A recent Wall Street Journal feature on Walt Disney Imagineering reveals that there were plans to refurbish Tomorrowland in Disneyland Park, but Disney executives deemed it not worth the investment.
Disneyland Tomorrowland Refurbishment
Rumors of a large refurbishment of Tomorrowland in Disneyland Park have existed since 2019, when word broke of a multi-year, $600 million reimagining of the entire land with a completion estimate of 2025-26. The rumor persisted into 2022 when it was expected to be a headline announcement at that year’s D23.
Disneyland’s Tomorrowland has been in a state of steady decay for years, peppered with defunct attractions and empty spaces following a series of “New Tomorrowland” update attempts, including a failed 1998 steampunk retheme that saw Space Mountain painted brown and the return of 1967-inspired details in 2020.
The PeopleMover-slash-Rocket Rods track still stretches over the land’s entrance, although vehicles haven’t traveled on it since 2000. The Tomorrowland Theater (formerly the Magic Eye Theater) has not had a regular attraction since the Captain EO Tribute closed in 2014 after a “limited” four-year engagement, and the Star Wars Launch Bay (which occupied the former Innoventions space) closed in 2020 and has not reopened.
The Wall Street Journal feature confirms that the rumors were not unfounded, and that Imagineering did indeed have plans to refurbish the aging land. However, the plans were put forth during the short-lived tenure of CEO Bob Chapek, when, due to budget cuts and limited manpower, senior parks executives lost trust in Imagineering:
Proposals by Imagineers to refurbish Disneyland’s aging Tomorrowland were also turned down, as executives calculated it wouldn’t do enough to increase attendance.
The death of the much-anticipated Tomorrowland project marked a time in which Imagineers found themselves constantly scrutinized and forced by budgetary restraints, when suddenly the dream Disney job “wasn’t fun anymore,” said Theron Skees, an Imagineer for 23 years who left in 2020.
For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
