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dlandnut
08-05-2004, 06:21 AM
I'm not mechanically-inclined, so don't know if this is "grasping" because I want it so bad. Is it even possible that the People Mover could be returned to its original glory, since the track for the Rocket Rods is still in place? How much of an effort would it be for Disney to restore the People Mover, or something very similar, to replace that "lemon" of an attraction, the Rocket Rods? :confused:

sdfilmcritic
08-05-2004, 06:33 AM
From what I've seen of the track it looks like there would have to be some readjustments to the track to get it compatible again with the old style People Mover cars. However, the Imagineers could also reinvent a new track with new vehicles to create an update version of the People Mover. I heard through the standard gossip rumor mill about one of the reasons why Rocket Rods kept breaking down was the lack of time or money to install angled corners similar to the curved corners of a racetrack. Anyone who drives a vehicle will tell you a car must slow it's speed to a safe limit in order to handle a curve. The combination of the weight and speed of a vehicle as it turns a corner will have to fight against natural momentum to stay on the track and road. Ever see those race tracks with the 45 degree corners that the cars slide up the side of as they make the turn? Those type corner walls were rumored to be installed in to the People Mover / Rocket Rods track, but never was. Now the track just sits there with nothing there.

I totally agree with you. I wish they would stick something in there, but Tomorrowland is in a desperate need for something to cover those tracks. How about a "it's a small world" type of show where little two feet tall dolls ride along the track singing songs. It could be timed so the dolls make one complete cycle every fifteen minutes. It could be Tomorrowland's way of telling time. Oh, the endlesss possibilities!

jrad32
08-05-2004, 06:48 AM
It would be nice to have something there to return the sense of motion. Everything I've read says that the track is pretty weak now thanks to the pounding of the rocket rods and that major work would have to be done on the supports and the track before an attraction could go in there.

spectromen
08-05-2004, 08:08 AM
Still, I'd rather see construction walls around all the support beams for a year as opposed to a ripping out of the attraction completely. It still gives a great tour of the land, with stops in 4 attractions (assuming they have built in a viewing area for "Buzz") while giving motion to the now-dead land. WDW's version operates without wheelchair accessibility, but even that I could see being added in the form of an elevator similar to the former Rocket Jets one. My fingers certainly are crossed.

lazyboy97O
08-05-2004, 08:16 PM
Buzz Lightyear is probably the best proof so far as to whether the tracks will be used again. If they make it so that there is no longer room for the PM then it seems as if nothing will go there.

I honestly think the RR are a better idea. But I doubt it would ever be retried again. Either something up there would be better than nothing. Even if for the time being they are riderless like Driving Machines at IOA.

EO's Glove
08-05-2004, 08:27 PM
I think they should redo Rocket Rods but if they consider it a "failed idea"
it'd be real easy to get around.......

make new "cars", except not cars.....


the cycles from Tron!

Put in the banked curves and let people go head first at them!

What do you think?

-EOG

Disneyfreak
08-05-2004, 09:51 PM
I say they should duplicate the test track from WDW on that track. Modify it to fit and make it work. I dont understand how test track is so similar to rocket rods but it works perfectly fine. :confused:
I mean test track is not even banked in some areas.

dlandnut
08-06-2004, 06:51 AM
I still like the idea of the original People Movers, or something similar. The thing that was enjoyable about the PM was that you could go there with very little wait, relax and enjoy the ride. Rocket Rods was pathetic. I was there on opening day, participating in all the grandiose celebration(s) that went with it, and boy what a disappointment. Bring back the PM!!!

myron61090
08-06-2004, 07:11 AM
i want PM baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!! :crying: :crying:

but while that's not happening, they could at least put in a camera at ona vehicle at the tracks and 3 -4 t.v.s scattered around tommorrowland so that you could have view of TM.... and it's not heavy or fast or wear and tear-ish.....

splashmtngurl
08-06-2004, 07:14 AM
personally i liked the rocketrods. If they hadnt broke down every 2 minutes then it would have been a neat attraction. But of course pressler was to selfish and money hungry to bother with having the attraction re-designed. *sighs* if only pressler had never been in with the company......

sami869
08-06-2004, 08:30 AM
I enjoyed the Rocket Rods the one time that I got to go on them. I don't really remember the People Mover all that well and I'm pretty sure I never went on it. I don't understand why so many people miss the PM so badly. It seems like a rather boring ride, with nothing making it worth going on. I must being missing what made this ride so treasured.

mjformenotyou
08-06-2004, 08:39 AM
The PM was one of my favorite rides, and it was open when I was a lot younger (read under 13), so I find this now incredibly bizarre. And of all thing, my favorite part was the Tron part, and I haven't ever even seen Tron. I liked it I think because, althought it was slow moving, it was similar in the skyway in that you were outdoors still enjoying the park, and getting nice view of everything going on around you.
I also would like to see the PM back, now looking back on it, it was so corny and great. Maybe when I was 8, I had an intuition that in my adult life I'd love all things corny and vintage.

