but is actually quite longer. A new ride, Aquatopia, opened at neighboring park Tokyo DisneySea in 2001, but other than the name similarity to the Disneyland car ride Aquatopia is closer to Disneyland's former Motor Boat Cruise.
Disneyland Paris
The Disneyland Paris version, which opened with the park on April 12, 1992, uses the original Disneyland name of Autopia, but it has a unique sense of style and theming. The cars are more rounded and feature a toy-like quality to go with a 1950s retro theme, which differs from the Discoveryland theme.
Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland is the first Disneyland-type park to not open with a form of the Autopia. Opened in Summer 2006 as part of its Phase I Expansion, the Hong Kong version is different from all the other versions, as it features electric cars, with lighting effects on the cars, and a unique on-board audio-system. Theming includes a lush jungle and alien landscape. Honda Motors is the sponsor of the attraction.
Attraction facts
Disneyland
* Grand opening: July 17, 1955
** Re-dedicated: June 29, 2000
* Designer: WED Enterprises
* Sponsor: Chevron
** Past sponsor:
* Vehicles: 96
** Current model: Mark IX
** Vehicle theme: Chevron Cars
* Top speed: 6.5mph
* Track length: 2,568'
* Boarding requirements:
** Passenger: 1 Year of Age
** Driver: 1 Years of Age/52"
* Trip length: 4:32
* Required ticket: "C"
* Ride system: Miniature vehicles along a guided track
Magic Kingdom
* Grand opening: October 1, 1971
** Expanded: 1973
** Opening name: Grand Prix Raceway
** Original sponsor: Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
* Designer: WED Enterprises
* Vehicles: 146
** Vehicle theme: Race Car
** Current model: Mark VII
* Top speed: 7.5 mph
* Track length: 4/10 Mile
* Boarding requirements:
** Passenger: 1 Year of Age
** Driver: 7 Years of Age/52"
* Trip length: 5:00
* Required ticket: "C"
* Ride system: Miniature vehicles along a guided track
Tokyo Disneyland
* Grand opening: April 15, 1983
* Designer: WED Enterprises
* Sponsor: Bridgestone
* Vehicles:
** Current model - Mark VII
* Top speed: 7mph
* Boarding requirements:
** Passenger: 132 cm
* Trip length: 5:00
* Required ticket: "C"
* Ride system: Miniature vehicles along a guided track
Disneyland Paris
* Grand opening: April 12, 1992
* Designer: Walt Disney Imagineering
* Sponsor: Ford
** Previous sponsor: Mattel , Esso
* Vehicles:
** Current model: Mark VIII
* Trip length: 5:00
* Boarding requirements:
** Passenger - 132 cm
* Ride system: Miniature vehicles along a guided track
Hong Kong Disneyland
* Grand opening: July 13, 2006
* Designer: Walt Disney Imagineering
* Sponsor: Honda
* Track: 3
** A: Longest track featuring an overpass across the UFO Zone area
** B: Shortest track
** C: More "difficult" to drive
* Vehicles: Total 61 cars Max 54 in operation
** Current model: Mark X
** Motor Type: Electric
* Boarding requirements:
** Driver - 137 cm
** Passenger - 81 cm
* Ride system: Miniature vehicles along a guided track
In popular culture
*In the sing along songs video , during "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", Autopia was the ride tame enough for Roger Rabbit.
*A deleted scene from The Simpsons Movie reveals that while trapped inside the dome Springfield became, among other things, an Autopia.
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