yookeroo
Well-Known Member
I have a lot of nostalgia for the ride. Plus it was the first Omnimover ride. And it was part of peak Tomorrowland. I still love the idea behind the ride.
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Can we talk about Autopia?
- Thread starter Kramerica
- Start date
I have a lot of nostalgia for the ride. Plus it was the first Omnimover ride. And it was part of peak Tomorrowland. I still love the idea behind the ride.
George Lucas on a Bench
Well-Known Member
Yes, the snowflake has melted!
Seems a shame to lose such amazing Paul Frees dialogue. They should temporarily add it to Haunted Mansion for like a special ATIS overlay.
Seems a shame to lose such amazing Paul Frees dialogue. They should temporarily add it to Haunted Mansion for like a special ATIS overlay.
D
Deleted member 107043
We rode it on almost every trip to DL as a kid. It was one of those C tickets that we did mostly just to spend the coupon. Maybe my memory is fuzzy but I remember it being ridiculously hokey and completely unconvincing. I guess it was ok, and there's the nostalgia factor, but it certainly isn't something I'd want to return.
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Deleted member 107043
For those who never rode the attraction here is a very accurate virtual recreation.
yookeroo
Well-Known Member
Didn't it have its own ticket? We had "connections" so we always had key tickets when we went.
I don't want it back. At least not in its original form.
D
Deleted member 107043
I recall it being a C back in the 70s and 80s. Maybe when it first opened it had a separate ticket?
Rich T
Well-Known Member
One of my favorite oldies. When I rode it as a small child, it had a huge emotional impact on me--Kind of like how I hear classic Epcot Future World had a deep impact on a lot of young East Coasters. It really worked for me as my first real eye-opener about molecular science, and I LOVED--and love to this day--Paul Frees's wonderful narration. Classic 60's Disney edu-tainment. And Miracles From Molecules--Was there ever a more wonderful, inspiring-and-simultaneously-hilarious-pro-corporation pep song? Ah, the good old days when Monsanto meant a future of glorious astroturf and plastic fashions...
Would love to see it redone with new technology...but not like Body Wars.
Rich T
Well-Known Member
It was actually a corporate-sponsored freebie at first, then became a C when too many people started using it as a Tunnel of Love.
OliveMcFly
Well-Known Member
I agree, it has charm. It still gives thrill to little ones who get to "drive" a car by themselves.
GiveMeTheMusic
Well-Known Member
With self-driving cars becoming the norm over the next 10-20 years, Autopia will become a quaint picture of the past. Perfect for Tomorrowland!
George Lucas on a Bench
Well-Known Member
It's just so classic and adorable. Leave Autopia alone!
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Deleted member 107043
Classic in the sense that almost every theme park has one?
MKCP 1985
Well-Known Member
See, in the FUTURE, the little tykes driving those Autopia cars will have driver's licenses and operate real automobiles.
Okay, so Autopia isn't an ideal match for Tomorrowland or even for a 21st century theme park, but little kids love to drive those cars and it saves parents the extra bucks it would cost to visit a go-kart track. Until there is a better idea specifically for that space, it should continue.
Okay, so Autopia isn't an ideal match for Tomorrowland or even for a 21st century theme park, but little kids love to drive those cars and it saves parents the extra bucks it would cost to visit a go-kart track. Until there is a better idea specifically for that space, it should continue.
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Deleted member 107043
So in 60 years there hasn't been a single imaginative idea from WDI that would yield an equally amusing family attraction to replace the Autopia? I find that hard to believe.
MKCP 1985
Well-Known Member
Maybe, but if that is true, someone would have built it somewhere else. What exists that would serve as a future-worthy amusing family option? What is in the blue sky cellar that could have been an option on that space but never received budget approval to go forward?
D
Deleted member 107043
I don't know, but if little gasoline powered cars on miniature roadway is the last word in interactive amusement for families then the theme park industry is in serious trouble.
Stevek
Well-Known Member
I could be wrong but I believe that pic at the bottom is the midget autopia, right?
Curious Constance
Well-Known Member
Are you saying it's not possible for there to be a new idea generated that would be a better fit for Tomorrowland? Why does it have to have been either already built or proposed?
Stevek
Well-Known Member
I think Autopia, regardless of if it's in the right place, is a rite of passage for so many small kids. Their first "real" opportunity to feel like they are driving a car. The fact that it's still popular 60 years later is a testament to it's draw for families, I know my kids couldn't wait until they could drive the car by themselves and at 14 and 16, they both still love it. I'd be disappointed if it was taken out or even changed the cars...there is something special about the sound of an Autopia car. For some of us, as we get older, it's easy to say "tear it out" and put something fresh and new. But try to remember what it was like for you when you were a child or what it's like now to your children and you may rethink that idea. To me, it's a DL classic like HM, Pirates, IASW, etc that should never go away.