Your favorite era for Tomorrowland?

redleader74

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jul 10, 2019
My favorite land at DL had always been Tomorroland. Being there last week though reminded me of how completely different it is now versus the Tomorrowland I loved as a child back in the 80’s and early 90’s. Namely:

The all “white” space theme
People mover with the “Tron” experience
Mission to Mars
The NASA satellite photos of various planets/stars in the exit corridors of Space Mountain
The Mary Blair art on buildings.
The rocket ride
America Sings
360 degree Circle Vision
Journey thru Innerspace

Which Tomorrowland do you love most (photos welcome!)?
 
Loved everything you listed. I loved it when the rockets were in their original place up on top. It was really fun to ride at night! Now, it is just a big blockage to get in/out of Tomorrowland. Enjoyed the arcade too.
 
Well, I'm old and somewhat forgetful but some of the highlights of earlier Tomorrowland for me: Rocket to the moon. When I was a little kid, I really felt like I was leaving earth and heading to the moon! I knew I wasn't, but it seemed very real. I'm sure if I rode it today, it might seem pretty lame, though.

The People Movers were a meh ride for me then, but I'd sure love to have them back now that I could totally use a place to chill and get a scenic journey at the same time.

Adventures through Innerspace. Loved it! As a kid, it made me feel like I was shrinking. As an adult, it would be nice to feel like I was shrinking :D

The rockets, as azdisneylover mentioned, were so much better when they were up high! They were also a lot less uncomfortable, or maybe it just seemed less uncomfortable when I was younger.

The old Autopia was awesome. The cars seemed faster and we always bumped into the people in front of us--which was what made it the most fun!

The old submarine ride was fun. I liked the mermaids. But honestly, it did need an update and nobody today has much familiarity with a lot of the things depicted in the old ride. I do think the Nemo change was good, but I also loved the old submarine.

I liked the escalator up to Space.

I LOVED the skyway buckets and still miss them terribly.

Also agree on what you've noted already.

ETA: Forgot to mention that I liked the old Tomorrowland Terrace that rose up and had big and medium named entertainment. In fact, in the evening, my parents used to drop us kids off back at my Grandma's (in Huntington Beach) and go back in and dance. They liked the big band stuff but when I was a teen, they had bands more to my liking.
 
Things I miss the most about Tomorrowland are the Peoplemovers (with the Superspeed Tunnel and Tron), the Starcade being filled with awesome video games, Adventures Through Inner Space, Skyway, the Rockets way up high, and the old Submarines.

I remember the Tomorrowland Terrace - and seeing a 90's R&B boy band play there. Color Me Badd maybe? Dunno - its been too long! I also remember one rainy day in June (after school was out for the summer) and me and my brother riding Space Mountain over and over and over again all day with literally no line. We always say we rode it "100 times" but I don't think the math quite gets us there, since we had to get out, run around, and back into the non-existent line. But for sure it was over 50, as we only stopped for bathroom breaks (which were right there at the exit) and quick meals. Ah.... the late 80s with annual passes at Disneyland were the best!
 


When TL had PM, Skyway, and the Astro orbiter on the roof, the whole area was full of large things moving that were striking when you entered. It was a mass of movement, color and energy that only Walts brilliance could concieve of.
Now it's stagnant, dull and tired (although the night time lighting does help some).
I'm glad I got to see it in all its glory.

I still have faith that Disney will do the area justice some day.
 
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The best era for Tomorrowland was just prior to Star Tours and Captain EO, when they had the stage there (so ~early 80's?). ATIS, Peoplemover, Rocket Jets on top of the Peoplemover, Mission to Mars, Circlevision, Subs...
 
“Tomorrowland for me: Rocket to the moon. When I was a little kid, I really felt like I was leaving earth and heading to the moon! I knew I wasn't, but it seemed very real. I'm sure if I rode it today, it might seem pretty lame, though.”

I’m “just” old/young/whatever enough to have experienced the successor to the moon “ride”, which was “Mission to Mars”. I remember the seats would inflate or vibrate or something to simulate your lift off. Even then I thought it was “dated” and a bit hokey and this would have been in the very early 80’s. The ride queue has a somewhat realistic display, behind glass, of the mission control room.

“Adventures through Innerspace. Loved it! As a kid, it made me feel like I was shrinking. As an adult, it would be nice to feel like I was shrinking “

The first time I rode this as a child I was scared to death, thinking we really were going to be shrunk down in size….the tiny people/pods models that are shown on the other end of the display looked real enough to me at the time.

Yes, the old autopia DID seem faster. It was a big moment for me when I was finally “big enough” to rive my own car, because I could finally reach the pedals. Kind of like the first time I was able to order food off of the adult menu vs. the kids menu at a restaurant.

There is a fantastic historic/retrospective written on DL’s Tomorrowland on the website Theme Park Tourist called "Disney Tried to Invent a Timeless Tomorrowland. Here's Where it All Went Wrong"

It’s a long read but very well researched and well written

The article answer many burning questions I’ve had for a while. It’s a little old, being written in 2016 but still very relevant. The article addresses why DL moved away from the all white “space age/atomic age” mid-century design for Tomorrowland. But despite those reason, I still feel like it’s very aesthetically pleasing. Unless you raze the entire TL and start from the ground up again, the layering upon layering of haphazard upgrades just makes the whole place look nonsensical.
 
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I know this is an older thread, but I was just thinking about this. I think I loved the late 1980s-late 90s. Late enough for Star Tours, but early enough for PM and Mission to Mars. Oh, and Captain EO.
 

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