The future of Tomorrowland

[London Evans]

I haven't deeply scanned all the listings to see if this has been a topic, but a cursory search turned up nothing. Anyway:
I read a blog entry recently that was discussing the future of Tomorrowland and the question seemed to revolve around what direction to take it.
1) Leave it alone.
2) Follow modern culture with its rather cynical view and go dark.
3) Create a hopeful, positive view of tomorrow.

Number 1 seems very anti-Disney and seems to ensure Tomorrowland will become increasingly irrelevant and less and less popular.
Number 2 seems to crush dreams and is therefore anti-Disney. (But right on target for the money-grubbers).
Number 3 sounds right, but how do you do it without fake '50s self-delusion?

Just wondering.

[Wizzard419]

Right now it's probably not on the to-do list so I'm going with 1.

The problem with the hopefully cheerful stuff is that it usually isn't very fun, something needs to go wrong/haywire.

[London Evans]

The problem with the hopefully cheerful stuff is that it usually isn't very fun, something needs to go wrong/haywire.

I absolutely agree with you that there needs to be tension to have a good outcome (like say, the storyline for an attraction), but I'm mainly talking about how do we portray Tomorrow? Is the future bleak or hopeful?

[boilerbabe]

I liked the original Tomorrowland b/c that was really what they pictured the future would be! This new one is cartoonish and fake. I would like to see Disney portray a positive future but make Tomorrowland more realistic looking!

[mindflipper]

The idea of the new Tomorrowland was to portray the future that was imagined along ago but never came to be: a mix of Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon and Steampunk. Hence, Timekeeper and the Alien Extra-Terror-estial Encounter. However, both attractions are now gone and replaced with Monsters Inc. and Stitch, and they also added Buzz Lightyear. These characters do not fit with the theme decor that had created for that version of Tomorrow. Much like EPCOT's Future World, it's haphazard mixing of themes and ideas. Someday down the road (maybe not soon), they will do an overhaul much like they are doing now with the Fantasyland Expansion.

[Wizzard419]

WDW's TL has more of a feeling of a spaceport that is presumed to be in the future. Stitch and Buzz (only kinda for buzz) fit in but CoP and Monster's inc don't really fit.

[elizabethswann]

WDW's TL looks far more advanced than the one in DLR. I think since the removal of the Peoplemover, it kind of doesn't have that touch anymore. Sure, it has some sort of a space feel with the rides there but it doesn't really look all that appealing anymore

[London Evans]

I've never been to WDW so I can't comment there. DLR TL doesn't feel very tomorrow-y though. I agree with People Mover comment. I loved that attraction, and it was so in touch with the idea of "what will tomorrow look like." I'm a Star Wars fan but not to fond of Star Tours, and I don't think it portrays the future of us. Space Mountain is great and fits in. Buzz Lightyear, not so much. I hope the Imagineers put some real thought into this with an eye on Walt's original vision.

[mindflipper]

IMHO Monsters Laugh Floor, Buzz and Stitch belong more to DHS, where they could open up a Sci-Fi TV and Movie section to that park. The Jetson's (yes,I know, it's Hanna-Barbera) would fit better because at least it's a family living in a funky futuristic world of Tomorrow. CoP still to me fits because it's showing the progress from the past to the present - giving an idea of how we have progressed gives an idea of how we may still progress in the future.

[London Evans]

As a kid I loved Journey Through Inner Space and it fit with the theme by showing science at work and where we hoped to go (turns out Monsanto is an evil entity at work in our world, but still...). CoP is perfect for TL. They recently spent a lot of time and money updating Star Tours, but it wasn't that great of a change and still doesn't fit. I agree, they need a Sci-Fi land for those things if they want them. I'm sure they could buy The Jetson's (great show). They have their own stuff too: Meet The Robinson's, and Treasure Planet. (I love steam punk).

[mindflipper]

As a kid I loved Journey Through Inner Space and it fit with the theme by showing science at work and where we hoped to go (turns out Monsanto is an evil entity at work in our world, but still...). CoP is perfect for TL. They recently spent a lot of time and money updating Star Tours, but it wasn't that great of a change and still doesn't fit. I agree, they need a Sci-Fi land for those things if they want them. I'm sure they could buy The Jetson's (great show). They have their own stuff too: Meet The Robinson's, and Treasure Planet. (I love steam punk).

No, not the Jetson's. That's now owned by Time Warner through the acquisition of Ted Turner's empire which had bought out Hanna-Barbera. I think it would be nice if Disney tried something original. It may have failed with Alien Extra-Terror-estial Encounter, but it did work in the past with POTC and the HM. I would like to see rides again that do NOT have a movie tie-in (okay, if the movie follows afterwards)...

[Wizzard419]

I don't see the people mover as from the future, when I see it I think "Airport transportation" or "US Capitol Subway".

Does Buzz still pack people in at WDW?

[Amy]

I don't see the people mover as from the future, when I see it I think "Airport transportation" or "US Capitol Subway".

Does Buzz still pack people in at WDW?

It was quite busy when we were there in December. But it was a walk-on during the last hour of EMH

[mindflipper]

Every time I go to MK Buzz has packed crowds.

[stinoi]

I agree that some work needs to be done in TL. Stitch doesn't fit TL particularly due to the fact that the move is set in the modern day. There's nothing "tomorrow' about that. The same could be said for Buzz. I think Wizzard 419 nailed it on the head--WDW's TL feels more like a spaceport. I'd rather see some imagination as to what the future will be. A bleak view of tomorrow is depressing. I'm already bummed by what it cost me to get into the park, so I don't want to be even more bummed on my vacation by a portrayal of a bleak future. I think it should focus more on a theme of hope and unity for the future which is far more fitting with the original idea and more appropriate for a family park anyway.