Figmentforever24
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2014
So yea I have been away for a while now as life has a funny way of keeping one busy. Anyway I said I be back with some awesome articles on some awesome things, and well since I am a keeper of my word here they are for you to enjoy! The first one being Tomorrowland of the Walt Disney World resort.
So go back to the planning of Walt Disney World, and you would see that the Tomorrowland for Magic Kingdom was as unplanned as the one for Disneyland was. The beginning plans for the western side of the park would be two big buildings on either side of a grand entrance plaza. There would have been an indoor roller coaster, a racetrack and even some pretty big bodies of water that would have channeled in from Seven Seas Lagoon. Go back to the very early plans of the land, and a monorail station was even planned for the land. The monorail would have left the transportation center, through the Contemporary Resort, through the Persian Resort, and into the Tomorrowland station before heading to the main gates. Of course this changed as funding was moved around and ideas like the Persian Resort were saved for later dates. Construction was well underway for the Magic Kingdom by 1970, and the plans were still changing for the land. Funding was changed and moved around, and finally the buildings to open with the Magic Kingdom in 1971 were finalized. The buildings began construction, and plenty of space was left open for future projects.
The first order of business was the entrance to Tomorrowland. Disney wanted something grand to mark the entrance so two giant water features were decided on for both sides of the pathway. The spires also changed their looks throughout the designing process, from giant square walls to long narrow spires. Finally the narrow spires won out and were used. The spires had flat slopes on the front that allowed water to run down them smoothly. The water wasnt visible when the park opened so ripples were carved into the stone shortly after opening to make the effect more effective. With deadlines to meet, Disney rushed to finish anything they could by opening day. By the grand opening of the park Tomorrowland had opened with two attractions.
With the opening of the land a lot of space on the southern portion of the land was left empty for future plans. Yet plans were well underway and were changing all the time. The land had four main buildings making it a very barren land with clear views of the Contemporary Resort. This was an idea that goes back to early planning for every land, but Tomorrowland would be the only land to do this. On the southern portion of Tomorrowland a small building stood that is well known to many folks. The Tomorrowland Skyway opening with all of the Magic Kingdom, and would take guest from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland. The design of the small station was sleek yet futuristic with a cascading waterfall on the front of the building. There was then a staircase to the upper floor where guest would board their cars. The upstairs area also held extra space for car maintenance and extra queue space. The ride would cross Tomorrowland over the raceway, and then would so something unheard of for cable cars .make an almost 90 degree turn. Speaking of the raceway, that was the other Tomorrowland attraction to open with the land!
The Grand Prix Raceway was the idea used to add some detail to what was then very open and barren land. Yet the raceway wasnt always planned for Tomorrowland as it was originally planned for Holidayland. Yep Magic Kingdom had a very short lived Holidayland that would have been north of Tomorrowland. The raceway at Magic Kingdom would stay as part of Tomorrowland, but unlike Disneyland, would have a different themed. Disneyland has Autopia which was designed to be cars driving on the interstate. Magic Kingdom designed theirs to be a 60s racetrack. (Note: Did you know that the Raceway had a VIP lounge? Yep that little box room above the track was used for special occasions!) These two rides would be the only two opening day attractions until November 25th of that same year.
On November 25th the third Tomorrowland attraction opened: The CircleVision 360 theater. This show was located in the building to the right when you enter Tomorrowland from the main entrance. Remember these buildings were still being finished when the park opened, mostly on the inside though. The first show inside this state of the art facility would be called America the Beautiful. This building (Known as the South Building) already had a balcony wrapped around the entire building. (There was no Tomorrowland Terrace as of yet so the building was visible from all sides) This balcony served no purpose at the time, but was saved for a future attraction .hmmm. The side of the building facing the plaza was cut into to allow for some cover from the elements. As guest entered, they entered the entrance hall which was behind a wall of glass. Guest entered then the waiting area with a slopped ceiling before entering the show. The ceilings and walls inside the waiting room were painted different shades of red and orange. Guest then walked into the final waiting pin down a slopping path before entering the theater. Guest would enter the 9 screened theater before exiting out the other side onto a ramp that took them out into the main plaza. The film that was shown was not entirely new for the park. In fact the show had been shown before at the 1958 Brussels World Fair. After the fair closed the show played in Disneyland for about two years. For Magic Kingdom Disney refurbished the film to fit the new screens and gave the film a new name.
