This time around, Joe Darthmaz brings you a full ride-through of one of the most beloved Magic Kingdom attractions of hardcore Walt Disney World fans, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover. The PeopleMover is an imaginative creation of Walt Disney himself, intended originally as a short distance conveyance system for citizens of his never-realized Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT.) No not the theme park...the community of the future that Walt envisioned building as part of the massive plot of land that is now known as Walt Disney World.
Walt dreamed of revolutionizing urban living in America by creating a utopian community where folks could live and work in a reality made better by the technology and innovativeness of American industry and ingenuity. The WEDway PeopleMover, an early name of the more practical invention that eventually became ride technology, would move citizens across short distances in his community, without the need for cars. This innovative approach was environmentally friendly, in a time when not many were concerned about such things. It would reduce the use of gas-fired combustion engine cars, reducing traffic and harmful emissions simultaneously.
Sadly, Walt's death in 1966 put an end to the dream of EPCOT as an actual community. However, the PeopleMover technology was marketed to municipalities and industries around the US and there are a few instances of its use in practical non-theme park locations. In 1975, the PeopleMover was added to Tomorrowland as part of a rejuvenation of the somewhat lackluster Magic Kingdom land.
The PeopleMover takes guests on a leisurely yet brisk sightseeing trip through Tomorrowland from an elevated trackway that winds through the land and even into some of its classic buildings, with accompanying narration pointing out the highlights of the tour. Powered completely by linear induction motors (using electromagnets to propel the ride vehicles,) the PeopleMover is still somewhat futuristic...at least in America where we don't use superconductor tech for trains.
The ride-through version we present also provides a look at the construction of the Tron Light Cycle Run coaster (as of late July 2021) scheduled to open in 2022 at Walt Disney World.
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