Autopia
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Disneyland's Autopia opened on July 17, 1955. Disneyland Paris' Autopia opened on April 12, 1992. Both attraction openings were on the opening days of the two parks as was the Speedways at Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland.
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
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The Disneyland Autopia, in one form or another, is one of the few attractions that opened with the park in 1955 and has remained open since. When it opened, it represented the future of what would become America's multilane limited-access highways, which were still being developed. President Eisenhower 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 (Rescue Rangers Raceway), 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 (1955) and the Junior Autopia in Fantasyland (1956). 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 Chevron. The colorful Chevrolet Corvette Stingray-inspired 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.
In 2005, rumors circulated that Disney was planning on developing an overlay that would tie in with the Pixar film, Cars, which would require the ride going down sometime in 2006. However, Disney officials have not confirmed this. It has also been rumored that in 2006 the Autopia cars will be replaced with ones powered by fuel cells.
Other Versions
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 Goodyear, 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. The Grand Prix theme and name was dropped in favor of 'Tomorrowland Indy Speedway', but the track and vehicles remained the same, as new theming to coincide with the "New Tomorrowland" overlay was installed.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 remained largely unchanged. It is based more on the Magic Kingdom-version rather than the Disneyland-version. The Tokyo Disneyland-version 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.
The Disneyland Paris version, 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 with a 1950's retro theme, which differs from the Discoveryland theme. There are rumors that the ride will eventually close because of the high cost and limited season of operations. The ride is open only from April to September, as the snow and cold weather are not favorable for the vehicles and drivers. There are also plans to enclose the ride and re-engineer the vehicles.
Hong Kong Disneyland is the first Disneyland-type park to not open with a form of the Autopia. Set to open in Summer 2006 as part of its Phase I Expansion, the Hong Kong version will be different to all the other versions, as it will reportedly feature electric cars, with lighting effects on the cars, and a unique on-board audio-system. Theming will include an alien landscape.
Attraction facts
Disneyland
- Grand opening: July 17, 1955 (Opened with Disneyland)
- * Re-dedicated: June 29, 2000
- Designer: WED Enterprises
- Sponsor: Chevron (2000-Present)
- * Past sponsor: Richfield Oil (1955-1970)
- Vehicles: 70
- * Current model: Mark IX (2000)
- * Vehicle theme: Chevron Cars
- Top speed: 7mph
- Track length: 2,568' (782 meters)
- Boarding requirements:
- * Passenger: 1 Year of Age
- * Driver: 7 Years of Age/52"
- Trip length: 6:00
- Required ticket: "C"
- Ride system: Miniature vehicles along a guided track
Magic Kingdom
- Grand opening: October 1, 1971 (Opened with Magic Kingdom)
- * 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 (1971)
- 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 (Opened with Tokyo Disneyland)
- Designer: WED Enterprises
- Sponsor: Bridgestone
- Vehicles:
- * Current model - Mark VII (1971 Design)
- 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 (Opened with Disneyland Paris)
- Designer: Walt Disney Imagineering
- Sponsor: Esso (2002-Present)
- * Previous sponsor: Mattel (1992-2000)
- Vehicles:
- * Current model: Mark VIII (1992)
- 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
- Vehicles:
- * Current model: Mark X (2006)
- * Motor Type: Electric {First for Disney)
- Ride system: Miniature vehicles along a guided track
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