The
Tomorrowland Transit Authority (also called the
Blue Line, TTA and
Tomorrowland's Super-Skyway), formerly known as
the WEDWay PeopleMover, is a peoplemover system in Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom
at the Walt Disney World Resort
. Themed as an urban
mass transit system of the future, riders are
taken on a train ride around the second floor of many attractions
in Tomorrowland. It has one station, in the center of Rockettower
Plaza, located beneath the landmark
Astro
Orbiter. The TTA's leisurely pace, and lack of long queue
lines, along with the sneak previews of other more extreme
Tomorrowland attractions it offers make it a favorite attraction
among repeat visitors.
History & Layout
The
WEDWay PeopleMover opened on July 1, 1975, based on the first
prototype PeopleMover at Disneyland
in California
. Because it did not utilize the propulsion
system of rotating Goodyear tires used in the original, (instead
using
linear synchronous
motors),
Goodyear opted not to
sponsor the east coast version. The Edison Electric Institute was
the original sponsor of the ride. The original narration track was
provided by longtime Disney voice,
Jack Wagner. In June 1985, his
narration was replaced by the voice of
ORAC One - "The
Commuter Computer". Instead of an open track with covered
cars, this ride was designed the opposite from the Disneyland
version: instead of an open-air track with ceilings over the cars,
open-air cars with a ceiling over the track.
In the spring of 1994,
Tomorrowland
underwent a massive refurbishment to re-theme the area as a working
city of the future. The WEDway PeopleMover received new physical
theming as the track was updated from smooth
Googie-esque white forms to boldly colored metallic
structures. It was during this refurbishment that the attraction's
name changed to from
WEDWay PeopleMove to the
Tomorrowland Transit Authority. A new narration
was added, with the tour led by
Pete
Renaday broadcasting from TTA Central.
The 1994 recording
remained largely unaltered until October 2, 2009, which came
shortly after the ride had reopened following a five month down
period during the refurbishment of Space
Mountain
, when it was replaced with a more general tour
narration.
The line is a one-way loop, with a brief stretch at the entrance to
Space Mountain operating with two-way traffic. At this point, the
trains pass so close to one another that it is possible to reach
out and touch hands with people in the oncoming train, though a
tongue-in-cheek safety spiel warns guests (specifically visitors
from
Galaxy M-31) from doing so.
The only
switches are at Space Mountain, where the main ride track passes through the ride
dome and storage tracks run around the outside perimeter.
The design of the station platform has guests boarding and
disembarking the cars onto a moving platform. This allows the
vehicles to remain in motion at all times. The LSMs control the
speed of trains, so that they move at the speed of the moving
platform in the station and at a moderate pace on the rest of the
ride.
Blue, Red, and Green Lines (1994-2009 Narration)
The TTA's
backstory in the 1994-2009
version of the ride made reference to the Transit Authority's three
different "lines": the Blue Line, the Red Line, and the Green Line.
The Blue Line, which constituted the actual ride, was
Tomorrowland's intra-city
elevated
train system. The Red Line took riders 'off-planet' to other
destinations in the galaxy, while the Green Line provided local
transportation to Tomorrowland's
"Hover-Burbs." There was a diorama of a hub station
where all three lines intersect located on the second floor of the
north show building (Interplanetary Convention Center). Other
services provided by the Transit Authority (interstate highway
maintenance and long distance space travel) were alluded to in the
ride's narration.
1970s-era Attraction Poster
Blue Line Stations
Though only one actually existed, other destinations were announced
while riding:
Other locations mentioned in passing, but not as stations on the
line included:
Onride Viewing Windows & Dioramas
EPCOT Diorama
In the
tunnel above Stitch's Great Escape!
, the Metroliners pass a large diorama containing a
portion of the architectural model of EPCOT
as envisioned by Walt
Disney. Originally intended to be a working city instead
of a theme park, the
Experimental
Prototype
Community
Of
Tomorrow never came to
fruition.
The model in its complete form was created by
WED
Enterprises
as the city was being planned and displayed on the
second floor of the Carousel of Progress when it was in
Disneyland. Both the Carousel and the model moved to Walt
Disney World in 1975.
Space Mountain
Since the
roller coaster's addition in 1975, the TTA track has offered riders
a restricted look down into the two largest of Space
Mountain's post-show dioramas. Currently these feature
the vignettes of an alien dig site, and radio beaming of packages
back to the "home planet".
Original version
When entering the dome itself, trains pass a blue sign reading
Space Mountain and below it,
A Journey
Through Time and Space. Then the track makes a left hand
turn and enters the dome interior. After a short period of
darkness, the "Metroliners" (as the trains are called), pass
through the
lift hill bay of the roller
coasters, during which it may be possible to see trains climbing
the lift hills to either side. After this, the trains pass a pair
of neon signs reflecting Space Mountain's current logo (with
emphasized A's). The dioramas follow, leading to a bend overlooking
the loading station for the B-side (Omega) track. After a quick
trip around the edge of the dome, the trains pass over a switch
(leading from the storage track) and return to
Tomorrowland via a trackway along the outside
of the dome. During this part, it is possible to hear the screams
of riders on the roller coaster trains in the darkness.
It should be noted that the neon Space Mountain signs only existed
from 2005 to 2009. From 1994 to 2005, a different version was used
to reflect
FedEx's sponsorship of the ride,
featuring the Space Mountain and FedEx logos. From 1985-1994, the
signs read RYCA-1 Dream of a New World.
Refurbished ride
When Space Mountain was refurbished in 2009, the Tomorrowland
Transit Authority received a number of refurbishments in relations
to the part inside the dome.
