Attractions - City
Attractions - The City
Dreamflight
As part of the epic transformation that Disneyland's Tomorrowland is going under, the Imagineers have decided to dust off an old classic from Walt Disney World in Florida: Dreamflight, which replaced the venerable If You Had Wings in 1989, and entertained guests until 1998, when it was replaced by Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. Well, consider this poetic justice for the former ride, because Dreamflight is replacing Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, once again inviting one and all to explore the history of aviation.
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Entering Tomorrowland from underneath the sweeping track of the Tomorrowland PeopleMover, you'll find yourself standing before the entrance to the HQ of the Tomorrowland Metro-Retro Historical Society, dedicated to preserving and honoring mankind's achievements--past, present and future. Today, as part of the big Expo happening in Tomorrowland, they've put together a special exhibit honoring one of the most famous achievements of the 20th century: aviation.
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The ride's queue is designed to look like the exhibit space, with various dioramas, pictures and historical artifacts about air travel. There's even a mock replica of some famous early planes hanging right above our heads! And where Buzz Lightyear once briefed would-be Space Rangers about their mission, you'll now find an authentic replica of Charles Lindbergh's famous ship, the Spirit of St. Louis.
Heading further into the museum, you'll find yourself in what looks like a futuristic boarding area. Running along a board on the walls in a never-ending loop are the words "NOW APPROACHING TIME TUNNEL. -- DREAMFLIGHT BEGINS HERE." Indeed, a never-ending parade of Omnimover vehicles are heading towards this tunnel, which looks a lot like the Rainbow Corridor of the old ImageWorks, or rather the tunnel used to get to the loading area of the Magic Kingdom original. As we board, we hear the ride's safety spiel:
"Welcome aboard the Dreamflight! For a safe journey, please remain seated with your hands, arms, feet and legs inside your vehicle at all times, and please supervise your children. Thank you, and enjoy your flight."
Approaching the tunnel, we find ourselves not in brightness, but in dark. In the dark, we see images of various Renaissance-era flight machines, as to remind us of what the great thinkers thought we might use to fly. As we travel through the tunnel, we hear a crackling roaring-20's-esque ditty:
"We're gonna take you flyin',
and they'll be no denyin',
this Dreamflight's bound for non-stop fantasy.
From the earliest days of tryin',
on the air we've been relyin',
to lift us high above the deep blue sea.
And before this flight is through,
you'll being soarin' in the skies so blue,
By flying to help to make these dreams come true.
Oh yes. By flying to help to make these dreams come true."
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Leaving the tunnel, we come across one of the most significant events in aviation history, practically the event that started it all: the invention of the airplane. In an elaborate display, we see an animatronic Orville Wright fly the Wright Flyer over the Kill Devil Hills, as Wilbur looks on proudly.
Heading through a tunnel built into a hill, we see newsreel footage of World War I-era biplanes, which transition to footage of stunt pilots and daredevils performing air-born feats. This is our transition into a Dreamflight staple, the barnstorming sequence, albeit not particularly done in the pop-up book style of the original.
"Ladies and gentlemen, your Dreamflight is about to enter the age of barnstorming. Hold on tight--it's going to be a wild ride!"
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In a clever mix of projections and animatronics, we watch as Roaring 20's-era stuntmen delight patrons of a county fair. While most stunt-men are competent, one nearly has a collision with a farmer and his crops! Pigs, chickens and cows watch on with fascination. A couple takes a flight with an eccentric pilot. While the woman is loving every minute, the man is desperately clinging on for dear life!
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"Attention, passengers. You are now entering the era of air travel and intercontinental travel. Enjoy the views."
A passage into an old barn brings us into a Boeing 314 Flying Boat, docked by a pier. Inside, we can see the elegant first-class dining area, being prepped by flight attendants in anticipation of its clients.
After passing through the Flying Boat, we pass two elaborate screens, each displaying an ever-rotating display of famous cities throughout the world--Paris, Tokyo, London, Shanghai, Madrid, Buenos Aires, New York City, Rome, Beijing, Berlin, Seattle, etc. Not only would this help make this iteration of Dreamflight different from its predecessor, but it also increases chances of rerideability.
And then, we come to the most famous part of the whole ride...
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"Ladies and gentlemen, your Dreamflight will depart immediately for the future. Please prepare for supersonic takeoff."
The music becomes faster and more percussive. Something exciting is about to happen. What used to be the entrance to Buzz's spaceship is now an image of a modern airplane about to take off, its giant jet engine towering before us. Thanks to projections and mist effects, we'll "pass through" this jet engine and enter the Speed Room, where the screens depict passing through the clouds at breakneck speed.
