In 1997 I was pretty excited about the planned updates to Tomorrowland at Disneyland which was mostly unchanged from 1967 -shortly after Walt Disney passed away. I took these Tomorrowland construction shots thinking that the move to a Disneyland Paris Jules Verne theme was a great idea. At the time the vibrant gold, bronze, blue, and red colour scheme seemed fresh but in the end 1998 Tomorrowland was the Disney New Coke of the 90’s.
I’m pretty happy that they’ve gone back to the classic blue and white scheme, although I miss both the People Mover and Rocket Rods. I actually got to ride the Rocket Rods 3 times before it was shut down for good. I wish there was a way to get a People Mover back onto those tracks [ocregister.com] but it turns out that the death of the People Mover is actually an Occupational Safety and Health Administration issue [micechat.com]. They would pretty much have to build a whole new track to get approval for a new ride there. I wonder if they could have grandfathered the OHSA rules if they left the original People Mover ride as-is in 1998?
This post was submitted to Disney Wordless Wednesday hosted by Focused on the Magic.
Great shots! And thanks for adding in a bit of history- I’m going to check out your links to find out more…
Lol! Yes, the “future” did NOT begin in Spring 1998 ๐ It’s great to look back on the changes, but I am definitely glad it’s been changed back! I keep hoping they’ll find some way to bring the People Mover back, in a new, OSHA-approved way, but I think I’m just going to have to keep dreaming!
The MiceAge thread that I linked to points out all of the issues with the existing track, but it also makes a very good case that Tomorrowland needs 2 levels. The overhead kinetic traffic really does give the area a futuristic feel.
Love the pics and learning about the history. Love the People Mover
Interesting bit of history, especially for those of us that have not been to Disneyland in a very very long time.
Very cool! There was an almost 20 year span between my Disneyland visits, and this fell right in the middle. Neat to see!
Very interesting bit of history! I love the People Mover in WDW. Other than it being a tripping hazard for the very young or very old, it’s the tamest ride in the park. It’s so much fun to take a look back! Thanks for sharing and for joining in the DWW Blog Hop today.
Actually I understood that the biggest hazard with People Mover was that it went so slow people would jump out of the cars. Since the system was so old the tracks and cars didn’t have any sensors to stop the ride when that happened resulting in some terrible injuries including 2 fatalities! ๐
How neat to see these pictures of the construction. I remember the old Tomorrowland and definitely love the current one a whole lot more. I miss the People Mover too!
Thanks for sharing those photos! Reminds me of the fact that when I first visited WDW, Tomorrowland had not yet been opened. (December, 1971)
Tomorrowland wasn’t ready to go when DL opened in 1955 either, although wasn’t there to witness it ๐
That’s so amazing! I remember in 1997 when Disney World was having their 25th birthday celebration. Crazy how long ago that was already. ๐