Autotopia at other parks

[jcldtrek]

I was just wondering if anyone ever noticed that Magic Kingdoms Autotpia is the less appealing one out of all the different Disney Parks ones. California, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo all have nice ones and Florida just has a race track look one with really no good design to it. Was just wondering what everyone else's opinions were on this.

 

[marni1971]

Orlandos was designed to be more of a 1970s grand prix track in look and style. What's a travesty is that it still does.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

I guess I'll have to find out in the fall why the Autopia is such a better track than at WDW.

 

[MarkTwain]

I guess I'll have to find out in the fall why the Autopia is such a better track than at WDW.

Spoiler:

Disneyland's Autopia focuses more on individual tracks weaving in and out of a forest-style landscape, with lots more scenery and the tracks interacting in more interesting ways.

I think a lot of it has to do with the mentality and era the Magic Kingdom was built in. After the more modest, more cost-minded construction of Disneyland, I think Disney got into the 1970s mentality of making sure Magic Kingdom was bigger, grander and more modern. This trend really explains everything in the Magic Kingdom, from the much taller buildings on Main Street, to the more wide open landscaping style, to the larger castle and expanded hub, to the grander and more aggressively modern Tomorrowland.

I think another part of that mentality was to theme the Indy Speedway to wide open roads and raceways rather than the more pastoral, leisurely ride of Disneyland's Autopia, which by the 70s likely seemed kind of simple and antiquated. Oddly, history has been kinder to Autopia, as our values shifted away from the "big open road."

 

[copcarguyp71]

Orlandos was designed to be more of a 1970s grand prix track in look and style. What's a travesty is that it still does.

well said!

 

[J03Y]

WDW's design is still really cool, i see them all equally awesome. the only thing that got me was why WDW wasn't called Autopia like California was.