Changes

Jump to: navigation, search

Tomorrowland

12 bytes added, 22:19, 10 March 2018
Phase II of Tomorrowland finally began to open to guests in 1973 with the addition of Space Mountain. Walt Disney World’s first indoor rollercoaster, the attraction would become such a hit that it would later be added to the rest of the Disney Parks. Following the opening of Space Mountain came the additions of the Star Jets (November 28, 1974), the Carousel of Progress (January 15, 1975) and the WEDWay PeopleMover (July 1, 1975). Now a complete land, with its white color scheme and Googie architecture, Tomorrowland was firmly rooted in the tomorrow of the Space Age.
Between 1975 and 1994 Tomorrowland experienced mostly relatively “minor” renovations. In 1975, due to the fact that Flight to the Moon was becoming dated, the attraction was re-branded Mission to Mars<ref>https://www.waltdatedworld.com/id88.htm</ref>. The attraction If You Had Wings also went through a series of sponsor and name changes- Becoming If You Could Fly, Delta Dreamflight, and Take Flight as it changed sponsors from Eastern Airlines to Delta Airlines, before finally becoming sponsorless. <ref>https://www.waltdatedworld.com/id97.htm</ref>
In 1994 Tomorrowland was completely “re-imagined” and changed to resemble an intergalactic metropolis. Taking inspiration from the sci-fi pulp fiction of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, as well as the Discoveryland concept created for Disneyland Paris, the color scheme of Tomorrowland was changed from its classic blue and white, to a more metallic darker looking land. In conjunction with the retheming, two new attractions were added. The first was the Timekeeper. Housed in the Tomorrowland Metropolis Science Center, this new film housed in the Circle-Vision 360 Theater, invited guests to travel through time with the Timekeeper and his droid “9-Eye”. The second attraction added was the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter, which was housed in the Interplanetary Convention Center.<ref>http://wedwayradio.squarespace.com/wwr/2013/7/22/tomorrowland-94-show-notes-for-season-5-episode-11.html</ref> The new attraction was a “theater-in-the-round” attraction where guests were placed in the dark along with an escaped alien. ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter was much darker in its tone then most Disney Rides, and a sign outside the building stated that it was not intended for children under the age of 12. Also changing in 1994 were the names of a lot of popular Tomorrowland attractions. The Grand Prix Raceway was renamed the “Tomorrowland Indy Speedway”, Star Jets was renamed “Astro Orbiter”, and the WEDway People Mover was renamed the “Tomorrowland Transit Authority”. The “new” Tomorrowland, was billed as “the future that never was”.<ref>http://wedwayradio.squarespace.com/wwr/2013/7/22/tomorrowland-94-show-notes-for-season-5-episode-11.html</ref>