Where does Tomorrowland go from here?

[dweezil78]

So it's official -- Star Wars Land is taking up the space currently occupied by Big Thunder Ranch and the backstage area adjacent to it. That begs the question -- what happens to Tomorrowland?

Thematically, does it really make sense to have two disconnected lands with similar futuristic/space/sci-fi settings? I sure don't think so. My guess is that once Star Wars Land opens (which won't happen for quite some time I'm sure), Tomorrowland as we know it becomes a thing of the past.

Does longtime favorite Space Mountain stick around and get a re-theme -- or does it become an unfortunate causality of changing times? Do they level the whole area and build an entirely new immersive land on par with Star Wars and Cars? We're probably a good 10 years away from whatever happens there, but still fun to ponder the question...

 

[RandomPrincess]

So it's official -- Star Wars Land is taking up the space currently occupied by Big Thunder Ranch and the backstage area adjacent to it. That begs the question -- what happens to Tomorrowland?

Thematically, does it really make sense to have two disconnected lands with similar futuristic/space/sci-fi settings? I sure don't think so. My guess is that once Star Wars Land opens (which won't happen for quite some time I'm sure), Tomorrowland as we know it becomes a thing of the past.

Does longtime favorite Space Mountain stick around and get a re-theme -- or does it become an unfortunate causality of changing times? Do they level the whole area and build an entirely new immersive land on par with Star Wars and Cars? We're probably a good 10 years away from whatever happens there, but still fun to ponder the question...

Going to be annoyingly technical but Star Wars takes place a long time ago....

I don't think they will EVER get rid of Space Mountain people would revolt. Tomorrowland is a thematic mess though.

 

[dweezil78]

Going to be annoyingly technical but Star Wars takes place a long long time ago....

I don't think they will EVER get rid of Space Mountain people would revolt. Tomorrowland is a thematic mess though.

Haha yes... That is true, although it hasn't stopped Star Tours from having residency in Tomorrowland for almost 30 years!

I agree, it is hard to imagine a Disneyland without Space Mountain, but it also doesn't make sense to have a ride all about zipping around the stars in a rocket when you have a land dedicated to the biggest space movie franchise a few steps away.

Obviously people would be super bummed to lose Space Mountain, so if it were ever to be replaced, there'd have to be something pretty substantial put in its place.

 

[orlando678-]

IF THEY EVER DARE TO GET RID OF TOMORROWLAND OR ANY THINGS THAT HAVE SURVIVED SINCE 1955 , IM GOING TO VISIT THEM PERSONALLY AND TELL THEM ALL ABOUT HOW I FEEL ABOUT IT

 

[Phroobar]

They could shut down Tomorrowland once Star Wars land is up and running. Then they could level almost everything in Tomorrowland and start over from scratch. They have to keep capacity up somehow.

 

[UofMGuy423]

Tomorrowland was the one disappointment I had in my visit to DLR back in January. It felt very lacking and almost forgotten. MK's is very busy and popular, but it's a mish mash of things.

 

[Stevek]

I think it stays as is for the time being and holds people over for the SW presence in the park. After that, I could easily see them closing it (except for Autopia, Subs and Space) and overhaul the land. It's really pretty much a blank canvas at that point but the challenge remains, how do you create a TL that is about tomorrow or futuristic? The architecture of the TL movie would be a great start but it's the content that matters after that. And do things like the Subs and Autopia really fit in at that point? As has likely been said by other folks, they also really need to move Star Tours from TL. Why have it there when you have a whole land dedicated to the franchise?

 

[Californian Elitist]

They need to take everything out of Tomorrowland and start over. That's my opinion, anyway.

 

[orlando678-]

Well keep Autopia and Space Mountain

 

[Travel Junkie]

Too bad the movie was bad and bombed. It would have been a good blueprint to restore the original vision. There is so much potential in having a land dedicated to an optimistic future.

