Tomorrowland is one of the themed areas of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort, showcasing Walt Disney's visions of the future. The futuristic Tomorrowland opened along with the park on October 1, 1971, and was updated in 1994 as New Tomorrowland, an art deco retro-futuristic "tomorrow that never was." Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World is the most popular form of the themed-land.
History[]
1971-1993[]
Much like its Disneyland counterpart, much of Tomorrowland was unfinished on opening day. Opening day on October 1, 1971, the only attractions open were Flight to the Moon, the Circle-Vision theater with America the Beautiful, the Grand Prix Speedway, and the Skyway station. Mostly empty or being constructed, clear views of the Contemporary Resort were possible. Construction on further attractions followed quickly and the second half of the Circle-Vision building would open in 1972 with the attraction If You Had Wings. By 1975, much of the work was completed with the Peoplemover being fit onto the second floors of the pre-existing buildings, the transplanting of Carousel of Progress and the opening of Space Mountain.
New Tomorrowland (1994-present)[]
Attraction poster for the 1994 re-imagining of Tomorrowland
In the wake of Disneyland Paris and the creation of Discoveryland, it was felt that a similar timeless approach would be an ideal way to reimagine the American Tomorrowlands, which had become dated over the years. While it was proposed that Tomorrowland is renamed as Discoveryland and take on some of its classical themes, with a proposed Astronomers Club restaurant extending the themes of The Timekeeper attraction being among these ideas, a retro-future city inspired by science-fiction of the 20s and 30s would be chosen instead. The waterfall structures at the entrance to Tomorrowland would be removed in favor of some of the dramatic rockwork from Discoveryland.
The new Tomorrowland would unify the attractions into serving as different parts of a spaceport city. In the new story, Tomorrowland was chosen as the headquarters for the League of Planets. As a symbol of intergalactic peace, they erected the Astro Orbiter in the center of Rockettower Plaza, the heart of the community. The WEDWAY Peoplemover was rebranded as the Tomorrowland Transit Authority Blue Line, serving as public transportation through the heart of downtown. Along the Avenue of the Planets, the Tomorrowland Convention Center (the former Mission to Mars) would host the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter, a presentation by X-S Tech and the Tomorrowland Science Center (Circle-Vision Theater) would host The Timekeeper's time travel demonstrations. Some retained retroelements such as the Carousel of Progress and Dreamflight would be presented as historical exhibits operated by the Tomorrowland Metro-Retro Historical Society. Space Mountain was the city's spaceport and with the attraction's newfound sponsorship from Fed-Ex, a hub for intergalactic shipping. A newly built arcade and gift shop were billed as being Tomorrowland's Power Plant. Additional interactive themed elements were scattered throughout the land such as a robot newsboy and a phone allowing you to listen in on communications from the residents.
As time passed, some of these new backstory elements would fade as additions based on Disney films came in, such as Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Stitch's Great Escape! (Now closed), and Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, replaced the 1994 Tomorrowland lineup. Currently, the upcoming addition of Tron Lightcycle Power Run appears to be leading into a new design for the land. Starting in 2018, a new color scheme would begin to be applied throughout the land and elements like the Timekeeper/Monsters Inc marquee would be removed in favor of a simpler throwback design.
On July 9, 2019, the entrance sign was removed for retooling.[1] The new sign debuted on September 17, 2019.
On October 27, 2020, Walt Disney World reopened after being temporarily closed during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but Walt Disney World announced that all entertainment would be laid off, such as Citizens of Hollywood at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor at Magic Kingdom, due to a dispute between the Actors' Equity Association and Walt Disney World.[2][3]
Attractions[]
Current attractions[]
- Astro Orbiter (formerly known as Star Jets) (1974-1994 as Star Jets) (1994- as Astro Orbiter)
- Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (1998-)
- Space Mountain (1975-)
- Stitch's Alien Encounter Character Greeting! (2017-)
- Tomorrowland Speedway (formerly known as Grand Prix Speedway, later Tomorrowland Indy Speedway) (1971-)
- Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover (formerly known as WEDway PeopleMover) (1975-2020, Returns in May 1, 2021)
- Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress (1975-)
- Sonny Eclipse and the Amazing Astro Organ
Future attractions[]
- TRON Lightcycle / Run (2022)[4]
Former attractions[]
- Flight to the Moon (1971-1975)
- Delta Dreamflight (1989-1998, known as "Take Flight" from 1996-1998)
- ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter (1995-2003)
- If You Had Wings (1972-1989, known as "If You Could Fly" from 1987-1989)
- Mission to Mars (1975-1993)
- Skyway to Fantasyland (1971-1999)
- Push the Talking Trash Can (1995–2014)
- Tomorrowland Power & Light Co Video Arcade (1995–2015)
- Incredible Tomorrowland Expo (2013-2017, 2018)
- iCan Robot (2017-2018)
- Circle-Vision 360° films (1971-2006):
- Stitch's Great Escape! (2004-2018)
- Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor (2007-2020)
Restaurants[]
- Auntie Gravity's Galactic Goodies
- Cool Ship
- Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe (formerly known as Tomorrowland Terrace)
- The Lunching Pad
- Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station
Former restaurants[]
- The Lunching Pad (Different Location) (1971-1994)
- Tomorrowland Terrace Café (Different Location) (1971-1994)
- Plaza Pavilion (1973-1994)
- Space Bar (1974-1994)
Shopping[]
- Buzz Lightyear Shop
- Merchant of Venus
- Star Traders
- Space Mountain Shop (Tomorrowland Power & Light)
Future shopping[]
- Power Supplies (2021)
Former shopping[]
- Mickey's Star Traders
Gallery[]
References[]
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