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48-656: The attraction has a single station, which resides in the center of Rocket Tower Plaza and beneath the Astro Orbiter . Passing the queue, passengers step onto the Speedramp (inclined moving walkway ) to the second level. They then step onto a moving platform which matches the speed of the PeopleMover trains, and board before they depart the station. Leaving the Rocket Tower Plaza Station,

96-494: A central monument. In most forms of the ride, the use of a joystick (or steering wheel, buttons, etc.) enables guests to adjust the height of their individual cars at will, usually within a range of no more than 10-15 feet. When the ride cycle comes to its completion, any ascended vehicles are automatically lowered for passenger exit and re-boarding. Over the years, with each new iteration of the ride debuting, new designs, thematic schemes, and locations have been implemented to fit with

144-519: A female voice paging for Mr. Tom Morrow can be heard shortly after traveling past the lift hill in Space Mountain, which in the 1994 narration happened over Carousel of Progress. The PeopleMover name was revived in the new narration, which refers to the attraction vehicle as the "Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover," in place of the previous "TTA Metroliner" name introduced after the attraction's 1994 refurbishment. On August 5, 2010, it

192-584: A kinetic satellite-themed sculpture known as the Observatron, built from the same skeletal structure. The Observatron was originally planned to come to life every fifteen minutes and appear to summon signs from the skies, while a selected soundtrack (such as selected music pieces from Space Mountain and Le Visionarium at Disneyland Paris) would play over Tomorrowland. However, the mechanism has been prone to failure and occasionally will be inactive for periods of months or only play sporadically on certain days. It

240-557: A large Saturn V rocket as the centerpiece). However the attraction vehicles were different from any other previous form as they were much larger and featured a flatter back-end and larger tail fins. While Disneyland's Rocket Jets resembled actual rockets, the Magic Kingdom 's Star Jets appeared more like space shuttles. Each of the 12 open-air vehicles was attached to the central axis by a 20-foot arm. The vehicles held up to two passengers who circled round and round, 60 feet above

288-668: A lengthy career as a radio announcer at KNX in Los Angeles , and as a television actor, his best-known role being that of the malt-shop proprietor in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet . He was the younger brother of noted choral director Roger Wagner . Wagner's son Mike, a former disc jockey and radio programmer, is a Disney executive. Wagner was forced to retire in 1991 following throat surgery, but occasionally still did voice work and brief announcements for Disney. Four years later, he died at age 69 after collapsing at

336-637: A massive expansion including the creation of Space Mountain , a new location for the Disneyland-attraction, Carousel of Progress , and the WEDWay PeopleMover . The Star Jets were considered the focal point of Tomorrowland due to its soaring, spinning rockets and central location. This version of the attraction was based on the Disneyland version, in both location (on top of the PeopleMover platform) and in style (both feature

384-413: A permanent roof over the guideway. The engineering and design of the track itself were also reworked. While Disneyland's version regularly changed elevation, especially during the outdoor portions, the version for Walt Disney World was designed to remain at the same elevation from start to finish. The original narration was provided by longtime Disney announcer, Jack Wagner . In June 1985, his narration

432-468: A sharp S-turn to merge with the storage track, and run along the outside of the building perimeter to return to the railroad bridge. The Space Mountain segment of the PeopleMover has gained heavy notoriety among park guests for offering the only accessible view of Space Mountain when the interior work lights are on. Because the two attractions have separate operating systems, the PeopleMover does not have to stop during Space Mountain breakdowns, so guests riding

480-526: A significant change in the design of Tomorrowland. Known as Discoveryland, the land took on a retro-science-fiction style inspired by some of Europe's greatest writers, such as Jules Verne and H. G. Wells . As such, Orbitron's central axis resembles a bronze 19th century rotating planetarium instead of a rocket. This design was exported to the Disneyland Resort in California when Tomorrowland

528-458: Is known as Jet Packs at Shanghai Disneyland . It opened on the same day as Shanghai Disneyland opened, June 16, 2016. Jack Wagner (announcer) Jack Francis Wagner (October 17, 1925 – June 16, 1995) was an American radio personality and actor best known for his association with Disneyland . He is famous for the various announcements over the park PA, for parades, special events, etc. He also did voice work for Walt Disney World , and for

