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Credit: Inside the MagicIf you’re going to visit Disneyland in order to see one of the final remaining elements of founder Walt Disney‘s vision for the theme park, you’d better hurry. One of the last original parts of the legendary park is being irrevocably changed as the company decides to, ironically, modernize Tomorrowland.
Nearly a century ago, Walt Disney opened the original Disneyland Resort, which included Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. All of those areas still exist in some form or another, but the relentless march of time has caused all of them to be updated periodically to feature new attractions, switch out imagery, and basically just keep up with the times.
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Of all of those, Tomorrowland has, in some ways, changed the most. The futurist views of Walt Disney in 1955 have understandably come to be seen as dated, though much of the original sci-fi imagery has come all the way around to having its own retro charm.
In 1955, Tomorrowland opened (under heavy corporate sponsorship from the likes of Monsanto Company, American Motors, Richfield Oil, and Dutch Boy Paint) and featured attractions like Rocket to the Moon, Circarama, and the original sets of the Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) in a canny cost-saving move. The Disneyland theme land was intended to represent the far-off year of 1986 and Walt’s own idealistic views. His original dedication read:
“A vista into a world of wondrous ideas, signifying Man’s achievements… A step into the future, with predictions of constructed things to come. Tomorrow offers new frontiers in science, adventure and ideals. The Atomic Age, the challenge of Outer Space and the hope for a peaceful, unified world.”
As with all the other theme lands (which have been joined by New Orleans Square, Critter Country, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and Mickey’s Toontown), Tomorrowland has been continuously updated over the decades, to the point that there is only one remaining original attraction: Autopia.
Autopia, an enclosed miniature racecar track, has been featured at Disneyland since the beginning, and versions of the attraction have opened at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Walt Disney Hometown Museum. Despite its venerable status as one of the last of Walt Disney’s vision, the current Walt Disney Company is seeing fit to finally change it.
Disneyland’s promotional material states, “Autopia is the only existing Tomorrowland attraction dating back to Disneyland Park’s opening day in 1955. When the cars first took to the road, they captured America’s fascination with the latest transportation innovation, the “freeway.” Over the years, the roadways and car styles have been updated, but the fun stays the same.”
It also says that Guests can “Cruise the scenic winding roads of this classic attraction in a souped-up coupe. Pick up the pace as you rumble under a small bridge and see iconic attractions like the Matterhorn in the distance. Spot Honda’s Humanoid Robot and Bird along the road. Featuring a working gas pedal and steering wheel, each classy chassis seats 2 adults or 3 children and navigates curves and inclines just like the real thing.”
Times have changed since 1955, and it appears that it’s the last part that has finally caused the company to change up Autopia. The L.A. Times reports that Disney is beginning to phase out the gas-powered miniature cars at the Disneyland attraction and will replace them with “alternative fuel” vehicles.
Disney Legend Bob Gurr, who designed the original 1950s Autopia cars, feels that it’s high time that the gas-powered cars were trashed, saying, “Get rid of those God-awful gasoline fumes…” and that it was time for a Tomorrowland attraction where Guests “don’t smell the fumes, don’t hear that racket of the little motor going putt-putt-putt…I’d love to have really sexy-sounding electric cars.”
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The Walt Disney Company has not yet announced whether Autopia will move to all-electric or hybrid vehicles but has confirmed that the vehicles will be changed, for better or worse. Spokesperson Jessica Good said via email:
“Since opening with Disneyland park in 1955, Autopia has remained a guest-favorite most popular with young kids experiencing driving for the first time. As the industry moves toward alternative fuel sources, we have developed a roadmap to electrify this attraction and are evaluating technology that will enable us to convert from gas engines in the next few years.”
In a way, it makes sense that Tomorrowland, of all Disneyland theme lands, should be the one to update its technology to reflect more current attitudes to green technology and shedding fossil fuel-dependent vehicles, even miniature ones. But there is still some small sadness to knowing that one of the few parts of Walt Disney’s original view of tomorrow will be changing forever.
Do you think Autopia going green is a good thing? Tell Inside the Magic your thoughts!