Rocket Rods
| Rocket Rods | |
|---|---|
The entrance to Rocket Rods.
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| Disneyland | |
| Area | Tomorrowland |
| Coordinates | 33°48′44″N 117°55′05″W / 33.81222°N 117.91806°WCoordinates: 33°48′44″N 117°55′05″W / 33.81222°N 117.91806°W |
| Status | SBNO |
| Opening date | May 22, 1998 |
| Closing date | September 25, 2000 (maintenance pre-closure) April 28, 2001 (confirmed closure) |
| Replaced |
PeopleMover America the Beautiful (queue) |
| Replaced by | Buzz Lighyear Astro Blasters (queue) |
| General statistics | |
| Attraction type | "Prototype" Rapid Transportation System |
| Manufacturer | Walt Disney Imagineering |
| Designer | Walt Disney Imagineering |
| Theme | Futuristic |
| Music | "World of Creativity" - (Magic Highways of Tomorrow) by the Sherman Brothers |
| Height | 21 ft (6.4 m) |
| Speed | 35 mph (56 km/h) |
| Vehicle type | Rocket Rod XPR (Experimental Prototype Rocket) |
| Riders per vehicle | 5 |
| Duration | 3:00 |
| Height restriction | 46 in (117 cm) |
 Single rider line available |
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 Wheelchair accessible |
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Rocket Rods was a high-speed thrill attraction in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. The ride, meant to evoke a futuristic rapid transit system, opened in 1998 on the existing PeopleMover infrastructure as part of the New Tomorrowland project. Plagued with technical problems, Rocket Rods closed permanently in September 2000 after a little over two years of intermittent operation. Rocket Rods was replaced with Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters in 2005.
Opening on May 22, 1998 as part of the New Tomorrowland, this high-speed attraction ran on a renovated PeopleMover track. Riders entered the attraction through the former Circle-Vision 360° building at the front of Tomorrowland.
Guests boarded an unusual 5-seat Rocket Rod before moving forward to a staging area similar to one used for drag racing. In front of the riders were lights changing from red, to yellow, to green, the vehicles would then zoom down a straightaway toward the entrance of Tomorrowland, before quickly decelerating at the curve in the track. When the attraction was first opened, the straightaway was used for a small wheelie as well. During the development phase, Disney was unable to obtain sponsors to aid in the funding of the attraction; thus, the turns remained without any of the curves banked, requiring the sudden deceleration followed by a re-acceleration.
The ride vehicles took riders through the building housing Star Tours, Star Trader and the Starcade, offering views of all three through glass panes in the tunnel. Segments of the tunnel were entirely opaque, and one turn used a mirror to create the effect of nearly colliding with another oncoming ride vehicle. Afterwards, the Rocket Rod took guests into Space Mountain, during which the riders could catch a brief glimpse of the ride. The vehicle then took riders back outside again before entering the Carousel Theater, home of Innoventions. Due to the long, slightly curved nature of this stretch of track, the Rocket Rods were able to accelerate to a comparatively high speed here. After leaving the other side of Innoventions, the vehicle took riders through a series of turns and dips above Autopia and the Submarine Voyage, which closed only a few months after the opening of Rocket Rods.
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Wikipedia