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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Disneyland: One Man's Dream- A World on The Move

Everyone knows how much Walt loved trains. Actually, Walt loved transportation in general. Now his park had not only had a steam train and a monorail, but various vehicles transporting guests down Main Street. Not to mention a large fleet of submarines.

And now with Tomorrowland becoming less and less futuristic each day, Walt needed a new concept for the land. After all, when Disneyland opened, Tomorrowland was the least complete of all the offerings at Disneyland. No amount of flags could hide this. Now Tomorrowland would be constructed how it was supposed to and be enjoyed by all.

The Tomorrowland retheme was put on hold for a while, as Walt planned doing things for the New York World's Fair. At the fair, he was able to make imrovements on his new Audio-Animatronics. These robots were so advanced, that they could perform life-like movements as realistically as a human or bird could move. World's Fair atractions, like the Carousel of Progress, it's a small world, and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln would so find thier place in Disneyland. Also perfected at the World's Fair was the Ominmover system of transportation, which would be featured in many rides and used in the PeopleMover system that Walt was in love with.

After the fair, Walt turned his attention back to Disneyland, doing various things in the park. I will save the others for their own column, because each idea deserves it's own column. Now, here's a little more about Tomorrowland.

Adventure Thru Innerspace was the first attraction to utilize the Omnimover system. In the ride, you were "shrunk" to microscopic size and were able to see atoms. This was yet another ride by Monsanto.


The original Tomorrowland was gutted and completely rebuilt with new buildings and scenery. With the opening of the Carousel of Progress, Adventure Thru Inner Space, and the new PeopleMover system overhead, plus various other motion rides like the Submarine Voyage and the Monorail, Tomorrowland was themed to "A World on the Move". This theme would last For just over 30 years, until Tomorrowland was once again "Futurised" while new attractions were added and older ones taken out.

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