Walt Disney World is not a museum. As a Disney fan, that is an important fact to confront. The parks do not exist simply to honor our own nostalgia and memories – in fact, they are meant to continually update themselves such that they can be enjoyed by kids and adults of all generations.
For that reason, Disney sometimes has to remove perfectly operational attractions to make way for something newer and greater. If You Had Wings must make way for Delta Dreamflight, which in turn must make way for Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. The attraction circle of life is an ecosystem all to itself, giving guests new thrills to enjoy year after year.
But, sometimes, there are attractions that fans grow attached to, and which rise above their lot in Disney life to become something much greater. These cult hits often aren’t headliners like Space Mountain or Spaceship Earth, but rather, tell smaller-scale stories via C-ticket mechanisms. These are the rides that probably don’t sell many tickets to Walt Disney World, but do keep guests happy once they’re there.
In years past, Disney has on occasion closed such attractions. Famously, guests protested the closure of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, a beloved dark ride in Fantasyland. But, that protest was moot, and Disney replaced the ride with the quite-charming Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – which has been around ever since.
Disney would be foolish to remove any of the following attractions wholly – but, you never know. Here are five attractions worth protesting for should Disney ever decide to remove them.
Tomorrowland Transit Authority
Image: Jennifer Lynn, Flickr (license)
Some rides induce thrills in their audience, and others put on a spectacle. Tomorrowland Transit Authority does neither, and yet, it has developed a rabid fanbase devoted to the notion that attractions can provide something more than screams and laughs. If you’ve ever ridden the so-called PeopleMover, you likely understand the sensation – briskly gliding along the elevated pathway over Tomorrowland – but it can often be hard to describe to someone unfamiliar with its intrinsic joy.
What makes the Tomorrowland Transit Authority so great? Is it the simple ride mechanism, using electromagnets spaced at certain intervals to accelerate and decelerate the vehicle? Is it the inside peek at Space Mountain in operation? Is it the view of the Epcot model Walt Disney himself commissioned?
In some ways, it’s all of the above. But, more importantly, what makes the Tomorrowland Transit Authority so beloved is its relaxed rhythm-breaking pace. A trip to Walt Disney World can feel like an exercise in schedule-making and military precision, and having a ride that seems to reward a kind of mindless Zen meditation is a nice change. It would be a shame if Disney ever tried to take out the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. There is no doubt its replacement wouldn’t be in the same league.
Comments
I'm a Disneyland person and not a Disney World person so I don't know some of those attractions but for me a list like that would probably be longer than 5 and would have to include Space Mountain, It's A Small World, Pirates Of The Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion.