And now, here is the final land of the Magic Kingdom!
Imagine, if you will, a vision of the future with its roots in the past… In this kinetic metropolis of tomorrow, the hope and promise for a better future have seamlessly clashed with the color and imagination of Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon. Amidst landed spacecrafts, whirring contraptions, and bizarre creatures from the darkest reaches of known space, the “future that never was” is finally here!
Volcanic rock formations mark the entrance to Tomorrowland, hissing steam from leagues beneath the earth… Misshapen rocks and sparkling crystals protrude from the waters below, undulating with an ethereal, almost alien glow. As a rusted placard decrees, these supernatural formations were uncovered just centuries before, the last relics of a vanished sentient race. The crystals have only begun to glow as of late, a supposed beacon for the return of their creators to Earth, sending a message far out into the deepest reaches of space that Earth is finally an advanced enough civilization that it could begin accepting visits from extraterrestrials. As always, we enter the land via bridge; only, our bridge here is built from the half-submerged wreckage of a flying saucer crashed into the river.
When we step foot inside this immense metropolis, we’ll find ourselves in an advanced, “modernized” spaceport of the 24th Century, as made clear by the seamless blend of chrome, iron and metal, washed in hues of blues and purples - not to mention video advertisements produced by the city to describe their “reinvention.” Outlandish, ominous, and wholeheartedly bizarre, Tomorrowland blends the pulp Deco-Tech aesthetic of 1920s and 1930s science-fiction with the color, neon and imagination of tomorrow’s utopia. Here, everyday living is improved through curious science, oddball inventions and intergalactic travel… Robots, space aliens, and human inventors – fictional or otherwise – work, live, and play here in perfect harmony. In fact, so renowned and advanced is Tomorrowland that it was chosen to serve as the headquarters for the League of Planets, an organization devoted to promoting peace among the various galaxies in the universe.
When we step into Tomorrowland, we’ll be entering Rockettower Plaza, the aptly titled “Civic Center of Interstellar Citizenship.” Rockettower Plaza is the hub of Tomorrowland, where all the major places of work and play are in the city. Beyond Rockettower Plaza are the “Hover-Burbs”, where the citizens of Tomorrowland live. In fact, the Contemporary Resort is even woven into the area – in Tomorrowland, the Contemporary is known as “Perfect Park Acres, the latest in Hover-Burb Communities.” Here in Rockettower Plaza, there couldn’t have been a better time for us to visit. You see, we’ve arrived in Tomorrowland just in time for the Galaxy’s Fair, where all forms of life gather together to show off the latest technological breakthroughs.
Beneath the soaring highways of the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover and the towering arches of this bustling community, we venture down the Avenue of Planets, the “Main Street” of science fiction. Kinetic sculptures, video walls, and electronic advertisements portray the innovation and mystique of “tomorrow”, with nonsensical gadgets to save on human labor. Storefront windows display robots performing household chores, a la Horizons. In the vast promenade at the end of the Avenue of Planets, a sleek, streamlined rocket, The Explorer, points to the stars, readied for a launch into some far-off system beyond sight and sound. The narrow “mall” of the Avenue of Planets features an attraction on either side: To the left, The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. To the right, The Timekeeper.
The Tomorrowland Interplanetary Convention Center welcomes visitors to experience the latest in scientific innovation and design from the various corporate leagues of the known universe. Within these walls, we are introduced to the genius, alien minds behind X-S Tech. Once again, we serve as “lucky volunteers” to “seize the future” with X-S and catch a glimpse at their latest invention: the X-S 2000 Teleportation System. One awry presentation after another results in an unforgettable encounter…
A botched transmission results in the accidental arrival of a bloodthirsty creature from another planet… Angered, hungry, and confused, the alien monster breaks loose from the teleportation tube, causing horrific chaos in the now-darkened viewing chamber. Gnashing fangs, warm breath, hot drool, shattering glass, splattering blood, and a slimy, foreign tongue are among the extrasensory thrills encountered in this, the scariest and decidedly “most adult” attraction in the Magic Kingdom. Like it or not, The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter is here to scare...uh, I mean “stay”.
