Dear Disney,

[Tom Chaney]

I don't think it's any secret that the Tomorrowland 1998 conversion was one of most disasterous things that has ever happened to Disneyland. I can't help but think that you agree since all of the recent changes to Tomorrowland have tended to revert this area to it's pre-1998 configuration. (Or... at least to the same feeling.)

So... what's the holdup?

I know you have budgets, fiscal agendas, corporate stuff and executive falderal. Lookit; Disney has more money than God. Your stock has been rising nicely lately and, face it, you're going to be around for a long time. So... here's my suggestion:

Shake loose the coin to restore Tomorrowland NOW. Screw your long-term budget and profit/loss projections and whatever psychobabble your consultants are whispering in your ears. Tell your analysts to chill and butt out. Rip that Band-Aid off the wound. Sure it hurts! But it doesn't hurt for long. Get 'er done!!

You do realize that if you were to revert Tomorrowland back to 1968 today, you would receive copious publicity worldwide!? The kind of publicity that even Disney couldn't afford!? Who's running the company, anyway? The dreamers or the accountants? (NOTE: as a stockholder, I place my trust in the dreamers. Do you?)

It's time to... uh... "make" or get off the pot. Painting the Astro-Orbiter's railings silver is sweet, but just doesn't cut it. You know that, dont' you.

Just do it.

You know what you have to do.

Just do it.

[Radiobarry]

Re: Dear Disney,

Shake loose the coin to restore Tomorrowland NOW. Screw your long-term budget and profit/lose projections and whatever psychobabble your consultants are whispering in your ears. Tell your analysts to chill and butt out. Rip that Band-Aid off the wound. Sure it hurts! But it doesn't hurt for long. Get 'er done!!

You do realize that if you were to revert Tomorrowland back to 1968 today, you would receive copious publicity worldwide!? The kind of publicity that even Disney couldn't afford!? Who's running the company, anyway? The dreamers or the accountants? (NOTE: as a stockholder, I place my trust in the dreamers. Do you?)

It's time to... uh... "make" or get off the pot. Painting the Astro-Orbiter's railings silver is sweet, but just doesn't cut it. You know that, dont' you.

Just do it.

You know what you have to do.

Just do it.

I could not agree with you MORE.

As I've said before, Tomorrowland used to be one of very favorite areas of the park.

Now, in my opinion, besides Space Mountain there is no reason to go over there.

And this isn't a second-guess. I said the same thing when as a member of the press I saw the plans they released in 96 or 97. I knew then they were headed for, if not disaster, something worse than what they had.

Preach on, Brother Tom.

Unfortunately, I'm with the choir.

--Barry

[mrfantasmic]

Re: Dear Disney,

As am I. I've put forth many opinions on this in the past, and agree insofar as TL needs a remodel. I will not say go back to the past. I'll say go back to the future.
PM is a great idea... plus it, make it speed variable, make it silent and cool again.
Astro Orbiter is beautiful. Retrofit the building and put it where it belongs: on the platform.
Starcade is dead space: Move Space's queue in there.
Space's Old new queue? Demolish the shade structures and open up that rooftop to give that great view again.
Magic Eye Theatre is stale: Freshen it up with something more technologically thrilling than a simple 3d movie.
Innoventions is old! Plectu can take it over, and maybe that second floor can be your new mall... with the sponsors demonstrating how Plectu and crew can use their technology in the future.
Star Tours is a one-stop: Expand travel options!
Buzz doens't need fastpass! Use the queue as much as possible.
Autopia smells bad: Electrify them, and make them futuristic!

A lot needs to go into this, and it can't just be back to the "Days of Yore" but forward to an improved version of those great ideas!

[Aladdin]

Re: Dear Disney,

During the slow, painful demise of TL during the entire
1990's decade, and the birth of it's demon child ~ or
TL'98 as most people refer to it, any kind of magic,
motion and movement was leveled, grounded, and ground
to a hault, and everything else was left to rot.

Over and over again, watching the travesty unfold was
excrutiatingly painful, as I was beginning to realize that
changes do not occur that frequently, and when those
changes are riddled with mistakes it take even LONGER
for DL to recover from. It is now nearly one WHOLE
DECADE since construction began on the '98 monster,
and it's in worse shape now than it was TWO DECADES
AGO! Absolutely criminal! Eisner and Pressler should
be made to paid for there mis-manglement!

