Work with Disney to make Autopia a proper Tomorrowland ride.

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jsongster

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Since one of the clear goals of selling LEAFs involves getting butts into seats... test drives and teaching folks about the joys of driving 100% electric cars. Has anyone contacted Disney about converting "Tomorrowland Autopia" from it's currently idiotic big oil sponsored gas burning go carts to something somewhat actually futuristic, autonomous, electric cars.

Have the children drive the car away from the loading area with a cute animated guide... that informs them that they can help guide the car and teaches them about the means to help a car 'see the world around it and navigate it safely'. They could start driving away and get through some tricky hazards and then hand off to the automated system to go around a few more. The cars would be unable to actually bump each other but could safely simulate it. The employees would also be safer as now they get hit by the cars occasionally.

While folks wait in line Nissan could show off the ZEOD and the other members of the Zero Emissions fleet. Also the fuel efficiency and hi tech features of the rest of the product lines. Also address the overall air quality and health benefits of ZE.

Imagine replacing the smelly, noisy, go carts with gliding mini versions of the Leaf and EV200 minivan. Ideally using scaled down vehicles (fewer cells versions of the actual EV tech) with CHAdeMO quick chargers to keep the fleet rolling). Maybe a few of the minivan models could be fully automated and set up so wheelchairs can mount to them to allow the handicapped children to ride them as has been done with the Small World boats.

Maybe at Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong they could show off the local options from Renault like the Zoe and Kangoo.
 
jsongster said:
Imagine replacing the smelly, noisy, go carts with gliding mini versions of the Leaf and EV200 minivan. Ideally using scaled down vehicles (fewer cells versions of the actual EV tech) with CHAdeMO quick chargers to keep the fleet rolling). Maybe a few of the minivan models could be fully automated and set up so wheelchairs can mount to them to allow the handicapped children to ride them as has been done with the Small World boats.

This ride definitely needs an update, and adding Nissan auto-driving electric cars would definitely be more futuristic than what they have currently. Great idea, not sure if Nissan would take you up on it, but I do like it, and it would definitely sell the brand to future drivers.
 
Too bad those Rocket Rods did not work out. I never did get to ride those.
Now with kids we avoid the Autopia due to the stink and clunky old technology.
I agree Tomorrowland resembles the 60s & 70s far more than even today.
Hopefully when the Chevron sponsorship expires the mouse will be able to reimagine this ride.
Radiator Springs is way better ride for the wait time.
 
I've done indoor electric cart racing a bunch. It's fun. Although not entirely safe (in other words, not for Disneyland). We had a multi car tangle, no rules broken in particular, and my cart ended up bruising my friends rib. Back on topic, yes dump the gassers on Autopia!!! DC electric rail sponsored by a solar consortium...
 
In a word... NO... :(

That looks like a blast... I will surely be taking my teens to one soon...

No for Disneyland I was thinking fun for grandparents to grandbabies alike and that teaches about the real future of the post oil-agarchy, world. When Companies like Exxon run out of gas and have to start selling the battery designs they have hoarded.

We know this world is coming, sooner than most think... and we are prepping for it with viable alternatives.

Nissan and Tesla are building the future demos right now... and the charger nets have expanded greatly beyond anything we have had in the world before... the momentum is building and the Lands of Mr. Disney and the imagineers are an awesome place to massively educate and stretch the actual minds of the patrons.

I still remember when Tomorrowland Autopia was a brilliant example of the modern, interstate highway system... now it seems a leftover piece of a dystopian present.
I remember when Monsanto taught us about the micro world. How before man walked on the moon, Disney took us on a mission to Mars complete with sinking seat bottoms and a departure viewport that made us really think about that journey.

The Steam railroad and the horse drawn carriages of main street still demonstrate the past of transportation but where is the real future of it in the park. In Disneyworld Test track was GM's attempt... Now that they dumped out of it it should be reworked into more of a demo of the acceleration and feel of an electric car... cause that it is.

The Cars Land rides are themed and awesome... but the teaching and dreaming of the future happens in Tomorrowland.
 
Sounds like a great idea!

My kids & I drove the stinky go karts this summer & a cool EV kart would be great!

So, anyone here work in ride design for Disney?
 
I went to disneyland when I was about 10, and Tomorrowland was really the only thing that remotely interested me. Well, that and the "Yippies" that took over the park that day.