In 2002, it was announced that the show would undergo a re-casting in the wake of … well, something rather terrible regarding Jeffrey Jones, the actor who played X-S Tech chairman L.C. Clench. Kelsey Grammer took up the reins as Clench, and John Michael Higgins took up the role of Spinlok. Kathy Najimy retained her role as Dr. Femus and Tim Curry was retained as S.I.R., the robotic pre-show host. This new casting debuted on October 12, 2003.
The Interplanetary Convention Center hosting Alien Encounter exits into the iconic Merchants of Venus, a retro-futuristic bazaar in which aliens, humans and robots alike are invited to trade, sell and offer their wares from across the universe. In-store murals depict a side of Tomorrowland not seen to us - soaring skyscrapers, bustling highways, and floating suburbs. Not but a few feet from Merchants of Venus is The Space Place, a smaller shop offering wares themed around Disney’s sci-fi library.
Across the way from The Space Place are two quick-service eating options. First is Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies, an ice-cream shop neighboring Merchants of Venus. Inside, we can try some of the finest ice cream and some of the most succulent smoothies in the whole galaxy. Oh, and by the way, the source of ice cream here in Tomorrowland? The Milky Way, of course! Then, there is The Lunching Pad, a counter-service location offering sandwiches, chicken nuggets, chips, salads, punch, desserts and other snacks. It also has a full salad bar with all sorts of toppings and dressings for your sandwiches or salads. The PeopleMover passes right through the restaurant on its way to Space Mountain.
The late, great Robin Williams posthumously provides his voice to the title character of The Timekeeper, the finest in CircleVision 360 entertainment that has long been forgotten in the Disney theme park universe. Today, The Timekeeper has received an update for a new generation, featuring a new, high-definition, seamless CircleVision film (while the scenes remain the same to accommodate the Robin Williams/Rhea Perlmann dialogue; they’re all new and reshot; even the Jules Verne actor is different) with new in-theater effects and magic. Entering the Metropolis Science Centre sends us far forward into the future where robots in the likeliness of Timekeeper and 9-Eye are able to exist, the dream of many a classic futurist come true. What ensues next is a 360 degree trip through time and space, all the while accompanied by an unintentionally “kidnapped” Jules Verne who experiences many ideas in which he wrote about coming into fruition.
In 1972, If You Had Wings came in for a landing in Tomorrowland. This Eastern Airlines-sponsored Omnimover attraction captured the sensation of flight, and became an immediate favorite. Alas, it only operated for ten years, closing in 1982 for fear of redundancy with EPCOT’s forthcoming World Above pavilion. In 1984, TRON: Escape the Grid opened, using the same Omnimover system. This operated for over 30 years, finally closing in 2018. Why did it close? Well, it was all to make way for another new attraction…
Further down the street from the Avenue of Planets is the Tomorrowland Exhibition Hall. Today, as part of the Galaxy’s Fair happening in Tomorrowland, the Nova Corps, peaceful representatives of the planet Xandar, who also double as the planet’s police force, have elected to use a pavilion to tell the people of Earth about Xandar, and to hopefully establish a peaceful connection with Earthlings. Thus, within the walls of the Exhibition Hall is the Galaxarium, which will not only give people a glimpse of the universe, but also give them hyperspeed access to Xandar. Alas, those plans are derailed as the presentation is interrupted by Eson, a celestial being who, taking after the Mad Titan, wants to remove all of humanity from the universe. So, the Nova Corps must call on the Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket, Drax and Groot to arrive on “Terra” (what we call Earth) in the nick of time to save humanity from the threat of immediate extinction…again.
