Autopia

Vacationing in Hawaii, Diana Gannon of Villa Park found this on USA Today's "Across the USA" page, which offers one news item about each state: "California: Long Beach -- A gunman smeared chocolate pudding over his face, then climbed through a drive-through window and robbed a Wienerschnitzel restaurant. The robber got away with an undisclosed amount of cash." Yup, USA Today canvassed the entire state of California and came up with that one news item.

Creating a credible Tomorrowland has always been a little tricky: How do you conjure a vision of the future that doesn't quickly become absurd? This latest version is the fourth incarnation of the original Tomorrowland concept, and its trial-and-error history demonstrates how hard it is to get the future right. Fall 1954--Running out of time and money as he pushed his grand vision toward opening day, Walt Disney decides to open Disneyland without what he'd billed as "the World of Tomorrow."

Disneyland visitors helping to celebrate the Anaheim park's 45th birthday this summer can get a break amid the crowds and heat. The Magic Kingdom plans to expand its use of the FastPass ride-reservation system throughout the summer and fall, eventually covering up to 10 popular attractions, insiders say. FastPass, inaugurated last summer and now used on Splash Mountain, Space Mountain and Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, gives patrons free cuts in line so long as they show up at an assigned time.

Some Disneyland workers have been setting overtime records as the park is caught shorthanded by two years of staff reductions coupled with unexpectedly high attendance, caused by its new Indiana Jones Adventure attraction. "We work 12 hours a day, unfortunately," one fatigued Adventureland worker said last week while shepherding visitors through a line. Another employee racked up a 94-hour workweek last month, a source said.

Here are building permits valued at $350,000 and up filed recently in Orange County. ALISO VIEJO * Project: Tenant improvement--QLogic Corp. Address: 26700 Laguna Hills Drive Value: $528,780 Owner: Parker Properties * Project: Tenant improvement--QLogic Corp. Address: 26650 Laguna Hills Drive Value: $528,780 Owner: Parker Properties ANAHEIM * Project: Install primary frame rockwork at Bear Mountain Address: 777 W. Katella Ave. Value: $1.

An estimated 13 million tourists would pour into Long Beach annually if the $3-billion Walt Disney Co. resort is ever built in Queensway Bay, giving an economically depressed city not only a boost in tax revenues but a brand-new source of smog. Disney officials say they are working hard to lessen the air-pollution damage of a new West Coast resort of rides, restaurants and tourist traffic.

You must be this tall to read this column. But not to join the LAPD. In adopting a no-minimum-height rule, the Los Angeles Police Department joins the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and almost everyone except the United States Marines and the Autopia ride at Disneyland.