Lindsay

dlandnut
08-06-2004, 09:03 AM
Funnest memory on the PM was when we rode it and right in the middle of the TRON sequence, the ride stopped, but the TRON images kept going. After about 15 minutes of sitting there, TRON became rather old. Finally, a CM came and "walked" us off of the ride, down an emergency exit. A little excitement on what some people deemed a "boring" ride. I never considered PM boring; but rather a nice diversion from all of the "E" ticket rides. :cool:

Crispy
08-06-2004, 11:11 AM
I always considered the People Mover a nice sight seeing attraction just like the train and the skyway that was previously mentioned. Not every attraction has to be a thrill ride. I hope that some similar sightseeing attraction makes its return to the empty track of tomorrowland. I still enjoy the PM at Disney World and hope that Disneyland sees the return of theirs.

fjhuerta
08-06-2004, 04:02 PM
The Rocket Rods were fine, but the PeopleMover had something else. It was a prototype for something that Walt would eventually decide to use seriously (although he couldn't do so). IIRC, PeopleMovers are used at at least one airport, and, in his EPCOT master plan, PM's were supposed to transport people around the city.

If someone is to go where the PM was, it should be something feasible, something futuristic, something doable, something useful. The Rocket Rods were neither of these things.

sediment
08-06-2004, 04:33 PM
A PeopleMover could be used from parking lot to Esplanade. Less fumes, more fun. Just make sure the cage is monkey-proof.

SCUBAbe
08-06-2004, 04:45 PM
I loved the rocket rods also. My entire family did. We were very dissappointed when they went away. Now the PM was just lame....we only went on that when all the wait times for everything else was to long, because it NEVER had a wait.

The Mouse Is Back
08-06-2004, 05:11 PM
I think the PM was great, and RR were lame.


-Allegra-

AlxVision360
08-06-2004, 09:43 PM
The Rocket Rods were not that bad. I don't remember them breaking down the day we rode on them. I think the letdown was that the actual drive was very short compared to the long wait to get on.

As for PM, my recollection in all the years of going to DL was that the lines were pretty steady on crowded days. Some folks may think it was lame because it was slow and didn't have much in the way of thrills, but that wasn't the point of the attraction. In the true spirit of Tomorrowland it was more a showcase for a possible publc transporation mode of the future. In fact, even today there are very few actual transit systems in operation that are like it. If they were to put it back in, or something similar, it would be just as optimistically futuristic as the old PM was in its day.

Also, I don't think every attraction at the park has to be whiz bang golly wow. A leisurely tour on the PM through Tomorrowland would provide a nice contrast to the thrills of Space Mt, Buzz, and Star Tours.

PapiBear
08-06-2004, 09:50 PM
As for PM, my recollection in all the years of going to DL was that the lines were pretty steady on crowded days. Some folks may think it was lame because it was slow and didn't have much in the way of thrills, but that wasn't the point of the attraction. In the true spirit of Tomorrowland it was more a showcase for a possible publc transporation mode of the future. In fact, even today there are very few actual transit systems in operation that are like it. If they were to put it back in, or something similar, it would be just as optimistically futuristic as the old PM was in its day.

Also, I don't think every attraction at the park has to be whiz bang golly wow. A leisurely tour on the PM through Tomorrowland would provide a nice contrast to the thrills of Space Mt, Buzz, and Star Tours.

See, now you've got the right idea! People like us need to form our own club. Even as a kid I didn't want non-stop roller coaster action. I cherished the restful attractions just as much, sometimes more. Besides, not everyone can handle high-speed action rides, but that shouldn't prevent them from enjoying some sort of moving attraction with their family and friends, right?

I really miss the live bands performing at Tomorrowland Terrace, though. Tomorrowland really ROCKED back in the day. I remember seeing Alabama, the country veterans, performing there just as their debut album was about to be released. Nothing like a free concert from a band that's collecting Grammys a few years later to spice up a Disneyland visit.

theyates6
08-07-2004, 06:50 AM
See, now you've got the right idea! People like us need to form our own club. Even as a kid I didn't want non-stop roller coaster action. I cherished the restful attractions just as much, sometimes more. Besides, not everyone can handle high-speed action rides, but that shouldn't prevent them from enjoying some sort of moving attraction with their family and friends, right?

