Comparing Tomorrowlands Around the World

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Walt Disney had a huge passion for transportation and technology, and he was especially enthusiastic about the way of the future. He devoted an entire land in his theme park to showcasing what the future could hold for the average American and named this land Tomorrowland. Tomorrowland in Disneyland has such an interesting history as it is the land with the greatest amount of turnover in terms of attractions compared to the rest of the park. I would love to do a future blog post dedicated solely to diving into this rich history, but for this post I am going to simply take a glimpse at all the Tomorrowlands around the world.

Disneyland: When Disneyland opened in 1955, Tomorrowland was built to represent the far distant future of 1986. It was the last land to be finished and only opened with a small handful of attractions. The major attraction was Autopia, where guests could drive on a miniature version of the future multilane freeway. There were also many corporate sponsored exhibits such as Monsanto Hall of Chemistry. Shortly after opening, the sets from the film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea were added as a walkthrough attraction. The Skyway was added in 1956 as well as the Astro Jets, later named the Tomorrowland Jets, and then later named the Astro Orbitor. The Tomorrowland Railroad Station was added in 1958 and 1959 brought the first major expansion of Disneyland which was heavily focused in Tomorrowland. The expansion included the Matterhorn Bobsleds, the Submarine Voyage, and the Monorail. 1967 was another big year for Tomorrowland as the PeopleMover, Adventure Thru Inner Space, and the Carousel of Progress were added. Other major additions to Tomorrowland were Space Mountain in 1977, Star Tours in 1987, and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters in 2005. In the early years, Tomorrowland was very white and idle. In 1998, Tomorrowland got its infamous bronzed steampunk look and part of that new look included painting Space Mountain….brown. Thankfully, Space Mountain was painted back to its original white just in time for Disneyland’s 50^th Anniversary in 2005, though the steampunk look is still evident in different areas around Tomorrowland.

Magic Kingdom: When Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, Tomorrowland was again the last land to be finished. It opened up with only two attractions, the Skyway and the Grand Prix Raceway. The Star Jets, later named the Astro Orbitor, opened in 1974. 1975 was an exciting year for Tomorrowland with the opening of the Carousel of Progress, having moved from Disneyland, and Space Mountain opening in January. The WEDway PeopleMover opened later on in the summer. The WEDway PeopleMover was renamed the Tomorrowland Transit Authority in 1994. This year also brought a new look to Tomorrowland by adding more colours to the basic white to give it a retro-futuristic appearance. Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin opened in 1998 and a version of this attraction has since been opened at every Tomorrowland around the world. The Tron Lightcycle Power Run attraction will be coming to Tomorrowland in the next few years.

Tokyo Disneyland: Tomorrowland in Tokyo Disneyland opened with a slightly different theme than the previous two Tomorrowlands. It had more of a science fiction theme than a showcase of future technology. This was the first Tomorrowland to open up with a Space Mountain. The Star Jets, Grand Circuit Raceway and Skyway were also opening attractions. An attraction titled Meet the World was also there on opening day and it was a show similar to the Carousel of Progress with a theme song written by the Sherman Brothers. An attraction unique to this Tomorrowland is Monsters Inc. Ride & Go Seek which is an interactive dark ride where guests use flashlights to find monsters along the way. In spring 2020, a Big Hero 6 ride is planned to open.

Disneyland Paris: In Disneyland Paris, Tomorrowland is named Discoveryland. This land is based around the exploration theme of early science fiction novels such as the works by H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. Discoveryland has some of the same concepts as Discovery Bay, a never built land that was going to be in Disneyland. It was going to be located near the Rivers of America and Big Thunder Mountain Railway was going to be the gateway. The setting was going to be a technology advanced San Francisco type city from the late 1800s with a strong Jules Verne look. An attraction on opening day was the Circle-Vision 360 film Le Visionarium. The show featured a time travelling robot who takes Jules Verne on a tour of the modern world. Space Mountain originally opened as Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune (From the Earth to the Moon) and changed to Space Mountain: Mission 2 in 2005. Currently it has the Hyperspace Mountain overlay. Close to Space Mountain is Les Mystères du Nautilus, a walkthrough attraction of the Nautilus submarine from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Hong Kong Disneyland: Hong Kong Disneyland’s Tomorrowland looks very similar to the new generations of the Tomorrowlands in California and Florida. This was the first Tomorrowland to open with Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. Another opening day attraction was the Orbitron which has spinning flying saucers instead of the rockets or jets of the previous Astro Orbitor attractions. It was also the first Tomorrowland to not open with an Autopia which opened the following year. Space Mountain was an opening day attraction and currently has the Hyperspace Mountain overlay. A unique attraction to Hong Kong Disneyland’s Tomorrowland is the Iron Man Experience. This attraction is the first Marvel attraction in Tomorrowland with others planned for the future such as an Ant-Man ride and an Avengers ride.

Shanghai Disneyland: The newest Tomorrowland has a very sleek and modern look to it. The buildings have an aerodynamic design and there are many walkways that crisscross over each other. This Tomorrowland is the only one that is in a different location than the other five Tomorrowlands. It is in the back left corner of the park whereas the other Tomorrowlands are all in the front right corner. This is also the only Tomorrowland to not have a Space Mountain and instead has the Tron Lightcycle Power Run. The Astro Orbitor type ride here is the Jet Packs.

Below is a chart to break down all of the attractions that can be found in each Tomorrowland around the world.

Disneyland	Magic Kingdom	Tokyo Disneyland	Disneyland Paris	Hong Kong Disneyland	Shanghai Disneyland
Astro Orbitor	Astro Orbitor		Orbitron	Orbitron	Jet Packs
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters	Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin	Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters	Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast		Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue
Space Moutain	Space Mountain	Space Mountain	Space Mountain	Space Mountain
Star Wars Launch Bay			Welcome to Starport	Star Wars: Command Post	Star Wars Launch Bay
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue		Star Tours: The Adventures Continue	Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
Autopia	Tomorrowland Speedway		Autopia
	Stitch’s Great Escape!	Stitch Encounter			Stitch Encounter
Disneyland Railroad – Tomorrowland			Disneyland Railroad – Discoveryland
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage			Les Mystères du Nautilus
Path of the Jedi			Path of the Jedi
Jedi Training				Jedi Training
Disneyland Monorail
	Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress
	Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
	Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
		Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek!
		One Man’s Dream II – The Magic Lives On
				Iron Man Experience
				Iron Man Tech Showcase
					TRON Lightcycle Power Run
					TRON Realm
					Baymax Super Exercise Expo
					Club Destin-E

Walt Disney’s dedication of Tomorrowland on opening day, July 17, 1955.

“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.”