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Imaginears
07-27-2008, 11:29 AM
With the annoucement of the Castle being reopend, there has got to be renewed interest in getting the People Mover back on track. In past forums, the People Mover has been voted as one of the most missed Disneyland attraction. When I visit Disney World and ride their version(TTA) it tugs at my heart strings, remembering the original in Anahiem. The original People Mover track lays over Tomorrowland like an enormous skeleton. It seems like a no-brainer to resurect it, especially given the huge popularity of the return of the subs. I hate to suggest another movie tie-in, as I am partial to all the attractions that are theme park exclusives, but what about a People Mover WAll-E tie in. Anything to get them back on track. According to a friend of mine who works for Disney, the majority of the attraction and cars are intact. It would really add a lot of life back to Tomorrowland where it still seems hollow despite persistant upgrades to the area. I've always wondered what the Imaginears were thinking leaving those Spinning satelites on that enormous pedestal that was once the home to not one but two attractions! Did they think we wouldn't notice.
Enough of what we know and back to the issue at hand. What can be done to bring back the people Mover, a "re-evoultion" of the tride and true attraction? (How I miss hopping on in the mid afternoon sun to take a load off and get a bird's eyeview of the park!) What are some things that we as Disney fans can do. I've considered taking up a petition. Perhaps a deluge of emails and letters to the right Disney executives, if Mouse Planet could help it's members know the right people to write to. I've been so proud of our original California park in the past years, as the attempts to a renewed interest in upkeep and maintence has restored the park to the former glory it was missing in the 90's, when all the attention was going to Parks around the world. Now, if we could as a group bring back this last of the forgotten treasures(don't get me wrong I know there are others, but I mean the main ones that are still virtually intact), wouldn't Our Disneyland be a truley magical Kingdom.
I live in Santa Monica CA and if there are any members who have any ideas and need help implimenting them, I would sure love to help out. As a resident of Southern California, I have easy acces to the park and meeting , drumming up support would be possible for me. Let's Work together and do this. Wouldn't we all Love to see a return of the People Mover!!!!!!:D

MickeyM00C0w
07-27-2008, 12:03 PM
The only reason I can see Disney being less than pleased to reopen this attraction would be the amount of money. In order for them to rebuild the People Movers, they would need to completely tear down the existing track, build a new one, get new and updated vehicles, as well as build a completely new queue for the ride. This also bring up the matter of where exactly such a queue would go. Disneyland has always been hurting for space since it is on such a small property compared to the other parks. If you really want the People Movers back, you'd basically be proposing the closure of BLAB, which as far as I can tell is quite the popular ride. As much as I loved the People Movers, I wouldn't really be heart broken if they didn't bring it back. The ride has essentially already been replaced with another ride.

Toocherie
07-27-2008, 12:11 PM
why would BLAB have to be closed? There was always an attraction in both places when People Mover was open. What I would do is move the entrance to BLAB around the corner (towards Ariel)--to me the huge rocks and statues are a very unused portion of the park and wasted space.

MickeyM00C0w
07-27-2008, 12:24 PM
why would BLAB have to be closed? There was always an attraction in both places when People Mover was open. What I would do is move the entrance to BLAB around the corner (towards Ariel)--to me the huge rocks and statues are a very unused portion of the park and wasted space.

Isn't BLAB the old queue areas? Or at least what you had to go through to get up to them? I remember more so that was where you went in for the Rocket Rods, so I assume that was the same loading area for PeopleMovers.

Power
07-27-2008, 12:44 PM
Isn't BLAB the old queue areas? Or at least what you had to go through to get up to them? I remember more so that was where you went in for the Rocket Rods, so I assume that was the same loading area for PeopleMovers.

The queue area used to be between Star Traders and Tomorrowland Terrance. The large circular tower had two ride. The Astro Orbiters and the People Mover. I used to love riding the escalators up to the people mover the rollers on the left and right side were like a mini massage. The closest thing now is the exit from the Haunted Mansion...

What's "Disney"?
07-27-2008, 01:17 PM
Three words: wet sphere thingy.

Tear it out.

Then you would have plenty of room for a queue.

Rufus T Firefly
07-27-2008, 01:58 PM
Move the Astro Orbiter back to where it was, high above the People Mover station in the middle of Tomorrowland. In it's current location it just causes logjams at the entrance to Tomorrowland. Putting it high above Tomorrowland would make it a much more thrilling ride rather than a Dumbo clone.

