PeopleMover (Disneyland)

Coordinates: 33°48′44″N 117°55′03″W / 33.81222°N 117.91750°W / 33.81222; -117.91750
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"PeopleMover" redirects here. For the current attraction at Walt Disney World, see PeopleMover (Magic Kingdom). For people movers in general, see People mover. For other uses, see People mover (disambiguation).

PeopleMover
Coordinates
33°48′44″N 117°55′03″W / 33.81222°N 117.91750°W / 33.81222; -117.91750
StatusRemoved
Opening dateJuly 2, 1967[1]
Closing dateAugust 21, 1995[1]
Replaced byRocket Rods
Ride statistics
Attraction typeTransportation
ManufacturerWalt Disney Imagineering
DesignerWalt Disney Imagineering
MusicCapitol Media Music by Ole Georg (1976–⁠1995)
Speed7 mph (11 km/h)
Vehicle typePropulsion
Vehicles62
Riders per vehicle16
Rows2 (Per Car)
Riders per row2
DurationApprox 16:00 min
PropulsionMotorized wheels embedded in track
HostJack Wagner (1974–⁠1982)
B.J. Ward (safety voice) (1982–⁠1995)
SponsorGoodyear Tire and Rubber Company (1967–⁠1981)
Disabled access Wheelchair accessible
Must transfer from wheelchair

The PeopleMover, sometimes referred to as the Goodyear PeopleMover and WEDWay PeopleMover, was a transport attraction that opened on July 2, 1967, in

Orlando, Florida, and is still operating today.[3]

Operation

Disneyland Monorail System
(red) in 1979

The attraction's vehicles were always moving. Passengers boarded and alighted by a large speed-matched rotating platform inside the station. The trains were not powered by motors within themselves. Rather, they were pushed by rotating tires embedded in the track once every nine feet, each of which had its own electric motor.[2]

Each car included its own sound system which broadcast a continuous audio commentary and soundtrack, relative to the train's location. The commentary pointed out Disneyland's attractions along the way as well as announcing promotional items.[citation needed]

The tour continued from the center of Tomorrowland through a few of Tomorrowland's buildings, for a look inside, and over Disneyland's Submarine Lagoon and Autopia areas, before returning to Tomorrowland.

The attraction's onboard soundtrack originally consisted of the Goodyear

jingle "Go, Go, Goodyear" and George Bruns' instrumentals "Nation on Wheels" and "The Monorail Song". From 1976 until its closure, the attraction's onboard soundtrack consisted of instrumental pieces composed by Danish composer Ole Georg for Capitol Records' production music library, Capitol Media Music.[citation needed
]

Sponsorship

The attraction used an updated

automobile.[5] Goodyear was then approached to sponsor it, and accepted. The wheels used in the WEDway system were replaced by Goodyear's tires. The PeopleMover's logo was then fashioned after Goodyear's logo, sharing a similar typeface. Goodyear sponsored the PeopleMover from its opening until December 31, 1981.[6] However, Goodyear's instrumental "Go Go Goodyear" advertising jingle still served as part of the attraction's soundtrack until at least 1990.[citation needed
]

History

A restored PeopleMover car on display in 2018.

The PeopleMover opened as part of New Tomorrowland in 1967. Originally, each four-car train was colored either red, blue, yellow or green with white roofs. They were repainted all white with colored stripes in 1987-88, similar to the new Mark V Monorails that began operation around the same time. In 1968, each of the 62 trains were retrofitted with safety rails for each car, to deter guests from climbing out. [7] In 1985, these safety rails were modified to completely wrap around each car, making it even more difficult for possible accidents to occur.

SuperSpeed Tunnel

In 1977, the SuperSpeed Tunnel was added to the PeopleMover. It was located in the upper level of the Carousel Building, which then housed America Sings. Race cars were projected on the walls of the tunnel all around the trains. In 1982, the projections were changed to scenes from the film Tron and the tunnel was announced as the Game Grid of Tron by the on-board audio guide. After this addition, the attraction was advertised as the PeopleMover Thru the World of Tron.

