Disneyland Facts & History > Tomorrowland (14) > The Moonliner
The Moonliner
Tomorrowland - Redd Rocket's Pizza Port: A scaled down replica of the TWA Moonliner stands next to Redd Rocket's Pizza Port. The original rocket, which was 80 feet tall, stood just outside the entrance to Disneyland's original The Rocket to Moon attraction.
Originally sponsored by TWA (Howard Hughes), the futuristic Tomorrowland attraction gave Disneyland guests a taste of space travel. When Hughes left TWA, sponsorship was pulled in 1960, and the rocket was renamed the Douglas Moonliner (for the then Douglas Aircraft Company). In 1967, McDonnell-Douglas sponsored the revamped Flight to the Moon. During the refurbishment (in 1967) the attraction was remodeled and the original rocket removed. After NASA's Apollo moon landings (1969-1972), the attraction was re-imagined as the Mission to Mars in 1975. In November of 1992, the Mission to Mars was closed permanently.
The Moonliner replica was installed during the Tomorrowland renovations in 1998. A slogan, Delivering Refreshment to a Thirsty Galaxy, is posted underneath the new Coca-Cola Moonliner.
Note: When unveiled in 1955, the Moonliner was imagined as the vessel for atomic powered space flight in futuristic 1986.