Walt Disney famously declared that Disneyland would never be “finished”. Unlike his movies, which would remain the same once they were in the can, Disney could keep tweaking his theme park, adding new attractions and replacing old ones.
He was true to his word. During Disney’s lifetime, he added a host of rides and shows to the Disneyland line-up, and he wasn’t afraid to throw out the old ones, either. His successors at the company stayed true to that spirit, and Disneyland has evolved significantly since its opening day in 1955.
Some attractions are missed more than others. In this article, we’ll pick out 10 noteworthy Disneyland attractions that are no more..
10. Flying Saucers
The futuristic Flying Saucers ride was installed in Tomorrowland in 1961, having been manufactured by longtime Disney partner Arrow Development and National Research Associates. Like a large-scale version of air hockey, it saw guests boarding personal flying saucers that sat on a cushion of air, and then bouncing into each, bumper cars-style. There was no steering wheel, instead guests simply leaned from side to side to try and guide their saucer.
Unfortunately, the Flying Saucers proved to be troublesome and expensive to maintain. This, coupled with the ride’s low capacity, meant that they were scrapped in 1966 as Tomorrowland was converted into New Tomorrowland. A similar attraction, Luigi’s Flying Tires, opened at Disney California Adventure in 2012.
9. Monsanto House of the Future
One of Tomorrowland’s first walkthrough attractions, the Monsanto House of the Future operated from 1957 to 1967. The attraction was sponsored by the Monsanto Chemical Company’s Plastics Division, and focused on plastic as the building material of the future. The setting was meant to be 1986, although many of the proposed innovations didn’t catch on.
The house itself looked like a 1,280 square foot futuristic white penthouse, not terribly different than many modern contemporary homes in urban cities today. It was perched on a pedestal which provided an area below for an oasis-like garden, complete with a serene waterfall. It had four wings of equal size that created eight rooms: a family room and dining room, two kids bedrooms (one for a boy, one for a girl) with a shared bathroom, a master bedroom and main bathroom, and of course a living room.
Within these rooms, guests were given an all-access pass to peruse modern day home appliances that weren’t all that commonplace back in the 50s and 60s. They were able to get up close and personal with a compact microwave oven and ultrasonic dishwasher, an intercom system and a huge wall-mounted television as well as polyester clothing – all of which are in great use today.
8. Carousel of Progress
Devised for the General Electric Pavilion at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, the Carousel of progress was moved to Disneyland in 1967. Located in a theater that literally revolves around an inner core of six stages, the progressive audio-animatronic show followed one family through five time periods (from 1900 to present day) as technology improved and life changed.
General Electric continued to sponsor the show, and by 1973 it wasn’t happy – believing that most Californians had already seen it. It asked for the Carousel of Progress to be packed off to the Magic Kingdom in Florida, and it was – reopening in 1975, and remaining in place to this day.
7. Adventure Thru Inner Space
When Disneyland first opened in 1955, Tomorrowland was in something of an unfinished state. Although Walt Disney worked hard to add new attractions to the area, by 1967 it was time for a major overhaul. New Tomorrowland debuted that year, with a new type of dark ride as its headline attraction: Adventure Thru Inner Space. For the first time, the attraction offered guests the chance to be shrunk down to a size smaller than an atom. The queue line was a major part of the experience, with waiting riders watching as others entered the Monsanto Mighty Microscope – only to emerge at the other end in miniature form!
Adventure Thru Inner Space was the first Disney attraction to use the company’s revolutionary Omnimover ride system – the same system that is employed by the likes of the Haunted Mansion today. The “Atommobile” vehicles carried guests pass giant snowflakes, Mickey Mouse-shaped molecules and the inside of an oxygen atom. Gradually, riders would start to return to normal size, witnessing swirling water molecules as the “snow” seen earlier melted.
The attraction closed in 1985 to make room for the Star Tours simulator. In turn, that was replaced by Star Tours: The Adventures Continue. Look out for a tribute to Adventure Thru Inner Space in the modern-day attraction – the Mighty Microscope is visible when escaping the Death Star above Geonosis.
