In 1955 highways were "futuristic". So deciding to put one in Tomorrowland was sort of a "no-brainer" but since nobody knew what a mini freeway would look like, it took some doing to come up with it. In the early days the cars had bumpers, not rails and were styled by Bob Gurr after "a Porsche 550 Spider and a custom Ferrari he had once seen":

And employee "cops" patrolled the roads in cars that ran just a tiny bit faster than tghe ones the guests used:

Around 1957 the lanes narrowed but the "bumper car style" operation remained:

The second loading station:


And check out the cars of the 60's!


The modern version:



But wait! There's more!
The autopia was so popular they built a second version! It was called the "Midget Autopia", "Junior Autopia" or "Fantasyland Autopia". The loading station was just a tent. It boarded adjacent to the very short lived "Mickey Mouse Club Circus" which you can see in the background.. (The tent was later used as a picnic grounds behind Fantasyland)

Early on it looked a lot like it's Tomorrowland sibling:

But it evolved into more of a "kiddie ride":

Mad Tea Party.
This one's from opening day, July 18, 1955:

If you said Disneyland opened on July 17th, you'd be half right! That day was for press and invited guests only. The 18th is when the park officially started receiving guests. And here they are, guests #1 and #2:

Back to the tea party...compare this photo from the 50's:

To this modern view:

The added landscaping is really effective at making you feel like you're in another world and not just a feet feet away from the ride next door!
And talk about a great use of lighting! 


The original 1956 Astro Jets:

Definitely styled to match the Moonliner!

In 1966 Tomorrowland was remodeled and the jets came off the ground and went up on top of the new "Rocket Tower" which also housed the Peoplemover:

Less "Buck Rogers" and more "Cape Canaveral":

In 1998 Tomorrowland received yet another facelift and this time around it took on the "Retro Futurism" look which is also known as "Steampunk". Now known as the "Astro Orbitor", it's back down on the ground:

In fact, it's out in front of the old Peoplemover track at the entrance to Tomorrowland:

Which in my opinion places it too close to the hub:


Disneyland has alsways been a bit tight, but this is too close to Sleeping Beauty Castle in my opinion.
Dumbo did have the same type of control. You can see the joystick here:

The early packy derms weren't too comfortable looking:

They were also a lot harder to get in and out of. Maybe some guests complained!

And yes, that's Jayne Mansfield!
The Dumbii eventually got cutouts for far easier loading:]

Compare the original machine in the photo above with the gold plated version that was installed in 1982:

My versions of Dumbo, the Mad Tea Party, the Autopia and the Astro Orbitor. (To keep it in Lionel-land
):



