PeopleMover
| PeopleMover | |
|---|---|
The PeopleMover Poster
|
|
| Disneyland | |
| Area | Tomorrowland |
| Coordinates | 33°48′44″N 117°55′03″W / 33.81222°N 117.91750°WCoordinates: 33°48′44″N 117°55′03″W / 33.81222°N 117.91750°W |
| Status | Closed |
| Opening date | July 2, 1967 |
| Closing date | August 21, 1995 |
| Replaced by | Rocket Rods |
| Magic Kingdom | |
| Area | Tomorrowland |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | July 1, 1975 |
| General statistics | |
| Attraction type | Transportation |
| Manufacturer | Walt Disney Imagineering |
| Designer | Walt Disney Imagineering |
| Speed | 7 mph (11 km/h) |
| Vehicle type | Propulsion |
| Vehicles | 62 |
| Riders per vehicle | 16 |
| Rows | 2 (Per Car) |
| Riders per row | 2 |
| Duration | Approx 16:00 |
| Propulsion | Motorized wheels embedded in track |
| Host |
Jack Wagner (1977-1982) B.J. Ward (safety voice) (1982-1995) |
| Sponsor | Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company (1967-1981) |
 Wheelchair accessible |
|
 Must transfer from wheelchair |
|
Jack Wagner (1977-1982)
The PeopleMover, sometimes referred to as the Goodyear PeopleMover and WEDWay PeopleMover, was a transport attraction that operated from July 2, 1967 to August 21, 1995 in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Guests boarded small trains that ran on elevated tracks for a "grand circle tour" above Tomorrowland. The ride's station and track infrastructure remain standing but not operating. A second PeopleMover, known as the WEDway PeopleMover, of a somewhat different design, opened at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, Florida in 1975, and operated from 1994 to 2009 as the Tomorrowland Transit Authority until being renamed "Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover" on August 5, 2010, and is still operating today.
The term "people mover", now in wider use to describe many forms of normally automated public transport, was first coined as the name for this attraction. PeopleMover was originally only a working title but became attached to the project over time. Originally the attraction was seen as a serious prototype for intra-city public transport.
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, but rather by being pushed by rotating tires each with its own electric motor, embedded in the track once every nine feet.
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.
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 used an updated WEDway system based on the WEDway used for the Ford Magic Skyway at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair. When Disney asked Ford Motor Company to continue sponsorship by sponsoring Disneyland's new PeopleMover, they declined, because Ford was reluctant to support technology that appeared to replace the automobile. 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 type face. Goodyear sponsored the PeopleMover from its opening until December 31, 1981. However, Goodyear's instrumental "Go Go Goodyear" advertising jingle still served as part of the attraction's soundtrack until at least 1990.
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Wikipedia