Is Tomorrowland in the worst shape it’s ever been in (Post-1967)?

[MK-fan]

Tomorrowland today is definitely a shadow of it’s former self with a mish-mash of attractions and unused space. There is just no energy in the land and it is pretty ugly. 1987 was a perfect example of Tomorrowland and probably the 2nd best incarnation of the land since 1967. The roster was stacked and included the new and very popular Star Tours and Captain EO. There was also Space Mountain, Submarine Voyage, Rocket Jets, Autopia, Skyway, Mission to Mars, America Sings, Circle-Vision 360, Monorail, PeopleMover, Tomorrowland Terrace w/ live music, Starcade and the Railroad station. It also featured one side of Mary Blair’s beautiful ceramic murals and Space Mountain featured an awesome speed ramp entrance. Fast forward to today and you have Space Mountain, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, Star Tours The Adventure Continue, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Monorail, Astro Orbiter, Autopia and the Railroad Station. Almost half of the attractions it used to have. Space Mountain seems to have an identity crisis and Star Tours has timeline issues and doesn’t fit the land with the inclusion of Galaxy’s Edge. Astro Orbiter makes the land feel cramped. Tomorrowland Terrace used to make the land feel alive with live bands but now only caters to children with character sing-alongs. The Carousel building is closed, Magic Eye Theater is closed, People-Mover track is still not being utilized, observatron tower is embarrassing and the Starcade is always a temporary something or other. Frankly, the land is sad and went from being the best land to the worst land, a huge fall from grace. I sure do hope the rumors about a land overhaul are true because I don’t know if this land can get any worse. I mean, I know things can get worse, Disney has been doing Tomorrowland dirty for thirty years. Hopefully, change is closer than we think .

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

I don’t know if this land can get any worse.

Sometimes a closed theater is better. Just sayin'...

 

[Phroobar]

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Sometimes a closed theater is better. Just sayin'...

At least they aren't previewing She-Hulk or Andor.

 

[CaptinEO]

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Sometimes a closed theater is better. Just sayin'...

Devastating. They have an original attraction with The King of Pop Michael Jackson made by George Lucas, yet they want to show ads anyone can watch at home?

Now it's just an empty theater too. What a joke. Cycle through EO, Magic Journeys, and Honey I Shrunk the Audience depending on the time of day.

 

[Phroobar]

The Magic Journeys clown scene is horrifying.

 

[shambolicdefending]

I think framing it as "worst it's ever been" is probably a distorted way to look at it.

There's a lot of wasted and unused space in Tomorrowland, that's true. And the coherence of the land's theme has been questionable ever since the 80s when the original Star Tours went in.

But, it's still home to some of the park's most enduring and popular attractions and a typical guest will spend as much or more time there as in any other land in the park.

 

[el_super]

I sure do hope the rumors about a land overhaul are true because I don’t know if this land can get any worse. I mean, I know things can get worse, Disney has been doing Tomorrowland dirty for thirty years. Hopefully, change is closer than we think .

Here's a real brain teaser to gnaw on: the downfall of Tomorrowland from the 1980s was attributable to the addition of Fantasmic.

Tomorrowland's biggest drawback, from 1967 onward, as the lack of shade. Some of us remember waiting in those long lines for Captain EO and Star Tours when they came out, and you basically just baked on the hot smooth asphalt for a couple hours. The wide open spaces that were needed for those grand vistas of Space Mountain and the PeopleMover were not conducive to having any shade structures or trees and the area was just a giant concrete heat sink.

Of course that meant that Tomorrowland was best enjoyed in the evening and at night. The neon lights and dance music made it a more lively space too. The west side of the park used to be dead in the evening hours, and the shops and restaurants on that side of the park suffered, since everyone was enjoying the nightlife in Tomorrowland.

So the park decided to put Fantasmic on the west side, and once the crowds gravitated over there, everything on the east side started emptying out.

The sort of weird irony of it being that the west side used to be the quiet and more relaxing part of the park back in those days, but now it's a nightmare to navigate and Tomorrowland, with it's pumped-in loud music isn't all that relaxing either. It would be nice if they could re-do Tomorrowland in a way that makes it a quiet, reflective and comforting space, rather than go all-out on grandiose architecture that isn't inviting.

But you know... we shall see.

 

[DrAlice]

I think framing it as "worst it's ever been" is probably a distorted way to look at it.

There's a lot of wasted and unused space in Tomorrowland, that's true. And the coherence of the land's theme has been questionable ever since the 80s when the original Star Tours went in.

But, it's still home to some of the park's most enduring and popular attractions and a typical guest will spend as much or more time there as in any other land in the park.

All of this is true. At the same time, for those of us that remember how it was, it is disappointing in its current state.

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

At least they aren't previewing She-Hulk or Andor.

She-Hulk would be a NO. But I'd be fine with them previewing Andor in there since it's next to Star Tours. At least that would be sci-fi for Tomorrowland. Heck, use the space to run Star Wars animated shows. Or even the I am Groot shorts (also sci-fi). Just because it's D+ and synergy doesn't mean it can't fit. IF they picked actually appropriately themed material. Everyone likes to sit in air conditioning on hot days or escape the rain on rainy days. It just needs to FIT Tomorrowland.

 

[Too Many Hats]

It's in pretty bad shape. I rarely even venture into Tomorrowland.

Decided to mix things up the other day and rope-dropped Space Mountain. Walking through the land, I was struck by just how small the main (non-Autopia/subs) space of Tomorrowland really is. We're talking about a company that in recent memory built Pandora, Cars Land, and Galaxy's Edge; it can't be that much of a pie-in-the-sky fantasy that they could remodel Tomorrowland.