Scary Tomorrowland rumor!

[WonkaKid]

Whoa! David of Fresh Baked relayed a rumor (below) this evening that a well-known, well-placed imagineer feels that Tomorrowland should be demoed in its entirety! Nothing about that sounds good to me -- absolutely zero. A large proportion of my park time is spent (misspent?) on Buzz Lightyear. So Disney obviously needs to weigh that heavily ;-). But wow!

Anyone? Thoughts? Opinions? Rants? Raves? Uninformed opinions such as my own as to how a multi-billion-dollar company should make its business decisions?

 

[emmybee]

My family has been thinking Tomorrowland should get a heavy-duty makeover to truly feel futuristic for some time now. My husband has wondered whether Disney might pull the trigger after Star Wars and Marvel were done. I don't know that it should necessarily be torn down in its entirety, but I definitely think Autopia should get away from the stinky diesel, or whatever they use and demonstrate the usefulness of cleaner alternatives.

 

[Aladora]

DH and I talk about this often and we both feel as though the only thing in TL that should not be torn down is Space. Start over fresh and this time start with a theme that is cohesive and will not feel stale and dated within a decade.

 

[agamble]

Ehh. I like David, but I can't watch those hour long live casts they do. Too boring with random chit chat.

Anyway I think theming in Tomorowland needs updating, but gutting it would be a HUGE mistake. First of all Disney envisioned Disneyland as the world of Fantasy, Adventure, and Tomorrow so taking one away seems crazy! It is hard to keep up with Tomorrow...but the idea of space travel still fits really well as it isn't something the average person can do. I LoVE Space Mountain and removing that iconic ride would be devestating. I'm also a fan of Buzz for its family oriented presence. I think new theming yes, adding Tron sure, but removal. That's crazy talk.

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

I wouldn’t mind them yanking out Astro orbiter and autopia and putting in something new in those two places... but they can leave the rest!

 

[midnight star]

I've heard this rumor..and I've also heard the rumor of them redoing all of it. All I know is that they better leave Space Mountain alone!! My 2nd favorite ride after Indiana Jones.

 

[MommyLove]

I think they could get away with losing everything there but Space and the train & monorail stations. And maybe Buzz to keep something there that's great for families with young kids. Imagine what they could do with all that room!

 

[BecAus]

Different country and all, but ...... I was very surprised when we went back to Hong Kong Disneyland last year to find that Autopia and Buzz Lightyear were gone. I don't keep up to date as much with the Asian parks as I do with Disneyland so it took me by surprise when I was working out a tour plan for our day there and found out they were no more.
I believe Buzz has turned into a new Ant Man attraction, apparently using the same infrastructure and ride system and does have some sort of shooting aspect to it still. The kids went on it but I gave it a miss.
I believe Autopia might have been replaced by something Marvel.
Who knows, maybe this is the direction they want to take the parks in - I'm not into or familiar with anything Marvel or the like.

 

[Blue32]

I love Space and believe the ride is a Disney classic now. Everything else can go or get rethemed as far as I’m concerned. Star Tours won’t belong there after SWGE opens.
The subs are aging, Autopia smells bad. Buzz is fun enough but it could use a retheme as well....IMO.

 

[B3rlingirl]

In my opinion Disney definitely has to to do some kind of re-imageneering because Tomorrowland is due to a big make-over. Now it doubles alot with the new SWGEso star tours has do be changed for sure. The cinema is now lame as well...(I loved that „honey I‘ve shrunked the audience“ and remember it as the most intense 3D movie I‘ve ever watched... and those old tracks and pillars from the peoplemover are kind of useless and in the way...

But this is Walt‘s parkt so I can’t and don’t even want to imagine that area rethemed to something different than a new Tomorrowland.

I think tomorroland offers enough opportunity and possibilities for a couple new attractions... space is still a thing for „tomorrow“ or robots... and that stuff doesn’t really get old in my space mountain for example is still very „tomorrow“...

So a complete make-Over: yes ( but keeping the highlights there)
A complete retheeming: no (I hope not)

 

[Mike_M]

I say they should abandon Science Fact completely and fully embrace Science Fiction throughout the entire land. What makes the rest of the park special is the whimsical nature of it. It touches your nostalgic side in ways you don’t always understand, but always appreciate. Frontierland is the idealized version of the old west. Tomorrowland needs to be the idealized version of the distant future. A utopia that would never exist in reality, but would be fun to believe could.

Personally, I’d love for Star Tours, Space Mtn, and the subs to remain with all of the rest torn down and the space (pun not intended but appreciated, lol) reimagined.

I like Buzz, but i don’t believe it is aging well (which is the overall Tomorrowland curse after all). The premise of being toy sized and saving the power source (AA Batteries) feels less relatable to me. Not sure if that is because of me getting older, or because I see how technology has changed and how the base concepts have evolved. I think that if they had chosen to make it an actual ‘Adventures of Buzz lightyear in space’ experience like in the beginning of Toy Story 2, it could have become a true classic. Get rid of the oversized toy theme and fully embrace a science fiction adventure with Buzz as he battles the forces of Zurg. That I believe would have classic attraction potential.

