From Main Street USA to your right, you’ll find the last of the original five lands of Disneyland Park in 1955. This is the land that is always on the horizon, shining at the end of every day, this is…
Visit the future…today! Launch into an epic futuristic adventure, rocket through the inky darkness of space, help shape tomorrow and drive the roads to the horizon of the future. Walt Disney himself had an interest in predicting parts of future life. Through his television programs he showed the American public how the world was moving into the future. Tomorrowland was the sum of all of these views and ideas. This is the reason why Tomorrowland is often the most exciting lands of all. However, Tomorrowland met great problems as it is the land with most ride closures in Disney history and that’s all because of the Tomorrowland Paradox. The paradox explains how Tomorrowland is designed to step into the future, but usually becomes outdated as time and technology progresses, leaving Tomorrowland as a Yesterdayland. This has caused Disney to often choose IP to keep Tomorrowland interesting for their Guests, but with all these different stories mixed, Tomorrowland has become a thematic mess with sometimes monsters, sometimes Marvel superheroes, sometimes a galaxy far far away, sometimes a great big beautiful tomorrow and sometimes an escaped blue experiment. Although my version is not going to solve the Tomorrowland Paradox, this is the way I’d like to see Disneyland’s Tomorrowland, as I don’t see a lot of options of showcasing progress and futuristic advancements, which Walt was so inspired by.
‘’Tomorrowland can be a wonderful age. Our scientists today are opening the doors of the Space Age to achievements that will benefit our children and generations to come. The Tomorrowland attractions have been designed to give you an opportunity to participate in adventures that are a living blueprint of our future.’’
The area gets a total re-model, both in and out. The hard angles of the land’s architecture are softened, often seeming fluid and flexible and the land’s theme returns to real-world techno-optimism. This is why the land will somewhat remind you of the newest Disney park, Shanghai. Its fluid architecture and its glowing light features, with waterfalls and small streams will truly transport you far into the future. Opening the land is a grand entrance with a waterfall feature and the luxury Falling Water Terrace. Take a seat and check out the sight from Tomorrowland as water glows and flows around your table. As you progress further into the land, you’ll notice that the land also really focuses on green energy and green architecture. Although it’s an ultra-modern land with a lot of silvers, blues and greys, it balances out with patches of green. If you look straight ahead you might see a platform towering above many of the Tomorrowland buildings. It appears to spin and people are cheering inside of the interesting structure. This is the Orbitron. Pilot your very own rocket ship high in the sky amid a gleaming constellation of orbiting planets. If you climb into your personal mini- spaceship you’ll notice that the ride has lost its bronze colours and has become, more silver, blue and white, but still looks like a more advanced version of a galaxy constellation. Guests will be able to direct how high they fly by pulling or pushing the lever inside the ship.
‘’A vista into a world of wondrous ideas, signifying Man’s achievements…A step into the future, with predictions of constructed things to come. Tomorrow offers new frontiers in science, adventure and ideals. The Atomic Age, the challenge of Outer Space and the hope for a peaceful, unified world.’’
Before reaching the Orbitron, however, take a look on your left. This is now where you’ll find Plus Ultra HQ(inspired by SW Wilson from Idealbuildoutblogspot). This headquarter building is home to the newest interactive dark ride, filling up the space of Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters. Guests will follow this secret society known as Plus Ultra, comprised of the greatest minds throughout history. They are the founders of Tomorrowland. Since its founding, Plus Ultra has recruited and trained its members at various world’s fairs, expositions and other special events, but also to demonstrate their technological and scientific advancements as they gave a glimpse at life in Tomorrowland. The Plus Ultra Society will be used all over Tomorrowland as a sort of Society of Explorers and Adventurers for Tomorrowland. During the ride Guests will be able to shape Tomorrowland in an interactive adventure for you and your family to enjoy. Follow their history and make the decisions for the future. It will be like the interactive part of Spaceship Earth, but a lot more professional and on a whole new scale with actual scenes instead of screens.
