Autopia is a Fast Pass attraction (that actually means something in Disneyland, a must-ride for many), has a high hourly capacity, and is a rite of passage for young kids and their families. They'll probably upgrade it to an all-electric version, like in HKDL . . . Autopia was quickly put into HKDL as this sort of attraction remains popular.
Last time I checked, Autopia had a 45-minute wait time . . .
I got the distinct impression that there would be a D23 major DHS announcement (plans not finalized), based on insider sources, it hasn't happened. Also told last year that DHS Carsland was oh, so close to being green lit, but it didn't happen. Sometimes sources mess stuff up, maybe somebody is having some fun with insiders here, who knows? But not all rumors are true.
You're so dense I struggle to comprehend it. Really. Here's Pixie once again with his "all of the insiders are wrong and here's why my armchair imagineering ideas are better." Get over yourself.
Autopia has a long wait because it has an abysmal capacity. Who the hell told you it has a high hourly capacity? Loading those suckers is not quick, easy, or cheap, and it builds lines because it can't handle the amount of people who want to get on it, which I guarantee you isn't as much as Space Mountain (which has a MUCH higher capacity). It was added to HKDL because they could do it quickly and inexpensively (it was bundled with a "Stitch Encounter" television interactive experience and a tiny water play area. Seriously, that "expansion" was desperately thrown together.) I assure you Disneyland will not hesitate to hack it out if they can find something better that works in the space. It costs a crapload to run with the fuel and whatnot (though an electric upgrade in the future certainly is a possibility if they intend to keep it around for a while). That said, the difficulty in removing it has already been pointed out - it shares space with Monorail and the Subs' show building, making use of the space rather limiting and difficult. I believe that's the only reason they've survived this long. I don't deny that there's an inherent appeal of "driving" to kids - but that won't save it if Disney finds something more lucrative.
Fastpass is on the ride because it has long lines. Period. (It has long lines because it has a poor capacity coupled with decent rider interest.) Haunted Mansion and Pirates are VERY popular and see huge day-to-day ridership, way more I suspect than Autopia, yet neither have FastPass... why? Because they don't get lines because they have massive capacities. No one wants to use a FastPass for an attraction they don't need it for. FastPass isn't a blessing to attractions that Disney has decided are immortal, it's a tool to allow people to skip lines for attractions that have them. (Hell, Roger Rabbit has FastPass.)
Meanwhile, you claim the Star Wars Bike Tomorrowland thing isn't happening because
*YOU* (emphasis needed, apparently) don't like it. You think they're ugly. You think kids like the prequels more. You think it isn't iconic. Whatever. You can have your opinion, but you
CANNOT use solely your opinion on the potential quality of a proposed attraction to justify why it won't logically happen. I have my own doubts about the legitimacy of that project, and it's not because I think the cars are ugly. Get off your high horse and have logical discussions with the rest of us. I don't like Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor very much at all... but Disney still built it and continues to operate it. And hell, whether you like it or not, they might build one in Tomorrowland. The parks don't cater to your aesthetic tastes or your ideas of how Disney should expand DHS or any of this crap.
Funny thing with you... insider info is only valid if you like what they provide. Suddenly, if Miceage provides info that isn't agreeable to your godly tastes, they become "very unreliable," despite the fact that @
WDW1974, @
Lee, etc. are/were reporting the same or similar things (and both have had strong records, especially the former with the West coast). Sometimes, where there's smoke, there's fire.
I don't really care for quite a few of the proposed projects that are apparently moving closer and closer to the construction phase, but I'm honestly kind of hoping they happen just so I can enjoy your quiet disappearance from these boards. Then I'll open the New York Times to see on the front page that there's a national outrage that Disney has pulled the Osborne lights -- oh, oops, that won't happen.
