Reimagining Magic Kingdom: An Armchair-Imagineered Blue Sky Build-Out of Walt Disney World’s Iconic Theme Park

TOMORROWLAND, continued

Build-Out

I guess for whatever reason, Tomorrowland begins outside of Tomorrowland. I’ve never really understood Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland Terrace – a restaurant that’s almost never open, and accessed from Main Street, U.S.A. (Maybe it made sense when it was the Plaza Pavilion restaurant, more interestingly straddling the two lands.) In the ’90s, a concept was floated for the space that I’m bringing back from the grave: THE ASTRONOMERS CLUB.

The concept was that after you’d traveled through time with the Lost Legend: The Timekeeper, you’d come here to this swanky secret club where great thinkers, authors, artists, and inventors from across time – like Leonardo da Vinci, Jules Verne, and H.G. Wells – would meet to discuss new ideas that propel humanity forward. What I particularly like about this concept is that it actually does meld Main Street and Tomorrowland in an interesting way; all of these historic figures revered throughout history, brought together through science fiction means. It’s kind of compelling, and would make for a great Quick Service restaurant for the land.

Anyway, as we now step onto the bridge leading into Tomorrowland proper, we’d see a land transformed. Still an homage to Walt’s vision of “a world on the move,” this kinetic land of swirling colors, gliding PeopleMovers, and rotating structures, but now brighter and more saturated.

In Walt Disney World’s planning, there was a sense that this more mature, grown-up, “rich” park would play more to adult audiences that kids. As a result, the park was packed with purpose-built theater spaces. Tomorrowland was unlucky enough to end up with two along its entry, and Imagineers have struggled to figure out how to use them ever since. Even when 1994’s New Tomorrowland found novel re-adaptations (turning the placid, circular Rocket to the Moon theaters into a sensory horror show, and the been-there-done-that Circlevision technology into an animatronic-led show with a plot) neither became the E-Ticket draws that the space called for.

So I’ve done exactly what a dumb idiot would do: try again anyway.

In the north showbuilding along Tomorrowland’s entry, we re-try ALIEN ENCOUNTER. To be fair, there were a lot of issues with the original version of the show, not the least of which being that it famously had “too many cooks in the kitchen” and never found the right balance between “funny scary” and “genuinely terrorizing.” Fans often say that if it had opened at Disneyland or Disney’s Hollywood Studios, it would’ve been a hit, since those parks aren’t so relentlessly G-rated that any ride at all where “something goes horribly wrong” results in an angry visit to Guest Services. If that’s true, then having added a little more edge and intensity to Magic Kingdom elsewhere (Fire Mountain, Geyser Mountain, etc.) might help make Alien Encounter feel at home.

But as we also acknowledged in our Lost Legends: Alien Encounter feature, this attraction was kind of a mess. It was a big, bold idea that’s very interesting on paper, but was really, really uneven in its execution. If the exact same attraction were plopped in today, I think folks would be a lot less enamored with it as some bold, audacious, interesting experiment like retrospect allows since the reality of it – a kind of sloppy, D-list celebrity-starring, so-bad-it’s-good show that left a whole lot of kids very unhappy – isn’t so lovely.

But dammit, I want it to happen. So let’s make it happen! If saying it would be 20th Century’s Xenomorph alien helps sell you on this concept, fine. If I were actually in charge, I’d stick with the WDI-made alien, which I think is a very cool “original character” in its way, not unlike Figment or the Orange Bird or Lord Mystic. So let’s just rethink it, restage it, add modern technological embellishments, but otherwise bring back Alien Encounter. Easy!

Across the way, in Tomorrowland’s south showbuilding, we have another theater to deal with. Magic Kingdom opened with a 360-degree, nine-screen Circlevision theater in this spot. The next year, a dark ride about aviation – the Lost Legend: If You Had Wings – was built around it. As we saw in our Then & Now feature of hand-drawn ride layout comparisons, the DNA of both attractions is still there, fifty years later. New walls make the CircleVision space into Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, and the Omnimovers have been repurposed as Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger ships.

So what I’ve done is to basically combine them. I envision this space now becoming TIMEKEEPER’S CHRONOBLASTERS. Now, the experience would begin in a new queue and pre-show where, in the domed Clocketarium, the whacky robotic Timekeeper and his assistant Nine Eye would introduce us to their newest invention: Chronobots. In a comedic illustration painted across the Clocketarium, Timekeeper explains that even a single flap of a butterflies wing could change course of history, and the Chronobots are here to monitor the timeline and make sure that doesn’t happen.

Of course, against Nine Eye’s advice, the Chronobots are dispatched throughout the past, present, and future, and make quick work of fracturing our timeline into millions of multiverses. (“I meant to do that!” the Timekeeper comments as Nine Eye sighs.) At once, were recruited to jump aboard Time Machines, track the Chronobots, and destroy them.

Modeled after Web-Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure, Chronoblasters would include randomized sequences taking you to various places throughout time. And best of all, it would conclude with a reutilization of part of the CircleVision space in a final Time Vortex, with elements from across the timeline swirling amidst the Chronobots and creating a massive, multiversal finale before the timeline is restored. With the remaining Chronobots reprogrammed and locked onto the present, they become wonderful souvenirs, too. (Wink.)

The entry corridor to the land would still conclude in a two story platform just like it does now, with a station for the PEOPLEMOVER (now an inter-land ride given that a second station exists beneath the Rocket Jets in Yesterland). Above is the HOVERPACKS – a sort of more thrilling, floorless variation of the ride that debuted in Shanghai Disneyland (and that I’ve since used in both my California Adventure and Islands of Adventure build-outs, because it’s such a great little “plus” to differentiate this kind of ride from Dumbo, add a more thrilling element (especially on the third level of that platform), and edge Tomorrowland away from the “rocket” motif that now belongs in Yesterland.

