Can we blame star wars for the "New" Tomorrowlands?

[Bubbadunne]

I was reading Kevin Yee's article about the cartoonization of Tomorrowland and i came up with this idea...

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE star wars, but isn't it weird that the first step towards tomorrowland's new "theme" (Space Mountain) opened up the same year Star Wars hit theaters?

Since then, a HUGE interest in space fantasy has swept the world and tommorowland changed accordingly.

The next piece of evidence is Star Tours, an attraction based on Star Wars itself. This was the next radical depature from the theme of progress and one step closer to tomorrowlands new "theme" of "dump random movies here land".

So my question is, Can the success and interest of Star Wars be responsible for the wild sucess of space mountain, and therefore the direction tommorrowland ended up taking?

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

[AwesomeMan33]

Re: Can we blame star wars for the "New" Tomorrowlands?

don't ever ever EVER blame anything on Star Wars

[phruby]

Re: Can we blame star wars for the "New" Tomorrowlands?

No. Space Mountain was planned orignally by Walt Disney back in the 60's. They just never had the technology to pull it off until the late 70's. Space Mountain has nothing to do with Star Wars. As far as I'm concerned, they should just retheme all of Tomorrowland to Star Wars Land! It sure would be alot more interesting than the crap we have now.

Boy, blaming Star Wars on it's 30th birthday! How rude!

[Bubbadunne]

Re: Can we blame star wars for the "New" Tomorrowlands?

Lol, i don't mean to "blame" it in a negative way, but I noticed the odd conicidence that the public's perception of space fantasy changed with star wars AND with space mountain. both of which opened in the same year. Does Space Mountain owe some of it's sucess to Star Wars? If it does, can Star Wars be responsible for Imagineering's ultimate desicion to change tommorowland's theme to fantasy instead of obtainable future?

[SpectroMan]

Re: Can we blame star wars for the "New" Tomorrowlands?

I don't think so, plus, WDW's Space Mountain opened in 1975.
And Star Tours exterior was white, so it can't be blamed for all the bronzing that came along in 1998 either

[AwesomeMan33]

Re: Can we blame star wars for the "New" Tomorrowlands?

Space is just the sterotypical spokesman for anything to do with the "future". Thus your not going to have many options for rides in space. If you disect every ride you can even blame Buzzlight year to work off success from SW.

[HiddenMickey]

Re: Can we blame star wars for the "New" Tomorrowlands?

I think why seem there seems to be a similarity in your viewing is because the future or "tomorrow" has always been space exploration and technology. It's just coincidence that Space Mountain opened the same year Lucas released Star Wars.

...and I am with everyone else- don't blame Star Wars :lmao:

[ALIASd]

Re: Can we blame star wars for the "New" Tomorrowlands?

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE star wars, but isn't it weird that the first step towards tomorrowland's new "theme" (Space Mountain) opened up the same year Star Wars hit theaters?

Since then, a HUGE interest in space fantasy has swept the world and tommorowland changed accordingly.

Is it R2-D2's fault Disneyland opened in '55 with "Rocket to the Moon" or later transformed into "Mission to Mars" two years before Lucas' film came out? When all else fails - Blame a Droid.

[AwesomeMan33]

Re: Can we blame star wars for the "New" Tomorrowlands?

Many Bothans died to bring us the plans for Space Mountain, so thank your lucky stars

[Bubbadunne]

Re: Can we blame star wars for the "New" Tomorrowlands?

I wasn't looking at the "bronzing" of the land. That was put through because of the discoveryland in paris.

I'm simply trying to see if the popularity of Star Wars has any relationship to the popularity of Space Mountain?

1975 is only two years earlier, which means that any long terms effects couldn't be gauged by it. But instead, could the public's interest in space fantasy (a la Star Wars AND Space Mountain in the same general time frame) be the fuel that started the fire of Tomorrowlands new themes?

[Bubbadunne]

Re: Can we blame star wars for the "New" Tomorrowlands?

