Dumbo and Tomorrowland Speedway...a rant...

[disneyAndi14]

We always FP Dumbo because it is one of the easier ones to get a 4, 5 FP+, you skip the chaotic play area! We have never been on Speedway and never will!

 

[bumbershoot]

I know DL went with electric cars

I might have missed a very recent update, but as of last year they weren’t electric.

From an article last year...”new fuel-efficient Honda engine”, but not electric from any articles I’ve seen.


I have a pathetic and weird love for the fumes. And I’m asthmatic and extremely sensitive, but I just love the stinky cars at Disney.

 

[cgattis]

I think the new queue at Dumbo works well and I suspect we will see more of it in the future in other attractions.

The fumes from TS have never bothered me. I never even thought of them until I saw it mentioned on this site.

I think everyone would be in favor of advancing technology and using updated vehicles but the same things that have gotten in the way of updating passenger car technology is the culprit here. Small and easy to fix go kart engines are magnitudes cheaper than designing and operating efficient electric vehicles that require constant battery power. And as long as there are people waiting for the ride they have no real reason to spend money and change it.

We drive electric golf carts every day. Nothing magical about an electric motor. Now, keeping the batteries charged for that amount of time per day might be a challenge. But per @AngiTN, sounds like DL already did it. The idea for the electronic sound is dead on, too. I was thrilled when my kids outgrew it, but they have lots of real stuff to drive at home, so thankfully it was short-lived for them! I always felt like I needed a neck brace afterward LOL

 

[Callie]

I would hope if they switched the cars to electric they would still be able to mimic the sound they have now. Its similar to a real race car. I'm an adult and still enjoy the ride.

 

[Jennasis]

If ONLY there were some division of Disney that could, say, use their imagination to engineer a way to make electric cars that SOUNDED like gas engines...with the vroom vroom noise.

If only...

And then they could work on a super sciencey material that wasn't black pleather and wouldnt flay the skin off my butt after sitting in the hot Florida sun all day.

 

[gillep]

Love the Dumbo queue, we usually skip past the play area but sometimes we stop for a bit if we want to get off our feet.

Was just in DL last week, definitely NOT using electric cars over there.

 

[dachsie]

I have never been on the speedway and after reading this, it sounds like I shouldn't with the fumes and all. That is one of two rides I have never ridden in MK.

 

[BalooFan]

You don't have to wait in the play area for Dumbo though. You can just walk past it into a line. DH and I have always just walked right onto it.

I have the best success with Dumbo early when there isn’t a line and you can bypass the play area and pretty much get right on the ride. On my last trip I wrongly assumed that later in the day with a line we (two adults) could bypass the play area. We were given a pager and directed to the play area. I questioned whether we had to go to there, since our party consisted only of adults and the CM told me we did. The air conditioning was nice, but after 15 minutes or so we had enough, handed in our pager, and left. I love children, but watching other people’s children play in an enclosed space doesn’t really appeal to me.

 

[WishICouldSpeakWhale]

I have the best success with Dumbo early when there isn’t a line and you can bypass the play area and pretty much get right on the ride. On my last trip I wrongly assumed that later in the day with a line we (two adults) could bypass the play area. We were given a pager and directed to the play area. I questioned whether we had to go to there, since our party consisted only of adults and the CM told me we did. The air conditioning was nice, but after 15 minutes or so we had enough, handed in our pager, and left. I love children, but watching other people’s children play in an enclosed space doesn’t really appeal to me.

I agree, that is ridiculous.

 

[AngiTN]

Love the Dumbo queue, we usually skip past the play area but sometimes we stop for a bit if we want to get off our feet.

Was just in DL last week, definitely NOT using electric cars over there.

Maybe not electric but they are not the same type as WDW and they do not have the same fumes. They have been changed

 

[AngiTN]

I might have missed a very recent update, but as of last year they weren’t electric.

From an article last year...”new fuel-efficient Honda engine”, but not electric from any articles I’ve seen.


I have a pathetic and weird love for the fumes. And I’m asthmatic and extremely sensitive, but I just love the stinky cars at Disney.

That is it then, replaced from what is used in WDW. I just got it mixed up and knew they used a new engine that didn't smell as bad

 

[MorpethMiss]

If Disney can convince me that I am flying over in Pandora, I am confident that replacing gas engines with electric cars that sound and feel like race cars would be easily done.