Hopping aboard a fast-moving Starjumper, we careen through intergalactic mayhem from all ends of the universe, as one of Star-Lord’s “Awesome Mix” tapes blasts a classic tune. These Starjumpers have been specifically spruced up by Rocket, in order to follow Eson from jump point to jump point, from one corner of the universe to the next…and even all the way back to the Big Bang!
An incredible motion simulator adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind opened on January 27, 2021, after an astonishing three years of construction and development. The ride utilizes the simulators that once took guests to a galaxy far, far away on Star Tours, which were moved over here to save costs. In fact, the reason why TRON closed in 2018 was so they could start gutting the building ahead of time, so they could move the simulators in with no problems. The experience exits out into Treasures of Xandar, selling any and all merchandise themed around Guardians of the Galaxy.
After Tomorrowland underwent its refurbishment and became New Tomorrowland in 1994, the original atmospheric music changed to reflect a mixture of modern electro-synthetic musical impressions, interwoven with recognizable themes from Disney’s many film productions and former attractions from Tomorrow’s past. The atmospheric music of Tomorrowland carries into the Merchants of Venus and beyond, even while waiting at the station of the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover. The TTA PeopleMover soars through the second story of Tomorrowland, traveling through the various attractions and pavilions. Aboard the PeopleMover, we can preview almost every attraction in either land, then come back later to see the whole show.
The magnificent Astro Orbiter stands proudly in the heart of Rockettower Plaza, a creation of the League of Planets themselves. Seeming to have been borrowed from the pages of a Buck Rogers comic book, the Astro Orbiter is our chance to maneuver a personal rocket on an airborne series of revolutions held high above the streets of Tomorrowland from an elevated platform, sat directly above the TTA station. The streamlined craft of The Explorer sits adjacent to the planets, cogs and contraptions of the Astro Orbiter, acting as a secondary “weenie” to the fantastical attraction. Rocket pilots are invited to dance, float and sail through the air in conjunction with the Astro Orbiter via 16 mechanical arms.
With the advent of New Tomorrowland in 1994 came an all-new elevated walkway, connecting the Astro Orbiter to a few new vantage points in Tomorrowland. This eliminated the need for the escalator up, and a new queue was set up along the walkway. Built into the base of the TTA station is the Space Bar, specializing in non-alcoholic cocktails with an intergalactic twist. At night, these drinks glow thanks to special, glowing ice cubes, blending in beautifully with the neon lights of Tomorrowland.
Built directly behind Rockettower Plaza is a unique restaurant: Cosmic Ray’s Starliner Diner. This is a unique take on a table-service restaurant here in the Magic Kingdom. Let’s just say it’s not every day you get to have a meal inside a flying saucer! Yes, Cosmic Ray sets up shop from within his giant flying saucer, which has docked right here in Tomorrowland. In fact, it overlooks the land almost as much as the iconic Space Mountain! Much like Tokyo Disneyland’s Space Mountain, a prominent escalator leads guests up into the dining room within the saucer. After checking in with the concierge service by the entrance of Space Mountain, guests will be free to wander until paged on their phone or led straight to the escalators. After a short ride up, the doors will open welcoming guests to the Starliner Diner.
Looking towards the center of Tomorrowland, guests are greeted by sloping windows that reach towards the ceiling. The windows themselves are regular windows augmented with projection technology. Over the course of their dining experience, guests will witness rockets launching and landing in the distance, robots traveling through the sky, and other strange sights. The window supports sport a modern medal look with inset lights. The Starliner Diner itself looks like a trendy, high-class nightclub, or the futuristic alien equivalent of such. The food offered is served in a style similar to Garden Grill, wherein the various entrees and sides are served all at the same time in a family-style platter. Now, of course, it wouldn’t be a nightclub without entertainment, and luckily, Cosmic Ray brought along an old friend…
Sonny Eclipse, the “biggest little star in the galaxy!” His 27-minute set of tunes – and wisecracks – has been enjoyed by diners multiple times a day since the Starliner Diner opened in 1994. This literal “lounge lizard” tickles the glowing keys of his Astro-Organ, an invention devised in his hometown of Yew Nork City on the Planet Zork, “a topsy-turvy town where the subways are up and the streets are down.” Sonny’s favorite songs include “Planetary Boogie,” “Gravity Blues,” “Bright Little Star” and more. “You know, I recently heard the universe was expanding. Guess it’s time to loosen the asteroid belt!”