6. Rainbow Caverns Mine Train / Mine Train through Nature’s Wonderland
These days, Big Thunder Mountain railroad races through Frontierland. Its precursor, though, was a much more gentle mine train ride. Opened in 1956, it ran through the “Living Desert” area, which also housed a stagecoach ride and the infamous Pack Mules. The caverns that lent the ride its name boasted pools and waterfalls of glowing water.
In 1960, the ride was updated, becoming the Mine Train through Nature’s Wonderland. As well as wilderness environments, it now featured animatronic animals. It was closed in 1979 to make room for Big Thunder Mountain, but the colorful caverns at the start of the roller coaster are a nod to Disneyland’s original mine train.
5. Rocket to the Moon / Mission to Mars
Rocket to the Moon opened in 1955, and took guests on a simulated flight to the moon. Designed in conjunction with NASA, it quickly became outdated as NASA actually accomplished the feat of landing men on the moon.
The ride was replaced by the updated Mission to Mars in 1975. In the pre-show area, known as Mission Control, the audio-animatronic flight director explained the background to the mission. Guests then boarded a “spacecraft”, which contained a circular theater with stadium-style seating, for a journey into space, onwards to Mars, and then back to Earth.
4. Rocket Rods
In 1998, Disneyland’s Tomorrowland underwent a major overhaul, re-emerging as New Tomorrowland. One of the “casualties” of the project was the former PeopleMover attraction, which had been installed to offer guests an overview of the area. Its moderately-placed vehicles were replaced by the Rocket Rods, a high-speed thrill ride that operated on the same track.
After boarding a 5-seat Rocket Rod, riders raced around the circuit at a much faster pace than the only WEDway vehicles. Unfortunately, the attempt to bolt the new attraction onto the existing PeopleMover infrastructure proved to be catastrophic. The unbanked turns weren’t suited to high speeds, so the Rocket Rods had to slow down to a crawl on each bend. Tires wore out quickly, and the entire attraction was shuttered in September 2000. It’s still standing but not operating today.
3. Videopolis
Perhaps the quintessential 1980s Disneyland attraction is Videopolis, installed in 1985 as a way to appeal to teenagers and young adults. Located in Fantasyland, it hosted shows during the day but came to life at night when it transformed into an open-air dance club. It featured 70 video monitors, which showed music videos or live feeds, as well as a snack bar featuring the trendy name “Yumz”.
Videopolis was tied into another 1980s Disney initiative – the launch of the Disney Channel. A show dedicated to the attraction was filmed live at Disneyland, and featured top bands and singers such as New Kids on the Block and Janet Jackson. It was shuttered in 1995, being replaced by the Fantasyland Theater.
2. Skyway
Image: Tom Simpson, Flickr
Disneyland’s version of the Skyway opened just a year after the park itself, on June 23, 1956. It was built by Swiss specialist Von Roll, and was the first aerial ropeway of its type in the USA. Three years later, Disneyland added the Matterhorn Bobsleds roller coaster, complete with its signature mountain. It was directly in the path of the Skyway, so was carefully built around it.
The Skyway reached the end of the line at Disneyland when stress cracks were found in the Matterhorn roller battery supports in 1994. It was removed on November 9 of that year, although the Fantasyland station remains (but it is off-limits to guests). The holes that were once in the Matterhorn have long since been filled in.
1. PeopleMover
Walt Disney longed for an overhead transportation system that could offer people a rapid overview of an area in a city. In 1964, he set Imagineer Bob Gurr to work on creating one. The result was the WEDWay, also known as the “PeopleMover”. The ride, opened in 1967 in Tomorrowland, employed a unique turntable system to enable continuous loading. Though it wasn’t picked up by dozens of major cities as Disney had hoped, the WEDWay system is still in use at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas.
Disneyland has long hinted at a return for the PeopleMover in some capacity. The latest rumors suggest that it will re-emerge as a Star Wars-themed walkthrough attraction.