Across from America the Beautiful stood the North building which was built to match the South one in a lot of ways. The façade of the building was literally identical to the one on the other side. This meant that the glass wall that held the show and the covered area were the same as well. The attraction for this building also had the slopped ceiling and was even decorated a lot like the theater across from it. The main difference in the North building was the size. Connected to the North Building was the restaurant for the entire land. The attraction portion of the building took up the South part of the building. The northern part was for Tomorrowland Terrace a very high capacity restaurant for the Magic Kingdom. The restaurant was complete with plenty of seating and a hydraulic stage. There were also two separate bathroom facilities in the building. One accessible from the outside and the other from the restaurant. There was also a juice bar as well as two separate shops. Like the South Building there was also a balcony that wrapped along the outside. The only difference is this one cut through the middle of the building right between the restaurant and the attraction. Inside a large room was left empty of the upper floor and a glass wall allowed guest to see the balcony from one of the stores. Lets talk about that attraction though. The attraction had a waiting area behind the glass wall just like its counterpart across from it. Guest then went into a pre-show room that had three separate levels. The three levels overlooked a mission control room through a large glass window. Guest then exited into the hall where they entered one of two identical theaters. The theater on the right (Theater Two) would exit directly out into the plaza after the show. On busier days an alternate route would take guest out through another exit. The theater on the left (Theater Two) also exited out into the plaza via another route. (You may have seen this no longer used exit. Enter Tomorrowland from the main entrance and look to the left right away. A small little corner is tucked away where guest would exit the ride!) The attraction to open in this building would prove to be one of the most popular rides in the park at the time. The ride was scheduled to open November 25th like America the Beautiful yet was delayed due to some visual effects that had to be perfected. So Flight to the Moon opened to the general public on Christmas Eve 1971. The name of the ride said it all as guest would board a shuttle for a flight to the moon. Screens were installed in the floor and ceiling to show the back and front of the rocket. Screens were also on the walls to act as the info center for the rocket. Large speakers were added as well as air filled seats. Guest would ride and lower into their seats throughout their journey, a very special effect.
As Magic Kingdom moved into its New Year work began on something new. On the side facing away from the plaza, the South Building had something added to it. This new area would be a new large seating restaurant for Tomorrowland. A new small building was also added to the backside of the building for a future attraction that would be needed very soon. The new eatery would still allow guest to flow through into Tomorrowland, but they would move between two seating areas of the new eatery. But what about the addition of that building to the back? There was now enough space for a new ride, but what would it be? Actually the answer would be a unique attraction similar to Adventures Thru Inner Space. Remember the ride from Disneyland? The balcony that went around the building new split between the old building and the new building much like the North Building. The new ride called If you had Wings would open of June 5th 1972. This was just in time for the large crowds expected that summer! Sponsored by American Airlines a Omni mover journey through different world wide locations. This was the second Omni mover for the park and features many projections throughout the ride. Actually the ride was mostly projections. The restaurant wouldnt open until 1973 and would be called the Plaza Pavilion. From 1973 to 1980 the restaurant was classified as Main Street USA not Tomorrowland, but that would change in 1980. Anyway in 1973 with the opening of the restaurant, something big was finalized. Yes the final plans for the southern portion of Tomorrowland were finalized and they were going to be huge! Construction began right away in 1973, and for the next two years Tomorrowland would become a construction zone!
At the center of the new expansion would be Star Jets. This ride was not your ordinary spinner as it was above a tower, and you reached it with a replica of the NASA launch space lift. The jets themselves spun around a replica of the Saturn V which of course is now famous. The ride opened in 1974.
What was once a beautiful view of the Contemporary Resort was now gone. In its place was a rounded building with a mysterious ride inside. The Carousel of Progress which had been in Disneyland for many years had now moved over to Walt Disney World. The ride would open January 15th 1975. This would be the third time the ride had been moved, and with the movement came some new enhancements. The AAs were all replaced and the sets were cleaned. A new rotating theater was also built for the ride. The biggest change of course would be the future scene or the finale. The scene had to be changed to stay updated with the future so the scene was changed a lot. The new scene reflected the 1970s a lot. The last major change was the theme song for the ride. The original theme song for the ride was called Wait for Tomorrow. Yet this didnt reflect the American dream as much anymore so the ride song was changed to Live for Today. The ride itself was sponsored by General Electric. This wasnt the only ride that opened that day. Magic Kingdoms Signature attraction also opened that day as well ..Space Mountain.
