Chapter 26 - Magic Kingdom - Tomorrowland Part 2           published 3/19/19

We continue our tour of Tomorrowland. In the Chapter, Chapter 25, our tour left off at the Monsters, Inc. attraction.

In this chapter our tour will continue to following attractions:

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and prior attractions such as
  • If you had Wings (1972-1987)
  • If you could Fly (1987 – 1989)
  • Delta Dreamflight (1989 – 1996)
  • Dreamflight (1996)
  • Take Flight (1996 – 1998)
 
  • XP-37 Space Cruiser

Buzz Lightyear Meet and Greet

The Kiosk “The Claw”

Galaxy Palace Theater plus
  • Tomorrowland Stage

Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover and including
  • Progress City
  • Mr. Tom Morrow
  • Tomorrowland RoboNewz

For the most recent map:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/maps/mk.htm
Quick look at the map for our bearings and we’re ready to move on to the next attraction, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. But since the Buzz Lightyear attraction didn’t open until 1998, let’s take a look at what attractions it replaced.
If You Had Wings (1972–1987)
The original attraction in this location was If You Had Wings. It was sponsored by the then official Disney airline, Eastern. If You Had Wings opened in June 1972. The four and a half minute omnimover ride featured a host of travel destinations serviced by Eastern, as well as, its own theme song.
If You Had Wings was nothing more than an entertaining 4½ minute advertisement for Eastern.  It was a free attraction which didn’t require an attraction ticket.
Guests walked through an unassuming doorway to enter If You Had Wings. Once inside they found themselves in a large room that was designed to resemble a modern airport passenger terminal. Overhead were arrival and departure boards listing exotic locales that Eastern serviced. Here is a list of the pending departures:
  • Caribbean and Island Ports of Call
  • Su Casa Service to Old San Juan
  • The Pyramids of Ancient Mexico
  • The New Orleans Jazz Flight
  • Bermuda’s Underwater Reefs
  • The Adventure Specials
  • Bahamas 700 Islands.
Was designed by Disney Legend Claude Coats who was known for his dark ride designs.

(Note: Claude Coats also served as the designer for Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Snow White's Scary Adventures, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, World of Motion and Horizons)
As guests continued through the queue, they came to a ramp which would carry them to the vehicles. Once seated, guests entered a giant, stylized globe.
 
In the queue guest would an announcement “Flight 72 leaving from Gate 19” which referred to the year the attraction opened.
 
The ride utilized the Omnimover system. It began with the vehicle gently tilting back. This was to impart the feeling of an airplane takeoff. Projected on a blank wall were animated silhouettes of seagulls in flight. These were soon replaced with animated silhouettes of airplanes racing across the sky. In the background, the theme song “If You Had Wings” began to play. The music for this song was written by Buddy Baker and the lyrics by X Atencio.

(Note: Buddy Baker and X Atencio were wrote the lyrics and song for the Haunted Mansion. See Chapter 17)

If you interested in the lyrics for the song check out the following link:
As the ride proceeds, all around the guest were colorful props that featured windows, arches, and any number of openings. In these openings were projected films of the many locales Eastern Airlines flew. 85 projectors were used in the ride.

(Note: The concept was later used in the El Rio del Tiempo boat ride in the Mexico pavilion in EPCOT Center.)
The projections encountered during the ride included:
  • Mexican scenes featuring an Aztec pyramid, cliff divers, flower boats and a fiesta.
  • Caribbean scenes featuring people on a cruise ship, a fisherman who can't resist exaggerating the size of the marlin he caught, a marketplace, divers and people doing the limbo on a beach.
  • Puerto Rico scenes featuring the ocean and musicians performing in a town square.
  • The Bahamas scene with a police officer trying to direct traffic between sped-up footage of pedestrians and flamingos.  
  • Jamaica was represented by people walking up Dunn’s River Falls.
  • A jazz band in New Orleans and Mardi Gras revelers.  
After visiting the many exotic locations presented at the beginning of the attraction, guests entered the SuperSpeed Tunnel. This was an elongated room with an arched ceiling. Here, racing dune buggies, speeding motorcycles, dare-devil water-skiers, hurtling airboats, acrobatic planes, and other assorted vehicles were seamlessly projected onto the walls and overhead. At the same time, the Omnimover vehicles tilted back and fans blew cool breezes onto your face. All of this combined to give the rider a sense of extreme motion. It was the virtual reality of its day.
 
