Originally Posted By SuperDry This was another new attraction that I got to ride for the first time during my recent visit. It's pretty much as others have said: beautiful landscaping, especially at night with the way its lit. It's unique from other Autopias in that it's all-electric. That adds more to the attraction than it might seem at first. First of all, it gets rid of the fumes. Also, the quietness of the cars allowed them to add futuristic sound effects to the cars and actually have them heard. It also gets rid of the sense that it's a dressed-up 1950's carnival ride. One thing that surprised me was that going into it, I was expecting the cars to run on a power bus, but instead they appear to run on self-contained batteries that get quick-charged while the cars are in the station. Not that it really matters, but details like that get noticed by geek engineering types. Also, given that they're all-electric, I was surprised that a) there was no automatic anti-collision technology, and b) there didn't appear to be any automatic control of the cars in the load/unload station. I would have expected that the cars would have at least stopped automatically when they reached their designated position and remained off until the passengers were switched and it was clear to go, but instead the CMs manually disabled the cars with a switch on the back of each car. Overall, it was well done, a pleasant experience, and a nice addition to the park. But once again, it doesn't make up for the dire lack of "big iron" E-tickets in the park such as POTC, HM, BTMRR, and Splash Mountain. The perceived problems with the park are not going to be solved until at least a couple of those bad boys are added and done right, no matter how much they change the marketing of the park, add smaller attractions, or change managing directors. Burbank is just going to have to accept this reality and get out the checkbook if they ever want to fix the problem.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Burbank is just going to have to accept this reality and get out the checkbook if they ever want to fix the problem.*** I have a strange feeling that Lee will chime in to disagree with you. Thanks for an interesting review of a generally generic and boring attraction. ;p
Originally Posted By WorldDisney Wow, I think this is the most indepth review I ever read for this ride lol. But yeah, I agree with most of it. It IS different from the others and although I only rode it in the daytime, its still a little cooler then the others although I would make it a tie with DL. That said, yeah, not enough still. I really dont ride Autopia in general anymore. I ride the one at DL because it was upgraded but more out of nostlagia. Even then, only if the line is less then 30 mins. I actually never rode the one TDL until Christmas day, 2003, the first time I met you, becuase my friend you and X met wanted to ride it. I still dont understand why is this even added with MK parks anymore? I thought after it was built in WDW they would stop. Theres nothing 'futuristic' about a car on a highway anymore. Maybe they are still really popular? I know the one at DL alwasys still have a long line, but I'm guessing its more capacity issues then anything. Or maybe because they are cheap to build and maintain? Anyone has an educated guess?
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Or maybe because they are cheap to build and maintain? >>> This undoubtedly had something to do with it, along with the trough design in iasw. It's pretty clear to me that WDI has been tasked with trying to fix HKDL while spending as little money as possible. <<< Theres nothing 'futuristic' about a car on a highway anymore. >>> Well, an all-electric vehicle fleet is still futuristic. But as far as to whether Autopia in general is a relevant attraction these days, I can see a special case with HKDL. It's quite conceivable that a great many guests from the largest target demographic (i.e. mainland China) do not own cars themselves and even as adults might enjoy the novelty of driving a car, just as we did as kids at DL. This is especially true of the new demographic of migrant workers working in the Pearl River Delta region, who will for the first time be allowed to come to Hong Kong on a visitors visa under the announced new scheme, but only if they include HKDL on their group tour itinerary. Factory workers that have left their families behind elsewhere in China and come to Guandong province to work in the factories almost certainly do not have their own cars.
Originally Posted By WorldDisney <<This undoubtedly had something to do with it, along with the trough design in iasw. It's pretty clear to me that WDI has been tasked with trying to fix HKDL while spending as little money as possible.>> Yeah, my guess too . While in general its nothing wrong with adding this attraction, it feels more of an afterthough kind of ride. Something you build with the park at opening, not something you market as a big deal later, but thats just me. <<Well, an all-electric vehicle fleet is still futuristic. But as far as to whether Autopia in general is a relevant attraction these days, a special case with HKDL. It's quite conceivable that a great many guests from the largest target demographic (i.e. mainland China) do not own cars themselves and even as adults might enjoy the novelty of driving a car, just as we did as kids at DL. This is especially true of the new demographic of migrant workers working in the Pearl River Delta region, who will for the first time be allowed to come to Hong Kong on a visitors visa under the announced new scheme, but only if they include HKDL on their group tour itinerary. Factory workers that have left their families behind elsewhere in China and come to Guandong province to work in the factories almost certainly do not have their own cars.>> Well, I guess when you look at that way, it is a little more relevent in the region, but I still have a hard time calling it 'futuristic' since even though not that many Chinese as a whole drive cars, they all seen them and know they fit very much in the present . I mean, not everyone owns or been on a plane before, still doesnt mean it belongs in TL ;D. And good point about the electric car part, but yeah I was really just talking about the ride in general especially when they added it in places like TDR and DLPR, two places FILLED with cars and highways by then. I think DLR was really the only REAL time you could call it futuristic. But by the 70's, it just feels too much like present-day.