From the very beginning of the planning stages an indoor roller coaster for Tomorrowland was planned. The original name for the ride was Space Port. Originally Walt Disney planned the ride for Disneyland. The Matterhorn was so popular that he wanted to create a ride with four separate tracks rather then two. There wasnt enough room and he died shortly after so the idea was shelved. The plans came back to life as Space Mountain and Walt Disney World was going to house the attraction. The idea for the ride had track both inside and outside of the ride at first along with a communication pre-show that was paid for by the sponsor. Originally the ride would have had eight tracks, but then it was brought down to four like the original plans. Then finally it was decided on two twin tracks inside the mountain. The sponsor of this new ride would be RCA. With the entire ride being inside Disney was able to fully immerse guest in an awesome experience and use plenty of new visual effects. Originally Space Mountain was going to be built inside the berm of the park and would be less round then before. Yet a bigger building was needed to hold the ride so it was moved OUTSIDE the berm. This was going to involve a lot of work. Disney had to get guest past the train tracks somehow. Not to mention they had to divert a canal and fill in part of a lake! So a small building was built inside the berm where guest would enter and go under the train tracks. The tunnel would then continue on to the ride. When the ride was first planned there were going to be two separate queues. There was also a VIP lounge and many RCA displays along the queue as well as an emergency exit. Guest not wishing to see the pre-show would skip it and move on to the main room where they would split into two identical lines for the two identical rides. After the ride guest reach the lowest level where they exit and merge into one line that takes them back under the tracks and into Tomorrowland. Show Scenes would also be along the speed ramp sponsored by RCA. After all of the technical stuff you come down to the coaster itself. Both sides of track are the same with Alpha (Right Side) having ten feet more track. No not as in a longer ride, but to reach the exit.
Construction began with the center piece that would hold the roof and main building. The Train was closed as the tunnel had to be built for the train to pass through. This was a massive project! The interior is 4,508,500 cubic feet! That makes it one of the biggest in Walt Disney World! Space Mountain also was the first to use a computer for its ride system. Something new in that day and time. It and Carrosel of Progress opened to the public on the same day and marked the grand beginning of Tomorrowland!
More to come! LOTS MORE TO COME!
So go back to the planning of Walt Disney World, and you would see that the Tomorrowland for Magic Kingdom was as unplanned as the one for Disneyland was. The beginning plans for the western side of the park would be two big buildings on either side of a grand entrance plaza. There would have been an indoor roller coaster, a racetrack and even some pretty big bodies of water that would have channeled in from Seven Seas Lagoon. Go back to the very early plans of the land, and a monorail station was even planned for the land. The monorail would have left the transportation center, through the Contemporary Resort, through the Persian Resort, and into the Tomorrowland station before heading to the main gates. Of course this changed as funding was moved around and ideas like the Persian Resort were saved for later dates. Construction was well underway for the Magic Kingdom by 1970, and the plans were still changing for the land. Funding was changed and moved around, and finally the buildings to open with the Magic Kingdom in 1971 were finalized. The buildings began construction, and plenty of space was left open for future projects.
The first order of business was the entrance to Tomorrowland. Disney wanted something grand to mark the entrance so two giant water features were decided on for both sides of the pathway. The spires also changed their looks throughout the designing process, from giant square walls to long narrow spires. Finally the narrow spires won out and were used. The spires had flat slopes on the front that allowed water to run down them smoothly. The water wasnt visible when the park opened so ripples were carved into the stone shortly after opening to make the effect more effective. With deadlines to meet, Disney rushed to finish anything they could by opening day. By the grand opening of the park Tomorrowland had opened with two attractions.
With the opening of the land a lot of space on the southern portion of the land was left empty for future plans. Yet plans were well underway and were changing all the time. The land had four main buildings making it a very barren land with clear views of the Contemporary Resort. This was an idea that goes back to early planning for every land, but Tomorrowland would be the only land to do this. On the southern portion of Tomorrowland a small building stood that is well known to many folks. The Tomorrowland Skyway opening with all of the Magic Kingdom, and would take guest from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland. The design of the small station was sleek yet futuristic with a cascading waterfall on the front of the building. There was then a staircase to the upper floor where guest would board their cars. The upstairs area also held extra space for car maintenance and extra queue space. The ride would cross Tomorrowland over the raceway, and then would so something unheard of for cable cars .make an almost 90 degree turn. Speaking of the raceway, that was the other Tomorrowland attraction to open with the land!
