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The PeopleMover is an attraction in
Tomorrowland Tomorrowland may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Tomorrowland (Disney Parks), a theme land at a number of Disney theme parks around the world * Tomorrowland (festival), an annual electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium * ''Tom ...
in the
Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park is a Amusement park, theme park at the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It opened on October 1, 1971, and is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Disney Experiences, Expe ...
at the
Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Walt Disney Company. ...
in
Bay Lake, Florida Bay Lake is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 29 at the 2020 census. It is named after a lake that lies east of Magic Kingdom. All four of the Walt Disney World Resort theme parks, and one of Walt Disney Worl ...
. Designed as an urban mass-transit system of the future, vehicles take passengers on a grand circle tour of the realm of Tomorrowland that provides elevated views of several other attractions.


Ride experience

The attraction has a single station, which resides in the center of Rocket Tower Plaza and beneath the
Astro Orbiter The Astro Orbiter is a "rocket-spinner", aerial carousel-type attraction featured at five Disneyland-style parks and Walt Disney Resorts around the world, except for Tokyo Disneyland. Although each ride may have a slightly different name, all sh ...
. Passing the queue, passengers step onto the Speedramp (inclined
moving walkway A moving walkway – also known as an autowalk, moving pavement, moving sidewalk, travolator, or travelator – is a slow-moving conveyor mechanism that transports people across a horizontal or inclined plane, over a short to medium distance. T ...
) to the second level. They then step onto a moving platform which matches the speed of the PeopleMover trains, and board before they depart the station. Leaving the Rocket Tower Plaza Station, the trains make a sharp left turn, followed by a sweeping turn over the plaza. The track then makes a right-hand turn, running along the outside of the northern show building and above the former queue for
Stitch's Great Escape! Stitch's Great Escape! was a "theater-in-the-round" amusement park attraction, attraction based on The Walt Disney Company, Disney's ''Lilo & Stitch (franchise), Lilo & Stitch'' franchise. A non-Canon (fiction), canon prequel to Lilo & Stitch, ...
and passing by the
Tomorrowland Tomorrowland may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Tomorrowland (Disney Parks), a theme land at a number of Disney theme parks around the world * Tomorrowland (festival), an annual electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium * ''Tom ...
main entrance at Central Plaza. The track enters a tunnel through the northern show building and passes a large diorama containing a portion of the Progress City/" Epcot" model, which originally resided in the upper level of the
Carousel of Progress Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress is a rotating theater audio-animatronic stage show attraction in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, just outside of Orlando. Created by W ...
at the New York World's Fair of 1964-1965 and at Disneyland starting in 1967-1973, before encountering a diorama of two robots and crossing the Star Traders shop. Leaving the northern show building, the ride passes over the walkway to Fantasyland, the
Tomorrowland Speedway Autopia is a race track attraction at various Disney Experiences#Disney resorts, Disney theme parks, in which patrons steer specially designed cars through an enclosed track. Versions of Autopia exist at Disneyland at Anaheim, California and Di ...
, and access to the
Tron Lightcycle Power Run ''Tron'' Lightcycle Power Run ( zh, 创极速光轮) and ''Tron'' Lightcycle / Run are semi-enclosed, launched roller coasters at Shanghai Disneyland and Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. The first incarnation, ''Tron'' Lightcycle Power Run ...
. Afterwards, the ride crosses the
Walt Disney World Railroad The Walt Disney World Railroad (WDWRR) is a 3-foot () narrow-gauge heritage railroad and attraction located within the Magic Kingdom theme park of Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, United States. Its route is in length and encircles mo ...
tracks and pass through a switch, which leads to the ride's storage and maintenance bays as they make a right turn to enter
Space Mountain Space Mountain is a space-themed indoor roller coaster attraction located at five of the six Disneyland-style Disney Parks. Although all five versions of the attraction are different in nature, all have a similar conical exterior façade that i ...
. Inside Space Mountain, the trains then make a left turn and pass in between the lift hills of the roller coaster tracks. The vehicles then pass two lighted signs reading "Starport: Seven Five" (an oblique reference to the opening year of the attraction), before open space to the left allows a view down into the post-show dioramas. After the view of the post-show, the track makes a right turn, wrapping around the Omega track's loading station, and travels along the back side of the building, which is in complete pitch black darkness. It is possible to look up and see the projections from the ride and the tracks. The trains make a sharp S-turn to merge with the storage track, and run along the outside of the building perimeter to return to the railroad bridge. The Space Mountain segment of the PeopleMover has gained heavy notoriety among park guests for offering the only accessible view of Space Mountain when the interior work lights are on. Because the two attractions have separate operating systems, the PeopleMover does not have to stop during Space Mountain breakdowns, so guests riding the PeopleMover when the work lights are on get a rare illuminated look at the roller coaster tracks. After crossing the railroad tracks again, the trains backtrack to a point above the Tomorrowland Speedway before turning south. After passing over Space Mountain's entrance plaza, the former
Skyway A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of Cover ...
terminal and the restrooms, the track travels along the exterior of
Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress is a rotating theater audio-animatronic stage show attraction in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, just outside of Orlando. Created by W ...
, before crossing over the former Galaxy Palace Theater entrance and entering the south show building. Entering the building, guests pass a diorama of a futuristic salon and then get a view down into
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin in Florida (also known as Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters in California, Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast in Paris and Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue in Shanghai) is an interactive shooting dark ride attraction located i ...
, similar to the one given of Star Traders. Exiting the tunnel, the ride travels along the side of the south show building, and passing by Main Street U.S.A., the Tomorrowland sign entrance and the Cinderella Castle again, and above the queue line for
Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor ''Monsters, Inc.'' (also known as ''Monsters, Incorporated'') is a media franchise produced by Pixar and owned by the Walt Disney Company. The franchise takes place in a universe parallel to the real world where monsters are the citizens of soci ...
, and the queue line for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. The ride then returns to Rocket Tower Plaza, where guests disembark and unload.


