FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

2. New Tomorrowland at Disneyland

Image: Disney

A "great, big, beautiful tomorrow" it's not. Let's face it: whether you're in Disneyland or Magic Kingdom, Tomorrowland is... kind of a mess. 

The first and most obvious reason is that since the early 2000s, Tomorrowlands across Disney Parks have been given the unfair role of becoming the de facto "character catch-all" for Disney and Pixar IPs. In what other land would we just allow Star Wars, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., Lilo & Stitch, and Marvel to sort of just... co-exist? Given that substance, it's no surprise that Tomorrowland doesn't really have anything to say

But both Tomorrowlands have a style problem, too. The most iconic iteration of Tomorrowland opened in 1967 in Disneyland (above) and 1975 in Magic Kingdom, when the Space Age aesthetic of rockets and parabolas and pastels and the moon and the power of the molecule was at the forefront of pop culture. Then, both spent the '90s trying to cover those fantastic futures up.

Magic Kingdom's answer was the ambitious if timely "Tomorrowland '94" – a sci-fi alien spaceport of original stories like Alien Encounter and The Timekeeper. Today, Disney is systematically stripping away what remains of that metallic sci-fi city to re-expose the mid-century architecture beneath (which – ta-da! – is back in style!). 

Tomorrowland '98. Image: Disney

But Disneyland's version of the land is surely worse off for another reason: in the mid-'90s wave of "New Tomorrowland" redesigns, Disneyland was given the short end of the stick. Its "New Tomorrowland '98" wasn't a bad idea – a sort of earthy, agricultural, fantasy Tomorrowland culled from development on Disneyland Paris – but its shoestring budget basically amounted to:

  • painting the park's mid-century Space Age architecture (yes, including Space Mountain) dark brown;
  • decommissioning the Lost Legend: The PeopleMover for the short-lived, disastrous, high-speed Rocket Rods that were dead after 18 months;
  • completely closing the park's historic Submarine Voyage and leaving its lagoon empty;
  • pulling the iconic Rocket Jets from their central platform and building a new, Disneyland-Paris-copied Astro Orbitor on the ground at the land's entrance, turning it into a massive traffic jam;
  • replacing a ride with a pizza restaurant;
  • calling it a day

"New Tomorrowland '98" was bad all around, and efforts to conceal its damage have continued on and off for 25 years. Obviously, nearly everything's been painted back to whites and blues and purples by now, but some damage is long-lasting. The rotting tracks of the PeopleMover still thread through the land, abandoned; Space Mountain is buried behind an unused 3D theater; the Carousel Theater takes up a whole lot of land to hold the completely embrassing and redundant Star Wars: Launch Bay museum... 

Image: Disney

Sure, in 2019 (as part of the "Project Stardust" initiative meant to widen Disneyland's pathways), Disney made a big to-do about finally removing the jagged "Discoveryland" rocks from around the land's entrance, clearing up some pedestrian bottlenecks. But the concept art they revealed for the "new" entrance (above) still showed the golden, European Astro Orbitor – a weird remnant of '98 now totally out of sync with the land behind it, which is slowly being restored to its Space Age aesthetic.

So in a weird way, that concept art actually caused more heartbreak than excitement, because it meant that a real, true, large-scale, badly needed complete reimagining of Tomorrowland must not be anywhere in the near future... And if a complete reimagining wasn't forthcoming in 2019, it would certainly not be anywhere on the horizon post-COVID, right? 

And while Disney did remove those rocks and fiddle with the planters at the land's entrance, they haven't actually completed the new entry they announced above... Hmmm...

Image: Disney

Now, rumors suggest that Disney is ready to return to Tomorrowland, formally launching a New, New, New Tomorrowland for Disneyland, which explains the stop-order on the stopgap fix for the land's entry. The bad news is that the closer we get to D23, the more insiders suggest that the effort has been pared down. Whereas rumors once insinuated that the land (except for Space Mountain) would essentially be bulldozed and rebuilt from scratch, recent rumblings suggest that this 2020s Tomorrowland might actually amount to a highly-edited rebirth of a shortened PeopleMover, maybe a new restaurant, and some facade work to give the whole land a uniform look and feel. 

