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PeopleMover
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| PeopleMover | |
 |
|
| The PeopleMover Poster | |
| Disneyland | |
| Land | Tomorrowland |
| Designer | WED Enterprises |
| Manufacturer | WED Enterprises |
| Theme | Transportation |
| Propulsion method | Motorized wheels embedded in track |
| Opening date | July 2, 1967 |
| Closing date | August 21, 1995 |
| Vehicle capacity | 16 |
| Cars per vehicle | 4 |
| Guests per car | 4 |
| Ride duration | Approx 16:00 minutes |
| Maximum speed | 2 mph (3.2 km/h) |
| Sponsored by | Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company |
The PeopleMover (July 2, 1967–August 21, 1995), officially the PeopleMover Thru the World of Tron from 1982-1995, was an attraction in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and remains open at the Magic Kingdom in Lake Buena Vista, Florida as Tomorrowland Transit Authority. The spelling of the attraction's name is also referenced as "Peoplemover" or "People Mover." Disney sometimes uses the latter, but usually uses the spelling "PeopleMover."
The transportation term "people mover" comes from this attraction. PeopleMover was actually a working title for the attraction, but it became attached to the project over time and there was never another name for it.
Contents |
- Grand Opening: July 2, 1967 (Opened with the Re-Opening of Tomorrowland)
- Closing Date: August 21, 1995
- Designer: WED Enterprises
- Sponsor: Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company (entire run)
- Seating: 4 per car, 4 cars per train
- Top Speed: 2 miles per hour (3.2 km/h)
- Ride Duration: 16:00
- Height Requirement: None.
- Required Ticket: "D"
The PeopleMover opened as part of New Tomorrowland in 1967. The attraction's vehicles were always in motion, and were accessible by a large rotating platform inside the station. The PeopleMover was presented by Goodyear. The trains were not powered by motors within themselves, but rather by rotating Goodyear tires embedded in the track, which the trains would pass over every nine feet. The cars were all red, blue, yellow, and green with white roofs until they were repainted all white with colored stripes sometime during 1987. The PeopleMover closed in August 1995, and was replaced by Rocket Rods in 1998.
Some PeopleMover vehicles were used in other parts of the resort after its closing. Three cars from train #45 sit outside the Team Disney Anaheim building. Two cars were repainted with an blue and orange grid to resemble a blueprint (along with Rocket Jets vehicles and the front of a Mark III Disneyland-ALWEG monorail train) and placed in the queue for Rocket Rods. These were later sold on Disney Auctions after Rocket Rods closed. PeopleMover cars are used as the checkout counters at the Little Green Men Store Command in Tomorrowland, which also has former Rocket Jets vehicles retrofitted as merchandise shelves and also had Skyway buckets hanging from the ceiling when the store was the Premiere Shop.
The attraction used an updated WEDway system based on the WEDway used for the Ford Magic Skyway at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair. When Disney asked Ford Motor Company to continue sponsorship by sponsoring Disneyland's new PeopleMover, they declined, because Ford did not want to support technology that could replace the automobile. So Goodyear was asked to sponsor it, and accepted, and the wheels in the WEDway system were replaced by tires. The PeopleMover's logo is even influenced by Goodyear; the entire "PEOPLEMOVER" logo is in the same font as Goodyear's logo. The PeopleMover was also often called the Goodyear PeopleMover. Since it sponsored the attraction for more than 28 years, it was one of the longest-lasting sponsorships in Disneyland's history.
In 1977, the SuperSpeed Tunnel was added to the PeopleMover. It was located in the Carousel Building, then housing America Sings. Race cars were projected on the walls all around the trains. In 1982, the scenes were changed to clips from Tron's light cycle race scene, and the tunnel was renamed Tron SuperSpeed Tunnel.
During the attraction's 28-year run, two separate incidents of guests trying to jump between the moving vehicles led to their deaths.
- People for the PeopleMover – Fan site with information on the history of the PeopleMover.