Darkbeer DLR Picture Update

WDWNT on June 18, 2008

Let’s take a look at the preparations for today’s opening ceremonies, with pictures taken yesterday from David “Darkbeer” Michael:


Signs were up through-out Tomorrowland directing guests to the attractions while the Innoventions Dream Home opening ceremony was taking place


A couple of attractions were closed as well


I presume the train was still operating, but just went straight pass the Tomorrowland Train Station


Moving over to Toy Story Midway Mania’s opening ceremony preparations


I think this is where the ceremony stage went up


A second stage was also up right by the attraction


Filming by Mr. Potato Head

And now a couple of non-ceremony related pictures:


The temporary stage in Pacific Wharf is gone


The It’s a Small World sign is now behind tarps too

Monday in the Parks Update

WDWNT on June 10, 2008

Quite a few interesting pieces of news were posted in this week’s Monday in the Parks column on MiceAge, & I want to take the time to go through some of them here:

  • For the whole summer, Disneyland will be open from 8AM to Midnight, but due to Grad Nites, Disneyland will close at 9PM this Wednesday & Thursday, & then next Thursday as well. DCA will close at 7PM those nights for the Grad Nite Blast Off event.
  • The Magic Morning opportunity, that gets hotel guests into Disneyland one hour early, will be conducted on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Saturday this week.
  • Over at Pacific Wharf, the Hi Seoul Korea performance troupe will be performing a variety of different shows through Sunday, June 15th. Be sure to check the Times Guide for show times.

  • This Sunday, DCA will hold its first ever triathlons, with swimmers actually swimming in the Paradise Pier lagoon! Contestants will enter & exit the lagoon by using the boat ramp near the launch of California Screamin’.

  • The smoking location for the Tomorrowland side of Disneyland will be moved from the entrance to the Tomorrowland Railroad station, to the former Motor Boat Cruise loading station, which is now known as Fantasia Gardens.


Current Smoking Area


New Smoking Area


The clock tower itself from the Small World facade is out from tarps… Bit early if you ask me!

Plenty of SPACE for Change

WDWNT on June 5, 2008

As we have been reporting here at WDW News Today for almost a year, Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom is scheduled to go down for an extensive refurbishment beginning in January of 2009. The number one priority for Disney during this refurbishment will be to bring in new, more comfortable ride vehicles and loading gates for added safety to the attraction. However, Imagineering has a few other ideas in store for the attraction. Among those ideas are new lighting effects, a completely new queue and exit, and a unique music track to play through the new on-board speakers that each vehicle will have. We are still 6 months away from what should be the beginning of a lengthy refurbishment, but stay tuned to WDW News Today as more information becomes available.

Tomorrowland Mess-Up

WDWNT on May 29, 2008

The final article dealing with the New Tomorrowland of 1998 is going to be an overview of all the changes made, not involving an entirely new attraction or exhibit. This one’s going to be quite big, so let’s get straight to it:


A look at the 1998 Tomorrowland sign (the Disneyland logo has since been removed)


The out-of-place, yet beautiful Astro Orbitor


Walt Disney’s Dedication of Tomorrowland


Star Tours received new decorations on its sign…


… And exterior. But that’s about it for Star Tours


All the Star Trader got was a gold trim


The Starcade remained pretty much the same (the upper floor has since been walled off to guest use)


The 1998 Tomorrowland Terrace Stage


In 2000, it was changed to Club Buzz, & then returned to the original Tomorrowland Terrace design in 2006


Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port replaced Mission to Mars (in the right-hand corner, you can see the 98 Space Mountain sign)


A look inside the restaurant


A new version of the Moonliner adorns the entrance to Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port


Cosmic Waves, the run-around water playground…


The spraying water was removed due to the seats in Honey, I Shrunk the Audience getting slightly damaged after wet visitors coming in


Space Mountain got a rather ugly new color scheme


The Autopia got a temporary new sign, before it was completely re-done into the version we have today in 2000


The Tomorrowland Train Station also got a new design

I truly hope you enjoyed the past week’s series on the New Tomorrowland of 1998. We’ll definitely be doing something like this again the next time a big anniversary comes around!

A Great Big World of Innoventions

WDWNT on May 28, 2008

The next article dealing with the New Tomorrowland of 1998 is going to be about Innoventions. Again, this article will be a pictorial article. So, let’s get to it:


A look at the construction of Innoventions in March of 1998


Innoventions on opening day, May 22nd 1998


The Innoventions sign


The amazing Tom Morrow animatronic (or should I say Timkeeper?), too bad he’s gone now!


