Flying Saucers opens at Disneyland Park:

 When Guests board Luigi's Flying Tires, there's inevitably a nostalgic mention of the Disneyland Park attraction that inspired it half a century ago; the fabled Flying Saucers attraction, which opened Aug. 6, 1961, in Tomorrowland.

 It was the dawn of the Space Age when Disneyland unveiled the futuristic version of bumper cars-individual pods styled after the UFOs of sci-fi lore that hovered on a cushion of air, which riders maneuvered by shifting their body weight to bump into unsuspecting pilots. At the end of the ride cycle, a large arm scooped the saucers back into the loading area for the next Guests.

 The Flying Saucers only lasted five years, owing largely to the space-age technology not yet being perfected; the location is now the theater where "Captain EO" plays. Today, the unique experience of floating on air can be relived and shared with a whole new generation of fans at Luigi's Flying Tires in Cars Land.


As a kid growing up in Southern California, I remember my parents taking my brothers and  me to Disneyland in 1962,I was 10 years old; and I remember riding the Flying Saucers, so much fun. ...Dr Lee