Quote:
Originally Posted by sjdimon  I read somewhere that there might be a problem relocating the AO back on top of the PPlmvr platform - not sure if this is correct or not - but just curious if there is some reason why they might not be able to move the AO back up where it belongs..... |
I imagine the biggest problem would be cost. It would undoubtedly cost many millions of dollars to disassemble, move, and rebuild the
Astro Orbitor ride above the
PeopleMover platform. It would also require rebuilding and re-landscaping the Tomorrowland entrance area where the
Astro Orbitor ride sits today. And the
PeopleMover platform structure would need to be redesigned to match the style of the
Astro Orbitor ride.
Also, moving the
Astro Orbitor ride would make it painfully obvious that the
PeopleMover tracks are unused. Today , the
Astro Orbitor ride draws attention away from the
PeopleMover track as guests enter Tomorrowland.
In researching this article, I came across speculation that there's a weight issue. The elevated platform was engineered for the weight of the old
Rocket Jets ride, not the
Astro Orbitor ride with its additional components. I'm not sure that I believe that. In any case, it's certainly possible to add structural support to the
PeopleMover platform structure if that's really required.
The relocation of the rocket-themed spinner ride was one of many ill-advised decisions that gave us the disastrous 1998 New Tomorrowland. (That could be the theme of an entire Yesterland article.) My understanding is that the Imagineers had to do what clueless executives wanted. The Imagineers know how to read an org chart. The good news is that those executives are no longer with Disney. Slowly, many of the indignities that Tomorrowland suffered are being reversed.
Maybe we can be optimistic that the Tomorrowland spinner ride will once again be perched high in the sky as part of a project to bring back the
PeopleMover and to further undo the damage of the late 1990s.