Riders still approach the dome as normal and cross over the
railroad. Replacing the old bold blue Space Mountain letters that
had greeted riders since 1975, and the phrase "A Journey through
Time and Space," was a new lime-green version of Space Mountain's
1994 ride logo. After entering the dome, riders make a left turn
and pass through the lift hill bays just like before. After this,
the Space Mountain logos that flanked both sides of the track have
been replaced with new logos reflecting a "Starport Seven-Five,"
(in reference to
1975 being the year that both
Space Mountain and the Tomorrowland Transit Authority first opened,
and to the new station theme of the refurbished Space Mountain).
The diorama scenes from the post-show follow. While they look
virtually the same, a careful observer will notice some new
additions to the dioramas. After passing the dioramas, the trains
round a right turn. Until 2009, this was where it was possible to
see the Omega track's loading station. New ceilings installed over
the stations make it impossible to see boarding Space Mountain
riders. The trains on the TTA travel through the outer part of the
dome, where it is still possible to hear the screams of riders in
the darkness. On the S-turn where the main ride track meets up with
the storage track, the trains no longer exit into daylight right
away. In an effort to make the ride experience for Space Mountain
much darker, the lip for the TTA track exiting the dome was
extended almost all the way back to where the track first enters
the dome, reducing the amount of daylight that can get into the
dome. Once back at the dome entrance, riders return to the double
track segment of the ride.
Space Mountain Lights On
This particular section of the Transit Authority's course has
gained notoriety among Disney park guests for offering the only
accessible view of Space Mountain when the dome interior lights are
on. The TTA itself rarely has to close during such breakdowns of
Space Mountain, thus, when the dome lights are on, guests riding
the TTA get a rare behind-the-scenes look at the roller
coaster.
2009 Refurbishment
The
Tomorrowland Transit Authority closed on Sunday, April 19, 2009, in
line with the major refurbishment of Space
Mountain, and reopened on September 12, 2009. . The
closure was necessary due to extensive construction work planned
for the roller coaster, and the inherent safety risks such activity
would pose to Transit Authority riders. Additionally, Space
Mountain has access doors that open onto the TTA track that can not
be safely used while the attraction is running.
As of September of 2009, the TTA beamway has been enhanced with new
LED lighting that moves in time with the
music being played in
the Tomorrowland section of Magic Kingdom. Other enhancements include freshy painted
trackway and infrastructure, as well as new speakers for the ride
audio system.
The TTA reopened on September 12, 2009. Unlike before, much less of
the roller coasters can be seen with the dome lights on, thanks to
new ceilings installed in the stations.
From October 2, 2009 to November 21, 2009, the Tomorrowland Transit
Authority's new narration had a temporary spiel inside Space
Mountain that went, "Greetings, travelers. Please pardon our space
dust as we work to improve our launch facilities. Remember, your
Tomorrowland Transit Authority is commited to all your space travel
needs, no matter how far or how fast you may go."
CircleVision Building Windows
Originally the tunnel through the south show building (now home to
Buzz Lightyear's
Space Ranger Spin) had three windows; one and two on the
trains' right, three to the trains' left.
This building first
housed If You Had
Wings
, and the windows were carefully placed to look down
into the Mexico
, Jamaica
and Trinidad
show scenes in such a way as to hide all
projectors, lights and other show support equipment.
When If
You Had Wings (renamed If You Could Fly
) was closed in January 1989 and remodeled into
Delta
Dreamflight
, the windows no longer lined up correctly with show
scenes. The first window was replaced with backlit panels
depicting the ride's
barnstormer scene.
Window
two looked into the Parisian
Excursion
scene, from a viewpoint which heavily distorted the
tableau's forced
perspective. The third window would have had riders
looking directly into an extremely bright light and so was
completely obscured with plywood and black fabric.
When the ride transitioned yet again into Buzz Lightyear's Space
Ranger Spin in 1998, the first window was fitted with the diorama
of the
hair salon, and the second left
open to look into the new attraction, though concern was expressed
over the fact that this view allows TTA riders to look directly
into banks of high-powered
blacklights.
Hidden Mickey
There is at least one
Hidden Mickey in
the diorama of the hair salon. The alien seen getting her hair cut
is wearing a belt. On that belt is a belt buckle. On that belt
buckle is a black Mickey face.
Attraction Scenes
New narration
On October 2nd, 2009, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority received a
new narration featuring the voice of Mike Brassell.
The new narration is
very similar in style to the original WEDway Peoplemover narration
and includes segments introducing all attractions in Tomorrowland,
including the recent Stitch's Great Escape! and Monsters
Inc. Laugh
Floor. The narration also includes brief audio clips from
characters represented by the various attractions.
A temporary segment
was added inside Space Mountain mentioning the refurbishment, which was replaced
once Space Mountain reopened. The PeopleMover name is
revived in the new narration, which refers to the attraction
vehicle as the
"Tomorrowland Transit Authority
PeopleMover," abandoning the
"TTA
Metroliner" name introduced after the attraction's
1994 refurbishment.
The new narration was added to the ride with mixed reviews. Many
people praised the new narration for having references to
Tomorrowland attractions that had not been referenced in the 1994
narration and for being much more peaceful than before. Others have
criticized the new narration for taking away from the creativity of
the previous narration, such as the narration line, "Paging Mr.
Morrow, Mr.
Tom Morrow, your party from
Saturn has arrived.
Please give them a
ring," which played as vehicles passed by the Carousel of
Progress
.
See also
References
- TTA Hair Salon Hidden Mickey
- Video of the Tomorrowland Transit Authority with new
narration
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