Adjacent to this ride is another new ride, replacing Star Tours, which in my opinion really has no space in Tomorrowland. This is now home to Deep Sea Submersion, based on the theme of Deep Sea Exploration. Now that Submarine Voyage has been removed in favor of Alpine Valley and Tomorrowland, I’d still love to use the theme of deep sea exploration, since it’s just as or even more interesting as space exploration. There is so much mystery hidden away in the oceans. Deep Sea Submersion will combine Mission Space and Star Tours, almost in a Smuggler’s Run manner. Guests will be recruited to go on a mission to the Deep Sea Station of Nep-T0-3, where a strange error has been detected. Along their way they’ll meet strange deep sea creatures and learn about the human bonds with the seas as innovation progresses and even how technology uses the seas to for example produce energy. The ride will have a several variations in which Guests can choose between a softer and a more intense experience, which decides the level of immersion effects like pressure and sound effects.
As you move further into the land and reach the Orbitron, you’ll also find the Tomorrowland TransCenter. This is where Guests are able to ride the historic, high-speed, zero-emission transportation system that rockets along a single rail through the Disneyland Resort on the Monorail or take a grand circle tour around and above the land of the future in your very own state-of-the-art PeopleMover Cabin. The Disneyland Monorail was a first of its kind transportation system in America. The current version will be updated to advance its technological features today with a sleek styling that combines the 1959 classic with new technologies and subtle design changes, making it both retro-futuristic as well as a timeless Disneyland icon. The monorail flies over Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, past the Alpine Valley, gliding over Disneyland Resort’s other theme park, zooms through several hotels and resorts and even takes you to the Downtown Disney District. The PeopleMover will be an improved version of the old ride that was closed at Tomorrowland. The futuristic pods will tour you in and out of the many buildings of Tomorrowland, occasionally slowing down and accelerating so that it can focus on certain views or offer information on a certain part of the land.
If you then move to your right, you’ll see a mysterious structure, almost forming a white mountain, with a design resembling the original sketches of the ride much more than its final result. This is home to Space Voyage. After the success of Matterhorn Bobsleds, Walt Disney wanted to make another roller coaster with four separate tracks. In reality, this plan was scrapped due to space limitations, but in this alternate reality, Space Voyage has actually found its way to Tomorrowland. This roller-coaster style ride in the dark, with lighting and other special effects, challenges Guests to choose one of four space missions that intertwine during the ride but all offer a different thrilling experience. As you enter the Tomorrowland Space Port, you’ll learn about the Space research plans of Plus Ultra. When you choose your mission and are assigned a seat in your space vehicle you’ll race through the cosmos in the dark to the edge of the galaxy and back on a thrilling roller-coaster ride to succeed your mission. The ride system will be an improved version of the current Space Mountain ride system, but with three other variations and much more advanced special effects, similar to the current Hyperspace Mountain at Disneyland Paris. You are racing by this vast man-made solar field, energizing your rocket car for its dazzling plunge into super space. If you’re looking for space-themed souvenirs for galactic Guests of all ages, look no further than The Star Trader, a shop near the exit of the Tomorrowland SpacePort.
Besides the Star Trader, however, The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow Store, the largest of stores in Tomorrowland. Discover limited-edition pins, toys and more at this interstellar souvenir market. This super exciting shopping experience shows the possibilities of shopping in the future. This enables the use of customizing items or easily finding the items you’re looking for. Not too far away is the New Horizons Café. Enjoy a down-to-Earth menu with out-of-this-world flavors. The restaurant is based on the extinct Horizons attraction at Epcot. It adopts its murals and ideals of living in the future. The last and perhaps one of the most special dining options in Tomorrowland is the Progress City Restaurant. Watch over the world of great big beautiful tomorrow on an overlooking sky lounge. Now, this might not sound too special but it will actually be a restaurant similar to the Blue Bayou Restaurant with its connection to the bypassing Pirates of the Caribbean boats, but with Autopia instead.
