Land Exit Survey

Land Exit Survey: Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland

We haven’t voyaged into Walt Disney World’s castle park in a while so let’s continue our Land Exit Survey in the future… and now! Theme parks are made up of sub-sections, generally called lands. Many of these lands are spectacular, some are far from it. In this series, we cover individual lands one post at a time and answer some questions about them.

Tomorrowland streaks night MK

While we won’t be diving incredibly deep into these lands, we’ll provide the basic information about the area and we’ll add in some of our opinions. We’ll also use these posts to talk about theme both throughout the land and within the park. All of the posts will use the same questions. Let us know in the comments if there are questions that we should add!

So far in this series we’ve covered:

Space Mountain Tomorrowland Station MK

Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland is a mixed bag, full of attractions and interesting design. Let’s get to the questions!

What is your short(ish) review of Tomorrowland?

Tomorrowland has tried desperately to reinvent itself time and again so that it won’t feel outdated. The current state is a decent aesthetic with a lot of interesting attractions that don’t always coherently fit together.

Carousel of Progress MK night

What’s in the land?

So much!

  • Astro Orbiter – The scariest spinner ride I’ve ever been on sails high above Tomorrowland’s skyline. Guests even take an elevator to get up there.
  • Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – An interactive dark ride where guests help Buzz try to defeat Zurg by shooting at different targets.
  • Carousel of Progress – Debuting at the 1964 World’s Fair, Carousel of Progress is a bit of Disney history and shows a family changing with evolving technology.
  • Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor – This is a show where the Monsters Inc. characters tell jokes. I don’t know how it fits in Tomorrowland but it’s funny and air-conditioned!
  • Space Mountain – The iconic coaster is better at other resorts but is still a key piece to the Magic Kingdom experience.
  • Tomorrowland Speedway – Somehow this go-kart attraction still exists.
  • Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover – The PeopleMover is a relaxing attraction that circles around Tomorrowland and tells guests about the different sights.
  • Tron Lightcycle / Run – The newest attraction in Magic Kingdom is a bike coaster themed to Tron!
  • The Lunching Pad – An outdoor restaurant serving hot dogs and pretzels.
  • Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe – A quick-service restaurant that serves generic theme park food but has an incredible animatronic!
  • Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies – This great alliteration gives way to milkshakes, ice cream and floats!
  • Cool Ship – Basically a snack stand that looks kind of cool.
  • Energy Bytes – A new kiosk that serves dumplings and a few other items.
  • Revive Joffrey’s Coffee and Tea – This kiosk serves different coffee and tea options.
  • Buzz Lightyear Shop – A standard end of the attraction gift shop.
  • Star Traders – One of Tomorrowland’s biggest gift shops, selling plushes and apparel.
  • Tomorrowland Launch Depot – Currently the place to get all of the Tron gear!
  • Ursa Major Minor Mart – A kiosk to get Mickey Ears.
Space Mountain day MK

What is Tomorrowland’s backstory and theme?

The future! Tomorrowland opened with the idea of showcasing the future of technology and space travel. There was supposed to be innovative attractions and entertainment. Keeping up that idea is nearly impossible for a theme park so over time the aesthetic and design has changed to be a little more timeless. That has led to some shoehorning of attractions but there’s still a space and technology vibe to the land. The mishmash means that there isn’t exactly a backstory to the land but rather that guests have entered that area to discover.

Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin punch MK

What is your favorite part of the land? What’s the most memorable aspect of it?

I’m going to cheat a little bit because this spot is in between Tomorrowland and the Hub. My favorite view of sunset at Magic Kingdom is on that pathway in between there. It’s a beautiful view of the castle and somewhere that I find myself spending a surprising amount of time.

Castle Tomorrowland rocks sunset MK

The most memorable aspect is the attractions though – specifically Space Mountain, the PeopleMover and Tron Lightcycle / Run. I think most big Disney fans would rave about the PeopleMover while it’s hard to undersell just how iconic the Space Mountain building is.

Are there parts of Tomorrowland that you don’t like?

Yeah, there are three things that come to mind and they all blend together. The first encompasses all of them, there’s a little too much concrete in Tomorrowland. I don’t think it’s colorful or pretty enough, even if the concrete is accurate to what the future might be. Along those lines, Tomorrowland Speedway is a problem. It’s one of the worst attractions in all of WDW and takes up some valuable real estate. Finally, I don’t think the attractions really mesh well together. Some do! But as a whole the lineup is confusing.

PeopleMover MK

How does the land coincide and transition with the rest of the park? Does Tomorrowland make the park better or worse?

Because of the broad nature of the land, the transition to Tomorrowland and Main Street is easy. And even with my quibbles about Tomorrowland, it certainly makes Magic Kingdom better thanks to a large attraction roster!

Where would you rank the land in relation to the others in the park?

I definitely like Frontierland, Liberty Square and Main Street more. Tomorrowland is right behind those in 4th place for me as it doesn’t feel totally cramped like Adventureland and Fantasyland and has better attractions than those as well.

Space Mountain exit robot MK

What do you think of Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland Do you like our Land Exit Surveys? Would you add anything? Let us know, along with any questions you might have, in the comments below. Interested in a trip to Walt Disney World? Check out our Planning Guide to help you along the way! If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!

6 replies »

Leave a Reply