The new PeopleMover, also called Tomorrowland Transit Authority, moved on a “linear induction” track where magnets pulled the cars. Crazy, right? How can a train run without an engine? After all, it was the transit system of Tomorrowland, the land of progress! So, they took a wild leap and eliminated tires and engines. The Imagineers had something else in mind for the PeopleMover of Disney World. No – the Magic Kingdom PeopleMover wasn’t using tires at all! Induction into the Magic Kingdom (Though the ride remained in Disneyland until 1995.) Maybe the criticism finally got to them, or maybe they were just miffed that the PeopleMover opening in Disney World, Florida, wasn’t using Goodyear tires. (Photo: Steven Miller Via Flickr)ĭespite this elegant answer, Goodyear discontinued their sponsorship in 1981. The PeopleMover moved on from Ford Mustangs to a tram-car system. The Los Angeles Times featured a piece critiquing Goodyear as being double-minded – they were an automobile tire company promoting mass transportation through their sponsorship of PeopleMover! Russell DeYoung, chairman and chief executive of Goodyear, rebutted, “Goodyear is basically in the transportation business,” not just limited to tire sales for individual automobiles. (Ford convertibles no longer served as the open-air train cars, either, instead having been replaced by tram-like cars.) 4 This iteration of the PeopleMover was sponsored by Goodyear rather than Ford because Goodyear tires propelled the ride along. On July 2, 1967, the WEDway PeopleMover took off with its first official Disneyland passengers, carrying them over and around the New Tomorrowland, giving them a glimpse of the vast expanse of the park in store for them. (WED standing for Walter Elias Disney, of course!) Goodyears in Disneyland Walt passed away before it was installed, but he did get to ride a prototype – and I can only imagine the fun he had! Thankfully, the Imagineers remained true to his vision, even keeping Walt’s nickname for the project, “PeopleMover,” as part of the final name: WEDway PeopleMover. Goodbye traffic jams, hello fast lane!Ī Ford Mustang being debuted at the 1964 World’s Fair – with Walt’s help! (Photo: Ron Frazier Via Flickr)Īlthough this technology didn’t end up in the average street, it did end up in Disneyland. (Fun fact – masonite is a type of engineered wood! 3 But maybe you already knew that?)Īn EPCOT film quips that these new-fangled traffic lanes could be the way of the future – after all, even if a car’s motor went kaput, the motors and wheels in the road would keep the car moving.
The wheels were placed every nine feet along the ride’s track, and as the wheels turned, they would make contact with masonite placed beneath the cars, pushing Ford Mustangs along their merry way. The conveyor system Walt and the Imagineers came up with would have electric motors that powered wheels embedded in a track. 2 Even as he watched the steel skeletons trundle down the line to become real cars, Walt began engineering his own plan, thinking to himself how he could turn an assembly line into an incredible journey. This gave people a chance to test drive a Ford without having to put up with an annoying car salesperson! An actual Ford assembly line inspired the conveyor system in Detroit, which Walt Disney witnessed firsthand on a business trip. The attraction was appropriately called “Magic Skyway.” Ford convertibles were placed on a conveyor-type track, making the cars the ride-vehicles themselves. The Ford Rotunda at the New York World’s Fair. The combination of Ford’s flare – it introduced the Mustang here – and Disney magic made this particular pavilion the most popular one at the World’s Fair. The Ford Motor Company hired Disney to design the Ford Pavilion at the Fair. The Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover, or just PeopleMover for short, was originally developed for the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair. I’m riding the PeopleMover again!” Fords & Fair Lanes
After you read this, you might just say, “Forget Space Mountain. It’s a journey through Disney history, scientific breakthroughs, and of course, a touch of magic. A ride on PeopleMover is not just a ride through Tomorrowland.
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It also offers the chance to observe the Kingdom from a new perspective.Īlthough a “leisurely” train ride might not sound like the most exciting attraction, the PeopleMover is actually full of intrigue. It provides a nice change of pace from the rat race (or should I say mouse race?) of the Magic Kingdom. The narrator’s soothing voice even encourages you to sit back and relax. While the “PeopleMover” sounds like it should be on an album with The Purple People Eater or the title of a bad sci-fi B-movie from the fifties and sixties, it is actually Disney World’s take on a mass-transit system! Unlike the crowded subways of NYC or the bustling London “Underground,” the PeopleMover is described by its patrons as leisurely.
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