In Tomorrowland, the future that never was is finally here. As guests enter this colourful land, they are immersed in the future as envisioned by science fiction writers and moviemakers of the 1920s and 30s. Tomorrowland is actually like a small city with it's own convention centre, transit system, picture-phone service, mail service, even a newspaper called The Tomorrowland Times. At the Tomorrowland Interplanetary Covention Centre, guests can see The Magic Kingdom's scariest attraction, The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. The Tomorrowland Transit Authority gives guests a leisurely tour around the land. In the centre of Tomorrowland is Rockettower Plaza, which is the home of the Astro Orbiter, a ride somewhat similar to the Dumbo, The Flying Elephant ride, in Fantasyland. Other attractions in Tomorrowland include Space Mountain, an outer space roller coaster; the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, a miniature racetrack that lets you race in the Indianapolis 500; Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, an exciting interactive ride with Toy Story's Buzz Lightyear; and Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress, an Audio-Animatronic show demonstrating the influence of electricity in the home. The restaurants in Tomorrowland include Auntie Gravity's Galactic Goodies, Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café, the Lunching Pad at Rockettower Plaza, and the Plaza Pavillion. They serve chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, soup, sandwiches, pizza, salads, drinks, snacks, etc. Be sure to visit Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café where a humorous Audio-Animatronic "lounge lizard", called Sonny Eclipse, entertains guests as they eat. The shops in Tomorrowland include Mickey's Star Traders, Merchant of Venus, Geiger's Counter, and Ursa's Major Minor Mart. They sell futuristic toys, games, jewelry, clothing, and ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter merchandise.
Which attraction would you like to learn about?
Space Mountain
Space Mountain is an extremely thrilling roller coaster through outer space, in which guests board rockets to be blasted up, up, and away. To achieve an outer space effect, an ordinary roller coaster was used, along with complete darkness, and projections of stars, comets, and meteors. So, as you are zooming along, you never know wether you're about to turn or dip. The rockets only speed along at about 28 miles per hour, but since you can't see the track you experience a loss of orientation that increases the sense of motion.
Interesting and little known facts
-Space Mountain was in development for 10 years and construction for two years!
The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter
The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter takes place in the Tomorrowland Interplanetary Convention Centre where a mysterious alien corporation, named XS-Tech is demonstrating some of it's new high-tech products. After waiting in line, guests enter a pre-show room and meet a robot named S.I.R. He demonstrates a teleporter that beams people or objects from place to place using a cute little alien named Skippy. Unfortunately, when Skippy reappears after teleportation he is a little burnt, which leads to real danger after he angers S.I.R.! Guests are then ushered into a large circular auditorium for the main demonstration of interplanetary teleportation. As you are seated around a large teleporter, restraints are lowered onto your shoulders, just to make sure you don't jump out of your seat screaming! A volunteer is then asked for from the audience, to be used in the teleportation, but just before someone is picked, a television screen lights up, and the CEO of XS-Tech, Chairman Clench, vlounteers to be transported to The Magic Kingdom. Then, with dazzling special effects, the teleporter goes to work, but not exactly the way XS-Tech wanted it to. The teleporter accidentally transports a large, angry, man-eating, loathsome, hungry alien to The Magic Kingdom! Suddenly, the lights go out and the sound of breaking glass can be heard. The alian has escaped! The Emergency lights come on and crunching bones can be heard coming from the rafters as a warm liquid starts dripping from overhead. The alien starts running rampant around the auditorium causing innumerable screams. As your restraint starts to jostle, you can feel a "hand" on top of your head. After many more effects which will drive your senses crazy, and all the while never actaully seeing the alien, the XS-Tech technicians get the alien back into the teleporter and send it home.
Interesting and little known facts
-The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter is one of the most technically-complicated attractions ever designed for Disney theme parks and was in development for 8 years!
-shortly after The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter opened, Micheal Eisner, the CEO of the Walt Disney Company, ordered it to be renovated since he didn't think it was scary enough!
Buzz Lightyears's Space Ranger Spin
In Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, guests team up with the Toy Story hero to save the earth from the evil Emperor Zurg, who is bent on stealing the world's batteries to power up his secret weapon. For this interactive ride, guests board XP-38 Star Cruisers equipped with a joystick and a laser gun for loads of fun. The joystick turns the car 360° and the laser guns swivel to shoot at targets throughout the ride. So, while one person steers, the other shoots. Once the ride begins, guests encounter tons of alien robots attacking poor innocent toys. It's up to you to shoot down the robots and other creatures. When you hit a target, something surprising happens and your score increases as well, which is displayed in your vehicle. At the end of the ride, it's all up to guests to save the day, when they have a showdown with Emperor Zurg himself. This innovative ride is fun over and over again, to see if you can better your score.
Interesting and little known facts
-the director of Toy Story, John Lasseter, helped to shape this ride's storyline!
Astro Orbiter
In this ride, guests soar high above Tomorrowland in Buck Roger-type rockets with a button to control the height. As guests zoom around, 50 feet above Tomorrowland, they are surrounded by a colourful array of twirling planets.
Tomorrowland Speedway
The Tomorrowland Speedway is a miniature raceway, complete with pit area and race flags, that is popular with children. Guests board scaled-down racecars to "vroom" (thanks to sound effects) around the four lane track. Unfortunately, the cars only go about seven m.p.h., although it does give you time to look at the nice scenery around the track. To help with steering, there is a guide rail that runs between the wheels of the cars, but you'll still have to be a really good driver to keep going straight. If your having real trouble with steering, just drive all the way to the left or right, and your problem is solved.
Walt Disney's Carousel of Progres
Originally created for the 1964-65 World's Fair in New York, Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress is an interesting Audio-Animatronic show that demonstrates the improvements in American life due to electricity. The show is called a carousel because the whole seating area rotates around a central stage. The whole show is centered on one family and how electricity changed their lives from 1880 to the near future. The first scene, which is set on Valentine's Day, shows the father talking about electric lightbulbs and such. Like the movie "Holiday Inn", the following scenes are set on important holidays, while inventions such as ovens, radios, refrigerators, and sewing machines are introduced. During one scene, we are introduced to Cousin Orville, whose voice is done by Mel Blanc, renowned for his character voices at Warner Brothers. The final scene of the show is set in the near future, at christmas of course. The son and grandmother are playing a virtual reality game while the father is trying to cook dinner with a voice-controlled oven.
Interesting and little known facts
-according to Disney publicity, Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress has been seen by more people than any other single theatre show in American history!
Tomorrowland Transit Authority
On the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, which was formerly known as The People Mover, guests get a leisurely tour around Tomorrowland. As guests board the five car trains, they embark on a narrated, at times humorous, 10-minute journey through some of Tomorrowland's attractions. The inside of Space Mountain and Take flight can be glimpsed from the ride. For a chuckle, be sure to listen for when the narrator pages "Mr. Tom Orrow"! The Tomorrowland Transit Authority is rarely busy, and is a nice way to relax on a busy day.
Interesting and little known facts
-the technology used on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority is called linear induction. It works by letting electricity flow through coils embedded in the track. These electromagnets atract steel plates on the base of the vehicles, pulling them forward. When a vehicle passes over an electromagnet, the electricity in that magnet switches off. The vehicles continues on, magnetically pulled down the track by the subsequent magnets. This technology in enviromentally-friendly, since there are no moving parts, little power is used, and it emits no pollution!
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