PHOTOS: More 1994 New Tomorrowland Themed Accents Removed from the PeopleMover Track at the Magic Kingdom

Iain

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PHOTOS: More 1994 New Tomorrowland Themed Accents Removed from the PeopleMover Track at the Magic Kingdom

Over at Magic Kingdom, Tomorrowland is slowly getting a makeover fit for the 21st century. The last time Tomorrowland received an update was for the 1994 New Tomorrowland project, which transformed Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland into a “Tomorrow That Never Was”. The first major change that has happened since the latest refurbishment was announced was the replacement of the Tomorrowland sign. Different shades of paint now grace the exterior of various buildings in the land, the Tomorrowland Speedway got a bit of a facelift, and Star Traders lost the Mickey (literally) with a full-on redesign. The current work being done for the new update is focused on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover.

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The most noticeable work is on the beams lining the PeopleMover’s track. These posts were covered in some of the most distinct accents from the 1994 New Tomorrowland update. If you visit the park today, you’ll see the supports in various stages of the refurbishment process.

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In some areas of the track, the steel (and rather rusty) supports are exposed. They look a little sad and grungy.

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You can also see where some of the top metal layers with circular cutouts are also being removed. These attach to the posts currently under refurbishment, so you’ll notice that some sections still remain.

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To make the appearance of these stripped posts a bit easier on the eyes, in central areas of Tomorrowland, the beams have been wrapped in a gray scrim material. This helps to camouflage the supports into their surroundings.

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In strategically placed sections of the track, the 1994 New Tomorrowland accents are still attached to the posts. Our guess is that they were left to distract from the bare beams left in between.

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We’ll keep monitoring the progress of the work happening in Tomorrowland. We know that many people have mixed feelings about the reimagining of the land. It seems Disney has been moving to a more contemporary, minimalistic aesthetic throughout all of the parks with the most recent change being the new sign at Hollywood Studios. How do you feel about the changes happening in Tomorrowland? Let us know in the comments.

14 thoughts on “PHOTOS: More 1994 New Tomorrowland Themed Accents Removed from the PeopleMover Track at the Magic Kingdom”

  1. Thank goodness. Get rid of that tacky, tacked-on stuff and change Tomorrowland back to how it was supposed to look. At least MK Tomorrowland avoided the sad fate of its California cousin.

  2. I like the new sign (although it seems out of place because of them doing things in stages) and the direction they are going. But I’ll make my final I LOVE it when it’s done. I think with the changes and with TRON , Tomorrowland could look pretty cool 😎

  3. Apparently they’re determined to remove every bit of magic that once made MK special. Instead of wasting money on stuff like this and the idiotic skyliner, how about building another park or two so the thousands of people you bring in to stay at your resorts actually has somewhere to go?

    • Yeah, like the way they removed the magical If You Had Wings and replaced it with the inferior, but thankfully short-lived, Dreamflight.

    • I assume you aren’t old enough to remember the “magic” that Tomorrowland had before ’94. We’ve lived with this mess for 25 years. Time for a facelift. :-)
      But I do agree with building more attractions and a park. Things have become WAY too tight.

  4. Thank you for the wonderful update. Just for your own information though, beams are always horizontal structural members and posts are vertical. I wouldn’t have mentioned it otherwise, but the term was used so often in the article and in previous writings about this subject I felt you might want to know the correct architectural terminology.

      • Thanks Tom! I always enjoy reading the articles you post and it gives me a kick when architectural terms are used. It’s a bit of a mysterious field of work where everyone is aware of the architecture around us, but the depth of vocabulary is generally unknown outside of the profession. Keep up the good work and thanks for the response. :)

  5. I hate contemporary, minimalistic (and in my opinion, bland, sterile and boring) aesthetics. The 1994 look was perfect, and is still my vision of what the future should be.

  6. I’m interested to see where this is going. While I loved the 1994 update, it is time for a refresh, especially with TRON and the 50th anniversary coming up. I love the cleaner look that they are adopting!

    I’m excited to see what the final product looks like!

  7. We never like the 1994 remodel. I thought the original look was good just need a little refreshing and more shade trees in the land. It just feels hotter in tomorrowland. The 1994 remodel was not attractive what so ever. Glad to see go! Another note: MK also needs another way to get out of the park. MK needs another mode of transportation and another actual physical entrance/exit. On busy days, it’s horrible getting in and out of there. Especially with little ones in tow. How about another entrance in tomorrowand?

    • While a second entrance might be practical (like the one in EPCOT) it’s not very “magical”. You enter through Main Street for a reason, because that’s where the storytelling starts.

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