Speaking of aliens, at Close Encounters located nearby, you can meet up with everyone's favorite alien, Stitch, as well as his ohana: Lilo, Angel, Jumba and Pleakley. Other such visitors to Tomorrowland include Buzz Lightyear, Mickey and the gang in snazzy astronaut suits, and even WALL-E and EVE! But they aren’t the only characters you can meet here. There’s also PUSH, the Talking Trash Can. Yes, here in Tomorrowland, even the trash cans can talk, and this guy loves rolling about, striking up conversations with unsuspecting visitors.
Down the road from Cosmic Ray’s is a circular pavilion, the contribution of the Tomorrowland Progress Initiative, a group dedicated to the progress we have made, and a source of inspiration for what may come next. A step inside their pavilion takes us on a trip through time and space aboard Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress, one of the most seminal shows in Disney Parks history. Starting at the turn-of-the-century, we meet up with everyone’s favorite Audio-Animatronic family – father John, mother Sarah, daughter Gracie, son James, second daughter Louise, Grandma, Grandpa, faithful dog Rover and, of course, Cousin Orville – who showcase the latest breakthroughs in home-based technology. As the show continues, we step forward in time to the next generation of progress, then the next, and the next, until finally, we see how far progress has traveled into the future and how it may have an effect on our everyday lives. Delighting guests ever since its debut at the 1964 World’s Fair, Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress is a perfect reminder that there's always a “great big beautiful tomorrow shining at the end of every day.”
Of course, the show has received multiple updates over the years, the most recent taking place in 2021, in time for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary. Although the scenes have changed, the biggest change of all involves a new post-show.
Much like the World’s Fair original, the post-show involves guests heading up to the second floor of the Carousel Theater to take a gander at Progress City. The model, which at one point was only visible if you rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, has been fully restored to its original glory. In fact, it was originally going to be part of the 1975 original Magic Kingdom version – they even outfitted the exit theater with the beginnings of the escalator up to the viewing area, set up an exit ramp, and gave the theater a dome in the style of the original 1964 Carousel Theater (and let me tell you, it wasn’t difficult to blend that dome in with the styles of New Tomorrowland in 1994) – but alas, budget cuts cut that part out, and a curtain hung over that escalator for nearly 50 years.
In-between Cosmic Rewind and the Carousel of Progress is a newly-expanded section of Tomorrowland. In the late 1980s, the original Tomorrowland Stage was razed in order to make way for more experiences for guests to experience, the first of which was a certain E-ticket known as Star Tours. Star Tours, which opened on December 15, 1989, was inspired by the classic Star Wars films, and was the first ever attraction to use flight simulator technology. Aboard the StarSpeeder 3000, the rookie pilot Rex would take passengers on a harrowing flight into deep space, encountering icy comets and deadly TIE Fighters, all before destroying an inexplicable third Death Star. The large, multi-tiered “Spaceport” quickly became one of the Magic Kingdom’s biggest hotspots, garnering long lines day after day. Plus, when work began on New Tomorrowland in the early 1990s, it fit theming like a glove, so win-win! In 2011, a new ride film debuted: Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, which utilized a randomized technology system, so that guests could be taken to new places in the Star Wars universe. No two rides were the same!
However, that all changed once an entire land based on Star Wars was announced to be coming to the Magic Kingdom; and thus, that means Star Tours would end up taking its final flight in 2019, just a few weeks after Galaxy’s Edge opened. Work soon began on an all-new attraction with an all-new ride system; an attraction which would premiere on April 26, 2021, two years after the release date of Avengers: Endgame.
