Tomorrowland Speedway

[PeterAlt]

I was just reading an interview with Tim Delaney, an Imagineer who worked on HKDL's Tomorrowland. Read his description of HKDL's Autopia (Speedway)...

"We’ll have a totally unique and different Autopia than the one you have in Paris. We’ll have electric cars, with lighting effects on the cars, a different kind of unique on-board audio-system, and the landscape that you will go through is much more like an alien landscape, another planet kind of landscape... It will really be a fun drive, and actually we’ll also have one of the roadways who comes into the land , because most of the Autopia will be beyond the railroad, so part of the road will come into the land on an elevated highway and returns back down to the location of the attraction, so it really showcases the ride to the people in the land. And people will be able to walk underneath this elevated roadway that you see the cars are going by."

WDW's Magic Kingdom could really use a transformation of its Speedway attraction into something more like HKDL's Autopia, as described above! That little corner of the park seems to be the most neglected since the MK opened in 1971. An Autopia overhaul would really fix that!

It doesn't seem like it would require a big budget. So, whenever the next major refurb is planned for the TL Speedway, all they need to do is up the budget and turn it into HKDL's Autotopia (or better)!

Comments?

 

[marni1971]

New cars, new drive system...

Budget??

 

[PeterAlt]

New cars, new drive system...

Budget??

Yah, but it's no E-ticket. Or D-ticket. Or C-ticket budget. And it's not like constructing a brand new attraction. It's would be like a complete refurb but more than that.

 

[marni1971]

Yah, but it's no E-ticket. Or D-ticket. Or C-ticket budget. And it's not like constructing a brand new attraction. It's would be like a complete refurb but more than that.

Well, you can dream. No question it's hopelessly out of date and in need of a full overhaul. But so long as there's a line and all that....

 

[PeterAlt]

Well, you can dream. No question it's hopelessly out of date and in need of a full overhaul. But so long as there's a line and all that....

Oh, yes, we can dream!

 

[Marc Gil]

I like the idea, and it seems like the perfect fit for our Tomorrowland, but I don't see this happening any time soon.

Our speedway is outdated, but it makes me feel like I'm a kid in the seventies

 

[DManRightHere]

I was just reading an interview with Tim Delaney, an Imagineer who worked on HKDL's Tomorrowland. Read his description of HKDL's Autopia (Speedway)...

"We’ll have a totally unique and different Autopia than the one you have in Paris. We’ll have electric cars, with lighting effects on the cars, a different kind of unique on-board audio-system, and the landscape that you will go through is much more like an alien landscape, another planet kind of landscape... It will really be a fun drive, and actually we’ll also have one of the roadways who comes into the land , because most of the Autopia will be beyond the railroad, so part of the road will come into the land on an elevated highway and returns back down to the location of the attraction, so it really showcases the ride to the people in the land. And people will be able to walk underneath this elevated roadway that you see the cars are going by."

WDW's Magic Kingdom could really use a transformation of its Speedway attraction into something more like HKDL's Autopia, as described above! That little corner of the park seems to be the most neglected since the MK opened in 1971. An Autopia overhaul would really fix that!

It doesn't seem like it would require a big budget. So, whenever the next major refurb is planned for the TL Speedway, all they need to do is up the budget and turn it into HKDL's Autotopia (or better)!

Comments?

Themed landscape around the track. All new electric cars (I think would require heavy gauge electric track). Sounds like a pretty big budget to me...but much smaller than a from scratch major attraction.

I like the speedway, but i don't ride it anymore because the fumes give me a headache. I can handle go kart tracks, but the speedway has a TON of cars sitting there accumulating fumes.

 

[Scuttle]

I like the idea, and it seems like the perfect fit for our Tomorrowland, but I don't see this happening any time soon.

Our speedway is outdated, but it makes me feel like I'm a kid in the seventies

I agree and am I the only one that loves the sound of the engines? It's probably just all nostalgic reasons, but nonetheless, I like it.

It's kind of like the mad tea party mechanism sound when it starts to stop, I love it.

Having said that I'm not delusional it definetly needs a major update.

 

[Glasgow]

Well, you can dream. No question it's hopelessly out of date and in need of a full overhaul. But so long as there's a line and all that....