Is it R2-D2's fault Disneyland opened in '55 with "Rocket to the Moon" or later transformed into "Mission to Mars" two years before Lucas' film came out? When all else fails - Blame a Droid.

Rocket to the Moon and Mission to Mars both promoted progress and education, not Aliens and Sci Fi.

[Bubbadunne]

Re: Can we blame star wars for the "New" Tomorrowlands?

Space is just the sterotypical spokesman for anything to do with the "future". Thus your not going to have many options for rides in space. If you disect every ride you can even blame Buzzlight year to work off success from SW.

I agree with you completely on this point, but i'm not looking at buzz and i'm not dissecting Space. I'm just wondering if Space would have been such a driving force behind tomorrowlands new focus is it wasn't for the popularity of Star Wars.


I'm sure you can imagine a little kid back in '77 getting off of Space Mountain and Imagining that he had just had an adventure with Han and Luke.

That kind of magic is priceless and timeless, but then movie attractions, (such as star tours itself) took the "space port" theme and ran with it. Then that space port theme turned into a dumping place for space movies theme and now it's gone so far to include finding nemo in this?

If anything, at least nemo is a step back to the progress aspect of tomorrowland.

[HiddenMickey]

Re: Can we blame star wars for the "New" Tomorrowlands?

1975 is only two years earlier, which means that any long terms effects couldn't be gauged by it. But instead, could the public's interest in space fantasy (a la Star Wars AND Space Mountain in the same general time frame) be the fuel that started the fire of Tomorrowlands new themes?

Star Wars was drafted in 1973, while Space Mountain's design was already conceptualized by then. Perhaps we can blame Space Mountain for Star Wars look.

[aaronpaulcustoms]

Re: Can we blame star wars for the "New" Tomorrowlands?

don't ever ever EVER blame anything on Star Wars

Im with AwesomeMan33! Star Wars is not a force to be reckoned with. I suggest we all present an offering to George Lucas before he spreads damnation over Micechat for our heracy!

[Bubbadunne]

Re: Can we blame star wars for the "New" Tomorrowlands?

Star Wars was drafted in 1973, while Space Mountain's design was already conceptualized by then. Perhaps we can blame Space Mountain for Star Wars look.

Maybe, maybe not. But the date in which both were drafted are moot points. The general public wasn't aware of either projects until 75 and 77 in disneyland.

And wouldn't the fact that disney rejected lucas' "space movie" be some sort of backing that they weren't interested in space fantasy at the time?

[I Heart Disneyland]

Re: Can we blame star wars for the "New" Tomorrowlands?

don't ever ever EVER blame anything on Star Wars

:lol: Love it! :lol:

[HiddenMickey]

Re: Can we blame star wars for the "New" Tomorrowlands?

Maybe, maybe not. But the date in which both were drafted are moot points. The general public wasn't aware of either projects until 75 and 77 in disneyland.

And wouldn't the fact that disney rejected lucas' "space movie" be some sort of backing that they weren't interested in space fantasy at the time?

Lucas' film was rejected by almost every major studio because it was considered too much of a risk.

The influence for Space Mountain was already taken into consideration from Walt's imaginer's in 1967 when the New Tomorrowland opened.

We have a vast amount of years difference here to try to bridge Tomorrowland with Star Wars.

[Bubbadunne]

Re: Can we blame star wars for the "New" Tomorrowlands?

don't ever ever EVER blame anything on Star Wars

Oh, oh oh! Hold on...let me just mention three things...

Episodes, 1, 2 and 3

[Kritter]

Re: Can we blame star wars for the "New" Tomorrowlands?

Space Mountain has nothing to do with Star Wars... Absolutely Nothing

[Bubbadunne]

Re: Can we blame star wars for the "New" Tomorrowlands?

We have a vast amount of years difference here to try to bridge Tomorrowland with Star Wars.

But your missing my point. I'm not trying to bridge the two together. I'm trying to see if there is a relationship in their popularity that allowed them to feed off of eachother. It's obvious that disney ended up taking notice of Star Wars in the eighty's and put it in tommorowland as part of the "space port theme"