What ever happened to the rumor of using the People Mover tracks for an Incredibles attraction with the enclosed pods?

padilla6710
07-27-2008, 02:20 PM
I am all for the return of the people mover it is my Favorite ride!! By the way I have heard rumors that it will be back when they redo Tommorrow land in 2010, has anyone else heard this?

sendkeys
07-27-2008, 02:23 PM
The only reason I can see Disney being less than pleased to reopen this attraction would be the amount of money. In order for them to rebuild the People Movers, they would need to completely tear down the existing track, build a new one, get new and updated vehicles, .


Everything they had before was fine. They just tried the push the speed. All they need to do is cut out the "high speed movement". They could put in some extra visuals to make up for it. It shouldn't cost much to get it up and going.

dznyphreak
07-27-2008, 03:01 PM
To be honest, I don't remember the Disneyland People Movers, but do have fond memories of Rocket Rods, despite its tendency to break down. I know for a fact that BLAB's space was formerly used as the queue for Rocket Rods. As for PM, I have no idea. That Incredibles idea is really cool, I must say, but I'd say that movie has passed its window of theme-park-tie-in opportunity. It wasn't as popular as Nemo, which came out 4 years before its tie-in. It's been 4 years now since Incredibles came out. I'd label that unlikely.
Wall-E would be interesting, but I can't think of an easy way to connect the two. Maybe like those little chair things the people use on the Axiom? But that sounds difficult and very different from the original People Mover. Plus, does Wall-E have the staying power to last for years? The robot theme seems like a natural fit, and it is futuristic enough to fit in Tomorrowland. I suppose it could fit under edu-tainment if it spun the whole environmental crisis thing, and might be able to get a sponsor that way too.
I dunno...those are my two cents. Sorry for rambling.

ChurroGirl
07-27-2008, 03:25 PM
I remember riding it with my siblings! It was always fun with them.

I have heard a rumor, or just gossip at my house that when they redo Tomorrowland in 2010 they are going to redo the People Mover and include something like the "People Moverlike" thing from Incredibles. The little eggs!
That would be really neet IMO!

JeffG
07-27-2008, 05:10 PM
Isn't BLAB the old queue areas? Or at least what you had to go through to get up to them? I remember more so that was where you went in for the Rocket Rods, so I assume that was the same loading area for PeopleMovers.

Prior to becoming the Rocket Rods queue (for a short time...), the building that now has Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters was the CircleVision 360 theater. The PeopleMover was accessed via a set of speedramp (moving sidewalks) directly up to the loading station. The attraction had a very high capacity, but not an extremely huge demand, so it didn't need a lot of queue area.

-Jeff

silentcmh
07-27-2008, 05:23 PM
I'm not really too concerned about the people movers coming back, but I am all about the rocket ride going back to its old elevated location.
When I was a young lad I remember loving the view of Matterhorn from the rockets.

Come to think of it, I'm not really a huge fan of Tomorrowland as compared to other areas of the park. Star Tours is old and severely outdated, the Buzz Lightyear ride is kinda weak, and Autopia isn't terribly exciting. Thank god for Space Mountain.

MickeyM00C0w
07-27-2008, 07:20 PM
Everything they had before was fine. They just tried the push the speed. All they need to do is cut out the "high speed movement". They could put in some extra visuals to make up for it. It shouldn't cost much to get it up and going.

Just because everything was fine then does not mean they are fine now, 10 years after it has been gone. The track has not been used for quite some time and is in dire need of a tune up. The vehicles themselves would need to either be new, or they'd need to take out the old ones (assuming they're still floating around in storage) and completely refurbish them. Obviously, the same had to be done for the Finding Nemo Submarine ride, but that was taking an older ride and creating a new one. Unless they're going to incorporate something new into the picture here, I don't see the PeopleMovers coming back any time soon, especially with DCA getting an extreme make over.

Kristina27
07-27-2008, 08:11 PM
I loved riding the people mover when I was in Florida, It would be nice if they brought it back here. I think they could stand to get rid of Star Tours which I am not too excited about, let's put something new there as well...

cstephens
07-27-2008, 09:02 PM
I think they could stand to get rid of Star Tours which I am not too excited about, let's put something new there as well...


That would be Star Tours 2.0.


I would expect that the Rocket Rods did so much damage to the track and supports that they'd have to at least reinforce a lot if not re-build it all to support regular vehicles again.