Exactly. I wonder what portion of budgeting and maintenance is based on the "full line" concept .. there's a line because there is nothing else to go on that isn't already full!! Having said that, Indy SW does hold a certain appeal to me, being a petrolhead, but still - needs an update into the 20th .. ahem .. 21st century

 

[R W B]

It could definitely use an update. I've only ridden it once, it was cool and all but I just walk past it now.

Question about it though, was it just my car or is it impossible to actually steer those things lol?

 

[Tod&BigMamaOdie]

I'm not a fan of the current speedway; I would like to see it updated. Actually, and this very well may be a stupid idea, I'd like to see that footprint transformed into multiple attractions with an updated speedway, complete with new track/path on the lower level and a new, mind-blowing attraction (don't know what; surprise me) built above it. yes, go vertical says I.

 

[Disnee4Me]

We've only rode this once, but it would be cool if they updated the cars with some new futuristic looking cars!!

 

[PhilharMagician]

The maintenance costs have to be astronomical for the speedway in it's current state. I cannot imagine how many oil changes and engine rebuilds are done each year. Those cars run at least a minimum of 12 hours per day and typically more. Running every day for a month would be 2500 hours which is about the life expectancy of a small engine (if your car ran for 2500 hours @ 50 MPH you would go 125,000 miles). With all this maintenance there must be 2 - 3 full time maintenance personnel to keep the equipment serviced and running. Then add the cost of the gas with a approximate fuel consumption of 1 gallon per hour per car adds a hefty expense.

With all that cost I would think with the low cost of electricity in FL and the longevity of an electrical motor with no service requirement would save tons of money. An electrical motor could run for tens of thousands of hours.

One last note. It would be nice to get rid of the exhaust burping engines.

 

[eliz603]

I have to ride it because my kids think it's fantastic. Only my oldest realizes that they're on a track.

I could deal with getting rid of the fumes, as well as something to keep the people behind you from bumping. I had several teens behind me once who were bumping each other while we waited to disembark. Of course, I kept getting slammed as they went bump-bump-bump. A CM was standing there watching. I complained. She just shrugged her shoulders.

 

[MikeTaylorSound]

It would be easy to theme the Speedway into Wreck-It-Ralph Candy Racers and convert them into chargeable battery-power. No fumes, girl-friendly who aren't into princesses. Well, technically, she's a princess. Character meet n greet. Done.

 

[Scuttle]

I really think TDO missed an opportunity here. Instead of turning Test Track into Tron Track, which was a downgrade IMO, they should have used some of that for the speedway. Add some blue lighting, use a trackless ride system and maybe add an indoor section. Turn the tag line into "the race of the future" or something like that. Of course make the cars electric. But wait that's right GE isn't footing the bill so we probably won't see a proper refurb for a decade or more.

 

[bethymouse]

Yep- love the idea of the Wreck it Ralph theme, but also think a CARS theme would be great too! it needs a major rethink! My boys love it, I hate it! Electric cars would be so 21st Century, and what they COULD do is any number of wonderful ideas! I hope Disney does something and soon!

 

[Boardwalker]

Never went on until we took our son. For some reason he freaking LOVES it. He is 5. I think it's an attraction that belongs at the state fair, definitely not the magic kingdom.

 

[Matt_Black]

Meh. There are rides like this in every theme park, and the one in WDW doesn't really have anything to differentiate it from imitators. It needs something, even if they just slapped a Sugar Rush Raceway facelift on it.

 

[MikeTaylorSound]

If they are indeed building a Cars-themed area at HS (probably comes after LucasWorld), then the kiddie Cars ride would suffice there and give parents more of a reason to bring children to HS, other than TSMM and Fantasmic. FWIW, it was already stated by the bigwigs that the TT technology used at DL for Cars would not be replicated in a Florida build.

Sugar Rush Raceway w/electric cars, f/Princess Penelope meet n greet! Time to start writing those letters, err, uh, E-mails. Twitter hashtags, etc. Since it's the 1st ride transitioning into Tomorrowland (if you have a problem with theme placement) it could be blanketed under Fantasyland "expansion", even though Story Book Circus is right behind it. They do have new(er)-type games in the movie, though.