The Star Tours Terminal has turned into the headquarters of the Stark Expo, which offers an all-access look into the company’s legacy of changing the world for the better, before introducing the ground-breaking technology that will shape our future. Displayed are innumerable Stark innovations that will change and improve our home today and the visionary thinking that will transform our entire world tomorrow.
The Stark Expo is divided into several exhibition halls. In the Hall of Protection, we glimpse a number of Iron Man and War Machine suits, including the famous MARK III suit and other leading advancements in the sphere of defense. The Hall of Energy details how an arc reactor could provide enough clean and sustainable energy to power an entire city. But the piece de resistance is the display in the Hall of Mobility: the latest technological masterpiece from Stark Industries – the gravity-defying Iron Bike. However, the demonstration is interrupted by the sudden arrival of either Nick Fury or Maria Hill. They warn us that Thanos has completed the Infinity Gauntlet, and must be stopped before he wipes half the universe out of existence! In order to do that, we must jump aboard our own Iron Bike and join the fight and save the universe from an existential nightmare! What follows is one of the Magic Kingdom’s most thrilling adventures: Avengers United!
The way you could describe this could be as a “hybrid attraction.” You see, Avengers United uses the same modified Soarin’ system Flight of Passage uses in our current Walt Disney World (hence why we use Iron Bikes); and it also uses the randomized simulator technology of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue. In this rousing 3D E-ticket simulator, we rotor through an interstellar Kree battle over Tomorrowland. Thanos, the Mad Titan himself, oversees from his hover-throne. With his Infinity Gauntlet, able to wield absolute power over all aspects of existence, Thanos banishes recruits on a randomized journey: to the original Battle of New York; alongside Captain America in WWII; into the cosmos with the Guardians of the Galaxy; in the Bifrost with Thor; shrunken in the Quantum Realm with Ant-Man; a trip through the Multiverse of Madness with Doctor Strange; defending Wakanda alongside Black Panther; fighting the Kree alongside Captain Marvel in 1995; et cetera! Finally all Avengers unite to thrillingly defeat Thanos!
But a thrilling excursion on Avengers United is only the half of what you can do here at the Stark Expo. When Star Tours closed, Disney decided to take the initiative to expand the building to include more Marvel experiences. So, while the first floor contains the queue for Avengers United, you’ll also find Avengers Academy, a spiritual successor to the Jedi Training Academy, where all hopeful heroes can train alongside the Avengers. It seems only fitting that the Hall of Armor take up residence next door, allowing children the chance to transform into their favorite hero or heroine.
The Hall of Fame is found in the same complex as the Stark Expo. The Hall of Fame is somewhat of a Marvel fan supercenter, with unique merchandise and rare comic-books. The Hall of Fame also offers us a glimpse at a large, revolving globe portraying the birthplace, origin and power of each recorded Avenger and villain. In this expansive museum and tribute to “Earth’s Greatest Heroes,” we discover one detailed exhibition after the next in honor of almost every hero in the Marvel Canon – Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, Black Panther, Scarlet Witch, Vision, the Fantastic Four, Ant-Man, Doctor Strange – everyone is here, even Deadpool.
Of course, the Stark Expo is the place where we can meet some of our favorite heroes and villains from across all points of time, including, but not limited to: Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Loki, Mighty Thor (Jane Foster), Black Widow (both Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova), Hawkeye (both Clint Barton and Kate Bishop), Taskmaster, Spider-Man, Captain America (both Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson), the Winter Soldier, Doctor Strange, Wong, America Chavez, Ms. Marvel, Star-Lord, Gamora, Groot, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Agatha Harkness, Ant-Man, the Wasp, Shang-Chi, Death Dealer, Black Panther (both T’Challa and Shuri), M’Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje, Moon Knight, Mr. Knight, Werewolf by Night, Elsa Bloodstone, Captain Marvel, and three members of the Eternals: Sersi, Kingo and Phastos.