We'll tell you right now that if that is the end result of fans' 25 year wait for a New Tomorrowland in California, Disney won't be getting many "thank yous." Of course, given that the substance of Tomorrowland seems unlikely to change from Disney and Pixar animation, maybe a better style really is the best we can hope for... That is, if anything is actually on the docket at all... 

3. Avengers Finally Head to Avengers Campus

Image: Disney

Opening lands in "phases" seems to be the new hot thing for Disney Parks. It makes some amount of sense – planning to open different elements of a massive project over multiple years takes the pressure off of the construction timeline, spreads expenses over multiple fiscal years, and allows Disney to open elements coinciding with films' promotional campaigns. That's why we got Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! in 2017 with just mere hints that an actual, full Marvel superhero presence would be built around it... eventually.

Image: Disney / Marvel

That word – "eventually" – came into play again when, at the D23 Expo, Bob Chapek formally announced Avengers Campus, but showed two versions of the land's key artwork... One showing its state when it would open in 2020, and another showing it "eventually," adding a massive showbuilding housing an Avengers ride. Rumored to be a next-generation, multi-phase "U-Ticket" counterpart to Rise of the Resistance, this ride would be – like the Avengers films – a star-studded crossover event, flying guests from California to Wakanda to join a massive battle. 

Of course, this enormous E-Ticket was one of the first projects "paused" during COVID-19, and insiders suggest that it's not just "paused" anymore – it's outright cancelled. Yes, reportedly, Disney has pulled the plug on plans for a ride to Wakanda entirely. Naturally, the death of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman must factor in.

Image: Disney / Marvel

But allegedly, another issue is that the MCU moves so quickly that Disney would be foolish to set a ride back in the timeline and style of the "Infinity Saga" when Iron Man and Steve Rogers and Black Widow would star, since the "Multiverse Saga" is underway (and more to the point, would itself be wrapping up before a ride could even open! (Which, by the way, is maaaaybe why Disney Parks should aspire to more than just bringing to life whatever's hot at the box office, long-term relevance or in-park fit be damned. But we digress.)

With a downsized budget and far less ambitious leadership, there's allegedly a "wait and see" attitude around the idea of headlining ride in Avengers Campus; not only to see what's next for the MCU, but if it's really needed. (Trust us: it is... not just because the land is definitely lacking its 'Rise of the Resistance'-sized draw, but because California Adventure needs more E-Tickets.)

Image: Disney / Marvel

Reportedly, what's in the works now will be much, much less ambitious than the once-planned Avengers ride. At this point, maybe the best we could hope for is an off-the-shelf coaster like Disneyland Paris' Avengers: Flight Force (itself a retro-fit of the park's existing Rock 'n' Roller Coaster), and even that may be far more ambitious than Chapek is thinking. 

Either way, it's especially sad to miss out on the Avengers U-Ticket since whatever Disney chooses to do in the Avengers Campus expansion pad, it'll fill the last available major expansion pad in California Adventure, "locking in" the park for the foreseeable future. So will we finally hear about an Avengers attraction at the 2022 D23 Expo? And if we do, will it be an impressive one? We'll find out soon...

 
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

Add new comment

About Theme Park Tourist

Theme Park Tourist is one of the web’s leading sources of essential information and entertaining articles about theme parks in Orlando and beyond.

We are one of the world’s largest theme park guide sites, hosting detailed guides to more than 80 theme parks around the globe.

Find Out More About Us...

Plan Your Trip

Our theme park guides contain reviews and ratings of rides, restaurants and hotels at more than 80 theme parks worldwide.

You can even print them.

Start Planning Now...