NOW OPEN: Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
Paging Mr. Morrow, Mr. Tom Morrow… oh how we’ve missed those magical words! But now Disney friends I am pleased to report that the wait is finally over at the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover is once again whisking guests through the sights and sounds of Tomorrowland on it’s elevated track.
Though Walt Disney World reopened after a lengthy COVID-19 shutdown last Summer, The PeopleMover was one of the attractions that didn’t reopen.
Over the past year, signs like the one above became an all-too familiar sight as a short refurbishment turned into months of waiting!
There were glimmers of hope throughout, like this image taken from last December when Cast Members and Engineers started to test the rides, only to be followed by further closures.
Though Disney never went public with an official reason for the long hiatus of one of Tomorrowland’s most popular attractions, we did hear various updates from the awesome cast members over the year. The consensus seemed to be that because of the age of the ride, repairs were extensive. This included the motors needing to be replaced on the individual ride vehicles which as you can image was no easy feat nor quick fix.
But all that is behind us and here are some awesome footage captured during our visit this afternoon!
After 7 hours of waiting. We were so excited to see that line finally start to move around 2pm.
By that point the line was in excess of 45 minutes.
You’ll notice the social distancing markers on the floor.
After hours of ride testing with cast members the line did start to move fairly quickly.
Greg and Elyssa were 6th in line to ride the PeopleMover and lots of cameras were out!
It was so exciting to see the passengers slowly make their way up the escalators!
We also want to give a HUGE shoutout to the cast members who did such an awesome job of handling the reopening!
They had guests that had been waiting in line since Magic Kingdom opened this morning and made sure everything went smoothly!
Before long it was our turn!
And the cast members directed us up to the platform
Here are a few images of Greg and Elyssa heading up the platform.
We got one last thumbs up before the escalator!
In case you missed it, we’ll share one of Greg’s awesome live streams below so you can relive that first moment with us.
You can see him here filming away.
We also got some happy waves from other guests enjoying their first ride!
More fabulous cast members where there to greet us on the platform.
You could definitely feel the excitement!
There were a few last minute safety checks before they were ready to set us off on our adventure.
It’s almost our turn!
It’s one last thumbs up from the cast members…
Here we are waiting to be directed to our car!
And we’re off Disney friends!
We hadn’t realized how much we actually missed the PeopleMover until we climbed on board!
We had an opportunity to pause and take a few pictures before being whisked away!
Here’s Greg and Elyssa in those familiar blue cars!
Though it had been a rainy morning the skies cleared and we were able to get some pretty awesome views of Tomorrowland and the Castle!
Below is us heading into the Space Mountain portion of the ride!
Though it was too dark to really be able to take photos inside, it was nice to hear the whir of this beloved indoor coaster.
It was really fun weaving in and out of the many tunnels you’ll find on the ride!
Here’s a bird’s eye view of the Carousel of Progress!
The image below of the beauty salon of the future has to be one of our favorites!
We also got awesome photos of the TRON coaster which is currently under construction!
The Cast Members were nice enough to let us go around on the PeopleMover a second time which meant even more awesome photos!
Here’s us arriving…
and departing…
And Greg sharing his never ending dedication with us!
This time around we got some awesome views of Space Mountain.
You can see the crowds below which are steady but not too heavy.
The red crane in the distance is from the TRON coaster with construction still ongoing.
Both Space Mountain and the Castle look beautiful in the distance.
We love that you can even see all the beautiful Castle decorations from Disney World’s 50th Anniversary at a distance!
Don’t forget some of the awesome views you get from inside the tunnel!
It includes Walt’s awesome prototype of Progress City, the design that would eventually inspire EPCOT
Tunnels, tunnels and more tunnels.
Here we are heading into Star Traders!
And before we knew it our journey was over!
A big shoutout once again to the cast members and fellow travelers who helped us pass the time – you guys are awesome!
Here’s a look back at our Live Ride Footage of the PeopleMover!
Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover Fun Facts
And to celebrate the Grand Reopening of the PeopleMover here are a few awesome facts about this beloved attraction:
1. There used to be a PeopleMover in Disneyland- Magic Kingdom wasn’t the only park to have a PeopleMover. The attraction opened at Disneyland in 1967 but was closed in 1995 to make way for a rather short-lived attraction called Rocket Rods which only operated for a few years.
2. The ride features some pretty awesome tech- This goes some of the way to explaining why it might take so long to do repairs and maintenance on the PeopleMover. The ride actually uses a linear induction system to propel the cars. All along the track are magnets and the vehicles themselves have magnets. Its the reaction of these forces that move the vehicles. This is a concept that Disney would use again at Rock n’ Roller Coaster over at Hollywood Studios!
3. It’s been called many things – Though many of us can’t imagine this ride being named anything other than the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover, it’s actually had a few name changes over the years. It first opened as the WEDWay PeopleMover. Disney historians can tell you that WED stood for Walter Elias Disney. Then in 1994 it was chanced to the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. It wasn’t until 2010 that PeopleMover was once again added to the name!
4. Be on the lookout for Progress City – This is one of my favorites! As you make your way along the PeopleMover track, you’ll enter a tunnel that shows you a model for Walt’s Progress City. This is pretty darn special and NOT to be overlooked as it was actually Walt’s original idea for EPCOT.
5. Awesome insights into Tomorrowland attractions – This attraction gives riders a brand new vantage point for many of the sights and sounds of Tomorrowland including some neat surprises. You can go window shopping as you zip through Mickey’s Star Traders, see brave visitors lift off on Space Mountain and test their Zurg-fighting skills on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.
Don’t miss you chance to experience an awesome attraction and a bit of Disney history by adding a ride on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority during your next visit! And let’s collectively hope that it’s back for good!
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