A new storyline has been added to Disneyland's classic attraction Autopia featuring two robotic characters on a camping road trip. They are the robotic characters of ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility), developed by Honda, and "Bird," a robotic buddy. "Autopia's never really had a storyline," said Kim Irvine, a Disney Imagineer who serves as Disneyland's art director. Irvine felt it ...

Where did you first sit behind a steering wheel, with your foot hovering over the gas pedal, ready to finally go, go, gooooo? It might have been a quiet cul-de-sac in your neighborhood, with a parent at your side. Or you might have initially driven a car through the carless parking lot of a local stadium or ballpark. Or, if you grew up in Southern California, you could have enjoyed your first ...

At the end of Disneyland's opening week we had just two cars running out of the (37) Autopia ride vehicles built. Walt's custom car was safe on its rotating display turntable parked in Tomorrowland, while the two police cars were still running good enough for ride operators to give the tiny kids a ride. I was still repairing the cars with my own tools, working out of the trunk of my yellow Cadillac ...

Some thought Walt was nuts to get into the automobile manufacturing busines. Why not just buy one of the typical carnival type midget autos that were commercialy available. Why go to the trouble of developing Disneyland's own little Autopia car? Well, to buy just any car certainly was not Walt. His park was going to be "his" and so the cars going to be "his". An importer of German amusement cars had ...

By April 1955, the first Autopia car body was finished and mounted on the hand-built production test chassis. The Disney Studio Machine Shop now had a complete car ready for test driving, but without any bumpers. Kaiser Aluminum was to be a sponsor of Disneyland, and their salesperson, Mel Tilley, suggested we use their aluminum for the Autopia wrap-around bumpers. WRONG! I was to find out too late that ...

If the new Autopia at Disneyland needs a slogan, it could be "Cars are people, too." At Tomorrowland beginning June 29, guests will have the choice of three personality-filled vehicles to "drive": Suzie, a cute, curvy compact; Dusty, a rugged and roomy SUV; and Sparky, a Ferrari-like sports car. "Today, being on the open road is a common experience, but the thrill of trying on a new car is still there," ...

It's a wonderful, leisurely time of year to visit Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom! Anytime is a "good time" to visit Walt Disney unique Magic Kingdom - just ask the 12 million adults and 4 million children who've already been here! But with the Fall season, there is particular appeal and a still different enchantment about Disneyland, where guests find themselves "worlds away from today" - leaving ...

The long awaited trip to Disneyland so many years ago was supposed to be special. The family saved for years for a dream vacation to the land of Mickey Mouse but the reality turned into a major disappointment. The park was so crowded the family spent all day waiting in winding lines and managed to get on only five or six rides, a fact that Birmingham, Ala., author Bob Sehlinger, who made that trip, ...

Visiting Disneyland Resort is special anytime you can do it, but there's something extra special about doing it during the holiday season. While there's always something new at Disneyland to experience, there are also those traditional elements that return year after year that fans look forward to. And one of those is the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay given to the Haunted Mansion. It always ...