PHOTOS - Latest look at the Tomorrowland updates in the Magic Kingdom

Sep 11, 2020 in "Tomorrowland"

Gallery / 25 Photos
Tomorrowland refurbishment - September 3 2020

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Posted: Friday September 11, 2020 9:46am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The work on the new-look for Tomorrowland which began back in 2016 is continuing, with several significant changes over the past few weeks.

Tomorrowland refurbishment - September 3 2020

First, the scaffolding on the right-hand side as you enter the land is now down, giving us a look at the renovated plain white PeopleMover supports.

Tomorrowland refurbishment - September 3 2020

At the former Stitch's Great Escape entrance, all signage has now been removed.

Tomorrowland refurbishment - September 3 2020

Elsewhere, the supports are in various stages of renovation - some stripped to the steel, others down nearing completion.

Tomorrowland refurbishment - September 3 2020

Click the gallery for more of a look around the entirety of Tomorrowland.

Tomorrowland refurbishment - September 3 2020

The refurbishments are expected to be completed in time for opening of TRON Lightcycle Run in 2021.

Tomorrowland refurbishment - September 3 2020

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lazyboy97o14 days ago

New wild mouse style coasters are still allowed.

lazyboy97o14 days ago

That’s not a standard that exists for rides. A new track would be a new ride and require compliance with contemporary standards. This is also true of accessibility as noted in Advisory 234.1 of the EPCOT Accessibility Code, Florida Building Code - Accessibility, and the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. But the wheelchair requirements (because the ADA covers more than just mobility access) are not significant, only requiring a wheelchair space, a transfer seat or a transfer device for the ride itself. The current Disneyland track is not exactly the same layout as the original. There were slight adjustments to accommodate for clearance, mostly related to the more robust track structure

Bocabear14 days ago

I was concerned about any change to the track would mean completely rethinking the entire thing to fit new standards... that would inclide little things like changing some of the banking manuevers and just smoothing it out a bit while retaining the basic original path... I would hate for our version to lose it's sudden drops and surprises...and the fact that urs is fully double-tracked is pretty amazing... I think any change to make the vehicles ADA would completely impact the entire thing... but who knows at this point... There is a lot more of Tomorrowland that also needs work...

Touchdown14 days ago

That means new track with new clearances you lose grandfather status when you don’t copy the old design exactly. It would be nice if they added an ADA loading zone like DL has though. With the extra space in the loading area and unload area seems possible, but would require additional CMs.

Incomudro15 days ago

And a good dusting while they are at it.

Nickm202215 days ago

for me and SM all I care about is they make the load/unload area look better, along with making the ride a tad smoother. Id also say the ride veichles could be more ADA friendly

Epcot82Guy15 days ago

I agree 100%. I would love to see movement there and in the general intro to the ride. I am actually against direct onboard audio, only because it goes against the point of our ride. WDW's SM was more akin to a wild mouse with random, unexpected drops and turns. It's meant to be a bit disorienting. Adding onboard audio is designed to match the action, making orientation easier. Please don't get me wrong, enhanced audio effects and experiences over a larger environmental soundtrack (a more enhanced version of what they have now) would be welcome. I think you could do a ton with both audio and visual effects. But, a constant background track with triggered/localized effects would be the better experience with our track type. I also think modern coaster design has allowed for much more graceful moves with tight/sharp maneuvers, so there could be a lot done by even just Vekoma (let alone other companies). Let alone the fact the wear and tear is more predictable given that it is an inside coaster (albeit one that runs 365 days a year with extended operations).

Bocabear15 days ago

one can dream.....

HMF15 days ago

The speed ramp is not coming back so I would adjust my expectations accordingly.

Bocabear15 days ago

It would be amazing if when they finally get to our Space Mountain refurbishment, the rocket, astronauts and control team all get some motion...and a complete remodel. I love the original style and design of what we have, just needs some plussing up... And the vehicles need to have their glow panels restored and visible from the peoplemover... And Please Oh please bring in some more engaging speedramp displays visible from the peoplemover...(and of course the speedramp) They really need to do it right.

ChrisFL15 days ago

For the most part, yes, however they did upgrade their spaceship in the queue and interior lighting, several years ago:

HMF16 days ago

The 2009 refurbishment at MK was largely just putting green paint on the marquees from 1994, shoving video games in the queue, blocking out the views from the peoplemover with little visual compensation and slightly re-dressing the post show from the FedEx version which itself was just a re-dressing of the sets from RYCA-1

HMF16 days ago

What Tokyo is doing I would actually consider overkill, though admittedly they are less afraid to spend money than the stateside parks due to Disney not owning them for better or worse. Also, my understanding of the Tokyo one is that it was essentially a clone of the Disneyland version prior to the mid-2000s refurb.

Sir_Cliff16 days ago

I guess Paris' Discoveryland is not exactly the same thing as Tomorrowland, however I do think that is the version of the concept that still works the best as it at least still has a fairly cohesive atmosphere and feels alive. It helps a lot that they have put a lot of effort into maintaining and updating the lighting effects in recent years, which adds a lot of movement and some drama to the land at night. Unlike at the other parks, it also doesn't feel like a step down from the theming and attraction line-up of the other lands. A big problem with the MK and DL versions is that they are now mixtures of different versions of the concept with dead spaces where attractions once were. This slow refurbishment of the MK version back to something sort of resembling the original aesthetic is symptomatic of that problem as they're not fully willing to even commit to that vision; they take away some elements from the 1994 version, paint others white, and just leave other ones in place. I haven't been to Shanghai, but I will say the HK version is very weak. It is basically the remnants of the extremely bare bones version that opened with the park being subsumed by a Marvel land.