The SuperSpeed Tunnel was followed by the Mirror Room. In this room, floor to ceiling mirrors reflected images of snow-covered mountains and other serene landscapes.
 
The final scene brought us back to more projected seagulls and an occasional Eastern aircraft passing by. An announcer would leave us with these parting words: “You do have wings, you can do all these things, you can widen your world, Eastern…we’ll be your wings.”
 
The arrival board on the opposite side near the Omnimover boarding ramp listed the following:
  • Miami-The Sun Fun City
  • Louisville-Derby Town
  • Seattle-The Queen City
  • New York-The Empire City
  • Portland-The Rose City
  • Los Angeles-City Of Angels
  • Atlanta-Crossroads Of The South
  • Philadelphia-Quakertown
  • Detroit-The Motor City
  • The Magic Kingdom
After exiting the attraction, guests could visit a working Eastern Airlines reservation desk to book future travel dates.
 
In 1987, Eastern discontinued its sponsorship of the attraction which led to a short closure in June of 1987 to make way for its replacement, If You Could Fly.
 
The attraction was extremely popular and attracted over 40 million visitors in just six years.
 
Video of the complete attraction:  
Throughout Walt Disney World and Disneyland there are and were many references and utilization of effects which originated in the If You Had Wings attraction.
 
  • Timekeeper made reference to the ride in his movie when he told Jules Verne, You can't fly.  If you had wings, I'd let you go." (see Chapter 25)
  • Several Walt Disney World and Disneyland attractions borrowed technology that was first used in If You Had Wings. The Speed Room effect was used by Disneyland’s PeopleMover in 1977 for their SuperSpeed Tunnel.  The tunnel was modified in 1982 to become the Tron Game Grid.  
  • World of Motion in Epcot also had three separate Speed Room effects.
  • El Rio Del Tiempo made extensive use of projections, such as the cliff diver and underwater effects.
  • The book shelves at the Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen contain a book called If You Had Wings, You Could Fly. (see Chapter 9)
​
References:
If You Could Fly (1987–1989)
If You Had Wings closed in June 1987 and within 5 days, If You Could Fly opened. The attraction was the same but it no longer contained references to Eastern Airlines.
The logo for the attraction was replaced with a Seagull and the theme song was rewritten and the music for each scene changed with only a few sound effects.
 A song had a melody almost similar to "Up, Up and Away" by the Fifth but with different lyrics then the original attraction.  
 
After less than two years after its debut, If You Could Fly closed in January 1989 to undergo a fairly major refurbishment into the subsequent replacement, Delta Dreamflight.

Source:
Delta Dreamflight (1989–1996)
As Guests entered the building the queue was designed to look like an airport boarding terminal. The front-end nose and cockpit of an actual Delta 767 was situated on the left entering the queue, "passengers" appearing as though they were actually boarding a jetliner. The Delta jet was marked as "The Spirit of Delta".
​
 The name of this aircraft, “The Spirit of Delta,” was more than just a cute designation the Imagineers picked for this plane. It actually had a special meaning for Delta.

(Note: During the hard economic times for Delta in the early 80’s an employee support program called “Project 767” raised donations for Delta to buy its first Boeing 767. On December 15, 1982, they achieved their goal and the company’s first 767 was named “The Spirit of Delta.”)
A little over 6 months after its predecessor, If You Could Fly, had closed, the new attraction opened in June 1989.
It was officially named Delta Dreamflight. Delta also became the official airlines of Walt Disney World.