Speaking of rockets, the main feature of the land is still that iconic ribbed white dome. But now, SPACE MOUNTAIN: SOLAR MISSION has a whole new ride inside. Don’t get me wrong – I understand the appeal of the classic Space Mountain with its zippy layout, bobsled trains, and 25 mph speed. But we are infusing tons of capacity for the under-8 crowd into this park, and justifiably ramping up the thrills elsewhere to balance it.

As luck would have it, Magic Kingdom’s Space Mountain is huge. Its diameter is twice that of the other model found in Anaheim, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. That gives us room to think big. I think Fire Mountain fulfills this park’s need for a launched, inverting coaster. So even if I think Space Mountain should be reimagined, I think I’d want this ride to have a 42″ height requirement. Maybe using Cosmic Rewind’s ride system, but with a traditional lift hill and saving rotation for very key, slow-moving moments along the ride’s course.

Frankly, if this ride could just be Universal Studios Japan’s Space Fantasy: The Ride, that would be fantastic. Swirling among galaxies; slaloming around stars; spiraling around planets; and of course, that explosive finale where the ride enters the interior of the sun – a beautiful, shimmering, mirrored chamber at the star’s core. That ride perfectly captures what I think a Space Mountain in a refreshed Tomorrowland can be – pure fantasy, joy, and colorful abstraction.

Throughout the land, crystalline, glasslike prisms are placed throughout planters, pulsing at night with the energy that powers this land. Even so, I wanted to make sure Tomorrowland was warm in its colors; stark whites are accentuated with rich purples and blues; colorful trees abound. And at last, there’s water – COSMIC WAVES takes place on a lagoon of crystal clear water on the land’s edge. Within, fountains dance through the day and night. Tomorrowland needs the negative space and the earthiness that trees, water, geodes, and other organic forms provide.

Anyway, the former Carousel of Progress theater has now been vacated (thanks to the ride’s relocation to Yesterland). The resulting space is really pretty large one. I debated putting a Quick Service restaurant here (as it stands, this Tomorrowland only has one formal eatery – the Astronomers Club) but decided to put this space toward ELIO’S SAUCER SPIN. I think this could be either an LPS “dancing” flat ride (a la Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters) or a third attempt at the air-powered flying saucers concept.

Finally, we have to talk about Wall•e. That 2008 film received universal critical acclaim, was a huge commercial success, and actually deals with not just the future, but with the “hard facts” and “joy and inspiration” that will get us there. Wall•e is such an incredible film, and such a perfect fit for Tomorrowland that it almost seems criminal that it’s just about the only Pixar film that hasn’t gotten any representation there.

I hope to correct that with WALL•E: THE STELLAR JOURN•E. Here, guests board trackless ride vehicles (only my second trackless dark ride in this park after Villainous, thank you very much!) named GLIDE•R and join Wall•e and Eve for a trip across the cosmos and into humanity’s future. I loved the idea of a ride that sort of picks up where the film left off – with human’s return to an earth their ancestors squandered with a new commitment to making it home again.

“Zooming out” from Earth, Wall•e and Eve would whisk us through the galaxy – including a “Define Dancing” moment among the endless stars as we weave and spin around other GLIDE•Rs in a cosmic ballet. Across the endless universe, we’d see that only one is home – a “pale blue dot” and a lonely speck of dust that’s ours to protect. A wordless, poetic, adventurous, and beautiful ride, I think this would be a true gem and a fan-favorite.

Which, I guess, brings us to the end of Tomorrowland. Somehow, we’ve made it around my entire reimagined Magic Kingdom – through 11 lands containing 46 rides.

The Grand Circle Tour

Google tells me that a novel should come in between 80,000 and 100,000 words. Given that my build-out of Magic Kingdom is coming in at a quarter of that – a cool 20,000 words estimated to take over an hour and a half to read – I have no words at this point except to thank you for taking this very in-depth journey with me.

I can’t imagine that you agree with everything I included in this build-out. More than likely, I removed something you wish I hadn’t; included something you would’ve excluded; or used a space to do something you didn’t expect, or don’t like. That would all be alright with me, and as a matter of fact I’d love to hear your thoughts, see your sketches, or read a walkthrough of your dreams for this park. Magic Kingdom is a special park to a lot of people, and even if I don’t love every aspect of it, I guess through this process I did find a lot that I like.

20,000 words ago, I said that I hoped my version of Magic Kingdom would be some something, even if I wasn’t sure what. Hopefully in retrospect, what it’s “more” of is… itself? I wanted to embrace what makes this park special – its scale, its malleability, and its proud role as a corporate flagship where Disney stories and characters come to life – and use them for good. I wanted it to be fuller; brighter; warmer; more thrilling… but to still keep what it’s about: being regal, rich, historic, and efficient. Did I succeed? I’ll let you decide.

Before you head off, a few last requests. First of all, be sure to check out my build-outs of Islands of Adventure, Disney California Adventure, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I hope you’ll find them to be just as interesting to dive into.

Finally, if you haven’t yet, consider joining Park Lore for $2/month or more. Park Lore members are the reason you encountered no ads in this 20,000 word write-up, and the reason I can pursue deep-dive, in-depth, quality-over-quantity explorations into theme parks like this one instead of churning out clickbait to satiate Facebook attention spans. If you enjoy this kind of coverage, it would be an honor to have you. Until then, thank you for making this project happen.