Autopia is an opening day attraction, but it will receive a very big facelift. Autopia is the only existing Tomorrowland attraction dating back to Disneyland Park’s opening day in 1955. When the cars first took to the road, they captured America’s fascination with the latest transportation innovation, the ‘’freeway’’. Over the years, the roadways and car styles have been updated, but the fun stayed the same. Yet, now the ride’s new version will almost be nothing like the ride we know. It will be almost entirely indoors, combining autopia’s interactive features with test track and EMV like systems passing through scenes based on the Carousel of Progress and the earlier mentioned Horizons attraction as you race through the streets of the city of Tomorrow and chase the horizon on the highway of Tomorrow. The Autopia cars pass by the Progress City restaurant which also overlooks a model of the classic Progrss City with a modern touch. Again there will be several tracks, which also switch so that Guests can choose their own route through the attraction’s various show scenes, bringing you to for example the city mall, the energy production center, the Mesa Verde desert farms and more! Although I totally realize how these changes do not necessarily fix the Tomorrowland Paradox, I feel like adding the Plus Ultra truly brings Tomorrowland to its old glory, breathing new life into the visions of Walt Disney by giving the land an actual story and still offering exciting experiences on multiple areas of interest for people of all ages. Next time, we’ll actually travel back in time, to Disneyland Park’s last themed area to be discussed…
Tomorrowland
Visit the future…today! Launch into an epic futuristic adventure, rocket through the inky darkness of space, help shape tomorrow and drive the roads to the horizon of the future. Walt Disney himself had an interest in predicting parts of future life. Through his television programs he showed the American public how the world was moving into the future. Tomorrowland was the sum of all of these views and ideas. This is the reason why Tomorrowland is often the most exciting lands of all. However, Tomorrowland met great problems as it is the land with most ride closures in Disney history and that’s all because of the Tomorrowland Paradox. The paradox explains how Tomorrowland is designed to step into the future, but usually becomes outdated as time and technology progresses, leaving Tomorrowland as a Yesterdayland. This has caused Disney to often choose IP to keep Tomorrowland interesting for their Guests, but with all these different stories mixed, Tomorrowland has become a thematic mess with sometimes monsters, sometimes Marvel superheroes, sometimes a galaxy far far away, sometimes a great big beautiful tomorrow and sometimes an escaped blue experiment. Although my version is not going to solve the Tomorrowland Paradox, this is the way I’d like to see Disneyland’s Tomorrowland, as I don’t see a lot of options of showcasing progress and futuristic advancements, which Walt was so inspired by.
‘’Tomorrowland can be a wonderful age. Our scientists today are opening the doors of the Space Age to achievements that will benefit our children and generations to come. The Tomorrowland attractions have been designed to give you an opportunity to participate in adventures that are a living blueprint of our future.’’
The area gets a total re-model, both in and out. The hard angles of the land’s architecture are softened, often seeming fluid and flexible and the land’s theme returns to real-world techno-optimism. This is why the land will somewhat remind you of the newest Disney park, Shanghai. Its fluid architecture and its glowing light features, with waterfalls and small streams will truly transport you far into the future. Opening the land is a grand entrance with a waterfall feature and the luxury Falling Water Terrace. Take a seat and check out the sight from Tomorrowland as water glows and flows around your table. As you progress further into the land, you’ll notice that the land also really focuses on green energy and green architecture. Although it’s an ultra-modern land with a lot of silvers, blues and greys, it balances out with patches of green. If you look straight ahead you might see a platform towering above many of the Tomorrowland buildings. It appears to spin and people are cheering inside of the interesting structure. This is the Orbitron. Pilot your very own rocket ship high in the sky amid a gleaming constellation of orbiting planets. If you climb into your personal mini- spaceship you’ll notice that the ride has lost its bronze colours and has become, more silver, blue and white, but still looks like a more advanced version of a galaxy constellation. Guests will be able to direct how high they fly by pulling or pushing the lever inside the ship.
‘’A vista into a world of wondrous ideas, signifying Man’s achievements…A step into the future, with predictions of constructed things to come. Tomorrow offers new frontiers in science, adventure and ideals. The Atomic Age, the challenge of Outer Space and the hope for a peaceful, unified world.’’
Before reaching the Orbitron, however, take a look on your left. This is now where you’ll find Plus Ultra HQ(inspired by SW Wilson from Idealbuildoutblogspot). This headquarter building is home to the newest interactive dark ride, filling up the space of Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters. Guests will follow this secret society known as Plus Ultra, comprised of the greatest minds throughout history. They are the founders of Tomorrowland. Since its founding, Plus Ultra has recruited and trained its members at various world’s fairs, expositions and other special events, but also to demonstrate their technological and scientific advancements as they gave a glimpse at life in Tomorrowland. The Plus Ultra Society will be used all over Tomorrowland as a sort of Society of Explorers and Adventurers for Tomorrowland. During the ride Guests will be able to shape Tomorrowland in an interactive adventure for you and your family to enjoy. Follow their history and make the decisions for the future. It will be like the interactive part of Spaceship Earth, but a lot more professional and on a whole new scale with actual scenes instead of screens.