Jodi
07-27-2008, 10:44 PM
I was told by a CM (I know, not always the most reliable source of info, but it made sense) that the reason the idea of the Incredibles pod type thing was being tossed around was because those vehicles would be enclosed.

He said that current OSHA saftey and building requirements would not allow for the People Mover as we knew it. Apparently it is something about the distance between an open vehicle and the wall had to be enough that a person in the vehicle could not reach out and touch the wall. Therefore, to use the original style vehicles, they would have to rebuild the track and remodel the structures immediately around it to make more room. If they were to go with the pod type (closed in) vehicle, they could use the existing structures.

I don't know how accurate this info is, but I thought it made sense. (However, that was quite some time ago, and I haven't heard of any progress on it, so I'm thinking maybe it's not going to happen)

oregontraveler
07-28-2008, 03:55 AM
That's right. If they had closed PM for good, it would be possible to bring them back like before with the 'grandfather' clause. But since they replaced it with Rocket Rods, a new PM ride would be a NEW attraction subject to
OSHA rules. Alos, I understand the track is pretty much shot and would have to rebuilt anyways.

Drince88
07-28-2008, 04:52 AM
And if they were fully enclosed, each vehicle would need to have it's own ventilation system. And that WHOLE issue caused a lot of problems with the monorail.

oregontraveler
07-28-2008, 06:38 AM
If the rumors of a new TL are true, that we will see Star Tours 2.0 & something new on the old PM track. I would expect they will make the new
vehicles more enclosed so you can't just reach out and touch the walls per se. I can't imagine a fully enclosed capsule, but if they did, I sure hope they
won't have another monorail problem.

janell
07-28-2008, 08:36 AM
Oh I hope they do put it back in. So what the cost, they were stupid to take it out. Its a great fast moving line, its a ride that gives you a min to relax your feet and the kids get a nice ride and view of the park.

D15
07-28-2008, 10:57 AM
He said that current OSHA saftey and building requirements would not allow for the People Mover as we knew it. Apparently it is something about the distance between an open vehicle and the wall had to be enough that a person in the vehicle could not reach out and touch the wall. Therefore, to use the original style vehicles, they would have to rebuild the track and remodel the structures immediately around it to make more room. If they were to go with the pod type (closed in) vehicle, they could use the existing structures.

So I'm curious, does anybody know if the OSHA rules were the same when they put Rocket Rods on the tracks, or is this a newer thing? Since RR weren't enclosed (to the best of my recollection anyway), or was it something about how fast they were going- eg. a slower ride leaves more time to touch stuff? :confused:

What's "Disney"?
07-28-2008, 11:14 AM
The only reason I can see Disney being less than pleased to reopen this attraction would be the amount of money.

It would be pricey. BUT you must consider two factors:

1. FIXED COST--The track has fixed costs. In other words, even though the track is not in use, it is NOT free.

2. NUMBER OF RIDES--If you have more rides, people will stay in the park longer (this translates to more money spent).

Matterhorn Yodeler
07-28-2008, 11:51 AM
Come to think of it, I'm not really a huge fan of Tomorrowland as compared to other areas of the park.

That's a sad statement, but I find myself agreeing with it.

When I was a kid, Tomorrowland was the best area of the park! And the People Mover was the glue that integrated all of the attractions. Not only was it a futuristic means of transportation, but it went through all of the other attractions in Tomorrowland giving you a "sneak peak" into all the rides.

How fun it was to leave the station and ride above it all toward the hub with views of the Matterhorn and Castle! A smooth left turn took you into the pavillion to look down at the mighty microscope and see the people shrinking for their ride in Inner Space. Then it was onto the Mission to Mars building for a glimpse of mission control. A trip through the Carousel of Progress building followed, finally emerging outside for a tour of Tomorrowland, weaving between the Skyway above, the Monorail track right next to you, and the lagoon with submarines as well as Autopia freeways below! A trip through the Circle Vision pavillion was next, before taking a parallel in-bound course back to the constantly revolving station with the view of the Rocket Jets towering above you!

The People Mover tied it all together. Tomorrowland was designed as an entire futuristic environment and not just individual attractions.

So, I remain optimistic that they take advantage of whatever may still exist of the original and re-purpose it in the same way they did with the submarines.

Bytebear
07-28-2008, 12:00 PM
They can still use the oroginal style cars, but just refurbish them so they are like the Sun Wheel cages. That way you get safety, without losing air circulation.