Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Autopia, May 1973

Any vintage images of the Autopia are welcome as far as I'm concerned... I never get tired of it. "Tired", get it? 'Cause cars have tires. Call me, John Lasseter; there's more where that gem came from. We've seen that little girl before, hanging out on Tom Sawyer Island. A red convertible is more her style, I can tell. 


When I rode the Autopia six weeks ago, a little girl in front of us kept taking her foot off the gas, coming to a complete stop a dozen times. Darn kids! I would have said something to her, but she looked kind of like a badass. So I glared instead. She got the message!


9 comments:

Riley said...

I'm sure she did get the message! LOL It's that kind of commentary that makes me love this blog so much.

Nanook said...

"To make the car start, press down on the foot pedal. To stop the car, let up on the foot pedal. Do NOT bump the car ahead of you...." Oh, sure-!

Thanks, Major - and keep 'bumping'.

Nancy said...

always fun times on Autopia, esp if a monorail happens to glide by overhead. these cool cars are just my size! :-)

Melissa said...

Oh, yeah, that's the little girl who lost her Mom at the old mill!

K. Martinez said...

Never noticed the Goodyear tires before when riding the old Autopia. Makes sense since they sponsored the PeopleMover. Goodyear was the also the sponsor of the Grand Prix Raceway at the WDW's Magic Kingdom.

Nancy - When riding Autopia, I'm always on the lookout for the monorail to glide overhead. It's definitely fun and the wooded scenery is nice.

Anonymous said...

Definitely the best color for the Autopian car!! I can smell the exhaust fumes...

Bill in Denver

Major Pepperidge said...

Riley, thanks for the nice comment!

Nanook, I am happy to report that I have not bumped anybody for many years. With age comes wisdom, or something.

Nancy, I don't know why, but when the Monorail DOES go overhead, I always expect something to fall or drip on me. It has never happened, so obviously I am nuts.

Melissa, you are correct!

K. Martinez, it's funny, the Goodyear/Disneyland association always makes me feel a bit warm and fuzzy toward Goodyear. Same with Monsanto, even though they are now considered so evil!

Bill in Denver, it is certainly a better color than anything they have today, for sure.

Dan Heaton said...

I haven't ridden them the last few times (strangely long lines), but I think the cars are really just an excuse for kids to bump into other cars. That's a lot of the fun!

Anonymous said...

These photos make me happy, because Mother and Daughter are having a good time, and the photos are "just them", no scenery. The photographer was intent on his(?) family.

These photos make me sad, because that little girl either didn't want these pictures as she grew up, or something else intervened so the pictures became abandoned. I'm afraid it might have been something sad.

I often wonder about what might have happened to the happy people we see in the pictures that made them no longer want or need their pictures of happy times and places. Death, separation, divorce, estrangement, ruined relationships, madness, injury, all the ills to which the flesh is heir.

I am grateful to them for taking the pics, and I'm happy that they had a good time, even if only for a little while. Enjoy the time we have, because someday, someone else may have all our photos, because we won't need them anymore.

Thanks Major. Sorry, but I feel old and morbid today.

JG