The attraction story was changed, however the existing Omnimover, track layout, and floor plan were reused, but everything else about this attraction was new.
​
 Delta Dreamflight focused on the golden era of aviation and the history of manned flight.
As guests made their way into the queue they entered a newly themed terminal lined with travel posters advertising exotic destinations from around the world.
Further on they would enter the jet via a neon and mirrored jet ramp and loaded an Omnimover vehicle.
  • Guests first encountered a giant mural depicting the golden era of aviation in America, adorning the wall in the first room.
  • The next room that guests entered on the attraction had a giant, pop-up book style spinning room which had a hot air balloon and other flying contraptions spinning by them as the "Dreamflight" song played.
​
(Note: “The Dreamflight Song” was written Edo Guidotti. He had also written the original score for Spaceship Earth in Epcot used from 1994-2007)
  • The third room was just a big screen with a film clip of an aerial stuntman standing on top of a prop plane while it performed dizzying stunts in the air.
  • Next came the era of air travel, where commercial flights started taking passengers all over the world. Passing by a sign with a rotating globe that advertised air travel, guests would hear an announcer notifying them that their Dreamflight was about embark for the era of air travel and that their flight would span the world, making brief stops in Tokyo, Japan, and Paris, France.
  •  Guests would then ride out onto a dock and into the fuselage of Boeing 314 Flying Boat. Inside, they could briefly see the elegant first-class dining area.
  • As the guests made their way forward, a giant spinning light along with fog and fans gave the impression that they were about to actually enter the inside of a turbo jet engine and quite literally entering the Jet Age. The sounds of an engine roaring to life and taking off then blasted out over the sound system.
  • As guests entered a gigantic film projection room, they saw footage of a plane taking off a runway to simulate their flight's departure, eventually lifting off and flying through the clouds in the sky.
  • The next room was another film clip on the right which showed computer-generated clips of the guests above the earth, flying in a canyon above water and eventually flying in a futuristic city with fireworks exploding all around them; the first theatrical-format 70mm computer animations ever produced.
  • Then guests entered the second room of the "flight" which was designed to look as though they were in a giant crop field of the American mid-west in the roaring 1920s. Biplanes, stunt planes and barnstormers were flying all over the ceiling above a flying circus air show. The pilot of a plane had crashed through a barn and was stuck in the rafters on the ceiling of the barn.
  • Then, guests would find themselves in Tokyo, where a gentleman in a suit stood on the guest's left in a garden where he was being greeted by the Japanese locals.
  • Coming up on the right hand side below the guests were the rooftops and the skyline of Paris, France. Guests "flew" past the rooftops of a Paris street and could see quaint little shops and tourists sitting below on the patio of a French cafe.
  • As the guests moved ahead, they would encounter a rotating sign saying, "Jet Age", and a male or female voice said, "Ladies and Gentlemen. Your Dreamflight will depart immediately for the future. Please prepare for supersonic takeoff". To the immediate left on the wall was a giant painting of a jetliner taking off towards the sky.
  • The final room of the attraction was a giant pop-up book with destinations spread out on huge pages, while a little projection of a Delta jet flew by above the display into the clouds. As guest rode past, the book's pages would turn to show off different destinations.
  • The exit area was a room with the Delta logo painted on the wall and with more posters of destinations from around the world to visit.

References:
Dreamflight (1996)


​When Delta ceased sponsorship at the beginning of 1996, the attraction was renamed to simply Dreamflight in January 1996. The ride went unchanged until June of 1996 when its successor, Take Flight, opened.

References:
Fly away this season with our Roundtrip Airfare Sale and get up to $15 Off* on flights. Book Now!
Take Flight (1996- 1998)

In June 1996, just one day after its predecessor, Dreamflight, had closed, Take Flight opened. There was only a slight refurbishment; all references to Delta were removed and the attraction's popular theme songs were rerecorded.
 
After a year and a half, Take Flight officially closed in January of 1998, ending the series of aviation themed attractions. It was replaced by the interactive ride, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin that opened 10 months later in November 1998.

References:
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
As we’ve seen the Space Ranger Spin building was home to some great prior attractions. It started in 1972 as a ride called “If You Had Wings”, closed and reopened as “If You Could Fly” in 1987, then became an entirely new attraction called “Delta Dreamflight” in 1989, which went through two other name changes in 1996: “Dreamflight” and subsequently “Take Flight”. In 1998 it became the base for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, the building’s longest-running attraction to date.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is a lively interactive ride on an omnimover space cruiser which can swivel and spin controlled by the riders who can also aim and shoot at many moving targets with laser guns onboard the vehicles. 
Picture
Backstory

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin based on the Pixar “Toy Story” movie series.
 
The back story of the ride takes place in Buzz Lightyear’s universe and around the attempts of Evil Emperor Zurg (voiced by Frank Welker) to steal the  crystollic fusion cell batteries used to power the space vehicles of the Little Green Men. (Voiced by Jeff Pidgeon and Debi Derryberry)
 
Guests are "Star Command" Space Ranger recruits sent to defeat Zurg and stop him from doing his evil. 
 
