After 71 years, Disneyland’s Autopia attraction is going electric, and without the use of car batteries, according to Disney Legend Bob Gurr.
Disneyland’s Autopia Goes Electric
Disneyland’s Autopia attraction opened in 1955 with the park and included 40 bright colored miniature cars powered by real gas in the center of Tomorrowland. Today, the classic attraction is in violation of California’s stringent emissions regulations.
To satisfy the new requirements put in place by the state of California, Autopia is going electric.
It was reported back in May of this year that the miniature cars currently powered by 8.5 horsepower Honda four-stroke engines will become fully electric by the start of 2027.
When it comes to this new change, the original designer of the attraction said, in an interview with The New York Times, “For 26 years, I’ve been arguing, ‘When are you going to do anything to get rid of that gasoline? The dirtiest place on Earth is the Autopia attraction at Disneyland in the city of Anaheim.”
According to the article, Gurr’s representative asked for the statement to be retracted and stated “Disney had requested Mr. Gurr stop doing interviews about the ride he designed. Mr. Gurr did not ask for the interview to be off the record, or not to be published.”
During the interview, Gurr also shared that Disney executives invited him to take a look at the new model of Autopia and that the track will be electrified, which eliminates the need for a car battery. He also shared that Honda will remain the sponsor of the attraction, even though Honda has yet to share their plans or decision.
To this Gurr said, “It will be electric, but not the conventional idea of a battery in a car. It’s very different.”
Check out our latest POV of Disneyland’s Autopia:
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