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Once past the Speed Room, we pass through the most elaborate show-scene in the ride: "Tomorrowland by Air". Here, we'll "soar" through the city of Tomorrowland, weaving through buildings, passing under arches and taking in the beauty of flight. Like the barnstorming scene, this is a mix of screens and practical effects and 3D set pieces. We'll see futuristic "flight pods" that pop-up through science-fiction, allowing the common man their own flight without needing to pay a ticket. What's more, there are futuristic planes and PeopleMovers going over our heads, thus heightening the fact that Tomorrowland truly is a "world of motion". An instrumental of the ride's theme fills the air.
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After passing through the city of Tomorrowland by air, we enter the ride's denouement. Lyrics are added to the ride's theme...
"We welcome you back from your Dreamflight,
the fantasy flight of your life.
Once you've taken a Dreamflight,
the Earth's an inspiring sight.
There's adventure, there is romance
Sailing the sky so blue,
'Cause a Dreamflight is your best chance for a passport to dreams old and new.
For you, we've created this Dreamflight, the most wonderful flight of your life.
Because once you've taken a Dreamflight,
You'll see dreams in a different light!"
As this song fills our ears, we enter another "time tunnel", the images of futuristic aircraft turning back into the modern-day aircrafts we've come to know and love. Like with the time tunnel we began with, a message is displayed at the end of the tunnel: "WELCOME BACK -- NOW ENTERING TOMORROWLAND."
Once out of the tunnel, we find ourselves back in the Metro-Retro Historical Society, where we find ourselves exiting past a glorious mural depicting a couple of kids watching as various types of aircraft from all points of history sail off towards the horizon. The one at the rear leaves behind a trail of glowing stars, which lead up to the phrase: "Remember...the sky's the limit!" A rather inspiring end to our Dreamflight, wouldn't you say?
Flight of the Navigator: Trimaxion Tours
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With Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge bringing the greatest sci-fi epic of all-time to Disneyland on a whole new scale, the long-time crowd pleaser, Star Tours, will be disembarking from Tomorrowland for the last time. But, in its place, and accompanying the radical but breathtaking changes coming to Tomorrowland, will come a new attractions that will transcend time and space: Flight of the Navigator: Trimaxion Tours. Based on the 1986 classic sci-fi film, the new attraction takes the spirit of Star Tours, and will soars through Tomorrowland and beyond. Guests will board a Trimaxion Drone Ship from Phaelon, piloted by the onboard AI robot, who demonstrates Phaelon’s unique ability to create a biological navigational system by scanning the brains of the guests. But, things don’t go entirely to plan…but when do they ever in these intergalactic tour flights.
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You’ll find yourself standing outside the Dr. Faraday Institute: Trimaxion Transportation Authority, opposite the Tomorrowland Metro-Retro Historical Society. The sleek alien curves of the building are both inviting and mysterious, drawing guests in to explore the institute. The queue line at first takes guests through a small museum, depicting the history of the Faraday Institute and its relationship with the scientists of the distant, advanced planet of Phaelon. How a Trimaxion spaceship crashlanded on Earth many years ago after flying into power lines whilst performing an analytical study, the details vague.
From there, Dr. Louis Faraday founded the institute, to work alongside the people of Phaelon, understand their technology, and contributed to building the city of tomorrow. The Phaelonian technology is present throughout Tomorrowland if you know where to look, and contributed to every facet of tech and travel in the land. Their newest venture is tourism.
Guests will pass by a Trimaxion ship in a repair dock, currently undergoing modifications. In a corner, several of the ship robots are undergoing “enhancements”, altering their voices to test which sounds better (a female voice, a Schwarzenegger voice, Mickey Mouse’s voice).
Further into the queue is a small lab, showing a number of alien critters contained and acquired by the Phaelonians – a biting Garpuntle from South Petrawlis, the aquatic Feenastarus from the Pixar Elliptic, the particularly grotesque Loogaloof from Phlegmamenta, the ever hungry Gompachoff (watch out for hats), and the wide-eyed Ocula. A couple of cases are empty, one for the Puckmaren (labelled “extinct”), and the Flora Colossus (Groot).
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A flight attendant guides guests to wait in a docking station, before four Trimaxion Drone Ships are revealed to the eager passengers. The large, silver, walnut-shaped spacecraft are seamless in design. Before their eyes, guests watch in awe as parts of the ship liquidate, transforming into open hatches and ramps, welcoming them into the ships. Once inside and seated in the symmetrical and sleek interiors, the attendant leaves them to the ship’s AI robot, who they address as “Max” – the familiar voice of Paul Reubens reprising his role from the 1986 film (and fittingly, Reubens also voiced Captain Rex in Star Tours).