 

[BrianL]

So, one thing that I have heard is that the north and south show buildings are structurally tied to the People Mover tracks. The tracks can't be used now due to structural issues (thanks Rocket Rods) and they can't be taken out without making the buildings unusable. This shouldn't affect the Space Mountain building since it was put in later (but it's hard to say since they look like one big building). They would have to demo a lot to remove them or even rebuild them.

Personally, I don't think they should demo the whole land, but it could use some refurbishments. If they absolutely had to demo the Buzz and Star Tours buildings to somehow rework or remove the People Mover track, then I would be okay with that. Space Mountain needs to stay though!

 

[ImDMous]

I agree with others, I think Space should stay and the whole rest of it can be demoed to start over. I definitely think it should still be Tomorrowland somehow, although that does create some duplicate theming with SW:GE.

 

[Tinkerbell19672]

Tomorrowland definitely needs a makeover. I wish they’d bring people mover back, that would be the best move ever!

 

[BillFraser29]

The land does need a rebuild...and maybe a new theme. Currently there is very little in Tomorrowland the screams "FUTURE." I love Buzz as much as the next guy (not as much as Rob, though ) but it does not fit the theme at all and probably belongs in DCA at Pixar Pier, and Pixar Pier has a more updated version of the same concept with Midway Mania. Star Tours, while great and iconic, doesn't fit either. "LONG AGO in a galaxy far, far away" doesn't exactly say Tomorrowland either. With Galaxy's Edge opening soon, ST could be moved or cut. I hope moved. Autotopia needs an obvious overhaul. The submarines are okay and they could actually move the loading (if they are going to tear it all down anyway) to closer to the Materhorn and consider it Fantasyland. Space Mountain would need a queue overhaul to fit the theme as well. And it would be great to use those all empty buildings to build something new like TRON.

Another option would be to rename the Land to a more space exploration theme (which a lot of it has become), but I think trying to rename an iconic DL Land would cause a huge uproar.

 

[DLgal]

That will never happen. Would cost way too much money and be a logistical nightmare. I can see a surface retheme. I'd be happy to see Buzz go away, along with Nemo Subs, the rockets and Star Tours as well putting something new in the Launch Bay. Autopia will likely never go away, as you can't really build an attraction there due to the monorail tracks that cross over much of it.

 

[SoCalDisneyFan2708]

As others have said Space Mtn is staying. There is no way fans would allow them to get rid of that. So if Space is staying then I cant see them really retheming that area of the park. It has to stay space, science, or future themed. Although I also agree with a couple previous posters that SW:GE does make it redundant to have two lands with kinda the same theme

 

[ChrissyLou]

Tomorrowland most definately could use a major overhaul--not sure about demolition. Hands down it's my least favorite land. I do hope all the Star Wars stuff moves to Star Wars Land (sorry I'm just not a big Star Wars (or Marvel for that matter) fan and so could do without it all together, but I realize that's just me. Star Tours and simulated rides in general make me feel sick, I did it once, never again. I haven't read any information released about those things moving?!? But all things Star Wars related should simply be in that land because that is logical and makes sense (which Disney always uses, right?!?.) I think I've done Buzz once...I don't get it, we do ride Space, probably ride Finding Nemo subs once a trip more for nostalgia than anything (as we were there when the kids were little right after it opened), and I'm probably in the minority, but I enjoy both Autopia (even the smelly exhaust -- it is just one of those smells that is synonomous with Disney to me) and Astro Orbiter - but I like both of them at night. Guess that is one of the things that makes the parks so great, we don't all like the same things.

 

[njchris]

I don't get why he said they can't demo the people mover tracks because they go inside some of the ride buildings. So? Demo it up to that point and leave them in the buildings.
If it was me, I'd get rid of the Launch Pad, Autopia, Nemo, and Buzz and put Tron in there and some other things.

 

[mentos]

TL needs more than a makeover, it needs a full on hip replacement and a heart/lung transplant!

Keep: Buzz Lightyear, Star Tours, Space Mountain, Monorail stop
Needs to go: Astro orbiter, Autopia, those dang ugly rocks at the entrance, old Peoplemover track and loading zone, Finding Nemo submarine voyage and that entire lagoon of low capacity mediocrity, Captain EO theater, Pizza Port, and the old America Sings theater.

What it needs: More upmarket/unique dining options - turn pizza port into something else and use the old theater space to do it. The success of the new eating space behind Tiki Room is proof of the demand). With the space from removing Autopia, submarines/lagoon, and America Sings, you can stick a ride as large as Radiator Springs in that space (based on my completely scientific use of post-it notes on google maps). If it makes more sense, dedicate the space over to Fantasyland and give us another E-Ticket in that theme.

I mean, Disney owns so much IP from Lucasfilm, Marvel, & Fox that can fit in the "tomorrow/tech/space/future" theme, they can do a lot.

I'm gonna get a lot of heat for this post, haha.