It seems the Evil Emperor Zurg is attempting to steal cells (batteries) used by the Little Green Men to power their spacecraft. It is the job of the Junior Space Rangers to stop Zurg.
 
The Buzz Lightyear attraction brings the dilemma of Star Command to light. The recruits must battle a swarm of evil robots, all of whom are programmed to enforce Zurg’s will.
 
The ultimate mission is to prevent Zurg from claiming batteries to fuel his killbot armada.
 
The recruits must prove themselves by claiming as many batteries as possible. Armed with a Space Cruiser, the XP-37, and a laser gun, the recruit heads out into the blackness of space, where they will encounter evil robots and Zurg at one point.
 
It was a full year before Toy Story 2 opened in theaters, and since Zurg never made an appearance in the first Toy Story movie, the Disney World ride was actually the first place where Toy Story fans got to see the evil emperor.
 
Now on to the Ride.
Ride
The queue of the ride shows different pictures of Buzz Lightyear and the Little Green Men. It also shows the battery cells and pipes plugging into Star Command.
​As the recruits approach the loading area an Audio-Animatronic Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Pat Fraley) and Viewmaster provide explanation of the "mission" to destroy Zurg's secret weapon with your blasters.
​ Since Buzz Lightyear is a toy, the attraction is cleverly scaled to give the illusion that one has just been reduced to the size of an action figure, featuring such detail as giant, exposed Philips screw heads and an explanation of the interactive phase of the ride that resembles a toy's instruction sheet, only on a gigantic scale.
Microsoft
​ Recruits then pass Buzz Lightyear, move on to the loading area and board a Space Cruiser XP 37.
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is a combination dark ride and video arcade game. Using the latest in Omnimover design, the ride vehicles are under the control of the passengers and can be rotated 360 degrees with the use of a joystick. The track layout is the same as the one used when If You Had Wings opened in this building on June 5, 1972.
 
Two passengers can fit comfortably into one of the colorfully painted XP-37 Space Cruisers. Each rider has a pivoting laser gun which is attached to the console. Beside each gun is an electronic scoreboard. The joystick is positioned between the guns.
 
The adventure takes the recruit Space Rangers through the galactic world of Evil Emperor Zurg and Buzz Lightyear. Florescent monsters, robots, and other creatures line each side of the track. On these otherworldly objects are Emperor Zurg insignias. It’s the recruits’ job to hit as many of these emblems as possible while traveling through the Gamma Quadrant. 

  • The ride begins when the Cruiser enters a room with four blue colored astronauts holding guns aimed at a disco ball.

  • The ride then enters a robot attack scene. An orange robot called the Box O' Bot, a blue and purple robot called the Giganto Bot, a green robot called the Battery Bot, and a Dog Bot are all present in this scene.
  • The ride then slopes down a short hill into Planet Z. Here guests encounter many aliens including space chickens, space spiders, and others. There is also a volcano that is shooting green goo.
  • The guests then enter Zurg's fortress where they see a battery delivery. Zurg is in his spaceship, which he calls his Spiderbot.
  • The final room shows Buzz Lightyear fighting with Zurg in the now destroyed Spiderbot. The Little green men help Buzz tear it apart.

​
  • In the next room the aliens show the guests that Zurg has escaped. The next room is the projection tunnel and in it Zurg is shoots at the guests.

​

  • ​Then the unload area shows Buzz Lightyear thanking the guests while holding Zurg in the claw.
  • At the end of the ride, a large sign informs you of your new rank depending on how well you succeeded at combating Evil Emperor Zurg.
 
Level 1 Star Cadet: 0 – 1,000
Level 2 Space Ace: 1,001 – 10,000
Level 3 Planetary Pilot: 10,001 – 100,000
Level 4 Space Scout: 100,001 – 300,000
Level 5 Ranger 1st Class: 300,001 – 600,000
Level 6 Cosmic Commando: 600,001 – 999,998
Level 7 Galactic Hero: 999,999
  • Guests will then exit the ride into Store Command where they can purchase a photo of themselves on the ride and sells items themed to Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story. In the gift shop is a massive mural all along the right hand wall which depicts Tomorrowland full of alien creatures enjoying the sights. In the sky above, there is a small ship rocketing away from guests, and those who look closely will recognize it as belonging to Stitch!
Voices
  • Frank Welker (Emperor Zurg) also performs the voice of Fred in Scooby-Doo
  • Jeff Pidgeon (Little Green Men) provided the voice for the "Aliens" in the Toy Story films and the Toy Story Toons short
  • Debi Derryberry (Little Green Men) voice roles include the title character from Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
  • Pat Fraley (Buzz Lightyear) substituted for Tim Allen in the early years as the voice of Buzz Lightyear in various video and computer games, merchandise, attractions

