One attraction vanished, but you’ll (kind of) see it again

Image: Disney

At Walt Disney World’s version of Tomorrowland, only two attractions were open to the public when Magic Kingdom debuted. One is no longer in operation. Skyway to Fantasyland was a gondola lift that transported guests from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland. It was modeled after a not-quite opening day attraction at Disneyland. That iteration opened in 1956, less than a year after the launch of the Happiest Place on Earth.

In 1999, Disney removed the gondolas at Tomorrowland, although we now know that they will return to Walt Disney World as a new form of park-to-resort-to-park transportation. The next time that you see a gondola, you should understand that you’re actually stepping back to an earlier version of the park, one from the 1970s and 1980s. Gondolas used to have tremendous significance at Disney, and their triumphant return as a mode of transportation is a welcome change.

One attraction has stood the test of time

Image: DisneyWith the gondolas gone, the only original attraction from Tomorrowland that still remains is…Tomorrowland Speedway. It had a different name at the time, though. Imagineers constructed Grand Prix Raceway in 1971 as a tribute to Autopia, one of the most consistently popular attractions at Disneyland.

Unlike its West Coast predecessor, this iteration didn’t have a futuristic theme at the time, an odd choice for a Tomorrowland attraction. Instead, Disney designed an international Grand Prix in order to have a viable sponsor, Goodyear. Money was tight during the early years of Walt Disney World. Any attraction that they could monetize was a viable option.

With Tomorrowland Speedway, park planners could pay tribute to Disneyland’s Autopia, add an attraction that’s popular with kids AND has tremendous throughput, and get a sponsor to foot the bill for many of the costs. For these reasons, this attraction has survived much longer than anyone would have expected despite frequent rumors that it’s in danger of closing for good.

But it’s shrinking!

Image: DisneyIn 1994, Disney ditched the Grand Prix theme and built the Tomorrowland version that we know today. That wasn’t the only change that park planners made. One of the dirty secrets about the speedway is that it’s shrinking. It was initially 3,118 feet long. When Disney needed, well, space for Space Mountain, they reduced the footprint of Tomorrowland Speedway. That’s happened multiple times since then, too.

The track is currently 2,119 feet in length, meaning that it has lost 999 feet since 1971! Even with the reductions, it remains one of the largest attractions at Walt Disney World in terms of layout size. If you ever look at a map of Magic Kingdom, you’ll appreciate just how large Tomorrowland Speedway still is relative to other popular attractions.