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The Auto Skooter simply put was a bumper car ride much like the Boomerang and Scamper rides that Lagoon has today.
Like most bumper car rides, this one consisted of several small electric cars that got their power from an electrified overhead grid which was only active while the ride was turned on. Power is provided to the car through a pole that extends from the car to ceiling and has an antennae that is scraped across the grid as the car is in motion. The cars run around on a metal floor that is sprinkled with graphite to reduce friction during the course of the ride.
A rubber bumper surrounds each vehicle, and drivers are permitted steer the car anywhere they like The entertainment of the ride comes from seeing how hard one can smash into another. The controls consist of a steering wheel and an accelerator and each car can be made to go backwards by turning the steering wheel far enough in either direction. Backing up is necessary due to the frequent number of pile-ups that occur.
Lagoon’s Auto Skooter sat where Scamper is today and wasn’t Lagoon’s first bumper car ride. Lagoon owned one called the Dodgem which was built in the 1940 by the Dodgem Company.
Robert Johnson made this comment about the ride:
The old Bumper cars were located where the kids bumper cars are now (Across from Terroride). I believe that the structure is the same exact structure (I haven't been to Lagoon in about 12 years, so it may have changed, but the last time I was there it was still the same structure). I don't recall the ride having a name other than Bumper Cars. The cars were not the Antique type like Boomerang. They were pretty non-descript oval shaped metallic colors as I remember. The one difference that I seem to recall is that the roof was not a Grate like the Boomerang but rather was like a shiny stainless steel.
Forum member DaveHi1 had this to say about the Auto Skooter:
I remember that the Auto Skooter had a skinny island type barrier with rubber around it. And we were supposed to drive in a clockwise manner around this island.
One of the improvements with the Boomerang was that their was no restrictions on which way you can travel.
I also remember that the Auto Skooter was where Scamper is now. I think the building was rebuilt for Scamper but I am not sure.
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