There are some Game Tricks
In order to gain the most points possible, here are some tips:
  • Simply hold the trigger down throughout the ride, the Laser will continue to shot.
  • There are special targets throughout the ride:
    • ​The targets that are the highest and farthest away are worth the most points.
    • When you get in the 1st room, look for the orange robot. If you shoot his left hand you’ll snag 100,000 points.  Then shoot the claw for another 100,000 points.
    • When you get in the 2nd room, the top of the volcano is worth 50,000 points. Make sure you shoot at the spinning target as it is worth 25,000 points.
    • When you get in the 3rd room, look for the target on Emperor Zurg’s ship. It is worth big time points.  Also aim for the batteries at the bottom of the ship as they can get you 50,000 points.
Bonus
The highest score that you can get is 999,999, which is the Galactic Hero ranking.  If you get this score, be sure to talk to the cast member at the attraction. It entitles you to a special sticker or button. Just show a cast member a picture of the score in the gift shop at the end of the ride.
XP-37 Space Cruiser
The Buzz Lightyear Space Cruisers vehicles in the attraction are named the XP-37 and utilizes Disney’s Omnimover system. The X stands for unknown capabilities of the cruiser and the P signifies protection for Star Command and the Universe. The batteries on the Space Cruiser XP-37 and throughout the attraction are “Crystollic Fusion” which was taken from the Toy Story film when Buzz mentions his main power source as “crystollic fusion”
 
The first Buzz Lightyear attraction was in Walt Disney World and the Space Cruisers were called the XP-37, the second Buzz attraction in Tokyo they are the XP-38’s, the Space Cruisers in Hong Kong are the XP-39’s and in Disneyland XP-40’s.
The Kiosk “The Claw”
Some of the best details in Disney’s theming are easily overlooked. Across from Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is an outdoor gift stand. It features “The Claw” (OOoooo) reaching down to select its next Little Green Men.
Buzz Lightyear Meet and Greet
At you exit the Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin attraction, located underneath the Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover tracks between Carousel of Progress and the Buzz's Star Command guests can meet with Buzz Lightyear in front of the Space Ranger Map.
 
The location was once the entrance to the Galaxy Palace Theater at Rockettower Plaza.
 
Tomorrowland Stage 
From 1980 to 1994 the Stage between Carousel of Progress and If You Had Wings/If You Could Fly/Dreamflight was known as the Tomorrowland Stage.  

Walt Disney World 10th Anniversary Show at the Tomorrowland Stage.
Reference:  
If you’re interested in super high quality videos of Walt Disney World check out:
The Kids of the Kingdom performed the show Disney World is Your World on this stage starting October 1981.  
Video:  
There was also a show called Show Biz Is that was performed from July 1983 to September 1985.  
Video:  
The stage closed September 17, 1994 and was later known as Galaxy Palace Theater.
Galaxy Palace Theater
 
With the major refurbishing of Tomorrowland in 1994, this theater also changed its name to match the new theming of Tomorrowland. No major changes were made to the theater except its name.
The Galaxy Palace Theater was a covered stage area with bench seating

The Galaxy Palace Theater was a fair sized outdoor amphitheater in Tomorrowland.
Past Entertainment at Galaxy Palace Theater:
  • Disneymania! (1996 - 2001): Join the Disney Characters and the Kids of the Kingdom in a musical salute to Disney's greatest hits.
  • Disney World is Your World (October 2, 1981 - 1993): A stage show about the 10th anniversary of Walt Disney World
  • Galaxy Search (1993 - 1998) Interplanetary talent search starring Mickey, Goofy and the gang as well as a special guest performer.
 
It was used for special events such as Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, Mickey's 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and various Disney Magic Music Days events. During the day there were one or two shows being put on by regional musical and dance troupes.
 
 The theater closed and began demolition in January 2009.

References:
Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
The Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover in the Magic Kingdom takes guests on a relaxing journey on the highway in the sky, offering them glimpses of Tomorrowland and into nearby attractions.
 