Slowly throughout the 90's, and even past the '98 horror,
I had been voicing that Tomorrowland was SLOWLY
getting sucked into a BIG BLACK HOLE. Skyway, Peoplemover
Circlevision, The huge non rotating remnant that once housed
Carousel of Progress and America Sings was empty for year after
year, Subs closed, Rocket Rods was closed almost before it
even opened, Cosmic Bidet, Star Tours grew old, Autopia closed
to remodel, Honey I Shrunk the Audience was old by the time
it was installed at DL, And Tomorrowland hit an ALL TIME LOW
When SPACE MT. was CLOSED ONE MORNING FOR EMERGENCY
REPAIRS to the surprise of Cast Members working the attraction,
and to guests! It just wasn't possible for TL to be in any worse
condition!

When DCA opened, already at least half that entire park had been
sucked into that same BIG BLACK HOLE that had nearly consumed
all of Tomorrowland, soon after, the west side of DL was also
getting sucked in, with the demise of the Country Bear
Jamboree.

Yes, for the 50th, Space Mt was rushed to be finished, and the
copycat ride, Buzz Lightyear was rushed into the Circlevision building
earlier in 2005. BUT so many problems remained to be fixed, and they
are just barely touching on a small part of TL that had previously
disappeared. Soon the Subs will be open with Nemo and friends, and
soon a new fleet of monorails will be in operation, BUT those 2 things
are just a SMALL portion of TL that was torn out.

Tomorrowland has had a HANGOVER from the '98 makeover for EIGHT
LONG YEARS NOW!!!! And yes, it's time they quit doing their LONG
DRAWN OUT PLAN, which probably is scheduled to take another decade)
AND GET IT ALL DONE NOW. WE just don't have the patience for anymore construction walls in TL. GET IT FIXED RIGHT! The way it
should have been fixed MORE THAN A DECADE AGO!

It's not fair to Tomorrowland, and it's not fair to the guests,
SO FOR TOMORROWLAND, I say "GIVE IT LIBERTY or GIVE IT DEATH!"

[mycroft16]

Re: Dear Disney,

I agree with the fact that Tomorrowland needs some severe and harsh updating. I also think that Disney knows this. And if they are going to work on TL on a grand scale, I think I prefer them to take their time and get every single plan worked out in detail to perfection before they start building and spending money. When they do, I want them to spare no expense, but I prefer that they have a good, well thought out plan for the future. Being the secretive folks that Imagineers are, for all we know they have been working on this for a few years now. We know they have plans to do more after Nemo opens. Nemo in and of itself should be good for TL. Another E-ticket ride. A revamped monorail. TLT is back. Who knows at this point what else they have up their sleeves.

[Quacky4Donald]

Re: Dear Disney,

To be honest I do infact seeing Starcade removed very soon. It just makes logical sense. I'm sure a guy like Lasseter cringes every single time he walks by that building. Just give it time...Tomorrowland will get back to the way it was meant to be.

...Joe...

[JiminyCricketFan]

Re: Dear Disney,

I agree with you in principle. Disney should fix Tomorrowland. It would bring in more guests. But I know that Disney won't for the following reasons:

1) DCA-- According to Al, Disney is getting set to spend some big bucks on this disastrously designed park. That big bucks are going to come from the Disneyland budget. I applaud them for finally biting the bullet and doing something, but it will come at Disneyland's expense.

2) Since Disney is a public company, they have to report earnings each quarter. When Disney spends a whole lot more than what is coming in, then the stock drops. Even if it is a temporary down turn that would be made up in a year, Wall Street does not care. They will take the stock down. Loss of capitalization would be disastrous for a new CEO like Iger. He pledged to INCREASE Disney earnings 30 % over last year. Not fulfilling that promise would probably make him lose his job.

3) Currently Disneyland master planning appears to be made in Orlando, by the committee headed by Jay Rasulo. He does not appear to like to spend money on quality rides. He does not appear to be happy with keeping maintenance up since WDW is falling apart. With his tight-wad approach to theme park management, there will be no new Tomorrowland for a while.

I do not say I like the above facts. But they are facts and will keep Tomorrowland from having a "great, big beautiful tomorrow" for a long time.

[sediment]

Re: Dear Disney,

Tom, since when do you work for Nike?

Let's see if Lasseter can imagine something not so Pixar. That will be a challenge. There's lots of space there: a two-story revolving building; an unused track; a big mobile/sculture that used to hold revolving rockets; two movie-based attractions (again, created because it would make updating the attraction easier) that need updating; an arcade that, while a staple of TL for 27+ years (my first recollection) really doesn't belong (though the arcade on Main Street should return); a couple of food places that aren't all that futuristic ("hexagonal hamburgers!") -- how about a sit-down restaurant that has a non-human serving contraption, be it robots or a serving conveyor belt -- a big traffic clogger at the entrance; etc.

[sediment]

Re: Dear Disney,

I do not say I like the above facts. But they are facts and will keep Tomorrowland from having a "great, big beautiful tomorrow" for a long time.

