Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland was the last land finished in 1955, and it showed. Money ran short, and it opened with only a few of its planned attractions: Autopia, Rocket to the Moon, a boat ride, an exhibit called Space Station X-1, and exhibits by sponsors on aluminum, chemistry and what lay beneath the earth (Wikipedia: Tomorrowland).

There was nothing to copy. The Walt Disney Family Museum points out that a land about the future had no reference books to draw on, so its designers made it up. Walt had help from his Man in Space television series, made with animator Ward Kimball and rocket scientist Wernher von Braun (Walt Disney Family Museum).

The trouble with the future is that it arrives. Tomorrowland has been rebuilt again and again: the 1959 E-tickets, the whole "World on the Move" of 1967, Space Mountain in 1977, Star Tours in 1987, the bronze retro-future of 1998, the Star Wars takeover of 2015. In August 2026 the resort's president said it would be reimagined again. Walt saw it coming. He thought of the whole park as unfinished, something he would keep changing (Walt Disney Family Museum).

Attractions

Tomorrowland has had more attractions than any other land, so this table keeps to the rides and major shows. Years are from Wikipedia's Tomorrowland article unless another source is linked.

A house of plastic, three E-tickets and a world on the move

The House of the Future, 1957

On June 12, 1957, Monsanto opened a house made almost entirely of plastic. Four wings reached out from a central core, and inside were intercoms and appliances few families owned yet. Architects Marvin Goody and Richard Hamilton of MIT spent two years designing it. It was free to tour, and it stood for ten years (Yesterland; D23).

Its ending is the part everyone remembers. When the house came down in December 1967, the story goes, the wrecking ball bounced off. Crews had to cut it apart, and a one-day job took two weeks (D23; Yesterland). Its concrete base is still there. The garden around it became Alpine Gardens, then Triton's Garden, and since 2008 Pixie Hollow, which is why that corner of Fantasyland has waterfalls (Yesterland).

1959: the first E-tickets

On June 14, 1959, three attractions opened at once: the Disneyland Monorail, the Submarine Voyage and, next door in Fantasyland, the Matterhorn Bobsleds. They were the park's first E-ticket attractions (Wikipedia: Tomorrowland). The Monorail and the submarines have their own stories in The Trains and The Boats chapters.

1967: New Tomorrowland

Walt did not live to see the next one. The rebuilt Tomorrowland opened in the summer of 1967, seven months after his death (Walt Disney Family Museum). Its theme was "World on the Move." Adventure Thru Inner Space, the Carousel of Progress and the PeopleMover were the new headliners (Wikipedia: Tomorrowland).

The PeopleMover opened on July 2, 1967. Goodyear sponsored it until the end of 1981. In 1977 a SuperSpeed Tunnel was added, and in 1982 its projections changed to scenes from the film Tron. The PeopleMover closed on August 21, 1995. Its successor on the same track, Rocket Rods, ran from 1998 to 2000 (Wikipedia: PeopleMover). The track still stands above Tomorrowland.

Space Mountain, Star Tours and the 1998 rebuild

Space Mountain, 1977

John Hench designed Space Mountain years before the technology to build it was readily available (D23). When it opened in May 1977, six of the original Mercury astronauts came: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton. Betty Grissom, widow of Gus Grissom, came with them (D23). The sources disagree on the date: D23 lists May 4, and Wikipedia gives May 27. Wikipedia also reports a Memorial Day record of 185,500 guests in three days (Wikipedia).

The ride closed suddenly on April 10, 2003, for a rebuild that took more than two years. It reopened officially on July 15, 2005, two days before the park's fiftieth birthday, with a new score by Michael Giacchino in place of the Dick Dale surf guitar it had used since 1995 (Wikipedia). Since then it has worn two costumes: Ghost Galaxy for Halloween from 2009, and Hyperspace Mountain, a Star Wars version that first launched on November 16, 2015 (Wikipedia).

Star Tours, 1987

George Lucas came to Tomorrowland in the 1980s. Star Tours opened to guests on January 9, 1987, followed by a grand opening billed as a 60-hour party. Guests boarded Starspeeders bound for the Star Wars galaxy. In 2011 it became Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, in 3D, with new destinations (Disney Parks Blog).

1998 and after

A bigger plan, Tomorrowland 2055, was dropped in 1994. Instead, on May 22, 1998, a $100 million redesign opened. It traded white and silver for bronze, gold and dark brown, a future as Jules Verne might have pictured it. Its flagship, Rocket Rods, closed after about two years. For the fiftieth anniversary in 2005, Space Mountain was repainted white, and the land began drifting back toward its 1967 look. In November 2015 the "Season of the Force" filled Tomorrowland with Star Wars. In 2019 the last of the 1998 sign and rockwork came out (Wikipedia: Tomorrowland).

What comes next

At Disney's D23 fan event in August 2026, Disneyland Resort president Jill Estorino said the reimagining of Tomorrowland would move ahead of the planned Avatar land at California Adventure. Imagineer Emily "Emo" O'Brien, who leads the work, said the team was starting from Walt's opening-day words. New attractions are promised, along with more open space. No specific rides, timeline or opening date have been announced (BlogMickey). This guide will add details as Disney confirms them.

Dining and shops

The best-known table in Tomorrowland comes with a stage that rises out of the ground. The Tomorrowland Terrace opened on July 2, 1967, with the new Tomorrowland. Talent booker Sonny Anderson said the rising stage was Walt's idea, because the temporary stages he had seen there were not good enough. Performers wait in a basement and are lifted into view. Coca-Cola sponsored it until 1998. No Doubt played some of its first professional shows there (Wikipedia: Tomorrowland Terrace).

Shops have changed with every new future. The MOD Hatter sold hats from 1958 to 2006 and the Premiere Shop from 1963 to 2005 (Wikipedia). Today the Star Trader carries Star Wars goods, Little Green Men Store Command sells Toy Story toys, and Tomorrowlanding sells pins and collectibles (Disneyland fact sheet).

Tomorrowland in pictures

Fun facts: Tomorrowland

1. Tomorrowland was the last land finished for opening day (Wikipedia).
2. Rocket scientist Wernher von Braun worked with Walt on Man in Space, the TV series that shaped Tomorrowland's plans (Walt Disney Family Museum).
3. The Monsanto House of the Future was designed by two MIT architecture professors and was free to tour (Yesterland).
4. Legend says the wrecking ball bounced off the House of the Future, and a one-day demolition took two weeks (Yesterland).
5. The Disneyland Monorail was the first daily-operating monorail in the Western Hemisphere (Disneyland fact sheet).
6. Six of the original seven Mercury astronauts came to Space Mountain's opening in 1977 (D23).
7. Space Mountain's soundtrack from 1995 to 2003 featured surf guitarist Dick Dale (Wikipedia).
8. The PeopleMover's tunnel showed scenes from Tron starting in 1982 (Wikipedia).
9. Autopia's cars have names: Suzy, Dusty and Sparky (Disneyland fact sheet).
10. No Doubt played some of its first professional gigs on the Tomorrowland Terrace stage (Wikipedia).

Quotes

"A vista into a world of wondrous ideas, signifying man's achievements."

— Walt Disney, from his 1955 Tomorrowland dedication (Disneyland fact sheet)

"Tomorrow is a heck of a thing to keep up with."

— Walt Disney (Walt Disney Family Museum)

"What we will see here are new attractions, for sure."

— Imagineer Emily "Emo" O'Brien, on the Tomorrowland reimagining, August 2026 (BlogMickey)