Electric Autopia - It's about time!

[Bstanley]

According to the latest from Jim Hill Media the Autopia being built in Hong Kong will be the first ELECTRIC Autopia - and with complete computer control as well.

Considering that I rode/drove an electric 'autopia' car more than 10 years ago at what was then Fiesta! Texas (in San Antonio) all I can say is - it's about time - no fumes, no bashing the car in front of you.

How long before they replace WDW's Autopia I wonder - or does the fact that it is sponsored by Chevron mean we'll never see it change...

 

[KNWVIKING]

I never noticed that Chevron was the sponsor. Seems odd then that Hess took over the Exxon stations on property.

 

[Bstanley]

Oh oh my mistake - the DL Autopia is sponsored by Chevron but you are right the WDW Autopia is not.

Should be no 'artificial' reason to convert to electric then.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by Bstanley
Oh oh my mistake - the DL Autopia is sponsored by Chevron but you are right the WDW Autopia is not.

Should be no 'artificial' reason to convert to electric then.

There is no such thing as the WDW Autopia. At the Magic Kingdom at WDW, it's the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway.

About five years ago, Walt Disney World formed a strategic alliance with Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). The press release announced that the attraction would "celebrate the Indy style of racing." Until this alliance ends, I would not expect any electric cars.

And it never was the Autopia. (It used be the Grand Prix Raceway.)

 

[DancingBear]

Here's an interesting tidbit from Jim Hill's article:

Just the idea that all of those nuisance "Autopia" lawsuits would possibly go away forever [due to sensing devices which would prevent bumping] has Disney's attorneys pushing to have the all-electric version of this Tomorrowland attraction installed at the stateside theme parks as soon as possible.

 

[DisneyKidds]

Yes, it would be environmental friendly and politically correct. Yes, it might reduce the number of whiplash lawsuits. Despite that, am I the only one who would lament the loss of the free wheeling feeling of having a somewhat uncontrolled, emission belching vehicle both at your fingers and under your foot? Somehow, computer controlled electric vehicles seem infinitely less sexy and a whole lot less exciting, don't they? The whole point is for a child to drive his or her own real car, and there ain't no such thing as electric formula one racers .........not yet at least.

 

[KNWVIKING]

I think part of the popularity of the speedway is that kids - and me too - like Go-Karts. They're just plain fun. And if you're a little kid it makes you feel like you're really driving a car, very grown up. Now days there are so many electric power vehicles for kids to have in their own backyards I think they would be bored with just an electric car on a track. Why stand in line for an hour for that.

 

[OnWithTheShow]

am I the only one who would lament the loss of the free wheeling feeling of having a somewhat uncontrolled, emission belching vehicle both at your fingers and under your foot?

If I wanted to do that I would just head back out to the parking lot.

 

[DancingBear]

I wonder if the Hong Kong cars will have any sound effects. I'm not fond of the fumes at the ride, but I like the putt-putt-putt of the engine.

Remember, Jim Hill said the Imagineers wanted to model this ride after Cars, and have the cars make comments as you went along. It would be easier to do that with quieter electric cars.

 

[All Aboard]

Why would this reduce the fun? They could be equipped to make an ever "cooler" race car sound, vibrate at acceleration, still have the same maneuverability as today (which is already very limited.) They'd just not be able to strike the car ahead of them. Heck, maybe they could even go faster without the threat of collisions.

My vote is to rip the whole thing out and replace it with something more imaginative. But, that's just me.

 

[Bstanley]

The 'electric' cars at Fiesta! Texas had excellent styling - late Fifties Cadillacs and Chevys - GIANT fins and chrome everywhere you turned. You can get a look HERE

They also had a nifty onboard sound system that made the cars sound like they had a V-8 - screeching tires, etc.

 

[DisneyKidds]

They could be equipped to......

make the cars sound like.......

