Monday, April 30, 2012

TPE: The OTHER Autopias!



Today at Disneyland, there is one Autopia. However, back in the day, it almost seemed like there were Autopias EVERYWHERE! There was the Tomorrowland Autopia, The Fantasyland Autopia/Junior Autopia (1956—1999), and finally...the politically incorrect Midget Autopia (April 23, 1957 to 1966)! I would definitely want to see first-hand each and every one of these alternative Autopias.

Here you can see both Fantasyland and Midget Autopia tracks, as well as The Viewliner:



A few shots from the Fantasyland/Junior Autopias:













Note that the Omnibus once traveled into Tomorrowland/Fantasyland:



And the Midget Autopia:





My favorite part of this attraction is seeing the gleeful abandon on the faces of these little tots. It is so refreshing. Kids need more of that today.



























See more vintage & current Autopia photos on my Autopia web page.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can barely remember the Midget Autopia, but I can remember how much I enjoyed the ride and going though those double garage doors at the end. At the time, I thought it was cool to have the front lights on the car. I can't recall if the rear actually lit up though. Have to check out my Dad's old 8mm film as I know he took pictures of me. Great post!

K. Martinez said...

Midget and Junior Autopia is couple of years before my time, but I always love seeing images of them. I think Disneyland lacks these types of attractions today. I saw more smiles from small children on the Motor Boat Cruise than on a lot more sophisticated attractions at the park.

Douglas McEwan said...

When I was 7 and 8 I loved the Midget Autopia. To me it was like a dark ride outside in the sun.

Major Pepperidge said...

I still love the Autopias, and vintage photos of them too.