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576-585: Is unknown if the Observatron still functions. In April 2009, the Astro Orbitor at Disneyland closed for refurbishment and was stripped down to its skeletal structure. It reopened in June 2009 with a silver, blue, red, and gold trim color scheme. No form of the attraction existed in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World until 1974, three years after the park's opening, when Tomorrowland underwent

624-611: The Tron Lightcycle Power Run . Afterwards, the ride crosses the Walt Disney World Railroad tracks and pass through a switch, which leads to the ride's storage and maintenance bays as they make a right turn to enter Space Mountain . Inside Space Mountain, the trains then make a left turn and pass in between the lift hills of the roller coaster tracks. The vehicles then pass two lighted signs reading "Starport: Seven Five" (an oblique reference to

672-641: The album of the same name . A similarly famous announcement is the message signaling that the Walt Disney World Monorail's doors are closing. This spiel is as follows: "Please stand clear of the doors. Por favor manténgase alejado de las puertas. " He also did the vocoder voice for the Main Street Electrical Parade albeit, pitch down in 2017 and then was retired completely in 2022 due to the controversial "ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!". Wagner also enjoyed

720-406: The 1994 narration over its 15 years of use included the following: The Tomorrowland Transit Authority closed on April 19, 2009, in line with a 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. During

768-600: The Cinderella Castle again, and above the queue line for Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor , and the queue line for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. The ride then returns to Rocket Tower Plaza, where guests disembark and unload. The Wedway PeopleMover opened on July 1, 1975, based on the PeopleMover attraction at Disneyland in California (WED for Walter Elias Disney ). Because the system did not utilize

816-503: The PeopleMover when the work lights are on get a rare illuminated look at the roller coaster tracks. After crossing the railroad tracks again, the trains backtrack to a point above the Tomorrowland Speedway before turning south. After passing over Space Mountain's entrance plaza, the former Skyway terminal and the restrooms, the track travels along the exterior of Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress , before crossing over

864-463: The PeopleMover's narration, as well as references to defunct rides and attractions from Tomorrowland's history, such as If You Had Wings , The Timekeeper , and the song " The Best Time of Your Life " from the 1975 version of The Carousel of Progress . The three-note musical chime heard throughout the 1994-2009 narration has also been restored. There is also narration referencing the new Tron Lightcycle Run . References to Stitch have been removed, as has

912-716: The Progress City/" Epcot " model, which originally resided in the upper level of the Carousel of Progress at the New York World's Fair of 1964-1965 and at Disneyland starting in 1967-1973, before encountering a diorama of two robots and crossing the Star Traders shop. Leaving the northern show building, the ride passes over the walkway to Fantasyland, the Tomorrowland Speedway , and access to

960-541: The attraction was closed to make room for the new renovated Tomorrowland. The attraction returned in August 1967 as the Rocket Jets . This version was located on top of the new PeopleMover platform, and was accessible from ground level via an elevator. The focal point of this version was its replica Saturn V / NASA -themed rocket in the center. This version remained open until 1997, when it closed for renovations with

1008-524: The attractions themselves, including instructions, emergency precautions, and safety spiels. Because of the prevalence of his voice over the park, his nickname was "The Voice of Disneyland". One of his most famous lines is from a safety spiel at the Matterhorn Bobsleds attraction, spoken in English and Spanish: "Remain seated please; permanecer sentados por favor. " This line is reprised in

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1056-435: The cameo by Monster Inc.'s Roz, with only Buzz Lightyear's cameo remaining. Astro Orbiter The Astro Orbiter is a "rocket-spinner", aerial carousel -type attraction featured at five Disneyland -style parks and Walt Disney Resorts around the world, except for Tokyo Disneyland . Although each ride may have a slightly different name, all share the same experience of vehicles traveling through space, spinning around