Deaths and incidents

See also:
Incidents at Disneyland Resort

In August 1967, a 16-year-old boy from Hawthorne, California, was killed while jumping between two moving PeopleMover cars as the ride was passing through a tunnel. He stumbled and fell onto the track, where an oncoming train of cars crushed him beneath its wheels and dragged his body a few hundred feet before it was stopped by a ride operator. The attraction had only been open for one month at the time.[8]

In 1972, four teenage girls were riding the PeopleMover when one teenager lost her mouse ears cap. She and her cousin jumped onto the track to retrieve them. Realizing they'd have to get on a different PeopleMover car, the first girl successfully got into a car, while the second girl ran through a tunnel and out the exit and then fell into a guard rail and onto the concrete 30 feet below. She broke an arm, hip, and pelvis; she had to be in a body brace and have a pin inserted into her leg. She sued Disney for not having any warnings about the exit.[8]

On June 7, 1980, an 18-year-old man was crushed and killed by the PeopleMover while jumping between moving cars. The accident occurred as the ride entered the SuperSpeed tunnel.[8]

Closure

The PeopleMover closed on August 21, 1995 since Imagineers thought the ride was past its time and no longer a prototype, but rather a place to rest one's feet and also as part of Michael Eisner and Paul Pressler's program to save money by shutting down expensive and classic attractions. When Toy Story Funhouse operated as a temporary attraction during the 1996 season, a few character statues from the film sat on the PeopleMover track.[9] It was replaced by the short-lived Rocket Rods in 1998.[10] Due to the failure of Euro Disney, officials kept the PeopleMover track unbanked and original.[11]

A few of the retired PeopleMover cars were used in other parts of the resort after its closing. Three cars from train #45 used to sit outside the

Mark III Disneyland-ALWEG monorail train) and placed in the queue display for Rocket Rods, which would later close in 2000. These were later sold on Disney Auctions after Rocket Rods closed.[citation needed
]

The checkout counters at the Little Green Men Store Command in Tomorrowland resemble PeopleMover cars and the store has former Rocket Jets vehicles retrofitted as merchandise shelves. The store also had Skyway buckets hanging from the ceiling when it was the Premiere Shop.[citation needed]

In 2000, almost five years after the attraction's closure, an updated version of the Autopia attraction opened. The old on-board audio music from the PeopleMover served as the background area music in Autopia's queue from 2000 to 2017.[citation needed]

The ride track infrastructure which served both the PeopleMover and Rocket Rods still stands unused in Tomorrowland. The track, however, is still being maintained, as it was repainted in 2005 along with the rest of Tomorrowland, and foliage over the Autopia area was trimmed away or removed from the track. In September 2010 at

D23's "Destination D" event, then-president of Disneyland Resort George Kalogridis said that while there may be plans to bring back the ride, the park would not be able to return the attraction to its original form due to stricter regulations. Kalogridis stated "Everyone understands the passion everyone has for it." He additionally stated, "Hang in there."[12]

Portions of the track can still be viewed from the monorail, Autopia, and Astro Orbiter rides.[citation needed]

Popular culture references

See also

References

  1. ^
    KPCC. Archived from the original
    on November 24, 2015. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Gennawey, Sam (December 8, 2014). "The WEDway PeopleMover Story". MiceChat. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  3. ^ Dave Herbst. "'PeopleMover' is Coming Back at Walt Disney World". Disney Parks Blog.
  4. ^ Martin Smith. "PeopleMover History" (video). youtube. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021.
  5. ^ Heimbuch, Jeff. "A Brief History of the WEDWay PeopleMover". Micechat.com. MiceChat. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  6. ^ Werner Weiss. "PeopleMover at Yesterland". Yesterland.
  7. ^ "Daveland Disneyland People Mover Photos".
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-0964060562
    .
  9. ^ "Toy Story Funhouse - Yesterland".
  10. ^ "People for the return of the PeopleMover". Archived from the original on September 3, 2011.
  11. ^ "Rocket Rods: Disney's Rocket-Powered Mistake – Pt. 1". December 22, 2020.
  12. ^ "Is Disneyland bringing back People Mover?". Archived from the original on October 31, 2010.
  13. ^ "Could this be a new People Mover concept?". micechat.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2017.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to PeopleMover.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=PeopleMover_(Disneyland)&oldid=1195767638"