They closed early for the first time ever, and began evacuating the park while my friends and I were having a great time "trapped" on Tom Sawyer's Island. Our parents, meanwhile, were apoplectic. Ah, the good old days when a pack of 10-year-olds would be set loose without supervision in a crowded public venue for hours on end. I think today parents would have their children taken away and probably face jail time. :roll:
 
Nubo said:
I went to disneyland when I was about 10, and Tomorrowland was really the only thing that remotely interested me. Well, that and the "Yippies" that took over the park that day.

They closed early for the first time ever, and began evacuating the park while my friends and I were having a great time "trapped" on Tom Sawyer's Island. Our parents, meanwhile, were apoplectic. Ah, the good old days when a pack of 10-year-olds would be set loose without supervision in a crowded public venue for hours on end. I think today parents would have their children taken away and probably face jail time. :roll:
Wow, you saw all this for real?
http://retrobandit.hubpages.com/hub/The-Yippie-Invasion-of-Disneyland" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Seems the Yippies got high and took over Tom Sawyer Island, also one of my favorites....

But, yeah. The days of danger when I'd hope on my bicycle without a helmet, and just had to be back by dinner... WE set off kerosene mortars (tennis ball cans), m80s, and all kinds of stuff. My parents had no idea.

Then again, I was one of the first to use one of those old bell hard shell white helmets in my twenties...

Disneyland in college was pretty fun too the few times I went...
 
ksnogas2112 said:
You mean something like this?

http://extremegrandprix.com/karts.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
That stuff is fun... But not at Disneyland...
 
Disneyland has ended their sponsorship with Chevron, it's no longer on the signage at the ride. The last rumor I've seen is they plan on tearing out the whole thing plus the submarines and the innovations building and putting in an Marvel/Ironman ride.
 
Basically correct, based on what I peripherally know... Except that the current plan has the submarine ride remaining since they refurbished that not all that long ago, and the lagoon serves as the reservoir for Matterhorn and thus must remain somewhere... Also, the submarine ride is still hugely popular...

xtremeflyer said:
Disneyland has ended their sponsorship with Chevron, it's no longer on the signage at the ride. The last rumor I've seen is they plan on tearing out the whole thing plus the submarines and the innovations building and putting in an Marvel/Ironman ride.
 
JimSouCal said:
...Then again, I was one of the first to use one of those old bell hard shell white helmets in my twenties...
So was I. I bought one after several years of bicycle commuting, having decided that I was pushing my luck without a helmet. I still have my old Bell helmet, serial #61789, although I retired it about five years ago; it has many tens of thousands of miles on it, sun, rain, snow. Only saved me once, during a crash on ice: injuries to my face would have been worse without the helmet (or with a modern low profile helmet). Many crashes, only one in which I hit my head.

On topic: it has been so many years since I've been to Disneyland I wasn't aware that they still had the old Autopia. It was a big deal when I was a kid but I agree with the OP that an update to electric cars would be a huge improvement.
 
JimSouCal said:
Wow, you saw all this for real?
http://retrobandit.hubpages.com/hub/The-Yippie-Invasion-of-Disneyland" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Seems the Yippies got high and took over Tom Sawyer Island, also one of my favorites....

Yep that was the day. We were visiting from Ohio. Our relatives had seen indications of a protest in some "underground papers", but that was the day we had to go. Underground papers...oooh it was all very intriguing for an ohio boy :)

Somehow we managed to wrangle some non-adult time. I think the oldest of my cousins was actually 13, so he had things well in hand.

Really didn't see any serious altercations. We started tailing the folks around and ended up on the Island, and saw the raising of the VC flag. It was all very naughty, but we were never in fear of our safety. A few shouting matches was about as rough as it got, that we saw. By the time they started shutting things down, we eventually got to the entrances where my mother was pretty close to being arrested herself; refusing to vacate UNTIL I FIND THAT STUPID KID!!! :lol:
 
Does Disneyland have EVSE parking spaces? Apparently Disneyworld does not.

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/7904-Disney-s-current-position-regarding-electric-chargers" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
We were there this year and what a smelly mess that whole corner of the park was. They are basically running lawn mower engines in those things and when we got to the front of the line, something "broke" and they had to shut the whole thing down for an hour. But Disney is too Corporate to step on the toes of their Corporate GM/Oil buddies. The irony though is that the smell and fumes are SOOO bad that it actually makes you experience burning gasoline in the worst possible way while standing in the "The Happiest Place On Earth".
 
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