1104-519: The center rocket along with various planets on the outside of the attraction as to appear as if the rockets were weaving between the planets. The ride at the Magic Kingdom does 11 rotations per minute and averages 1.2 million miles a year. In the 1994-2009 narration for the Tomorrowland Transit Authority , the ride was referenced as the "League of Planets Astro Orbiter." The version prepared for Tokyo Disneyland debuted with

1152-466: The changing themes of several Tomorrowlands . In 1956, the first rocket-spinner attraction opened at Disneyland and was known as the Astro Jets . The attraction was made by Klaus Company Bavaria and similar to several versions found in traveling carnivals. The "jets" made a 50-foot circle around a large red-checkered rocket and guests were able climb upwards of 36 feet in their ride vehicles from

1200-522: The former Galaxy Palace Theater entrance and entering the south show building. Entering the building, guests pass a diorama of a futuristic salon and then get a view down into Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin , similar to the one given of Star Traders. Exiting the tunnel, the ride travels along the side of the south show building, and passing by Main Street U.S.A. , the Tomorrowland sign entrance and

1248-556: 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. Changes made in

1296-571: The ground level they were boarded at. The attraction stood between the Submarine Voyage and Rocket to the Moon. The name Astro Jets was changed in 1964 when United Airlines , as a new park sponsor (sponsoring " The Enchanted Tiki Room "), contended the name was free advertising for American Airlines ' coast-to-coast Astrojet service. After this dispute, the name was changed to Tomorrowland Jets . The name lasted until September 1966, when

1344-501: The ground, while controlling their ascent and descent with a metal control stick. On January 10, 1994, the original Star Jets closed in order to undergo a complete makeover as part of the New Tomorrowland. The attraction was re-designed and re-opened on April 30, 1994, as the Astro Orbiter , part of the complete renovation of the park's Tomorrowland section. The attraction featured a highly stylized iron-work tower in lieu of

1392-498: The main narration for Disneyland's PeopleMover from 1982 to 1995. The new narration is similar to the original WEDway Peoplemover narration and includes segments introducing all attractions in Tomorrowland, including attractions that had opened after the last update to the narration, such as Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor . The narration also includes brief audio clips from characters represented by

1440-433: The next day. On July 1, 2022, the narration was updated to feature an entirely new narration by ORAC-5 (a reference to the original narrator character of ORAC One), replacing the narration done by Mike Brassell. The safety spiel was also updated to make references to aliens and other sci-fi tropes. While much of the dialogue is still the same, just with a new voice, the narration now features references to past iterations of

1488-633: The north show building to Space Mountain, and the section from Space Mountain to the Carousel of Progress, which was not changed. It was during this refurbishment that the attraction's name changed from the Wedway PeopleMover to Tomorrowland Transit Authority . A new narration was added, with the tour led by Pete Renaday broadcasting from TTA Central. The new name and narration debuted on June 12, 1994. This 1994 recording remained largely unaltered until October 2, 2009, which came shortly after

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1536-454: The nostalgic fireworks show " Remember... Dreams Come True ", and is also a line in the film Toy Story 2 (said by Barbie , who was voiced by Jodi Benson ), as well as the episode "Rollercoaster: The Musical!" in the Phineas and Ferb Disney animated series. The original recording can also be heard in the opening seconds of Anaheim ska punk band No Doubt 's "Tragic Kingdom", a song from

1584-548: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic , Walt Disney World announced that they once again extended the Tomorrowland PeopleMover refurbishment. The refurbishment continues to follow along with the theme park hours posted the furthest into the future, in this case April 4, 2021. On March 31, 2021, Walt Disney World announced yet another extension to the PeopleMover refurbishment, this time set to reopen May 2021. The ride soft-opened on April 25, 2021, and officially reopened

1632-470: The opening year of the attraction), before open space to the left allows a view down into the post-show dioramas. After the view of the post-show, the track makes a right turn, wrapping around the Omega track's loading station, and travels along the back side of the building, which is in complete pitch black darkness. It is possible to look up and see the projections from the ride and the tracks. The trains make