The Grand Prix Raceway was the idea used to add some detail to what was then very open and barren land. Yet the raceway wasnt always planned for Tomorrowland as it was originally planned for Holidayland. Yep Magic Kingdom had a very short lived Holidayland that would have been north of Tomorrowland. The raceway at Magic Kingdom would stay as part of Tomorrowland, but unlike Disneyland, would have a different themed. Disneyland has Autopia which was designed to be cars driving on the interstate. Magic Kingdom designed theirs to be a 60s racetrack. (Note: Did you know that the Raceway had a VIP lounge? Yep that little box room above the track was used for special occasions!) These two rides would be the only two opening day attractions until November 25th of that same year.
On November 25th the third Tomorrowland attraction opened: The CircleVision 360 theater. This show was located in the building to the right when you enter Tomorrowland from the main entrance. Remember these buildings were still being finished when the park opened, mostly on the inside though. The first show inside this state of the art facility would be called America the Beautiful. This building (Known as the South Building) already had a balcony wrapped around the entire building. (There was no Tomorrowland Terrace as of yet so the building was visible from all sides) This balcony served no purpose at the time, but was saved for a future attraction .hmmm. The side of the building facing the plaza was cut into to allow for some cover from the elements. As guest entered, they entered the entrance hall which was behind a wall of glass. Guest entered then the waiting area with a slopped ceiling before entering the show. The ceilings and walls inside the waiting room were painted different shades of red and orange. Guest then walked into the final waiting pin down a slopping path before entering the theater. Guest would enter the 9 screened theater before exiting out the other side onto a ramp that took them out into the main plaza. The film that was shown was not entirely new for the park. In fact the show had been shown before at the 1958 Brussels World Fair. After the fair closed the show played in Disneyland for about two years. For Magic Kingdom Disney refurbished the film to fit the new screens and gave the film a new name.
Across from America the Beautiful stood the North building which was built to match the South one in a lot of ways. The façade of the building was literally identical to the one on the other side. This meant that the glass wall that held the show and the covered area were the same as well. The attraction for this building also had the slopped ceiling and was even decorated a lot like the theater across from it. The main difference in the North building was the size. Connected to the North Building was the restaurant for the entire land. The attraction portion of the building took up the South part of the building. The northern part was for Tomorrowland Terrace a very high capacity restaurant for the Magic Kingdom. The restaurant was complete with plenty of seating and a hydraulic stage. There were also two separate bathroom facilities in the building. One accessible from the outside and the other from the restaurant. There was also a juice bar as well as two separate shops. Like the South Building there was also a balcony that wrapped along the outside. The only difference is this one cut through the middle of the building right between the restaurant and the attraction. Inside a large room was left empty of the upper floor and a glass wall allowed guest to see the balcony from one of the stores. Lets talk about that attraction though. The attraction had a waiting area behind the glass wall just like its counterpart across from it. Guest then went into a pre-show room that had three separate levels. The three levels overlooked a mission control room through a large glass window. Guest then exited into the hall where they entered one of two identical theaters. The theater on the right (Theater Two) would exit directly out into the plaza after the show. On busier days an alternate route would take guest out through another exit. The theater on the left (Theater Two) also exited out into the plaza via another route. (You may have seen this no longer used exit. Enter Tomorrowland from the main entrance and look to the left right away. A small little corner is tucked away where guest would exit the ride!) The attraction to open in this building would prove to be one of the most popular rides in the park at the time. The ride was scheduled to open November 25th like America the Beautiful yet was delayed due to some visual effects that had to be perfected. So Flight to the Moon opened to the general public on Christmas Eve 1971. The name of the ride said it all as guest would board a shuttle for a flight to the moon. Screens were installed in the floor and ceiling to show the back and front of the rocket. Screens were also on the walls to act as the info center for the rocket. Large speakers were added as well as air filled seats. Guest would ride and lower into their seats throughout their journey, a very special effect.
