Abandoned - Disneyland Peoplemover

For over 20 years, Disneyland's Tomorrowland has had a prevalent, massive reminder of the past high above guests. It's the tracks of the former Disneyland Peoplemover, an attraction born from Walt Disney's love for transportation concepts and one which ultimately closed in the mid 90's. Replacing it was a short lived, thrill ride known as the Rocket Rods and it's failure left this once beloved attraction completely abandoned. Join me today as I take another look at this iconic, abandoned attraction.

Travel Channel - @BrightSunTravels

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Bright Sun Films 2024

Presented in 4K

[AtomicBuffalo]

Abandoned decaying infrastructure may be the most accurate predictor of the future that Tomorrowland has ever displayed.

[theskepticaltaco]

As a current tomorrowland cast member, not only do i get guests asking if the people mover is open, but i also come across guests who have no idea what the people mover was and ask me what attraction that is. It breaks my heart to tell them that its been closed for decades, but i at least get to dive a little into the park's history.

[RankingTheMouse]

Pretty crazy how the "transportation method of the future" ended up being one of the longest-standing abandoned Disney rides in history...all because they wanted it to be a thrill ride.

Fantastic video as always, Jake

[christianb]

"the bones of the people mover" is such a hardcore phrase out of context

[stebesplace]

What's left is a beautiful shade structure on a hot summer day when you're in Tomorrowland with no shade escape 🤣

[picahudsoniaunflocked]

I wish it was still a People Mover. There are so many thrill rides. A nice overview of the Park with a relaxing pace would be so welcome. I remember Jenny Nicholson talking about when they closed the petting zoo she worked at, & her advocacy for places to take a breather bc theme parks are exciting but can stress or burn families out, so she champions those slower paced experiences, & I agree.

[_lucas_k_]

Still weird that it just sits there rotting considering Disney’s usual standards when it comes to removing rides.

[sheerkhanful]

I grew up going to Disneyland. The People Mover was the sleeper best ride because when your feet were tired from a full day of standing and walking at the park, it was a cool way to rest and be on a ride at the same time. As rides went, it lasted awhile. Especially at night. It was always worth it, because of the way it weaved through the other attractions, letting you observe as you went along.

[Nightwaterproject]

Getting rid of this for Rocket Rods and then letting it collect dust is definitely one of the dumbest things Disney parks has done over the years.

[Bluzin]

When I was a kid, my parents were the ones who loved the peoplemover. It was slow, relaxing, great way to take a break from a lot of walking and kept the kids mildly entertained. It was a nice way to preview other rides without waiting in line. Like many families, someone always not into fast rides so it was one of the few that all members could ride together. It also kind of competed with the monorail, faster, slicker, functional and great views.

[SchuyGuy]

Like, does Disney know that they would hit a home run just by bringing the Peoplemover back in its previous form? I would visit just to see this thing operating again.

[CobraDBlade]

Disney should absolutely bring the Disneyland Peoplemover back with the coming park expansion. Having a relaxed way of moving from park to park (by having loading/unloading stations in each) or getting a tour of the OG park and expansion via an updated Peoplemover would be a huge crowd-pleaser while also being a great way to shift some of the park capacity around.

[whizwart]

I feel like they overlooked the real advantage and attraction of this ride....a break. I know when I go to Orlando, the people mover there is a great way to rest and cool down a bit while getting some light entertainment. It's the lofi of Disney rides, and I think its kinda sad DIsney just ditched it.

[kaguya]

It was a highlight, not because my friends and I really liked the experience, but because it was fifteen minutes where you could just sit down and enjoy the company of your friends while doing something relaxing and a bit kitschy. Also the rollers on the moving ramps going up to the loading area and down again to street level made for a great foot massage.

[brainyluckyfish]

Tomorrowland needs an overhaul. Would it be amazing to have a people mover back? Yes! Would they do it. Probably not. The hard lesson they learned is to stop building tracks through their buildings.

[bradydacloud]

The older Abandoned Episodes got me into this channel, it’s so neat seeing old videos being given a new breath of fresh air

[Jessica_]

I literally clicked as soon as I saw the video. Its counterpart in WDW is such a classic and I wish I had the opportunity to ride the version in Disneyland before they made it into Rocket Rods.

[aldrichuyliong]

Here's an idea what Disney could do with the Peoplemover tracks: turn it into their own version of the High Line in New York.

Imagine having all that greenery on top of it and sitting spaces, view decks, etc.

[redpandacoding]

I'm not a Disneyland goer, but my theory as to why Tomorrowland sees so much neglect is that the concept of an optimistic future is... a thing of the past? Tomorrowland was made to showcase how the future is bright and how technology is awesome. Then it became about Sci-Fi in general. And today, whatever you see about the future or Sci-Fi... it's always post-apocalyptic. Even Star Wars thrives off the themes of decay, grime and authoritarianism. The current cultural sentiment does not see a positive future, and an optimistic Tomorrowland is not in the zeitgeist - and Disney doesn't want to bum guests out.

That said, a truly optimistic Tomorrowland would be really good. We're in desperate need of positive visions of the future again.

[OffhandDisney]

I heard someone say the words "People" and "Mover" together. I'm in.