Welcome to Extinct Attractions. This week, we are going to take a look back at various Disneyland Autopias of old.
Next Thursday, we’ll get the first new release from Walt Disney Studios since Haunted Mansion in July (which you would think would have been an October release) with The Marvels. There have been a couple of 20th Century Studios titles since then, but Disney itself went over three months without a new release. Originally, The Marvels was set to release on July 28th, but was smartly moved out of the way of the juggernaut that became Barbenheimer.
Based on the trailer, The Marvels looks like it could be a natural fit in Tomorrowland with a good amount of the action taking place in space and looking super futuristic. But now that Avengers Campus exists at Disneyland Resort, Tomorrowland should luckily stay super hero free for the foreseeable future, even if it could use a little sprucing up, particularly with the land’s only opening day attraction that is still running, Autopia. But that version is obviously still around, so instead today we’ll be focusing on some of the other versions of it that have existed over the years.
Upon opening, Autopia quickly became one of the park’s top draws as kids and adults alike looked to hop on cars that would showcase what highway life would be like in the near future (and which actually did happen, of course). In fact, there was so much excitement that Walt Disney decided to use the empty space left by the Mickey Mouse Club Circus (currently it's a small world mall) in Fantasyland and add a second Autopia on July 23, 1956. With the addition, Autopia became Tomorrowland Autopia and the new track was christened Junior Autopia for a couple of reasons. 1) Booster blocks were added to the pedals for smaller riders and 2) the track itself was a bit shorter than its Tomorrowland counterpart.
Via Walt's Apartment
But even then, the demand for Autopia was so high that a third version was added, Midget Autopia on April 23, 1957 located near Storybook Land Canal Boats and the Motor Boat Cruise. Yes, the name is very problematic today, but at the time, they were using it to clarify that the attraction was designed for very young children. No adults were allowed on the ride at all, which was an interesting choice considering that Disneyland was built on the tenet that the park was designed for families to experience it together.
There were two steering wheels on the electric cars, which worked out because the riders weren’t actually doing the driving as the cars were basically an outdoor dark ride through some calming country roads. It was a cute little jaunt for parents to stick their kids on and take some fun pictures as they traveled around.
Via The Mouse Museum
For a few years, Disneyland rolled along with all three Autopias before shaking up the game again towards the end of 1958 when Junior Autopia closed to transform into an expanded Fantasyland Autopia. Helping usher in the huge Fantasyland expansion of 1959,Fantasyland Autopia was a big kid with the booster pedals gone and an expanded track layout that looked very similar to its Tomorrowland counterpart.
Via Just a Car Guy
The three Autopia arrangement continued for seven more years until it’s a small world came calling, closing down Midget Autopia on April 3, 1966. But the attraction didn’t fully end its days there, as it was donated to Walt Disney’s hometown of Marceline, MO where it ran in the Walt Disney Municipal Park for another 11 years before too many cars had broken down to continue running.
Everything stayed the same for the next quarter of a century until March 15, 1991 when Fantasyland Autopia received an overlay to become the Rescue Rangers Raceway. At the time, much of Fantasyland was themed to the popular Disney Afternoon TV shows, with an entire mini-land created called Disney Afternoon Avenue.
In terms of Rescue Rangers Raceway, the attraction didn’t undergo too much of a facelift, with some cutouts of the characters from the show added along the track as well as the Rescue Rangers logo added to each of the cars.
The overlay was always designed to be temporary, so it was changed back to Fantasyland Autopia in November 1991. From there on out, the thrill of Autopia had subsided, so the attraction only ran seasonally until its closure on September 7, 1999. But that closure was truly a new beginning, as Fantasyland Autopia and Tomorrowland Autopia both junked their cars to combine and form the one very long track that we currently call Autopia today. While I think it’s time for Autopia to go the way of the dodo (and put a Beauty and the Beast-themed attraction there), it was definitely the right move to combine the two attractions into one that children everywhere can enjoy to this day.
Via Pinterest
As always, don’t forget to check out my interactive maps of the Disney Parks throughout the years where you can watch or learn more about all the attractions from every Disney park around the world.
Thanks for reading and have a magical day!