As Magic Kingdom moved into its New Year work began on something new. On the side facing away from the plaza, the South Building had something added to it. This new area would be a new large seating restaurant for Tomorrowland. A new small building was also added to the backside of the building for a future attraction that would be needed very soon. The new eatery would still allow guest to flow through into Tomorrowland, but they would move between two seating areas of the new eatery. But what about the addition of that building to the back? There was now enough space for a new ride, but what would it be? Actually the answer would be a unique attraction similar to Adventures Thru Inner Space. Remember the ride from Disneyland? The balcony that went around the building new split between the old building and the new building much like the North Building. The new ride called If you had Wings would open of June 5th 1972. This was just in time for the large crowds expected that summer! Sponsored by American Airlines a Omni mover journey through different world wide locations. This was the second Omni mover for the park and features many projections throughout the ride. Actually the ride was mostly projections. The restaurant wouldnt open until 1973 and would be called the Plaza Pavilion. From 1973 to 1980 the restaurant was classified as Main Street USA not Tomorrowland, but that would change in 1980. Anyway in 1973 with the opening of the restaurant, something big was finalized. Yes the final plans for the southern portion of Tomorrowland were finalized and they were going to be huge! Construction began right away in 1973, and for the next two years Tomorrowland would become a construction zone!
At the center of the new expansion would be Star Jets. This ride was not your ordinary spinner as it was above a tower, and you reached it with a replica of the NASA launch space lift. The jets themselves spun around a replica of the Saturn V which of course is now famous. The ride opened in 1974.
What was once a beautiful view of the Contemporary Resort was now gone. In its place was a rounded building with a mysterious ride inside. The Carousel of Progress which had been in Disneyland for many years had now moved over to Walt Disney World. The ride would open January 15th 1975. This would be the third time the ride had been moved, and with the movement came some new enhancements. The AAs were all replaced and the sets were cleaned. A new rotating theater was also built for the ride. The biggest change of course would be the future scene or the finale. The scene had to be changed to stay updated with the future so the scene was changed a lot. The new scene reflected the 1970s a lot. The last major change was the theme song for the ride. The original theme song for the ride was called Wait for Tomorrow. Yet this didnt reflect the American dream as much anymore so the ride song was changed to Live for Today. The ride itself was sponsored by General Electric. This wasnt the only ride that opened that day. Magic Kingdoms Signature attraction also opened that day as well ..Space Mountain.
From the very beginning of the planning stages an indoor roller coaster for Tomorrowland was planned. The original name for the ride was Space Port. Originally Walt Disney planned the ride for Disneyland. The Matterhorn was so popular that he wanted to create a ride with four separate tracks rather then two. There wasnt enough room and he died shortly after so the idea was shelved. The plans came back to life as Space Mountain and Walt Disney World was going to house the attraction. The idea for the ride had track both inside and outside of the ride at first along with a communication pre-show that was paid for by the sponsor. Originally the ride would have had eight tracks, but then it was brought down to four like the original plans. Then finally it was decided on two twin tracks inside the mountain. The sponsor of this new ride would be RCA. With the entire ride being inside Disney was able to fully immerse guest in an awesome experience and use plenty of new visual effects. Originally Space Mountain was going to be built inside the berm of the park and would be less round then before. Yet a bigger building was needed to hold the ride so it was moved OUTSIDE the berm. This was going to involve a lot of work. Disney had to get guest past the train tracks somehow. Not to mention they had to divert a canal and fill in part of a lake! So a small building was built inside the berm where guest would enter and go under the train tracks. The tunnel would then continue on to the ride. When the ride was first planned there were going to be two separate queues. There was also a VIP lounge and many RCA displays along the queue as well as an emergency exit. Guest not wishing to see the pre-show would skip it and move on to the main room where they would split into two identical lines for the two identical rides. After the ride guest reach the lowest level where they exit and merge into one line that takes them back under the tracks and into Tomorrowland. Show Scenes would also be along the speed ramp sponsored by RCA. After all of the technical stuff you come down to the coaster itself. Both sides of track are the same with Alpha (Right Side) having ten feet more track. No not as in a longer ride, but to reach the exit.
Construction began with the center piece that would hold the roof and main building. The Train was closed as the tunnel had to be built for the train to pass through. This was a massive project! The interior is 4,508,500 cubic feet! That makes it one of the biggest in Walt Disney World! Space Mountain also was the first to use a computer for its ride system. Something new in that day and time. It and Carrosel of Progress opened to the public on the same day and marked the grand beginning of Tomorrowland!
More to come! LOTS MORE TO COME!