Originally called the WEDway PeopleMover it opened at the Magic Kingdom in July 1975. (Note: The WED stood for Walter Elias Disney.) 
The idea for the PeopleMover goes back to Walt Disney himself. Walt initially planned to build a futuristic city in Florida called the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT). This city wasn’t completed, and EPCOT became one of Walt Disney World’s theme parks instead. Walt originally planned to use the PeopleMover as the transportation system in his utopian city of the future. The PeopleMover an example of technology in which Walt Disney himself saw great potential.
The WEDway Peoplemover in Walt Disney World differed from its counterpart at Disneyland in its propulsion system and design. While Disneyland's attraction used spinning tires embedded in the track, the Magic Kingdom's attraction uses emission-free linear-induction motors. A linear induction system which utilizes only the power of magnets to push and pull the vehicles along, making it a clean running attraction.
 
If you’re interested in more information on the Magic Kingdom Tomorrowland’s PeopleMover’s propulsion system below are two excellent articles:
​
​As most attractions in Tomorrowland has seen some changes. In 1994 when Tomorrowland saw its major refurbishment, WEDway PeopleMover’s name was changed to Tomorrowland Transit Authority. In 2010, the PeopleMover was added to the end, most guests refer to the attraction as the PeopleMover or TTA.
 
Along with the name changes in 1994, the attraction underwent some changes. The color scheme of the attraction vehicles was changed, the narration re-recorded and the script updated.
The original narration track was provided by longtime Disney voice, Jack Wagner. In June 1985, his narration was replaced by the voice of ORAC One - "The Commuter Computer", which was used until June 11, 1994, when the attraction received a makeover for the New Tomorrowland.
 
Link below for the original Jack Wagner PeopleMover Ride Script from 1975-1985. It provides a slice of historical information on the attraction and the sights guests saw during the ride:  
A new narration was added and from June 1994 until October 2009 it was voiced by Pete Renaday who was broadcasting from TTA Central.
Note: Pete Renaday also did the voices of Abraham Lincoln in Hall of Presidents (Chapter 16)​, Henry in Country Bear Jamboree (Chapter 14) ​and The Narrator in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Chapter 21) ​attractions.
 
Mike Brassell narrates from October 2009-present.
Note: Mike Brassell also narrates Living with the Land in Epcot. Brassell composed "Mount Bop", the current on-ride theme for Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom.
 
However any time an attraction along its path was updated, the narration and script too had to be changed. As a result, many versions of the attraction's narration have existed since its opening day.
 
