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The world is divided. People are giving up hope. Pessimism is a pervasive issue in today's society, America especially.
When asked if “life for our children’s generation will be better than it has been for us,” 76 percent said they do not have such confidence. Only 21 percent did. That was the worst ever recorded in the poll; in 2001, 49 percent were confident and 43 percent not.
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We have given up on the future.
With the recent strike on Tomorrowland by Dr. Draken and Shego, morale has dropped even lower. Disneyland, a symbol of happiness and joy for people from around the world, was attacked.
Usually, I prefer Tomorrowland to focus on Sci-Fi concepts and movies, but perhaps it is time for a return to Walt's vision of Tomorrowland.
Originally, Disneyland's Tomorrowland was dedicated more to dreams of the future and the technology that will take us there. It was a showcase for technologies that can pave the way to a brighter tomorrow. It was almost a prototype Future World/ EPCOT. With Galaxy's Edge open on the other side of the park, the Sci-Fi mantle can be passed over there and Tomorrowland is free to focus on hope, optimism, and progress.
Welcome, to the Great, Big, Beautiful Tomorrowland!
A mix of modern architecture and a Mary Blair inspired futuristic aesthetic, this land will inspire and entertain generations to come with a realistic and optimistic take on the world of Tomorrow. Unlike EPCOT Center, this will be built on more of an artistic interpretation of science. It is meant to inspire and show what could be rather than to educate. This will help the land to have a timeless feel and not require constant updating to stay current.
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Space Mountain: Star Flight
The one attraction the survived the attack from Dr. Draken was Space Mountain. It made it through with only minor damage. A temporary path was constructed allowing guests to enjoy the attraction after only a quick refurb/safety check as the rest of the new tomorrowland was built. In the lead up to the new Tomorrowland's grand opening, Space Mountain did go down for a refurbishment to better tie it into the new themes of the land.
In Space Mountain: Star Flight,
Starlight Industries is inviting guests to join them on a free tour of the cosmos! Effects within the ride will be updated and added. Astute guests will notice actual constellations and celestial bodies from the Milky Way throughout the ride.
Another major change is that we now know who is our remote pilot for our excursion.
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Taara Udaan (rough translation of Hindi for "Star Flight") is the top pilot for Starlight Industries. And she is more than excited to share her passion for the beauty and wonder of the world above the atmosphere with guests.
Her adventurous spirit and sense of wonder will endear her to guests right away. A comic line about her adventures among the cosmos will be made leading up to the opening of the new Tomorrowland and there is talk of either a movie or a miniseries on Disney+ as well.
Spaceship Earth: Dreams Live On
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The trademark attraction of Epcot will be cloned and added here. This version will have many changes, starting with the exterior. It will not be the giant grand sphere in is in Florida. It will be a half sphere rising out of a curvy, conical building. Creating a very distinct show building without upstaging the rest of the park.
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The other biggest change is the focus. While many scenes will be very similar to Florida, the focus here is on progress through mankind's history. Important inventions, social changes, and more. This will tie into the themes of Tomorrowland better than the communication focus from the original.
The first section of the ride is mostly the same, just flatter to account for the smaller structure and changed for the progress focus. After the planetarium scene, the changes are most extreme. The second part of the ride takes guest's through Progress City! An optimistic look at a future that could be taking heavy inspiration from a very updated Horizons and Carousel of Progress
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The narrator for this version of Spaceship Earth will be Lin Manuel Miranda. Between Moana, Mary Poppins Returns, and his upcoming film, Lin has a great relationship with disney. Plus, Lin can give a fantastic, emotional, passionate speech about hope and optimism and he has a great, distinctive voice.