 

[orlando678-]

What if tomorrowland is going to be something like hollywood studios, the tomorrow that never was and will always be?

 

[Californian Elitist]

What if tomorrowland is going to be something like hollywood studios, the tomorrow that never was and will always be?

No. The original concept should stay the same.

Too bad the movie was bad and bombed. It would have been a good blueprint to restore the original vision. There is so much potential in having a land dedicated to an optimistic future.

Yes, exactly. I can think of multiple realistic futurism ideas that could go into Tomorrowland.

 

[RandomPrincess]

Haha yes... That is true, although it hasn't stopped Star Tours from having residency in Tomorrowland for almost 30 years!

I agree, it is hard to imagine a Disneyland without Space Mountain, but it also doesn't make sense to have a ride all about zipping around the stars in a rocket when you have a land dedicated to the biggest space movie franchise a few steps away.

Obviously people would be super bummed to lose Space Mountain, so if it were ever to be replaced, there'd have to be something pretty substantial put in its place.

Well keep Autopia and Space Mountain

Autopia is not Futuristic though. I know people love it but it's in the wrong land it never should have been in Tomorrowland

 

[Californian Elitist]

Autopia is not Futuristic though. I know people love it but it's in the wrong land it never should have been in Tomorrowland

Correct, Autopia is not futuristic. It has the potential to be. If they would just update it, it would be fine.

Space should be re-imagined, too.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

I agree, it is hard to imagine a Disneyland without Space Mountain, but it also doesn't make sense to have a ride all about zipping around the stars in a rocket when you have a land dedicated to the biggest space movie franchise a few steps away.

Unless the SW area has a roller coaster in the dark then I don't see why Space Mountain needs to go. It remained popular long after Star Tours opened (arguably a more intense experience and based on Star Wars), so I don't see any reason why it would need to close just because of a Star Wars land on the other side of the park. Philosophically I think there's room in the parks to explore similar themes from different perspectives.

You do bring up a good question though, and that is what happens to Tomorrowland now? I'm a little disappointed that the SW expansion isn't going there, but I'm hopeful that something is being developed to turn the area around.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

The only experience with even a remote connection to Tomorrowland's original theme left DL when Interventions closed. With its closure there is nothing left in the area aligned with Walt's Disney vision of a bright technologically advanced future. Tomorrowland is a collection of unrelated science fiction film franchises and a whole lot of nostalgia.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Innoventions was irrelevant to the original theme for years. A lot of that "new" technology and programs came out when I was a kid in the 90's/early 00's.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

Innoventions was irrelevant to the original theme for years. A lot of that "new" technology and programs came out when I was a kid in the 90's/early 00's.

And there you have it... the precise reason why trying to showcase "the future" in a theme park is an unsustainable endeavor.

 

[dweezil78]

Unless the SW area has a roller coaster in the dark then I don't see why Space Mountain needs to go. It remained popular long after Star Tours opened (arguably a more intense experience and based on Star Wars), so I don't see any reason why it would need to close just because of a Star Wars land on the other side of the park. Philosophically I think there's room in the parks to explore similar themes from different perspectives.

I just think thematically, having an attraction themed to Space separate from Star Wars Land won't make much sense once it opens. Not only that -- but as dated and wonky as Tomorrowland currently seems, it's going to be 1000x worse once the fresh new next-gen land opens up. Tomorrowland is already a very sore spot for the park as it is. If they do keep Space Mountain, I'd bet they give it a completely new theme from top to bottom complete with a re-theme of the building itself.

Also -- aside from Space Mountain, the newly announced Star Wars Launch Bay and Star Tours will also cease to exist once Star Wars Land opens. Tomorrowland Theater is already vacant, only used a few weeks at a time to promote new movies. It's almost like all the occupants are just letting their leases run out...

 

[orlando678-]

Tomorrowland never ever had to get a link with Star Wars or Science fiction at all, but it did and thats why people look at tomorrowland differently than was originally planned in 1955