The original sponsor of this attraction was the Edison Electric Institute (1975-1985).
 Current sponsor is Alamo Rent a Car (2005-present).
​
Picture
Backstory
In the original backstory for the Tomorrowland Transit Authority backstory, the ride audio referenced that there was three different ride lines. The lines were Blue, Green and Red. The Blue Line, which constitutes the actual ride, was Tomorrowland's intra-city elevated train system, while the Green Line provided local transportation to Tomorrowland's "Hover-Burbs." The Red Line took riders 'off-planet' to other destinations in the galaxy. It was a great backstory and helped provide the impression of a much larger transportation system within Tomorrowland. Other services provided by the Transit Authority (interstate highway maintenance and long distance space travel) were referred to in the ride's narration.
The Ride
  • The loading/unloading station is in the center of Rocket Tower Plaza, located beneath the Astro Orbiter.
  • Guest get on the moving walkway escalator, then transfer over to a moving platform, before getting on the Peoplemover ride vehicles.
  • Leaving the Rocket Tower Plaza Station and sweeps over the plaza.
  • The PeopleMover vehicles running along the outside of the north building, just above the queue line for Stitch's Alien Encounter Character Greeting. Which was formerly known as Stitch's Great Escape!.
  • After passing over the Tomorrowland entrance Plaza, guests get a wonderful view of the Cinderella Castle
  • The vehicle then enters a tunnel and passes a large diorama containing a portion of the Progress City or "Epcot" model that originally resided in the upper level of the Carousel of Progress at Disneyland in 1967. (Note: more about Progress City in the section below)
  • Passing Progress City is a diorama with several robots making deliveries on the Red TTA Line.
  • Then guests get an overview into Mickey's Star Traders.
  • Leaving the tunnel, the TTA crosses over the walkway leading from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland.
  • After crossing over the Tomorrowland Speedway and the Tron Lightcycle Power Run's entrance plaza, the TTA crosses the Walt Disney World Railroad tracks.
  • Then the PeopleMover enters the dome of Space Mountain.
  • Inside, the vehicles pass between the Space Mountain roller coaster tracks' as they’re ascending the lift hills.
  • ​Further on they’ll pass two lighted signs reading "Starport: Seven Five" (a reference to the opening year of the attraction)
  •  After passing the signs, guest will hear and announcement: “Paging Mr. Morrow, Mr. Tom Morrow. Please contact Mr. Johnson in the control tower to confirm your flight to the moon.” (Note: this phase has a historical significance for Tomorrowland and Walt Disney World more detail to follow below)
  • Most of the ride through Space Mountain is in complete  darkness, but it is possible to look up and see the projections from the ride.
(Note: The Space Mountain segment of the TTA has gained heavy notoriety among park guests for offering the only easily accessible view of Space Mountain when the dome's interior work lights are on.)
  • The trains exit the Space Mountain dome, and return over the railroad tracks.
  • After passing over the Space Mountain's entrance plaza, the former Skyway terminal (see Chapter 22 and 25​) and the restrooms.
  • The TTA travels along the exterior of Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress.
  •  And onward to the south show building. Entering the building, guests get a view down into Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, similar to the one given of Mickey's Star Traders. Exiting the tunnel, the ride travels along the side of the south show building, and above the queue line for Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
  • Then returning to Rocket Tower Plaza and the unload station before they disembark the Peoplemover ride vehicles and they get on the moving platform and the moving walkway escalator, after exiting the ride.
History
Since 1975 the TTA PeopleMover attraction has seen a number of changes and also with the attractions it passed and how they were seen from the TTA
 
In the tunnel through the building that now home to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and Monster, Inc. there were three windows; one and two on the trains' right, three to the trains' left. When the building first housed If You Had Wings (1975 –1987), and the windows were carefully placed to look down into the Mexico, Jamaica, and Trinidad show scenes in such a way as to hide all projectors, lights and other show support equipment. (See above section on If You Had Wing)
 
When the proceeding attraction If You Could Fly was closed in January 1989 and remodeled into Delta Dreamflight, the windows no longer lined up correctly. The first window was replaced with backlit panels depicting the ride's barnstormer scene. Window two looked into the Parisian Excursion scene, from a distorted viewpoint. The third window would have had riders looking directly into an extremely bright light and so was completely covered with plywood and black fabric.
 
With the major refurbishment in 1994 more changes were made:
 
The narration had to be changed when Delta Dreamflight became Take Flight, then again when Take Flight was turned into Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin in 1998.
 
From 1994 – 2006 the narration upon the TTA leaving the building tunnel mentioning The Timekeeper.
The narration for Space Mountain said, "Now arriving in Space Mountain, Tomorrowland's gateway to the Galaxy, Presented by Federal Express," when Space Mountain's was sponsored by FedEx. In 2004 FedEx dropped sponsorship so the narration was altered to cut off after "Galaxy."
 
In 2009 the Tomorrowland Transit Authority went through a major refurbishment, the beam way were redone with new multicolored LED lighting that moves in time with the music being played in Tomorrowland. Along with freshly re-painted trackway and infrastructure, and new speakers were installed for the ride audio system.
 
In 2009 the narration changed to introduced all of the attractions in Tomorrowland, including Buzz Lighyear's Space Ranger Spin, Stitch's Great Escape! and Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
The narration also includes brief audio clips from characters represented by the various attractions, Buzz Lightyear can be heard when passing Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Stitch can be heard when passing Stitch's Great Escape! and Roz is heard when passing Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor.
 
The lines for Stitch's Great Escape!, including Stitch's line, were removed after the attraction was reduced to a seasonally operating attraction in October 2016.

Progress City
As the TTA PeopleMover goes through the Tunnel above the Stitch attraction they get a view of “Progress City”, Walt Disney’s idea of EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow). 
 
This is part of the original model for E.P.C.O.T., Walt’s Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow that was originally in the upper level of the Carousel of Progress at Disneyland in 1967.  It provides a marvelous insight into what Walt Disney had in mind, but did not live to see what became of his vision and the EPCOT of today.