Progress City Expo
The Progress City Expo is a little bit like Innoventions, but with key differences. First off, this is not meant to be a showcase of modern technology. It is a walkthrough attraction that showcases fictional technologies that may be based on real life science, but are a fully artistic interpretation of what could be done 20-30 years from now rather than an actual attempt at the cutting edge. Another important change from Innoventions is that there is more to these two buildings that make up the expo than just the exhibits. Gift shops and QSR stands can be found inside. A flat ride and a special character encounter that I will discuss soon are both there too. The Tomorrowland stop for the Railroad is inside the Expo. Also, both Space Mountain and Spaceship Earth exit into the Expo.
Baymax Encounter
Inside a section of the Expo dedicated to medical technology, guests can see a demonstation of Baymax, a personal home healthcare companion robot! Using technology similar to Turtle Talk with Crush, guests will enter a small theater to find an animatronic Baymax on a small stage. Guests can help Baymax become better at his job by answering his comical questions about humans. Of course, Baymax will also be happy to answer questions about robots for the children.
Warp Force
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Warp Force will be a simple flat ride inspired by the Musik Express Carnival Ride. Disney has made an attraction like this before with Slinky Dog Spin in most versions of Toy story Land. Essentially, you go in a circle rather fast,
Warp Force will be themed to a showcase of an experimental warp drive engine powered by EM Pulse Technology. It will take advantage of the unique indoor location to enhance the ride experience with lighting and projection technology. This will be a fun, thrilling experience with a lower height requirement than Space Mountain.
One World Courtyard
This area will serve as a sort of mini World Showcase. QSR food booths and small shopping areas dedicated to countries from around the world can be found here in a mostly open air courtyard full of gardens. Visually, the architecture will be uniform for every country to keep them from clashing with eachother in the close proximity. It will look very similar to the current hub area of Epcot, just modernized and with more greenery.
In the center of the Courtyard will be a fountain where water from around the world will be brought in to fill it as a symbolic gesture of world unity.
Living with the Land: River of Wonder
Taking up the Submarine Lagoon as well much of the Autopia track, this attraction will have the largest footprint of the land. Though that is because it can't be built in a multi level style like the others.
This ride takes a lot of inspiration from Living with the land in Epcot, but it is not a direct clone. It is probably the most educational ride in the land as it is all about sustainable and futuristic techniques for growing food and plants. The facade for the show building will be a series of slanted glass pyramids of varying sides that, from a distance, look almost like a strange mountain range.
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The ride starts with guests sailing a loo around the old Submarine Lagoon getting a nice, scenic view of tomorrowland. Boats then enter the cave into the dark ride section of the ride. This will demonstrate some of the most interesting plant life of the world and the remarkable places and conditions they grow in. It shows how plants are able to naturally adapt to their environments to increase growth rates. Then, boats enter the greenhouse segment where the focus turns to the ways mankind has learned to grow plants in new, better, and more sustainable ways over the years.
A small food booth outside the ride's exit gives guests the chance to eat the fresh fruits and vegetables grown in the greenhouse and similar greenhouses nearby!
Flex Space/Expansion Pad
This will essentially just be set up as a space for special events. It can be rented out or used by Disney as a part of promotional events. In the future, it can be used for a new attraction to be added.
The Promise of Peace and Progress
The Promise is simultaneously the part of this project I am most excited about as well as the least exciting part.
Essentially, it is a series of large walls done with a similar visual style to Small World's architecture. There will be Mary Blair inspired murals throughout (both to tie to Small World nearby as well as to serve as a tribute to the long gone Blair murals that were once a part of Disneyland's Tomorrowland).
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So, what make a bunch of walls exciting? These walls are signed.
Celebrities, world leaders, fictional Disney characters, characters from rival studios... They all will be invited to sign the walls as a symbolic gesture. They sign it as a promise and commitment to always be striving towards peace for all mankind and to always foster progress to a better tomorrow. It is a promise to not give up on the dream of Tomorrow as so many have. It is a promise to make the world better.
Guests are not only invited, they are encouraged to sign the walls and make that promise themselves. The blocks that are available each day to sign will be hung somewhere high up on the walls each night freeing up more space for more names to be added.
As signatures are added, the blocks build the walls up symbolic building to a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!