1680-484: The park in April 1983, sharing its name ("Star Jets") and design with the first Magic Kingdom version. Even though the park does not have a PeopleMover attraction, designers nonetheless placed their attraction atop an elevated platform similar to that at Florida's Magic Kingdom. This attraction closed on October 10, 2017, and was replaced by The Happy Ride with Baymax . The opening of Euro Disneyland in April 1992 marked

1728-421: The refurbishment, the beamway was enhanced with new multicolored LED lighting that moves in time with the music being played in Tomorrowland. Other enhancements included freshly re-painted trackway and infrastructure, as well as new speakers for the ride audio system. On October 2, 2009, the ride received a new narration featuring the voice of Mike Brassell, with safety spiels provided by B. J. Ward , who provided

1776-539: The rest of Tomorrowland. The new form of the attraction opened one year later as Astro Orbitor . The new version is a replica of the Orbitron, Machines Volantes at Disneyland Paris . The Astro Orbitor at Disneyland was planned to be placed where the Rocket Jets were, but weighed too much for the current building. Instead, it was relocated to the entrance of Tomorrowland, and placed on ground level, thus making

1824-558: The ride had reopened following a five-month down period during the refurbishment of Space Mountain. 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 constitutes the actual ride, was Tomorrowland's intra-city elevated train system. The Red Line took riders 'off-planet' to other destinations in

1872-537: The ride the new focal point as guests step from the main plaza of Disneyland into Tomorrowland. One concept drawing had guests boarding the attraction underground and others had the center of the attraction featuring a water moat (similar to the "Dumbo the Flying Elephant" attraction in Fantasyland). Neither ideas were ever carried out. The mechanism for Rocket Jets on top of the PeopleMover was re-used as

1920-494: The rotating Goodyear tires used as propulsion in the initial version of the transportation mode, instead relying on Linear induction motors , Goodyear had no involvement in the East Coast version. The Edison Electric Institute was the original institutional patron of the attraction. Instead of an open track with covered cars, as designed for Disneyland, the trains were designed were built as open-air cars that traveled under

1968-492: 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 )

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2016-468: The trains make a sharp left turn, followed by a sweeping turn over the plaza. The track then makes a right-hand turn, running along the outside of the northern show building and above the former queue for Stitch's Great Escape! and passing by the Tomorrowland main entrance at Central Plaza. The track enters a tunnel through the northern show building and passes a large diorama containing a portion of

2064-455: The various attractions: Buzz Lightyear can be heard when passing Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Roz is heard when passing Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, Mickey Mouse can be heard when passing above the Mickey's Star Traders store before the rebranding to Star Traders in 2019, and Stitch , also known as "Experiment 626", was previously heard when passing Stitch's Great Escape!. In addition,

2112-452: Was announced that the name "PeopleMover" would officially be re-instated into the ride's name, effectively changing it to Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover . Ride signage was changed around the track to reflect the name change. On March 12, 2020, it was announced that Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover would close for refurbishment. On October 26, 2020, since Walt Disney World reopened after being temporarily closed during

2160-566: 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

2208-505: Was completely obscured with plywood and black fabric. In the spring of 1994, Tomorrowland underwent a massive refurbishment that changed the theme of the land from being a showcase of future technology to a working city of the future. The WEDway PeopleMover received new physical theming as the track structure along the north and south show buildings as well as Rocket Tower Plaza was updated from smooth Googie-esque white forms to boldly colored metallic structures. The section of track linking

2256-634: Was renovated in 1998. This was also the first version of the attraction to be installed at ground level instead of atop an elevated platform. Like the other international Disneyland parks, Hong Kong Disneyland opened in September 2005 with its own version, known as the Orbitron , a modified version of the Parisian one. In order to improve the attraction's capacity, the rockets became "flying saucers" and were made large enough to accommodate an average of four riders per saucer, in two rows of two riders. It

2304-541: Was replaced by the voice of ORAC One – "The Commuter Computer" voiced by actor Ronnie Schell , which was used until June 11, 1994, when the attraction received a makeover for the New Tomorrowland . At that time the WEDWay Peoplemover passed through the attractions that occupied Tomorrowland during that time, including Mission to Mars , If You Had Wings , and others. Originally, the tunnel through

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