History


Wedway PeopleMover (1975–1994)

The Wedway PeopleMover opened on July 1, 1975, based on the
PeopleMover The PeopleMover, sometimes referred to as the Goodyear PeopleMover and WEDWay PeopleMover, was a transport attraction that opened on July 2, 1967, in Tomorrowland at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. Guests boarded small trains that r ...
attraction at
Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...
in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
(WED for Walter Elias Disney). Because the system did not utilize the rotating Goodyear tires used as propulsion in the initial version of the transportation mode, instead relying on
Linear induction motor A linear induction motor (LIM) is an alternating current (AC), asynchronous linear motor that works by the same general principles as other induction motors but is typically designed to directly produce motion in a straight line. Characteristica ...
s, Goodyear had no involvement in the East Coast version. The Edison Electric Institute was the original institutional patron of the attraction. Instead of an open track with covered cars, as designed for Disneyland, the trains were designed were built as open-air cars that traveled under a permanent roof over the guideway. The engineering and design of the track itself were also reworked. While Disneyland's version regularly changed elevation, especially during the outdoor portions, the version for Walt Disney World was designed to remain at the same elevation from start to finish. The original narration was provided by longtime Disney announcer, Jack Wagner. In June 1985, his narration was replaced by the voice of ORAC One – "The Commuter Computer" voiced by actor
Ronnie Schell Ronald Ralph Schell (born December 23, 1931) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He appeared on the May 28, 1959, episode of the TV quiz show '' You Bet Your Life'', hosted by Groucho Marx. Schell demonstrated a comic barrage of beatni ...
, which was used until June 11, 1994, when the attraction received a makeover for the New Tomorrowland. At that time the WEDWay Peoplemover passed through the attractions that occupied Tomorrowland during that time, including
Mission to Mars ''Mission to Mars'' is a 2000 American science fiction adventure film directed by Brian De Palma, written by Jim and John Thomas, and Graham Yost, and suggested by Disney's theme park attraction of the same name. The film depicts the first ...
,
If You Had Wings If You Had Wings was an attraction at Walt Disney World. It was a two-person Omnimover dark ride in Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom, sponsored by Eastern Air Lines. It featured travel destinations throughout the Caribbean and elsewhere, all ...
, and others. Originally, the tunnel through the south show building (now home to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin) had three windows; one and two on the trains' right, three to the trains' left. This building first housed
If You Had Wings If You Had Wings was an attraction at Walt Disney World. It was a two-person Omnimover dark ride in Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom, sponsored by Eastern Air Lines. It featured travel destinations throughout the Caribbean and elsewhere, all ...
, and the windows were carefully placed to look down into the
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
,
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
, and
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...
show scenes in such a way as to hide all projectors, lights and other show support equipment. When If You Had Wings (renamed
If You Could Fly If You Had Wings was an attraction at Walt Disney World. It was a two-person Omnimover dark ride in Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom, sponsored by Eastern Air Lines. It featured travel destinations throughout the Caribbean and elsewhere, all ...
) was closed in January 1989 and remodeled into
Delta Dreamflight Delta Dreamflight, renamed Dreamflight and later Take Flight during its final two years of operation, was an attraction located in Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland at the Walt Disney World Resort. It was sponsored by Delta Air Lines. Dreamflight rep ...
, the windows no longer lined up correctly with show scenes. The first window was replaced with backlit panels depicting the ride's barnstormer scene. Window two looked into the Parisian Excursion scene, from a viewpoint which heavily distorted the tableau's
forced perspective Forced perspective is a technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. It manipulates human visual perception through the use of scaled objects and the correlation bet ...
. The third window would have had riders looking directly into an extremely bright light and so was completely obscured with plywood and black fabric.