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At first, Max appears to be emotionless, focused on delivering a factual and controlled tour of Tomorrowland. But, when it comes to scanning the guests’ brains to create a biological navigational system, Max scans a little too much and adopts personality traits of mankind, especially their sense of humor and urge for thrills. With this in mind, Max flies the ship out of the dock and through Tomorrowland in reckless speed, flying through several other attractions like Space Mountain, the Gigantic Garden Breakout, and the Hoverbikes.
Max then decides to take the guests on a wild ride, rocketing up twenty miles into the atmosphere, and utilises the spacecraft’s ability to travel through time and across space, leading to a number of dramatic drops, turns, and rises throughout the known universe. We fly through several wormholes and use light-speed theory to race through space. The ship flies through a fleet of comets, close to a sun, back into the past through Tomorrowland during the 1960s, through brief encounters with the Star Wars universe, and nearly into the grasp of a black hole, before Max comes to his senses and pilots the spacecraft back to Tomorrowland safe and sound, allowing guests to disembark, and head on into the gift shop.
Space Mountain
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Space Mountain stays mostly the same with the Tomorrowland updates. The theme is changed slightly so that the iconic attraction is the transportation hub for the city of Tomorrowland. Not unlike a bus stop or an airport for the city of the future. Elements and signage are added to the queue to re-enforce this newly focused theme, but the ride itself is basically unchanged beyond a quick refurbishment.
The Mysterious Galaxy
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Taking up the space formerly held by the Magic Eye Theater, The Mysterious Galaxy is an alternative space adventure for those who can't yet board--or refuse to board--Space Mountain. In our New Tomorrowland, space travel is as common as a trip to the store. Pretty much anyone can set off to explore the galaxy! As such, we are invited to take off on a journey that would put IMAX to shame. Utilizing a specially-arranged version of Gustav Holst's famous suite "The Planets", in-theater effects, including shaking seats, and the largest seamless projection screen ever used in a Disney production (beating out the one used in Mickey's PhilharMagic by a longshot), The Mysterious Galaxy is an adventure unlike any other!
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The theater is designed to look like the launching pad of a space station, with the (decorative) support beams looking like the vertical launcher. As all take their seats, we hear the voice of our captain, Tom Morrow, speaking:
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard the DL-77, spacecraft bound for The Mysterious Galaxy. I'm Captain Tom Morrow, and I'll be serving as your tour guide for this flight. But before we go any further, I want to remind you all to please remain seated at all times, and that there is no eating, drinking, smoking or flash photography allowed in the spacecraft. Thank you."
Slowly, the screen comes to life. The launcher comes into view. The sweeping score of Gustav Holst's "The Planets" fades in.
"All right, Mission Control. This is DL-77 flight two-oh-niner, ready for departure."
"Two-oh-niner, Countdown is go in T-minus 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."
As Mission Control counts down, the seats lean back. The support beams move to the rear of the theater, revealing a semi-circular projection screen that practically wraps around the theater. Additional panels slide in front of the door allowing for a more immersive experience. However, the left-hand side of the theater has one door still visible, so if someone needs to leave during the show, they can.
"Ignition!"
To the triumphant theme of "Jupiter", our "rocket" roars to life, and lifts off! Our seats sink back, simulating the g-factor. The blue skies of Earth soon give way to the inky blackness of night in the Solar System.
"Attention, two-oh-niner; auto-control is terminated. You are cleared for hyperspace penetration. Good luck!"
"Roger, Mission Control."
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Our seats begin to sway and undulate, as if they are affected by zero gravity. Complimenting this peacefulness, "Venus" begins to play. Tom Morrow begins to lead us through the Solar System, stopping by the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.
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To the strains of "Mars", the mood becomes much more intense. In order to get to the other planets, we must get through the dreaded asteroid belt. "This is going to be a bumpy ride", Tom Morrow tells us, "so hold on tight!" Our seats rock back and forth violently, as if reacting to the spacecraft bumping into the asteroids.
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To the strains of "Saturn", we explore the Gas Giants: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Of course, we pay our respects to the demoted planet, Pluto, whilst we are so far out.
"But before we head back to Earth, I wanna show you something really special. Hold on tight--we're going into hyperspace!"
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Our seats are thrust back as we go into hyperspace! When we get out of hyperspace, we'll find ourselves staring before the mighty Milky Way Galaxy. "Neptune" plays as Tom Morrow pontificates on the Milky Way and how we're really not that alone in the universe. But alas, those explorations will have to wait till another day. It's time to head back to Earth.
"Jupiter" strikes up one last time, as we make one last hyperspace jump and return towards Earth. Our seats lean forward as we approach Earth. The screens show us passing through layers and layers of clouds back towards the ground. The support beams slide back into position. The music reaches its conclusion. We are back on Earth.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the outer locks are now open and you may leave the spacecraft. Thank you for exploring The Mysterious Galaxy today, and we hope to see you again soon."
