Tomorrowland Transit
Authority
Tomorrowland
Attraction features
a 10 minute, 1 mile long
journey throughout Tomorrowland
on clean and efficient linear induction motor driven crafts...including a
peak inside Space Mountain..
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 Tour Tomorrowland in style
with the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. Located below Astro Orbiter and
above ground level, the attraction known throughout Tomorrowland simply as
"TTA" takes you on a mile long journey throughout Tomorrowland. Running on
clean and energy efficient linear induction motors, the TTA is a 10 mph
ride that will highlight all the attractions of Tomorrowland, including an
inside tour of Space Mountain. Formerly known as the WEDWay People Mover,
this attraction is one of the many who got a major makeover in 1994 with
the new Tomorrowland. A strange thing about this attraction is that while
the first part of the ride and the very last part of the ride features
new architectural surroundings, the middle part of the ride is
still painted and designed
the way it was when it opened in 1975.
One would imagine that
funds got temporarily "sucked up" as they would say in Muppet Vision 3D,
but c'mon! They couldn't find the money to finish refurbishing this
attraction from 1994 to present day? I looked deeper into why this ride
was never fully finished to look like the rest of the newly refurbished TTA. Here's what I think...
Soon after this
attraction re-opened after the 1994 Tomorrowland makeover, Disneyland's
WEDWay People Mover shut down completely to make room for the Rocket Rods,
a high speed tour through Disneyland's Tomorrowland that uses the same
track as the old WEDWay People Mover. One could only assume that Disney
Imagineering put off plans to finish Disney World's version of the WEDWay
People Mover to see how Disneyland's new Rocket Rods would go over with
the guests. If Disneyland's Rocket Rods were successful, they would then
bring this ride over to Disney World's Magic Kingdom, placing it on the
same track currently being used by the TTA. If this scenario is true, it
wouldn't make any sense to finish refurbishing the TTA if they planned to
tear it all up and start over in the future. Certainly some major changes
would have to take place if the TTA would morph into the Rocket Rods in
the future. The TTA currently reaches speeds of 10 mph and the Rocket Rods
would average 40 mph. A lot of the turns that the TTA uses to get through
Tomorrowland are pretty sharp turns, but un-noticeable because the ride is
going so slow. If they were to increase the speed to 40 mph when changing
over to the Rocket Rods, there's no doubt in my mind that the Rocket Rods
would have trouble taking those turns. So somewhere down the line, those
turns would have to be widened or Disney Imagineers would have to
re-design the Rocket Rods making them small enough to fit through those
sharp turns, but large enough to accommodate multiple guests.
Regardless of what
Disney is planning on doing with it, the TTA is a great attraction to get
a unique view of Tomorrowland and Space Mountain, to get away from the
heat and the crowds or to just sit back and relax.
Originally named the WEDWAY People mover, this medium paced voyage takes
you serenely through the top of Tomorrowland for a round trip tour.
Powered by linear induction motors (big magnets) with no moving parts,
this form of transportation is still something to marvel at and one of the
small delights of Walt Disney World.
The best portion of
it arrives as you slowly pull inside the darkened enclosure that is Space
Mountain. From the TTA, you get a great view of the launching site track
leading up to the release of the cars down twisting and turning track, the
inner boarding area/queue and the post show where packages are beamed to
and fro by the rides sponsor FEDEX.
The Tomorrowland Transit Authority
(Formerly the WED-Way PeopleMover) is boarded close to the Astro Orbiter,
and features a number of 5-car trains which travel along almost a mile of
track at up to 10 miles per hour powered by LIMs (Linear Induction Motors)
in a ride that lasts approximately 10 minutes.
The ride passes alongside, or in some
cases through, most of the attractions in Tomorrowland, including Mickey's
Star Traders and Space Mountain along with a number of otherwise hidden
dioramas some of which depict parts of Walt's dream for the EPCOT resort.
Directly above the main
loading/unloading area for the Tomorrowland Transit Authority is the Astro
Orbiters ride.
The Tomorrowland
Transit Authority is a slow-paced, continuous loading ride, located above
the ground in Tomorrowland. You ride up a stairless escalator to board
this attraction. Open air carts seat about 4 people and about 6 carts in a
row are joined together.
This ride goes
through some of the attractions in Tomorrowland, such as Space Mountain,
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, and MickeyÍs Galaxy Traders (a shop).
This ten-minute
ride is very gentle and is suitable for all ages, and allows for great
views of Tomorrowland.
There is rarely a wait for this ride, so it is a great place to head to
give your feet a rest, and to avoid lines.
Description: This ride sets you on a
voyage through Tomorrowland. This is a nice relaxing ride. You go thru
space mountain, Buzz Lightyear, stores. Take a break and ride it, there
is never a line for it.
Guests with mobility concerns will
have to walk onto a steep moving ramp which is going up. At the top they
will have to get off the fast moving ramp and get on to a moving turntable
to enter the attraction vehicle. Reverse this process for exiting this
attraction.
FUN FACTS: The Transit Authority
operates on linear induction motors which utilize electro magnets to pull
the small 5 car trains. They use very little power, have no moving parts,
and emit zero pollution.
Trip Time: 10 minutes
Tomorrowland Transit Authority
On the Tomorrowland Transit Authority,
which was formerly known as The People Mover, guests get a leisurely tour
around Tomorrowland. As guests board the five car trains, they embark on a
narrated, at times humorous, 10-minute journey through some of
Tomorrowland's attractions. The inside of Space Mountain and Take flight
can be glimpsed from the ride. For a chuckle, be sure to listen for when
the narrator pages "Mr. Tom Orrow"! The Tomorrowland Transit Authority is
rarely busy, and is a nice way to relax on a busy day.
Interesting and little known facts
The technology used on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority is called
linear induction. It works by letting electricity flow through coils
embedded in the track. These electromagnets attract steel plates on the
base of the vehicles, pulling them forward. When a vehicle passes over an
electromagnet, the electricity in that magnet switches off. The vehicles
continues on, magnetically pulled down the track by the subsequent
magnets. This technology in enviromentally-friendly, since there are no
moving parts, little power is used, and it emits no pollution!
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