It’s been billed as “The Happiest Place on Earth,” and environmentally minded visitors to Disneyland’s Autopia now have a big reason to smile – the popular auto-themed ride replacing its old, smoke-belching cars with new, all-electric models. Contributor John Faulkner has been a long-time visitor to Disneyland and dropped by to check out the newly updated ride.
The author at Disneyland just after its 1955 opening.
My entire family – mom, dad, older sister and I missed the grand opening at Disneyland on Sunday, July 17, 1955, but we made it to the Anaheim theme park a day later – and since them I have been back too many times to count.
Like so many other visitors, I’ve always enjoyed stopping by at Autopia a popular attraction where you get to drive cars through a specially designed track. But the cars have changed surprisingly little over the years. They still sputter with their little gas engines, filling the surrounding air with noxious emissions.
Finally, Disney says it is getting ready to catch up with the outside world in the not-too-distant-future as Autopia prepares to go all-electric.
The last of an era
Autopia is the last of the original Tomorrowland rides, still operating since the park’s opening day nearly 70 years ago.
Autopia is one of the last of Disneyland’s original Tomorrowland rides.
Like millions of little kids, Autopia was the first place I “drove” a car. There’s a gas pedal – which also acts like a brake when lifting off — and a sort-of functioning steering wheel that gave me a sensation much like what I imagined mom and dad did while driving. The reality, however, was that the cars ran on a guide that keeps the driver from going off the track. It didn’t matter – it was a blast!
But the world has changed since Disneyland opened and it’s time Autopia catches up.
Disney goes green
The Walt Disney Company is four years into its 2030 Environmental Goals plan which focuses on water, waste, materials, sustainable design, and — most interesting to Headlight.news, greenhouse gas emissions which directly affects one of the oldest rides at the park.
Disneyland has been going green with a variety of technologies for it rides and service vehicles, such as this tram.
Autopia actually has been updated a bit. The original gas engines are long gone. Today, the ride’s cars use much cleaner, 270cc, 8.5 horsepower Honda gasoline engines that can achieve a thrilling top speed of 6.5 mph.
Though the Mouse House has yet to provide specific details, it said it would make the switch to quieter, cleaner all-electric cars sometime in 2026.
And that’s resonated well with none other than Robert “Bob” Gurr, one of the original Disney “Imagineers” who helped design many of the park’s early rides, including Autopia. It’s about time, Gurr told The Los Angeles Times, “Get rid of those God-awful gasoline fumes.”
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Honda is sticking around
Autopia’s cars have been updated a number of times over the last seven decades.
This won’t set a precedent, as the Autopia cars at Hong Kong Disneyland went all electric when 2006, a year after the park opened for business. (The ride is now gone, however, closed in 2016 to make way for a new attraction, Marvel’s Avengers Quinjet Experience.)
Insiders suggest Honda is sticking around and will play an important role in the Autopia cars going green by using their considerable experience in building-battery electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles.
We’ll have to see what the next-generation cars look like. Disney updated its Autopia fleet in 2000 with three designs based on the Volkswagen Beetle: a convertible, a sports car and an off-roader. When Honda became the ride’s sponsor in 2016 the cars were repainted in Honda colors used on their street cars, and given new tires, new engines, and even a Honda badge on the hood.
Going Electric
Disney intends to have all vehicles in its sleet go green over the next few years.
Going electric will mean no more breathing gas fumes, which when combined with Anaheim’s 90+ degree summer days can make going on the Autopia ride less than ideal.
The Autopia cars aren’t the only transportation in the park that have been, or will be converted to zero or low-emission vehicles. 14-percent of the resort’s vehicles have already been converted to zero-emission, so Autopia will join these others that are treading lighter on the environment.
- The Parking Lot Trams run on compressed natural gas (CNG), replacing 56,000 gallons of diesel each year. The tram for most Disneyland guests is the first ride they will take, and is an essential part of making a visit more convenient.
- The Disneyland Monorail, circling the park on a 2.5 mile loop, has been zero-emissions since it opened in 1959. The design is both retro and futuristic, retaining the same look as when it was first built.
- The Disneyland Railroad and Mark Twain Riverboat were converted in 2009 to biodiesel, made from recycled cooking oil. The reuse of plant material saves about 200,000 gallons of petroleum-based diesel every year.
- The Main Street Vehicles, Sailing Ship Columbia, and the Jungle Cruise boats are powered by compressed natural gas, and the Radiator Springs Racers and the Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters are powered by 1,400 solar panels.
- The Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage went through a major refurbishment in 2007. When the ride reopened in 2008 the submarines were now powered by electricity, replacing diesel engines.
The next time you are at Disneyland, take a few minutes to appreciate the usually unnoticed and unrecognized part of the park operation. The vehicles are an integral element of an enjoyable visit, and as they become lighter on the environment they will help everyone breathe easier.
Hello I don’t know why Americans are still so very comfortable , but our government. Is too bad off still. Financial and monetary gain is not the best answer for centuries of problems that this country helped cause. Pork roll and avarice from our leaders is still a big issue. Materialism from the corporate world 🌎 hurts most indigenous communities. Thank you !