Tag Archives: Disney Park

August 5, 1967 – The Adventure Thru Inner Space Attraction Opens at Disneyland’s Tomorrowland

Image Credit: Wikipedia

“Making modern miracles from molecules for man!”

 On August 5, 1967, the Adventure Thru Inner Space attraction opened at Disneyland’s Tomorrowland. The attraction was sponsored by Monsanto, an American multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation, and was the first attraction to use the Omnimover system. The Omnimover system is a chain of vehicles maintaining a constant motion, with the ability to have the vehicles rotated to a fixed direction. The ride itself provides riders a journey where they shrink down to the size of an atom and explore “inner space,” our own unseen world. The ride is narrated by Paul Frees, as a scientist exploring molecules within snowflakes. The Sherman brothers wrote a song for the attraction, titled “Miracles from Molecules.” The ride closed on September 2, 1985, to make way for the new Star Tours attraction.

The ride’s history traces back to the 1957 Disneyland episode Our Friend the Atom, in which Walt Disney introduced the idea of an atom-themed attraction, although these plans were put on hold during the 1964 World’s Fair. The attraction stood where the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Exhibit once stood.

July 22, 1994 – The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Opens at Disney-MGM Studios

Image Credit: Official Walt Disney World Website

“Ah, but this is no ordinary hotel. Its phantom elevator is located beyond the fifth dimension, the one that crosses over into The Twilight Zone.”

On July 22, 1994, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction opened on Sunset Boulevard in the Disney-MGM Studios (later renamed Disney’s Hollywood Studios Theme Park) of Walt Disney World. The attraction, located in the Hollywood Tower Hotel, is a drop-tower thrill ride based on the classic television show The Twilight Zone. Legend has it that the hotel, a well-known hotspot for members of the Golden Age of Hollywood, was hit by a storm on Halloween night, 1939. Five unlucky passengers in the elevator disappeared when lightning struck the building, sending them to the Twilight Zone.

Guests enter the decaying hotel for a tour of the lobby, the library, and the boiler room. Guests hear narration by Rod Serling, the original narrator of the classic show, as they enter the elevator; at the last word of his narration, the elevator begins its drop sequence, which is “randomly selected by the Tower itself.” At the end of the drop, the elevator returns to the basement, letting the passengers exit after a final narration from Serling.

July 12, 1957 – The Frontierland Shooting Gallery Opens in Disneyland

Image Credit: Official Disneyland Website

“Practice your sharp shooting skills at this interactive infrared-rifle arcade.”

On July 12, 1957, the Frontierland Shooting Gallery attraction opened in Disneyland’s Frontierland. Set in the town of Boothill in the 1850s, guests could take a rifle and shoot various Wild West themed targets, including tombstones, cacti, and skeletons. The gallery was closed in 1985, and opened again as the Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade on March 29, 1985, with the entire attraction becoming electronic. The original attraction has guests use lead pellets with .54 caliber Hawken rifles, with the bullets chipping the paint from the targets, requiring the attraction to be repainted nightly.

July 5, 1988 – The Maelstrom Boat Ride Opens in Epcot’s Norway

Image credit: Official Walt Disney World Website

 “Exploring Norway’s heritage isn’t going to be smooth sailing, so buck up like a Viking would!”

On July 5, 1988, the Maelstrom boat ride attraction opened in Norway in Epcot’s World Showcase. The guests explore Norway from past to present, as they ride in Viking-inspired longboats through scenery that changes from fjords to swamps, and meet trolls, polar bears and pirates. The ride climaxes with the boats plummeting backwards down rapids and narrowly missing a waterfall. After dodging all the obstacles, the guests are treated to a five-minute film about the beauty of present-day Norway.