Guests at Disneyland Resort’s Autopia attraction recently experienced an unusual and somewhat amusing situation when one of the gasoline-powered cars broke down during the ride. On Monday, cast members were forced to stop the vehicles on the track and tie a malfunctioning car to the car behind it, allowing the working vehicle to “bump” the broken one to the unloading area.
Autopia is one of the few remaining original Disneyland Park attractions, having been a part of the park since its opening in 1955. Over the years, the ride has seen several changes, from different corporate sponsors to various aesthetic and quality updates. The nostalgic ride has inspired similar attractions worldwide, such as the Tomorrowland Speedway at Walt Disney World Resort and versions in Tokyo Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris. (Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Tokyo Disney Resort have since removed their Autopia rides.)
Autopia is also famous for its unmistakable gasoline smell, which wafts through Tomorrowland. Despite many calls for the ride to be replaced or updated, Disneyland Resort has announced plans to eventually switch to electric-powered cars by the fall of 2026 to resolve the issue. For now, though, the ride continues to run on gasoline-powered vehicles, occasionally facing operational hiccups like the one this week.
On Monday, a Reddit user, u/jmtb02, shared their unusual experience on Autopia. They also posted a photo showing a Disney cast member servicing the broken car ahead of theirs:
Autopia car ahead of mine broke down, so they tied it to my car bumper-to-bumper. Lived the lifelong dream of bumping a car all the way back to the station
Autopia car ahead of mine broke down, so they tied it to my car bumper-to-bumper. Lived the lifelong dream of bumping a car all the way back to the station
byu/jmtb02 inDisneyland
During the process, the speed of the two vehicles going downhill triggered an automatic stop, and Disney cast members had to manually restart the working car. The guest wrote: “Took about 15 minutes to fetch a rope and have a cast member supervise the push. Two Autopia cars going downhill is so fast that the driver car will automatically stall out (safety shutoff?) and need manual restart flipping the switch in the back. 10/10 Autopia.”
After unloading the guests, Disney cast members presumably moved the broken vehicle to a maintenance area, and the ride continued operating normally. Despite the multiple technical issues faced by Autopia this week, Disneyland Resort did not release a public statement about the ride’s malfunctions. As of the time of this article’s publication, Autopia was back to its regular operation.
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