 

[rteetz]

Maybe not electric but they are not the same type as WDW and they do not have the same fumes. They have been changed

They got an update when they refurbed the attraction with the Honda sponsorship.

 

[Klayfish]

@Shanti It actually is kind of amazing that in this day and age when there are electric cars that can travel on interstate highways, Disney is still using gas-powered vehicles on a ride.

Apples and oranges. These electric cars you speak of that travel highways use battery packs weighing 650-1200+ lbs and are physically larger than the cars used at WDW. And that's just the battery, never mind the electric motor and the associated running gear. Even then, the smaller ones...such as the Nissan Leaf, can only go around 100 miles. Keep in mind the type of abuse the Tomorrowland Speeday cars are subjected to, daily. I don't know the specific details of the miles put on a Tomorrowland car, but I'd wager that it's just not realistic to have an all electric fleet that would have the capacity to move as many guests as the current set up can. My boys love to race electric go-karts. I just took them there yesterday...those carts are plugged back into a quick charger after each and every 6-10 minute race. Yes, they use more electricity than the WDW cars going 8mph or whatever they go, but still I just don't know they'd be able to do it to full scale. WDW would need hundreds and hundreds of them and have to constantly rotate them out, because they couldn't take a chance on having one run out of battery halfway around the track. They're also temperature sensitive, lose capacity over time, can be sensitive if not cycled properly, etc...they're just not as easy to maintain as a simple gas lawnmower engine.

So while it would certainly be nice if they were electric, not sure that's plausible right now. The technology may not be quite what it needs to be yet. Getting newer, more efficient gas engines, sure.

 

[JennyMP03]

I never even think to ride the Speedway and doubt I ever will. Sounds wretched.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

We always get a FP for both of these later in the day, maybe #7 or 8.

 

[Tomh]

What does everyone think about the new queue setup for Dumbo's Elephants? That new play area setup was pure chaos. When we got in the standby line, it said the line was only 20 minutes. No way did that hold up at all. The line seemed to barely move! Once we finally got inside the building the line just seemed to come to a grinding halt. And once we saw how chaotic the play area system was, we got too frustrated and left. My son didn't even want to be in the line anymore. That new setup seems like a horrible decision by Disney. Just pure chaos.

My other gripe is with Tomorrowland Speedway......That is another line that just......doesn't.......move...
We got in line with the standby line saying only 20 minutes. We thought, "oh, that isn't that bad." But once we got in line and saw how slow things were moving we immediately got skeptical. But we stuck it out for awhile. But we eventually just left because that line just came to a grinding halt....not moving for minutes on end. That's seriously a ride that needs re-done, with electric cars, and a faster way to load people!

That is exactly how the line at the Tomorrow Land Speedway works, it moves forward a bunch, then it stops for several minutes. This is because of the way the cars are loaded. A row of cars pulls up, stops, the drivers get out, then a new group of drivers get in. As soon as that happens, the line moves forward as the next set of drivers are put into position to wait for their cars. The current drivers buckle up, and drive out, and the cycle starts again. For most of that cycle, you are standing still, waiting. There is a brief period where the line moves forward quickly, by about 10 people, then stops. Often it is possible (and advisable) to ride the Tomorrowland Speedway early in the morning, or by using FP+ so as to not experience a long wait.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Believe it or not, the Speedway was popular with guests of all ages in the 1970s.

I think we were more used to breathing gas fumes back then.

Our boys loved the Speedway... this was in the 1980’s. We waited, always.

 

[DSLRuser]

regarding load times of the speedway.....

you have to be observant. There are 4 possible lanes that can be worked. but frequently, they will have 1 entire lane shut down to work on cars or control the perception that the ride is busier then it is. That kind of ride is not possible to function unless there are enough people to occupy 10 cars at a time.

so you have to see what lane (if any) is closed. When you get to the bridge....you don't go to the side where only 1 of the 2 lanes is functioning. 20 cars at a time is much better then 10.

and the way it loads....they take 10 at a time per lane. so a bunch of people will move...then it stands still for a cycle while they unload and load 10 cars. but pick the correct lane at the bridge...and it is 20 cars at a time.

 

[davale4]

My DS loves Dumbo and Speedway. I’m will be sad when they replace Speedway for the Tron ride. My son always looks forward to riding Speedway.