This model is a great piece of Walt Disney history.
 The original was a large model with many moving parts and electric lights. What guests see today while riding the Magic Kingdom’s TTA is only a piece of the original model.
There are fewer houses, far fewer cars and the landscaping is almost nonexistent compared to the original. The model was sliced up to fit its new space at Walt Disney World.
The blue lines in the photos below indicate the area of the model that you see today.
Resources:
Tom Morrow
As Guests ride the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover through Space Mountain they will an announcement saying: “Paging Mr. Morrow, Mr. Tom Morrow. Please contact Mr. Johnson in the control tower to confirm your flight to the moon.” This phrase actually pays homage to several different aspects in Walt Disney World’s history.
 
While there is the obvious play on the word tomorrow in the name, Tom Morrow was the host of Innoventions in Epcot and Mr. Johnson was a character on the extinct attraction Mission to Mars which used to exist in the building where Stitch’s Great Escape was (see Chapter 25). As mentioned in Chapter 25, Mission to Mars had previously been named Flight to the Moon which explains why Tom Morrow and Mr. Johnson are looking to fly there.
 
The Tom Morrow Character was also the name of the operations director in the Flight to the Moon attraction, then renamed Mr. Johnson in Mission to Mars.
​
(Note: Voiced by George Walsh, whose voice introduced the Gunsmoke television series).
From 2000-2007 Tom Morrow 2.0 was the mascot at Epcot’s Innoventions. He was removed in the 2007-2008 renovation. He was voiced by Max Casella.
 
Note: Max Casella is best known for his role as Vincent "Vinnie" Delpino on the comedy-drama series Doogie Howser, M.D.
 
Mister Tom Morrow is mentioned briefly in the waiting area of Star Tours (Hollywood Studios). A public address announcer asked him to see a Star Tours agent at gate number four, shortly before a Star Tours vessel departed.
References:
Citizen of Tomorrowland: The Tomorrowland Robo-Newz
 
The Tomorrowland Robo-Newz robot has been dutifully distributing newspapers for over 20 years from the base of Rockettower Plaza near the queue for TTA PeopleMover.
When Stitch’s Great Escape replaced the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter in 2004, the Tomorrowland Robo-Newz got a new newspaper. Now an edition of the Galaxy Gazette, the paper tells guests of Stitch’s Escape from the Galactic Federation, and gives them a preview of the attraction.
The Robo-Newz robot is yet another Tomorrowland example that, “the future that never was, is finally here”.
 
When the newsboy originally took his post, he offered guests the latest issue of the Tomorrowland Times, which gave guests information about X-S Tech and the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. Offering guests “Up To The Minute” news “Printed While U Wait”, the Robo-Newz robot also spoke to guests, telling them that a “Ring leader has been captured on Saturn” and that they could “Get tomorrow’s news before it happens- right here, today!”
Well, we've covered a lot of ground in this Chapter, but we're far from being finished with our pictorial tour of Tomorrowland. There  is still a lot more to see and do. In the next Chapter we'll move on to riding the Astro Orbiter, cool of with the Carousel of Progress Show and take a tour of what has and is happening in the Rockettower Plaza. There's definitely more interesting things to come.
Jet.com

    We would definitely like to hear from you.
    Let us know what your thoughts, suggestions, ideas, and absolutely, if we've missed anything.
Afterword:
WDWMousing.com is designed to be a tour of Walt Disney World through photos. We have been to Walt Disney World countless times over the past 25 years and accumulated a magnitude of photos in that time. This website is an intention to combine two of our favorite pastimes, Walt Disney World and photography, and provide an insightful pictorial tour.
While doing so, we've done an extensive research of the internet and literary sources for background information on each area and atrraction. The information is available, but most bits and pieces are scattered all over. WDWMousing doesn't intend to rewrite the stories, legends or data, but to try and collect it into one location with reference and links to the original articles and authors. And giving rightful credit. We've stumbled through quite a bit of mis-information, most of which came to life by fans because the origins were lost, forgotten or no one seems to remember. Over the past 25 years we've also lost most of the great Imagineers that helped develop, design and build the original concepts of Walt Disney World. So we believe it's extremely important to make sure that their efforts, intentions, details and creativity in making this Happiest Place on Earth isn't lost.
So we ask for feedback, insights, and suggestions.

Thank you
WDWMousing