Friday, August 21, 2009

Vintage Tomorrowland Ride Vehicles


Where in the 1998 Tommorrowland could you have found Rocket Jets, PeopleMover cars AND Skyway buckets? I know what you're thinking. You are thinking "nowhere" because Disney destroyed all of those attractions. Well, the answer to that question is actually The Premiere Shop, located at the exit to the Rocket Rods attraction. (Of course, the queue for the Rocket Rods even had part of a vintage Monorail car, but that's the subject for another post!)


Notice the upright Rocket Jet vehicles being used to display merchandise in the next two photos.



Here's a better view of one of the merchandise displays. Hey, the control lever is still in place! Doesn't it make you wish you could go for a ride...but up on top the old Rocket Jet platform? .



After Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters opened in 2005, the shop was renamed Little Green Men Store Command and was given a Buzz makeover, but a few of the old ride vehicles remained and can still be seen in the shop today. Here is what the displays look like today with their new paint jobs.



This is what the cash register counter looked like back in 1998. These are actual pieces of the old PeopleMover vehicles.


And this is what that same counter looks like today.


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This scooped out area on the bottom is where the small white panels originally went as seen here at Daveland.
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I definitely liked all of these vehicles better with their former paint jobs, but I'm just glad they're still around to remind us how cool Tomorrowland used to be!
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*Post Update - 2015: To view a newer post with more pics of vintage Tomorrowland ride vehicles, including the last remnant of a Mark IV Monorail, click here: Mickey's Mouseorail

8 comments:

Daveland said...

Chris - I am stunned! Been through there many a time and never even noticed that. Thanks for the fantastic post.

AJ said...

Fascinating. I'm pretty enamored with the old paint jobs, too, now that I actually know they used to be there.

What DOES Disney do with old ride vehicles (not counting the ones they use for merch displays)?

TokyoMagic! said...

AJ, that's a good question! I know some of them get auctioned off. Not sure what happens with the rest.

Unknown said...

I love the People Mover cars...

Fantastic!

Cory Gross said...

Another reason I am one of the few people who liked Tomorrowland '98 in principle if not execution. The self-reference throughout it is something, including this shop.

Nicholas Tucker said...

Very interesting!

Vintage Disneyland Tickets said...

Awesome Post! I had no idea about the cash register counter, thanks!

Unknown said...
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