"Tomorrow" sounds way too far off for these executives to imagine and implement something.
Maybe the name should be changed to "Next Quarter's Earning Land"?

[bee1000]

Re: Dear Disney,

Maybe the name should be changed to "Next Quarter's Earning Land"?

Ha!

I think the name Tomorrowland is itself a problem. 51 Years ago, you could imagine a "tomorrow" that was feasible to build. Today, it would take some serious imagineering to come up with rides and attractions that really felt futuristic. I think the 1998 retro future concept was a clever way to get around that problem.

The way the land is laid out just feels unlike the rest of DL. There are so many spaces that feel like they're from a second-rate shopping mall and lack Disney magic. Everything from the Matterhorn to Autopia to Submarine pond/Nemo and everything around Space Mountain is ugly and dirty looking.

It will take a huge effort to fix it, but it is also a huge opportunity.

[Ghostbuster626]

Re: Dear Disney,

you guys are aware of the "Tomorrowland Reviltization Plan" right? It's a 5 year plan that started in 2005 with the opening of Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and the beginning of the new paint scheme and logo change.

We are moving into the second phase already with Tomorrowland Terrace coming back, a new incarnation of the Submarine Voyage , and a new monorail fleet.

Still waiting for new Star tours and peoplemover....

[Hippie]

Re: Dear Disney,

As am I. I've put forth many opinions on this in the past, and agree insofar as TL needs a remodel. I will not say go back to the past. I'll say go back to the future.
PM is a great idea... plus it, make it speed variable, make it silent and cool again.
Astro Orbiter is beautiful. Retrofit the building and put it where it belongs: on the platform.
Starcade is dead space: Move Space's queue in there.
Space's Old new queue? Demolish the shade structures and open up that rooftop to give that great view again.
Magic Eye Theatre is stale: Freshen it up with something more technologically thrilling than a simple 3d movie.
Innoventions is old! Plectu can take it over, and maybe that second floor can be your new mall... with the sponsors demonstrating how Plectu and crew can use their technology in the future.
Star Tours is a one-stop: Expand travel options!
Buzz doens't need fastpass! Use the queue as much as possible.
Autopia smells bad: Electrify them, and make them futuristic!

A lot needs to go into this, and it can't just be back to the "Days of Yore" but forward to an improved version of those great ideas!

yes, Yes, YES!!!
(though, if they get rid of Starcade, where's the DDR SuperNova gonna go? )

[Quacky4Donald]

Re: Dear Disney,

yes, Yes, YES!!!
(though, if they get rid of Starcade, where's the DDR SuperNova gonna go? )

Zenon's spaceship. It's like so totally innergalactically awesome space friend!

[Walt Jr.]

Re: Dear Disney,

GET RID OF IT! GONE! CAPUT! Keep the Subs and Space Mountain but remove all the modern mall stuff!

[Tinkerbell]

Re: Dear Disney,

Sing it!!!
All I know is that I want Tomorrow back in Tomorrowland. I want to see innovative things, things of the future, amazing ideas, not old Pixar movies crammed in old rides. Please! If there is a God, FIX IT!! It's more important than a new hotel, more important than any other part of Disneyland. It needs help.

[mrfantasmic]

Re: Dear Disney,

you guys are aware of the "Tomorrowland Reviltization Plan" right? It's a 5 year plan that started in 2005 with the opening of Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and the beginning of the new paint scheme and logo change.

Yeah, well we keep hearing about it, but no one can give us a whole definition of what it really is!

[Ghostbuster626]

Re: Dear Disney,

Yeah, well we keep hearing about it, but no one can give us a whole definition of what it really is!

Why don't you guys ask Al Lutz? he knows all about it.

[Tom Chaney]

Re: Dear Disney,

you guys are aware of the "Tomorrowland Reviltization Plan" right? It's a 5 year plan that started in 2005 with the opening of Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and the beginning of the new paint scheme and logo change.

We are moving into the second phase already with Tomorrowland Terrace coming back, a new incarnation of the Submarine Voyage , and a new monorail fleet.

Still waiting for new Star tours and peoplemover....

I am thrilled and thankful that there is a 5-year plan to restore Tomorrowland. The recent changes are so, so very welcome I cannot tell you. It was wonderful to see the "new" Tomorrowland Terrace signage and that marvelous planter.

My whole original rant was regarding the 5-year part. I'm no corporate economist or analyst so maybe I'm just some hayseed barking in the woods... but I'd much rather see them cordon off the entire land for a year or so and FIX IT, than drag it out over 5 years. (A lot of mind-changing can happen in 5 years!)

Maybe I should just be silent, though. At least they're finally doing something!