Originally Posted by
Professortango 
The skyway was causing problems from people swinging cars, spitting on those below, dropping things on them, and just a waiting excuse for a suit happy generation. If we have "artists" breaking in nowadays to put dummy prisoners by Big Thunder, is it that unthinkable that some Johnny Knoxville wannabees might attempt to leap from bucket to bucket as they pass? Disney knew it was only a matter of time and took away the dumb safety risk.
And I believe Rocket Rods were the next level. Transportation is good, fast transportation is better. That is a central idea of the future. Cars get faster, computers speed up, and everything takes seconds. And I loved the idea of a fast-paced taxi ride of tommorow. When they were working, they made Tommorowland come alive with so much eneregy, it felt like a futuristic city. The problem was, of course, the budget. Sponsors pulled out and much had to be cut, causing a rift between the needed budget and the actual budget. I won't badmouth Disney for coming up with a great innovative new ride, but I will for not properly funding said ride.
Same with Autopia, another great idea of TL 98. They had many great ideas for the new autopia, and we got the cheapo version. Still, I think out current TL 98 version is much better than the previous version. There is more character to the ride now, and I love the offroading idea (was intended to be about 1/4 of the ride).
I was also happy about Rocket Red's, a Disney restraunt with decent food and places to sit down inside. I was originally pleased to recieve HISTA, seeing as I had only visited the attraction once at Epcot and was happy I could show the 3D film of the future to my friends. Originally we were all blown away. The problem is we soon had TTBAB and Muppets which are much better experiences and based on less out of date matterial. Still, I prefer HISTA to Capt Eo, I couldn't stomach that show.
And if you look at TL98's original plan for the carousel theatre, you will see yet another great idea destroyed by budget cuts. Another AA show featuring aliens aboard a spaceship giving us a taste of the different musical hits from the universe. Basically, America Sings and Country Bears with a theme that fits TL. But cut cut here, snip snip there and we got Innoventions.
The new Subs were supposed to be the new Indy. They would pitch and roll when attacked by a sea monster, the cabin would crumble a tad and spring leaks, Alien Encounter tech in a darkened portion. But too costly and risky.
So there you have it, some great ideas for TL98. There were even a few others, such as a ride which would climb up the side of a building or something, but these "out of the box" ideas were quickly smashed due to costs.
Even with the screw ups, I prefered TL98's opening day to the years before the upgrade. Circle Vision was a bore, Capt Eo was just sad, Mission to Mars left many either confused or laughing due to the lack of ride (looking at a screen with seats that drop one inch), The PeopleMover was okay, but the Tron tunnel was incredibly dated and laughable, unthemed autopia, and empty America Sings building. I understand the power of nostalgia, but TL has always been a weak point. TL 98 was deffinately strong, the problem was it all came crashing down because somebody decided to build it out of breadsticks and glue.
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