Tomorrowland Transit Authority (1994–2009)

In the spring of 1994,
Tomorrowland Tomorrowland may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Tomorrowland (Disney Parks), a theme land at a number of Disney theme parks around the world * Tomorrowland (festival), an annual electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium * ''Tom ...
underwent a massive refurbishment that changed the theme of the land from being a showcase of future technology to a working city of the future. The WEDway PeopleMover received new physical theming as the track structure along the north and south show buildings as well as Rocket Tower Plaza was updated from smooth Googie-esque white forms to boldly colored metallic structures. The section of track linking the north show building to Space Mountain, and the section from Space Mountain to the Carousel of Progress, which was not changed. It was during this refurbishment that the attraction's name changed from the Wedway PeopleMover to Tomorrowland Transit Authority. A new narration was added, with the tour led by Pete Renaday broadcasting from TTA Central. The new name and narration debuted on June 12, 1994. This 1994 recording remained largely unaltered until October 2, 2009, which came shortly after the ride had reopened following a five-month down period during the refurbishment of Space Mountain. The TTA's
backstory A backstory, background story, background, or legend is a set of events invented for a plot, preceding and leading up to that plot. In acting, it is the history of the character before the drama begins, and is created during the actor's prepara ...
in the 1994–2009 version of the ride made reference to the Transit Authority's three different "lines": the Blue Line, the Red Line, and the Green Line. The Blue Line, which constitutes the actual ride, was Tomorrowland's intra-city
elevated train An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train or el for short) is a railway with the tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast iron, concrete, or bricks). The rai ...
system. The Red Line took riders 'off-planet' to other destinations in the galaxy, while the Green Line provided local transportation to Tomorrowland's " Hover-Burbs." There was a diorama of a hub station where all three lines intersect located on the second floor of the north show building (Interplanetary Convention Center). Other services provided by the Transit Authority (interstate highway maintenance and long-distance space travel) were alluded to in the ride's narration. Changes made in the 1994 narration over its 15 years of use included the following: *The replacement of the narration for the south show building in 1996 when
Delta Dreamflight Delta Dreamflight, renamed Dreamflight and later Take Flight during its final two years of operation, was an attraction located in Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland at the Walt Disney World Resort. It was sponsored by Delta Air Lines. Dreamflight rep ...
became Take Flight. This narration was replaced again when Take Flight was turned into Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin in 1998. *The 1994 narration for Space Mountain said, "Now arriving in Space Mountain, Tomorrowland's gateway to the Galaxy, Presented by
Federal Express FedEx Corporation, originally known as Federal Express Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company specializing in transportation, e-commerce, and business services. The company is headquartered in Memphis, Tenness ...
," noting Space Mountain's sponsorship by FedEx. When FedEx dropped sponsorship in 2004, the narration was altered to cut off after "Galaxy." *A narration was played upon leaving the south show building tunnel mentioning The Timekeeper from 1994 to 2006 when The Timekeeper closed, wherein the narration on the TTA mentioning it was removed.


Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover (2009–2022)

The Tomorrowland Transit Authority closed on April 19, 2009, in line with a major refurbishment of Space Mountain, and reopened on September 12, 2009. The closure was necessary due to extensive construction work planned for the roller coaster, and the inherent safety risks such activity would pose to Transit Authority riders. During the refurbishment, the beamway was enhanced with new multicolored LED lighting that moves in time with the music being played in Tomorrowland. Other enhancements included freshly re-painted trackway and infrastructure, as well as new speakers for the ride audio system. On October 2, 2009, the ride received a new narration featuring the voice of Mike Brassell, with safety spiels provided by B. J. Ward, who provided the main narration for Disneyland's PeopleMover from 1982 to 1995. The new narration is similar to the original WEDway Peoplemover narration and includes segments introducing all attractions in Tomorrowland, including attractions that had opened after the last update to the narration, such as Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and the
Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor ''Monsters, Inc.'' (also known as ''Monsters, Incorporated'') is a media franchise produced by Pixar and owned by the Walt Disney Company. The franchise takes place in a universe parallel to the real world where monsters are the citizens of soci ...
. The narration also includes brief audio clips from characters represented by the various attractions:
Buzz Lightyear Buzz Lightyear is a fictional character in the The Walt Disney Company, Disney–Pixar Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise. He is a superhero action figure from an Story within a story, in-universe media franchise. Buzz is recognizab ...
can be heard when passing Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Roz is heard when passing Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor,
Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...
can be heard when passing above the Mickey's Star Traders store before the rebranding to Star Traders in 2019, and Stitch, also known as "Experiment 626", was previously heard when passing Stitch's Great Escape!. In addition, a female voice paging for Mr. Tom Morrow can be heard shortly after traveling past the lift hill in Space Mountain, which in the 1994 narration happened over Carousel of Progress. The PeopleMover name was revived in the new narration, which refers to the attraction vehicle as the "Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover," in place of the previous "TTA Metroliner" name introduced after the attraction's 1994 refurbishment. On August 5, 2010, it was announced that the name "PeopleMover" would officially be re-instated into the ride's name, effectively changing it to Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover. Ride signage was changed around the track to reflect the name change. On March 12, 2020, it was announced that ''Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover'' would close for refurbishment. On October 26, 2020, since Walt Disney World reopened after being temporarily closed during the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, Walt Disney World announced that they once again extended the ''Tomorrowland PeopleMover'' refurbishment. The refurbishment continues to follow along with the theme park hours posted the furthest into the future, in this case April 4, 2021. On March 31, 2021, Walt Disney World announced yet another extension to the PeopleMover refurbishment, this time set to reopen May 2021. The ride soft-opened on April 25, 2021, and officially reopened the next day.


PeopleMover (2022–present)

On July 1, 2022, the narration was updated to feature an entirely new narration by ORAC-5 (a reference to the original narrator character of ORAC One), replacing the narration done by Mike Brassell. The safety spiel was also updated to make references to aliens and other sci-fi tropes. While much of the dialogue is still the same, just with a new voice, the narration now features references to past iterations of the PeopleMover's narration, as well as references to defunct rides and attractions from Tomorrowland's history, such as
If You Had Wings If You Had Wings was an attraction at Walt Disney World. It was a two-person Omnimover dark ride in Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom, sponsored by Eastern Air Lines. It featured travel destinations throughout the Caribbean and elsewhere, all ...
, The Timekeeper, and the song " The Best Time of Your Life" from the 1975 version of
The Carousel of Progress Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress is a revolving stage, rotating theater Animatronics, audio-animatronic stage show Amusement park attraction, attraction in Tomorrowland (Disney Parks), Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom theme park at the Walt ...
. The three-note musical chime heard throughout the 1994-2009 narration has also been restored. There is also narration referencing the new Tron Lightcycle Run. References to Stitch have been removed, as has the cameo by Monster Inc.'s Roz, with only Buzz Lightyear's cameo remaining.


See also

*
Magic Kingdom attraction and entertainment history The following list shows the attractions found in the theme park Magic Kingdom. Main Street, USA Attractions * Walt Disney World Railroad (1971–present) Entertainment * Happily Ever After (May 12, 2017 – September 29, 2021, April 3, 202 ...
* Omnimover *
Rail transport in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Rail transport can be found in every amusement park, theme park resort property owned or licensed by Disney Experiences, one of the three business segments of the The Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney Company. The origins of Disney theme park r ...
*
Subway (George Bush Intercontinental Airport) The Subway (formerly known as the inter-terminal train) is the older of the two separate inter-terminal people movers operating at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston, Texas. Description Opened in 1969 along with the airpor ...


Notes


References


External links

* {{USpplmver 1975 establishments in Florida Amusement rides introduced in 1975 Magic Kingdom People mover systems in the United States Rail transport in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Railroads of amusement parks in the United States Tomorrowland (Disney Parks) Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions WEDway people movers