On the second floor of the Expo Center is Expo Gifts, epicenter of all Marvel merchandise, with gadgets and comic-books for available purchase. This is, naturally, where Avengers United exits out into. Also within this shop is Officer Zzyzx, an alien who works for the Expo Center and who oversees the shop. He is known to interact with shoppers and passers-by, and – given that he’s almost-always awaiting lunch break – always recommends guests visit what lies right across the way…
Across from the Expo Center is the two-story visage of the galaxy’s number-one source for “pie in the sky”: the Pan-Galactic Pizza Port! When Cosmic Ray’s table-service eatery opened, and the Tomorrowland Terrace closed to make way for the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall, that left Tomorrowland without a counter-service restaurant (The Lunching Pad wouldn’t open until 1998). So, the Imagineers decided to bring this extraterrestrial hot-spot into the picture. The restaurant, a clone from Tokyo Disneyland, is a multimedia dinner show with an Audio-Animatronics alien named Tony Solaroni. Solaroni is the charismatic mechanic behind a large machine that delivers pizza anywhere in the galaxy. However, it’s not an easy task, given that the machine is prone to breaking down, and given that Solaroni has a boss, Mr. Foosano, and a wife, known only as “Mrs. Solaroni”, who are always breathing down his neck. The restaurant’s pizza includes all our favorite flavors, and some unique “extraterrestrial” varieties.
Next door is the Trimaxion Space Facility, named after the legendary craft featured in Flight of the Navigator, the place where guests can explore The Mysterious Galaxy. The Mysterious Galaxy is an alternative space adventure for those who can’t yet board – or refuse to board – Space Mountain. In Tomorrowland, space travel is as common as a trip to the store. Pretty much anyone can set off to explore the galaxy! As such, we are invited to take off on a journey that would put IMAX to shame. Captain Tom Morrow is our host as we blast off to explore the Solar System and beyond, and facing such events as the heat of the Sun, traversing through the asteroid belt, jumps through hyperspace and a brief glimpse at what lies beyond the Milky Way. And it’s all scored to a specially-arranged version of Gustav Holst’s famous suite “The Planets”, to add another level of majesty to this spaceflight. And the technical side of the attraction is nothing to scoff at, either! Utilizing a special domed theater, in order to fully immerse guests in the beauty of space, in-theater effects, including shaking, KUKA-esque seats, and the largest seamless projection screen ever used in a Disney production, The Mysterious Galaxy truly is an adventure unlike any other!
Back outside in Rockettower Plaza, we find that night has fallen on our day at the Magic Kingdom. Tomorrowland is perhaps the most striking of all lands in the Magic Kingdom after dark - the city is awash in hues of neon and color reflecting off the metallic spires, twisted arches and jagged rocks. Bizarre, near-Avatar-like plant-life is aglow in fluorescent light. Triumphant orchestrations from classic films reminiscent of the space age fill the air both day and night, inspiring us to dream bigger and go further with our ideas and our adventurous spirit. The landed spacecrafts, varied robots and techno-rhythms emulate an omnipresent sense of living, breathing energy throughout the land. In a way, the ominous yet romantic lights of this retro-futuristic world recall not the far-off future of our own imagination, but instead the far-off future of the early 20th Century.
Approaching the farthest eastern edge of the Magic Kingdom, overhead highways of the PeopleMover whisk by as we approach the entrance of StarPort 75, home to one of Walt Disney World’s most iconic rides: Space Mountain. In this unknown and dangerous frontier, we navigate through a futuristic, glowing space station as you make your way to Mission Control, home of the launch pad for your journey to the farthest realms of space. Upon our arrival, we board our very own sleek spaceship and prepare for a daring adventure into the unknown. Upon blasting off, what follows is a wild roller coaster ride through the deepest banks of space, all the while evading and fighting back against asteroids and black holes; a ride featuring unexpected drops, tight turns, strange special effects, as well as some surprise encounters, an attraction truly meant for those of an older age. Come nightfall, Space Mountain provides an ethereal glow from within, a beacon for those viewing Tomorrowland from the Central Plaza and beyond.
