Of the four Autopias that have existed in Disneyland the one in Tomorrowland was the only Autopia up and running on opening day this original Autopia track curled across the approximately 3 unlandscaped acres of Disneyland's eastern edge with most of the track design attributed by to Disney Legend Mark Davis.
During these early years the Richfield Oil Corporation the official gasoline of Disneyland and the company that in 1970 would become the R in Arco was a sponsor of the Autopia and the Richfield name was prominently displayed on the signage at the site.The 1956 souvenir book called them "Autopia Disneyland Cars Of The Future". So it's hard to see how these small slow noisy gas-powered autos driven mostly by kids were futuristic fun YES future futuristic NO.
For the first decade of operation the attraction did not have a guide rail running down its center which means drivers could veer their cars into each other pass each other and in some cases even managed to go against traffic not until 1965 was a center rail installed down the middle of the Autopia free way to keep cars aligned.The earliest sketches show a bulbous heavy fenders and running boards on the cars just like on classic American autos of the 40s and 50s thus making the cars of the future really more like cars of the recent past the Mark I cars that hit the Tomorrowland Road in 1955 they were modeled on foreign sports cars Porsches and Ferraris in particular to give them a sleek low slung look that anticipated styles of the next decade if not quite the next century.
Unfortunately with bodies made of fiberglass and bumpers of soft aluminum, the cars couldn't withstand anything more than slight impacts, even though they usually travel at less than 8 miles per hour. Before the park opened, the cars were tested without the bumpers, and were almost completely destroyed by the test drivers.Bumpers were fitted around the vehicle, but there were still problems with collisions, as a guide rail had yet to be implemented on the ride. Eventually the vehicles were fitted with spring-loaded bumpers to discourage collisions.Over the years, Tomorrowland Autopia saw many changes including a new track when the Submarine Voyage was built, the addition of Fantasyland Autopia nearby, and new fleets of cars several times.
In the 1950's kids received a Richfield Autopia driver's license. The original fleet of 40 cars also contained four black and whites complete with flashing red lights and sirens.95% of the cars running at the start of opening day were disabled by the end of the day.The cars were governed to 7 miles per hour but are capable of 25 miles per hour.
Mark I Original Cars 1955 Mark II Cars had a smoother engine 1955 Mark III Cars Prototype only 1955Mark IV Cars New Mechanical Design 1956Mark V Cars All New Design and were twice as heavy 1959 Mark VI Cars First ones built by Arrow for the center rail 1965Mark VII Cars Cost $5,000 each (in 2022 dollars it would cost over $45,000 each) They weighed over 1,000 pounds 1967
Nomenclature May 25 1955:DISNEYLAND AUTOPIA (Richfield Exhibit) The name of the car is the DISNEYLAND AUTOPIA 32 gasoline motored cars on the AUTOPIA FREEWAY.4 police cars 1 DISNEYLAND AUTOPIA SPECIAL 3 extra cars The interpretation of the word AUTOPIA stresses safety and good driving; in other words, AUTOPIA is the ultimate in automobile safety.
Specs Capacity 900 per hour -- Capacity per car 2 -- Cycle Time 4:44 -- Load Time :07 -- Unload Time :09 -- Trip Time 4:39 -- Dispatch Interval :08 -- Trips per hour 450 -- Distance Traveled 2282 feet-- Speed 6.2 MPH
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