Originally Posted By Anatole69 Actually many people don't own cars in Japan eithier. It is expensive to get a drivers license, fuel costs an arm and a leg, public transportation is excellent, and the streets are so narrow that driving is a major pain... at least this is what my Japanese friends have told me. So it might have the same novelty factor to the Japanese that it would have to the Chinese. If DL Shanghai is built, I expect it will have autopia too. - Anatole
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< And good point about the electric car part, but yeah I was really just talking about the ride in general especially when they added it in places like TDR and DLPR, two places FILLED with cars and highways by then. I think DLR was really the only REAL time you could call it futuristic. But by the 70's, it just feels too much like present-day. >>> Interesting point. In order to judge the appropriateness of any attraction, you have to look at it in the context of the land it was put in at the time of its construction. With the original Autopia in DL's Tomorrowland, TL was very much an attempt at a realistic representation of what the not-so-distant American future may be like. Autopia very much fit into the "World on the move" motif, with freeways going everywhere and so on. But HKDL's Tomorrowland is not based on a projection into the near-future. Rather, the story is supposedly that it's some sort of intergalactic rest stop / space port. So, rather than near-future realism, it's Sci-Fi. So the question is, how well does HKDL's Autopia fit into that story? (not to mention the much simpler metric of "does it put a smile on the guests' faces?")
Originally Posted By FerretAfros "I know the one at DL always still have a long line, but I'm guessing its more capacity issues then anything." Well, that's part of it, but Autopia is also the only attraction that needs a line to survive. If they don't have a constant supply of people to drive the cars, then they can't do it any more. If there is nobody to take the cars out of the station, then there is no way to move the cars out of the way to let the people who are driving around back to the station. If the line starts to get short, they close one of the lanes, so that they will have the constant flow of people. Seems kind of backwards, but it almost makes sense too.
Originally Posted By WorldDisney <<Actually many people don't own cars in Japan eithier. It is expensive to get a drivers license, fuel costs an arm and a leg, public transportation is excellent, and the streets are so narrow that driving is a major pain... at least this is what my Japanese friends have told me.>> Well I'm not too sure about that considering the biggest, most sold cars like Toyota, Honda, etc COMES from Japan . Ironically, the 80's when TDL was built was probably when Japan had some of the most cars sold in Japan and around the world, especially with the Japanese bubble at the time. So maybe not AS many people drive as say Americans, or everyone actually owns a car, but no trust me majority of Japanese drive then dont unlike Chinese where its still like about 20% or something that has one. I use to live there and everyone who didnt usually live in the bigger cities like Tokyo or Osaka, but outside the bigger cities usually have a car. And yes, while owning a car is freaking rediculous in Japan, another reason why is that the transport system is just really good, especially cities LIKE Tokyo, Osaka etc, so you dont really need a car like say, L.A. But no its a night and day situation between Japan and China with the car issue. <<If DL Shanghai is built, I expect it will have autopia too.>> I'm guessing that too...sadly .
Originally Posted By Mr X ***It is expensive to get a drivers license*** Although true that not so many Japanese folks own a car, most I have met do possess a license (and yes, it's steep...around $3,000 I believe). They call themselves "paper drivers". ;p But I don't really think it's quite the novelty in Japan compared to SD's China example...I think most people COULD own a car if they really want to, but don't care to go through the hassle and expense when mass transit works just fine in any case. Just my 2 cents.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***I think most people COULD own a car if they really want to*** To elaborate, I know several folks who own a car but seldom drive it (due to the high cost of gas, tolls and parking not to mention the hassle of driving through a city pop 12 million). For them, it's a luxury they make use of occasionally if they're doing a weekend getaway or something, or else for practical reasons such as a high volume shopping trip where a trunk is useful. But they don't just grab the keys and get behind the wheel automatically like most of us do in America (no joke, I used to live TWO BLOCKS from a convenience store in Florida, and drove there...pathetic! ).
Originally Posted By WorldDisney <<But they don't just grab the keys and get behind the wheel automatically like most of us do in America (no joke, I used to live TWO BLOCKS from a convenience store in Florida, and drove there...pathetic! ).>> Yeah thats actually why I dont miss America . NO ONE walks anywhere and they wonder why they are the 2nd fattest nation in the world (sadly I am now living in the number fattest nation here in Aussieland lol). But yeah, everytime I go home to L.A. and I tell people I want to walk around the corner to the store, people look at me like I'm insane lol. But every other place I lived, especially Japan and Korea, if its around a half a mile or less, you simply walk it! That is the EASIEST and cheapest exercise in the world, simply walking and yet I go home and people are intimidated if they walk a block lol.
Originally Posted By Malin Do you think the Disneyland Resort will shut Autopia down once Carsland is completed at DCA in a few years time.
Originally Posted By Bob Paris I hope so! This could be the start of a new TL with all that acreage avaiable.
Originally Posted By Anatole69 ^^ Only if people stop going to Autopia, which I doubt since it doesn't seem like Cars will be as child friendly as Autopia. - Anatole
Originally Posted By jmuboy I would love to the DL Autopia in California to get a make over to use the electric cars from HKDL. The coloring, lighting and landscaping around the HKDL Autopia is also a lot better.
