Disneyland: One Man's Dream- The Future that Never Was

No that I get into things that were closer towards the present. I know it was around this time I made the first pilgrimage to Disneyland when I was little. I even remember these changes happening.

Like in Tomorrowland. We've already established it's been a constant headache to the Disney Co. A few years the planned retheme of Tomorrowland to Tomorrowland 2055 fell through due to budgets, another idea was quickly concieved.

Things started moving very quickly for the retheme. Tomorrowland began to get a new color scheme, filled with rich bronze and gold colors along with some emerald and black hues. Most noticable was the change in color in Space Mountain from white to... well...this.

It was really based on Jules Verne's style of futurism, and was referred to as "The Future that Never Was". It's focus revolved around the fantasy of the future, and was not set to a specific date in time. The land also contained edible vegitation, symbolising that all landscaping in the future was going to be edible.

In 1995, the PeopleMover took it's last lap around the track above Tomorrowland. A little time would pass before a new attraction was to be put up there. Rocket Rods was a high speed ride that took people over the same track the PeopleMover went over and went through the same rides. The ill-fated ride travled very fast, then slow down to make tight turns that were hard to make due to the lack of banked turns. This caused many problems with the ride, especially it's control computer, causing many breakdowns. The fact that it traveled the 16 minute PeopleMover track in 3 minutes also were not good for the track. Rocket Rods was supposed to go down for a refurb, but never opened again. Since then the track as become cracked and overgrown, but repaintings restored fate that a new ride- either the PeopleMover or something else- would emerge. Those rumors still circulate today.


Then, in 1996, the Carousel Theater walls were torn down to make way for the new attraction, Innoventions. This attraction ties in with the idea of brining cutting edge technology to Tomorrowland showcasing the newest technologies in entertainment, living, and health.

Mission to Mars was replaced by Red Rockett's Pizza Port, a new restaurant. Outside, a new water fountain play area was built around a moving ball called Cosmic Waters. It was pretty cool and ingenious.

Rocket Jets were also replaced by Astro Orbitor. It was the same ride concept- you rode a rocketship around in the air. However, Astro Orbitor was moved down from the station above the late PeopleMover track to in front of the tracks at the enterance of Tomorrowland. The old Rocket Jets were remodeled into a new show piece called the Observatron, which would come alive in motion and music ever 15 minutes.

Captain EO was replaced with Honey I Shrunk the Audience, a 3D show that played and continued to play in Epcot.

Finally, Autopia was closed in 1998- both Fantasyland and Tomorrowland Autopia shut down to combine into 1 large Autopia. Why were ther more then 1? Well, for years there were different versions- some made for adults, some for kids, others for family. In this case, Fantasyland Autopia was a back-up in case the Tomorrowland Autopia was too crowded. In 2000, the ride reopened with 3 different types of cars, all futuristic looking.

This was the last complete overhall Tomorrowland has recieved to date. But slowly over time, the color scheme and theme of the area would begin to recede- and the classic white/blue/red colors would start to return.

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.