To heck with the simulations, man!!! Speaking as a 7 yo boy I want the real thing!!!! Personally, I think that is the biggest attraction of the ride. You can plop a kid in a simulated, people moving, computer controlled ride requiring little actual operational input many places. Kids want that real combustion engine under their very own control!!!

On the "something more imaginitive" front, well sometimes that isn't always good. Heck, auto racing isn't all that imaginitive (circles around a track? Whoopedydoo.....) but it's hugely popular. I don't really get why, but it is. That's what the Grandprix Raceway/Autotopia is supposed to be about. That real, raw experience of driving..a real car...and for a kid who never gets to do it it's cool.

 

[Cricket2]

Originally posted by DisneyKidds
To heck with the simulations, man!!! Speaking as a 7 yo boy I want the real thing!!!! Personally, I think that is the biggest attraction of the ride. You can plop a kid in a simulated, people moving, computer controlled ride requiring little actual operational input many places. Kids want that real combustion engine under their very own control!!!

The speedway is 3 tokens and a helmet short of the local go-cart track.

The current attraction is a simulation no matter how you look at it. Whether it's an electric car or the current lawnmower-hybrid vehicles, you are still locked in place in a simulation.

I say strap them in a real miniature alcohol burning dragster, let them hit the pedal and hang on!

JC

 

[DancingBear]

It would be neat if, given more advanced technology available, they could get rid of the rail in the middle of the track and keep the cars on the track in some other manner.

 

[All Aboard]

Kidds, Kidds, Kidds,

If a 5hp gasoline engine governed down to 7 mph on a rail that provides about 12 inches of latitude is the "real thing"...

I really don't see how a car that shakes when you accelerate, makes a way cool revving sound, still allows for the same amount of driving freedom (you still steer, you still accelerate and brake) but only stops short of the car ahead of it is really a step down in thrill experience for the 7 year old.

In fact, the height limit to drive on your own is 52 inches as it stands. So, pretty much anyone under 8 or 9 has to have mom and dad on board anyway. I ask, "just how cool is that?"

Perhaps the non-bumping cars will permit smaller kids to drive alone.

 

[KNWVIKING]

Not that it's really important, but the same technology that prevents an electric car from running into the back of another car can also be incorparated into the existing gas powered vehicles. It's actually very simple to do.

Any car regardless of power source will be on a controlled track, so neither has an advantage over the other. Both will have the exact same speed.

But only one will have artificial sound effects.

 

[Cricket2]

Originally posted by KNWVIKING
But only one will have artificial sound effects.

~~~future~~~
golf cart + added sound effects = electric car look-alike that sounds like whatever you want it to sound like (which includes a car, which is what it is supposed to be simulating in the first place)

~~~curent~~~
go-cart + no sound effects = gas powered car look-alike that sounds like a lawnmower


I'd prefer a good simulation to something that doesn't even make an effort. It might make it stand out and since it's electric, it could make it appropriate for Tomorrowland for the first time EVER

JC

 

[KNWVIKING]

***"and since it's electric, it could make it appropriate for Tomorrowland for the first time EVER"***

How so ? Was electricity just invented ?

 

[Cricket2]

Originally posted by KNWVIKING
How so ? Was electricity just invented ?

I don't believe that electricity was ever invented, it was discovered.

Electric cars are still not mainstream.

JC

 

[Bstanley]

Hmm, interesting. The Speedway cars shouldn't be replaced with electric technology because they use the same technology that real cars use and the guests want to drive 'real' cars.


Perhaps we should look to the future!

OK - How about a complete replacement of the Speedway with electric 'vehicles' of a design fit for Tomorrowland.

1) Styled like? George Jetson cars? Minority Report cars?

2) Remove the center rail and keep them on 'track' with a buried cable (this will also make the 'bounces' off the 'rail' smoother).

3) Put all the controls onto the steering wheel so even little ones can reach the 'gas' and the 'brake'.

4) Electronic sound system with 'whatever' - jet engine sounds, fake radio shows from the 24th century, etc

-bruce