General Motor’s Sparky


The Tree of Tomorrow (really imaginative *sarcasm*)


Innoventions with the 2005 color scheme… It’s much nicer now!

Tomorrow, the last of our New Tomorrowland articles, on the overall New Tomorrowland of 1998!

Honey, I Replaced Captain EO!

WDWNT on May 27, 2008

The next article dealing with the New Tomorrowland of 1998 is going to be about Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. Again, this article will be a pictorial article, as Yesterland already has a wonderful article up dealing with the history of this attraction!

Of course, there’s not much to be shared about the film itself, seeing as it’s in 3D, & pictures are strictly forbidden on attractions like this one. But, let’s get to it:


Captain EO was the original film in this spot. Previously it was an outdoor stage


Honey, I Shrunk the Audience opened with the rest of the New Tomorrowland on May 22nd, 1998


This promotional picture greatly over-exaggerates the Dog’s presence in the attraction


A look inside the theater


These 3 posters are featured in the outdoor waiting area (this picture is actually from Journey into Imagination with Figment in Epcot, but the the posters are the same at both attractions)


Soon, the Disneyland logo from the top of the attraction’s sign was removed


For the Happiest Homecoming on Earth, one of 50 “Hidden 50s” was placed on the sign


A look at the attraction’s entrance with the 2005 Tomorrowland color scheme

Tomorrow, a look at Innoventions!

Mural Wars!

WDWNT on May 25, 2008

The next article dealing with the New Tomorrowland of 1998 is going to be about the mural on the American Space Experience/Rocket Rods queue building. Let’s get to it:


Here’s the original mural that called this building home, one of the lovely works of Mary Blair


A look at the removal of the Mary Blair mural


And this is the 1998 mural, which surprisingly or not is my favorite!


The inscription bellow the mural reads: “BEYOND THE GREATEST STAR OF ALL LIES OUR FUTURE”


In preparation for Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters in 2005, the mural was once again changed

I advise everyone to check out Yesterland‘s articles on both the 1998 Tomorrowland Mural, & the Mary Blair Murals. We won’t have an article on the New Tomorrowland tomorrow, but we will have this week’s podcast with tons of audio from the re-do. We’ll be back on Memorial Day with a look at Honey, I Shrunk the Audience!

Celebrating 40 Years of Nasa (or something like that)!

WDWNT on May 24, 2008

The next article dealing with the New Tomorrowland of 1998 is going to be about the American Space Experience. Again, this article will be a pictorial article, as Yesterland has a wonderful article up dealing with the history of this exhibit!

There’s not much to be said or shown about the American Space Experience, but there still are a few pictures to share! Let’s get to it:


The exhibit’s marque


A look at a few of the exhibits in the “experience”


The American Space Experience is now the Fastpass Distribution area for Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters

And surprisingly or not, that’s all for this pictorial! Tomorrow, a look at the 1998 mural that was above the entrance to the American Space Experience!

The Road to No-Where!

WDWNT on May 23, 2008

Our first article dealing with the New Tomorrowland of 1998 is going to be about the Rocket Rods. This article is going to be a pictorial article, as Yesterland already has a wonderful article up dealing with the attraction.

Now, let’s get to it:


The entrance to the Rocket Rods


The other side of the entrance didn’t receive the logo due to budget issues… Big surprise!


The queue featured a re-painted, neon version of the Mark III Monorail…


… As well as a neon PeopleMover vehicle


The loading & blast off area, as well as the Observatron


The attraction vehicle… Very weird in my opinion!


The only vehicle that had neon features added to it


The Rocket Rods closed in April 2001


Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters replaced at the Rocket Rods queue building in 2005… The track is empty

Tomorrow, a look at the American Space Experience!

The Future Has Arrived

WDWNT on May 22, 2008

Exactly 10 years ago today, the New Tomorrowland of 1998 officially opened to the public. While it’s not one of the best times in Disneyland’s history, it is a moment I’d like to look at. So we will be celebrating it in various ways for the next week.

Each day, a special article of sorts will be put up taking a look at each of the various attractions part of this re-do (the first one will be up tomorrow). And on this week’s edition of the Disneyland News Today Podcast, we’ll have a special audio tribute segment, featuring music from Rocket Rods, Space Mountain, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, & more!

So stay tuned, & remember… “BEYOND THE GREATEST STAR OF ALL LIES OUR FUTURE!”