Autopia

Take the wheel and whirl around the tracks of Autopia, a fun-filled roadway where you can both be the driver of your own small car and get glimpses of things from the car's perspective! Enter The Grand Stand where cars on a big screen discuss life as they know it. They cover big topics like street smarts, the birds and the bees ("There comes a time in your life when bees will fly right into your grill!"), and the challenges of waiting for green lights.

A combination of the words "automobile" and "utopia," this roaring racetrack features 4 lanes of fun! Drivers of almost all ages can experience the thrill of putting their pedal to the metal on this imaginative motorway lined with lush green foliage and humorous billboards. Guide rails keep less experienced drivers on course as the cars hug curves, cross bridges and even go off-roading! When the checkered flag is waved, step on the accelerator to start the race in one of the sleek hotrods. Each car has its own personality. The cast of car characters includes Suzy the cute coupe, Dusty the off-road vehicle and Sparky the stylish sports car. You control the speed and steering as you take the car around the track. Need a brake? Just take your foot off the accelerator to slow down. Need help? Let our professional pit crew give you a hand.

Autopia is a Disneyland attraction, in which patrons steer specially designed cars through an enclosed track. Versions of Autopia exist at Anaheim, California, Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallee, France, and at Hong Kong Disneyland on Lantau Island, Hong Kong. Other versions of the attraction can be found at the Magic Kingdom as the Tomorrowland Speedway and at Tokyo Disneyland as the Grand Circuit Raceway.

Touring Tips

• The Tomorrowland Autopia is located at the back of Tomorrowland, between the Monorail station and Innoventions. The queue winds around and over the track, giving guests a good view of the loading area and the cars. The queue is almost entirely out in the open and not shaded, and can get very hot on a sunny day.
• From the bridge over the loading area take the steps down to the loading area where a Cast Member will direct you to a car in one of the four lanes. The cars will seat an adult and a child, though kids who meet the height requirement are allowed to drive by themselves. Guests should secure themselves with the seatbelt, and once the track ahead is clear simply push down on the accelerator pedal to make the car go forward. There's no brake, but letting up on the pedal will slow the car down and stop it.
• This is a Fastpass attraction, and since the standby wait can be quite long and the line moves slowly, use of Fastpass is highly recommended. The Fastpass machines are located to the right of the entrance up the ramp that looks like the entrance to Innoventions. It's best to ride early in the day.
• Drivers must be 52" tall to drive alone. Those who do not meet the height requirement may be passengers only. Children under the age of 12 months should not ride. This attraction is a favorite for many kids who really enjoy the opportunity to drive their own car.
• Expectant mothers should not ride, and due to the risk of bumping, those with back and neck problems should consider the advisability of riding.
• Cars follow along a guide rail and are somewhat difficult to steer. Be aware that inexperienced drivers may stop suddenly in front of you, or inadvertently ram you from behind.
• The gasoline fumes can get a bit overwhelming sometimes.
• The track has a guide rail in the middle to keep less skilled drivers on course - it can be a challenge to steer and avoid coming into contact with the rail.
• The course winds around the lagoon and under the monorail track, with quite a few turns. There's even an off-road dirt section, billboards, and traffic signals. If there's no slow traffic or delays ahead it takes about 5 minutes to complete the course.
• Upon returning to the loading area, follow the Cast Member's instructions and park where directed. Make sure the car behind you has stopped before getting out.

Facts

• Autopia is an original Disneyland attraction, and opened on July 17, 1955. It is the only original Tomorrowland attraction still open at 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."
• Track length is 2,112 ft (644 m). The attraction features 124 different cars in three different designs and various colors. Sparky is a sports car, Suzy is a little coupe, and Dusty is an SUV. The cars have a maximum speed of 7 miles per hour.
• There was a major rehab when Chevron took over sponsorship of the Autopia - all of the cars were replaced and the Fantasyland and Tomorrowland Autopia courses were combined into one attraction. The re-vamped Autopia opened on June 29, 2000.
• For a number of years there were three different Autopia attractions active simultaneously - the original Tomorrowland Autopia, the Junior Autopia (July 1956-December 1958), and Midget Autopia (April 1957-April 1966). After the Junior Autopia closed the Fantasyland Autopia opened in June 1959.

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 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 first fleet of Autopia cars were dubbed "Mark I". Throughout Disneyland's first few years, Autopia went through a few fleets, as the cars took a hard beating. Though basically the same look, they went through Mark I,II,III, and IV by 1958. When the Monorail, Submarine Voyage, and Matterhorn debuted in 1959, so did a new fleet with an all-new look - the "Mark Vs". The next design, Mark VI, came in 1964. It was at this time (1965) the center guide rail was first installed. 1967 brought another new design, the Mark VIIs, which cost $5,000 for each car and looked similar to the new Corvette Stingray. They would remain in service through 1999, till a breed of Mark VIIIs would hit the Autopia roadway.

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. Adults were not allowed on the ride. 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.

Autopia in 1996, before its complete remodel in 2000. The Autopia cars at this time closely resembled the Corvette Stingray.

The Fantasyland Autopia began originally as the Junior Autopia in 1956. Unlike the original Autopia, the Junior Autopia track had a center guard rail.{{ 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.

A 1967-era Corvette Stingray-style Autopia car on display in the Disneyland Hotel.

In 2000, Disneyland replaced both existing Autopia tracks with a new, much larger Autopia sponsored by Chevron. The colorful Chevrolet Corvette Stingray-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 spiel was rerecorded in 2004 to remind parents to watch their children due to several minor incidents. New for the track was a shot "off-road" section.

The cars generate a moderate level of exhaust from the gasoline engines that propel the cars. The park employees that work at this ride are compensated an additional $0.20 an hour for hazardous environment.

Hidden Mickeys

• Hidden on each Autopia License Plate, are decals featuring a Classic Mickey logo.
• A Mouse Crossing street sign, hidden along the Autopia roadway, features a Classic Mickey logo.