I agree...If I want non-stop roller coaster action I can go to Magic Mountain or the like. I come to Disneyland because of the "Magic" atmosphere, not just the thrill rides. I mean, how truly thrilling are POTC or HM? Not exactly "thrill" rides... but I love them nonetheless. Disneyland has a great mix of family friendly theme rides and thrill rides.

BJW
08-07-2004, 07:58 PM
I think DL currently has a shortage of thrill rides. With the RR track still in place I think they should design a Rocket Rod P3 vehicle, reinforce the track, add banked turns, and reopen the ride. From what I hear P1 was a failure and was destroyed, P2 was the one that ran while the attraction was in operation and has since been destroyed, so why couldn't they make a third prototype? Maybe they could correct the mistakes from the first two?

DisneylandForever
08-08-2004, 08:39 AM
Now the PM was just lame....we only went on that when all the wait times for everything else was to long, because it NEVER had a wait.

:eek:

A lot of your posts tend to be on the "hater" side Scuba, but the PeopleMover lame? Now you've crossed the line!

The PeopleMover was FAR from lame. Maybe compared to a Magic Mountain throw-up ride it was lame, but the PM was a great way to relax and take a tour of Tomorrowland. It went past the America Sings building (what is now the real lame attraction, innoventions), through Tron (anyone remember the old car racing scene they had before Tron? gosh I was a toddler at that point, but I remember them), past the circlevision building, past Star Tours, the Star Trader, "behind" Space Mountain, past the Rocket Jets, the Monorail, over the Submarine Lagoon and the Autopia, past the Matterhorn (not too closely, though), etc.

The PM was not only NOT lame, but it was awesome! Of course this is just my opinion. But I'm sure a lot of Old School Disneylanders would agree with me. :)

SCUBAbe
08-08-2004, 08:58 AM
:eek:

A lot of your posts tend to be on the "hater" side Scuba, but the PeopleMover lame? Now you've crossed the line!

The PeopleMover was FAR from lame. Maybe compared to a Magic Mountain throw-up ride it was lame, but the PM was a great way to relax and take a tour of Tomorrowland. It went past the America Sings building (what is now the real lame attraction, innoventions), through Tron (anyone remember the old car racing scene they had before Tron? gosh I was a toddler at that point, but I remember them), past the circlevision building, past Star Tours, the Star Trader, "behind" Space Mountain, past the Rocket Jets, the Monorail, over the Submarine Lagoon and the Autopia, past the Matterhorn (not too closely, though), etc.

The PM was not only NOT lame, but it was awesome! Of course this is just my opinion. But I'm sure a lot of Old School Disneylanders would agree with me. :)yeah, I never liked it. Some parts were ok...like seeing inside space mounatin, but it was really boring. I have no idea what tron is or was. I never did. As far as your comment about "Magic Mountain throw-up ride it was lame". Well, if it made me throw up I certainly would not ride it again. A ride does not have to be fast to be fun. I like spalsh mounatin. Its not fast...I like peter pan, alice in wonderland, indy, HM, ...I also LOVE the fast rides. I think one of the reasons I did not like PM is it took you past stuff that you could see already. With the exception of space mountain (the only reason I went on it 4 times)

The skyway was cool for me, because although you saw the same stuff you were way up high, went through the matterhorn and actually got from point A to point B without fighting crowds. Now if the PM actually took you to a destination I may feel differently about it.

"A lot of your posts tend to be on the "hater" side Scuba" awe, I don't hate. I just don't wear rose colored glasses and I tend to rely on logic and reason...mostly...which I ave found out sme people interpt as hate and negativity, but I assure you thats not the case. I also see disneyland as a theme park and not some magical illusion, but I still love going there...:)

DisneylandForever
08-08-2004, 09:16 AM
Now if the PM actually took you to a destination I may feel differently about it.

"A lot of your posts tend to be on the "hater" side Scuba" awe, I don't hate. I just don't wear rose colored glasses and I tend to rely on logic and reason...mostly...which I ave found out sme people interpt as hate and negativity, but I assure you thats not the case. I also see disneyland as a theme park and not some magical illusion, but I still love going there...:)

I'm not saying you're a full-on hater. I apologize if that sounded ruder than it meant to be. I just noticed a lot of your posts are "I hate that," or "that ride sucks." Now I know that is your opinion, and you are certainly entitled to it. I guess I just couldn't believe you called the PM lame! :eek: = still in shock

The PM would never really work as a transport system, unless they really extended the track, and sped it up. I just dug the PM for being a way to relax and enjoy the scenery, and a really groovy 70's ambient soundtrack that they refused to update till the bitter end. :p