Disneyland Facts & History

Agrifuture

Tomorrowland: The AGRIFUTURE billboard along the Disneyland Railroad in Tomorrowland, refers to an often overlooked Disney detail. As part of Tomorrowland's theming, Imagineers theorize that the future's large population will make open space and food scarce commodities. In theory, ornamental landscaping will be replaced with functional gardens that are beautifully manicured. A closer look at the greenery reveals that vegetables, herbs and fruit trees are being grown all over Tomorrowland.

Plants of Tomorrowland - Agrifuture

Tomorrowland: In the future, Imagineers theorize, all free space will be used to grow food for an immense population. Red Kale, White Kale, Garden Sage, Strawberry Guava bushes and a couple Orange Trees can be found in this little garden between the Astro Orbiter & Central Plaza.

For more about Disneyland's flora, please visit our friends at www.plantsofdisneyland.com

Star Tours - G2 Repair Droid

Star Tours: Along the Star Tours queue, a G2 repair droid speaks to boarding passengers while trying to fix a broken down R5 astromech. The web-footed G2 is also named the Goose-Droid, because it is actually a stripped down Audio-Animatronic gander. Before finding a home at Star Tours, the G2 was once a part of the America Sings attraction, a member of the singing goose quartet.

Note: Other geese from the quartet have gotten to keep their beaks and feathers. They still sing, as part of the steamboat ensemble inside Critter Country's Splash Mountain.

Star Tours - RX-24 or Captain Rex

RX-24 or Rex, is the robotic captain of the StarSpeeder 3000 in Star Tours. Voiced by Paul Reubens (Pee-Wee's Big Adventure & Buffy the Vampire Slayer), the bumbling droid pilot seems to be hindered by a red plastic strip labeled REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT.

Star Tours - Monsanto Mighty Microscope

Originally opened in August of 1967, the Adventure Thru Inner Space closed permanently in 1985, to make room for Star Tours. As a tribute to the former Tomorrowland attraction, the Monsanto Mighty Microscope appears during the Starspeeder's flight through the restricted maintenance hangar. The apparatus that shrank ATIS adventurers, the Monsanto Mighty Microscope was originally located in the attraction lobby, near where R2-D2 and the Starspeeder are located.

Star Tours was temporarily closed on July 27, 2010, the attraction is scheduled to re-open in May 2011, as Star Tours - The Adventures Continue.

People Mover Cashier's Counter

Buzz Lightyear's Store Command: In an effort to move more people through the store, the cashier's counter is made from salvaged People Mover cars.

Rocket Jet Shelves

Buzz Lightyear's Store Command: Vintage rockets from the Rocket Jet ride, that used to sit on top of the People Mover platform, have been repurposed into futuristic store shelves.

The Starcade - X-Wing

The Starcade originally opened May 27, 1977. The space-themed arcade used to occupy two levels, in the building between Space Mountain and Star Traders. The second floor is currently empty and unoccupied, except of a full size X-Wing replica and an original mural from 1977.

The X-Wing originally hung inside the Star Wars themed Star Traders. It stayed there until Star Traders was refurbished and the fighter moved to its current location.

PeopleMover, Rocket Rods & Rocket Jet Platform

Tomorrowland - Elevated Platform & Observatron:

In 1967, the Goodyear sponsored PeopleMover was unveiled along with the New Tomorrowland. Guests boarded cars that were linked together in trains of four. The cars moved steadily along an elevated series of tracks that entered many of Tomorrowland's buildings. The PeopleMover was closed in August of 1995.

When Tomorrowland was refurbished in 1998, Imagineers created Rocket Rods, which sped along the existing PeopleMover tracks. Since the tracks were originally designed for the slower PeopleMover, the Rocket Rods were forced to change speeds constantly in order to navigate the tight tracks. Higher speeds and rapid braking, made the rods susceptible to tire wear, computer failure, breakdowns and long wait times. The Rocket Rods were closed for renovations in the fall of 2000, after which the attraction was never reopened.

In 1967, the Rocket Jets flew its first circles above the PeopleMover platform. An updated replacement for the Astro-jets (1956), the Rocket Jets stayed in rotation until 1997. In 1998, the new Astro-Orbiter was unveiled at the entrance to Tomorrowland. The Observatron, a collection of spinning satellite dishes, was also installed in 1998, replacing the Rocket Jets.

People Mover & Rocket Rod Tracks

Tomorrowland - Carousel Theater: A stretch of track leading into the second floor of the Carousel Theater (Innoventions) serves as a vestigial reminder of the People Mover & Rocket Rods. The tracks running from Space Mountain and over Redd Rocket's Pizza Port, can still be seen from the Carousel Theater's second floor balcony.

People Mover & Rocket Rod Tracks

Tomorrowland - Carousel Theater: Another stretch of track leads out of the Carousel Theater's (Innoventions) second floor. It serves as a vestigial reminder of the People Mover & Rocket Rods. The tracks run from the Innoventions building and out over the Autopia roadways. The tracks can still be seen from the Carousel Theater's second floor balcony, near the top of the exit ramp.

People Mover & Rocket Rod Tracks

Tomorrowland - Carousel Theater: Another stretch of track leads away from the Carousel Theater's (Innoventions) second floor and out over the Autopia raodways. with plants growing through the railing, the track serves as a vestigial reminder of the People Mover & Rocket Rods. The tracks can still be seen from the Carousel Theater's second floor balcony, near the top of the exit ramp.

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.

Autopia - Midget Autopia Car

The scaled-down, bronzed convertible found along Autopia's roadways is a tribute to Fantasyland's Midget Autopia. Opened in 1957, Midget Autopia allowed children too small for Autopia or Junior Autopia, the opportunity the drive by themselves. In 1966, Midget Autopia was closed to make room for it's a small world. The cars were then donated to Marceline, Missourri, Walt Disney's hometown.