July 1 - WEDWay People Mover

Image copyright Disney

On this day, in 1975, the WEDWay PeopleMover began giving guests a grand tour of Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom of Walt Disney World. The original PeopleMover attraction opened on July 2, 1967 as part of Disneyland’s new Tomorrowland. It was an update of the ride system that had been used in the Ford pavilion for the 1964 World’s Fair. The term PeopleMover was coined for Disneyland’s ride but has since come to mean a variety of transportation modes. The cars didn’t move on their own but were propelled along the track by rotating wheels placed every nine feet. When Ford declined to sponsor the new attraction (they didn’t care to associate with anything that could supplant cars), Goodyear stepped in and the rotating wheels were replaced with actual Goodyear tires.

Eight years later, the Florida Project got its own version of the PeopleMover with two big differences. First, instead of the cars being propelled along by rotating tires, linear induction motors were used. New decade, new technology, which made sense to everyone except Goodyear. Because the new version didn’t need their tires, they said Disney didn’t need their sponsorship and bowed out. The Edison Electric Institute stepped up in their place. Second, the design of the cars and track were reversed. Disneyland’s ride had an open track with covered cars. Walt Disney World’s ride has open cars that run on a covered track.

Image courtesy d23.com

Disneyland’s PeopleMover was deemed hopelessly outdated and closed in 1995, to eventually be replaced by the ill-fated Rocket Rods. Walt Disney World’s attraction keeps chugging along even though it’s had a couple of thematic changes over the years. In 1994, the Magic Kindom’s Tomorrowland underwent a major renovation, becoming a working city of the future rather than a showcase of future technology. The PeopleMover was renamed the Tomorrowland Transit Authority Metroliner, although the Metroliner part was rarely used and the name was generally shortened to the TTA. The track was cosmetically made to look more metallic and the narration was changed to reflect the rides new function as part of the city’s public transportation system. When Space Mountain went down for a major refurbishment in April 2009, the TTA also closed for a while to accommodate the major construction taking place right next to its track. When it reopened in September of that year, it had another new narration and it was announced that it would be called the PeopleMover again. Except the name wasn’t a replacement, it was an add on, making it a mouthful to even mention the ride anymore. The attraction’s full current name is the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover.

Image courtesy disneydaybyday.com

One final note: the Florida version of the PeopleMover is the last attraction in the Magic Kingdom that still retains a corporate sponsor (the nighttime spectacular, Happily Ever After, is sponsored by Pandora, but that’s a show not an attraction). It is currently sponsored by Alamo Rent-A-Car, although you could be forgiven for never knowing that. They aren’t mentioned in any of the narrations, just a few logos on the signs at the ride’s entrance and exit.