Ah, but don’t think it will be the same old ride that you remember going on as a kid. Just like how Disneyland’s Space Mountain got a refresh for their 50th anniversary, so too has Walt Disney World’s Space Mountain. Our own @montydysquith-navarro came up with many amazing ways to improve Walt Disney World’s signature thrill ride, almost all of which are on display here at Mirror Walt Disney World: a completely replaced coaster track to allow for a smoother ride experience; newly-redesigned ride vehicles, redesigned for more guest comfortability and addition of SOBATs/synchronized onboard audio tracks; enhancements to the lighting and projection systems inside the dome; the addition of new story elements that will be unique to each track – specifically, randomized “encounters” with various celestial bodies interacting with the track done through projection domes/screens a la Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (as it opened in our real-life EPCOT, of course); and a redesigned “wormhole” re-entry tunnel to the redesigned unload platform, which finally resembles the loading platform. Now, I say “almost all”, because monty proposed a new attraction score from Pinar Toprak, the composer of Captain Marvel and “The EPCOT Anthem”...which, honestly, I wouldn’t go with. Honestly, I’d personally restore Dick Dale’s iconic score that entertained Disneyland guests from 1996 to 2003 – a surf guitar version of “Aquarium” from Camille Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals.
The time has come. As the exit music to Happily Ever After comes to a close, you might notice the Sensational Six at the train station’s balcony, waving goodbye to us. They normally stay on the balcony for about ten to fifteen minutes before retiring for the night. However, don’t think you need to leave just as soon as the fireworks end. Main Street, U.S.A. stays open a half-hour after park close, so guests can get one last snack in or grab a last-minute item from the shops. But for many Disney fans, it is what happens at the end of this extra half-hour that something truly special happens…
The Kiss Goodnight is one of the Magic Kingdom’s most underrated surprises, and it is a truly moving event. This simple audio farewell – climaxing with a choral version of “When You Wish Upon a Star” similar to what was performed on Dedication Day – framed against the simple lighting package of Cinderella Castle, is a quiet, yet understated, way to say goodbye to the Most Magical Place on Earth. With the Kiss Goodnight having ended, we head back down Main Street, through those magic tunnels, and find ourselves on the edge of Seven Seas Lagoon once more, our day at the Magic Kingdom complete.
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That was Tomorrowland, the final land of the Magic Kingdom! What did you think? Later tonight, I'll post a recap list featuring every attraction, restaurant, shop, entertainment option and character greeting place in the Magic Kingdom; and that will conclude our time in the Magic Kingdom. After today, I'm going to be going on another brief hiatus, because I've got a very busy schedule the rest of this week. But, join me on Monday, November 21, when we'll begin our tour of EPCOT! See you then!
Once again, I must extend credit to Ideal Buildout for the idea to expand Tomorrowland beyond the old Galaxy Palace Theater space; credit to
@Disneylover152,
@FireMountain,
@James G.,
@TheDesignPirate,
@NateD1226,
@Outbound and
@Voxel, whose Atomic Lounge concept served as a huge inspiration for Cosmic Ray's Starliner Diner; as well as credit to
@D Hulk, the creator of the incredible Avengers United attraction, and
@MANEATINGWREATH, from whom I borrowed the Avengers United queue and the Hall of Fame. And once again, I absolutely must credit
@montydysquith-navarro, who created that refurbished Space Mountain for the final Sorcerer's Warmup in Season 7: Fantasmic Journeys I named second-place in that round. With that in mind, I knew I had to work it into MWDW, somehow. Truth be told, I wanted to include it in the original MWDW, but I never got around to including it.