Remembering back to when I was a little girl, the thought of actually driving a car - albeit one that only drove 7 mph on a track - was the most exhilarating feeling in the world. Motoring around in a vehicle…. hands controling the steering wheel… now that was life!
From an adult point of view, the autopia loses a little bit of magic. Drive a car? Been there, done that…. and for more hours a day than I care to admit. Still, I can recapture some of the magic by looking at the excitement in my children’s eyes as they ponder the chance to steer an automobile all by themselves! A word to the wise, though…. kids need to be at least 7 years old and 52 inches tall to drive that car alone. Knowing this ahead of time might help divert a bit of whining from younger, smaller children.
Disneyland used to contain two autopias… the Tomorrowland Autopia and the Fantasyland Autopia. The ride was so incredibly popular that Disney imagineers had to build an extra ride to contain spillover. With the release of the movie “Cars” (if you haven’t seen it, you’re missing out!), Disneyland decided to merge the two autopias into one, giving it a major overhaul at the same time. The track now has new terrain and new, cooler cars to drive.
The Tomorrowland Autopia is a continuous loading ride, but due to the limited number of automobiles and the fact that only one, maybe two people ride in a car, the lines can become fairly long during crowded times. So even though I’m sounding like a broken record here… if you or your child absolutely must ride…. make sure you get in line either early or late in the day!