Proposals to revamp Disneyland’s Tomorrowland were rejected, report says

Disney fans who have long wished upon a star for a revamp of Disneyland’s Tomorrowland nearly got their wish, but executives ultimately rejected proposals, concluding it would not significantly increase attendance, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Walt Disney once described Tomorrowland as “a vista into a world of wondrous ideas” and “a step into the future,” but, according to many Disneyland fans, present-day Tomorrowland is anything but that.

The futuristic-themed land, home to fan-favorite attractions like Space Mountain and Autopia, contains some issues, like abandoned buildings and the remains of Disneyland’s PeopleMover, which has been dormant for decades.

For years, fans have urged Disney to revamp Tomorrowland. Some fans would prefer a complete overhaul, while others want more rides and entertainment added to the area.

According to WSJ, the Tomorrowland proposals were rejected during a period of diminished ambition at Disney, when theme park executives did not trust Walt Disney Imagineering—the creative team behind Disney Parks attractions and other experiences—to deliver projects on time and on budget.

Disneyland’s Tomorrowland throughout the years

December 1960: The entrance to Tomorrowland at Disneyland in California. (Alan Band/Keystone Features/Getty Images)
The People Mover and Rocket Jet rides in Disneyland’s Tomorrowland. Anahiem, California. (Ted Streshinsky/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
Aerial view from Disneyland Skyway gondola, which transports riders between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, as it passes over ‘Submarine Voyage’ attraction at Disneyland, June 1, 1981 in Anaheim, California. (Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images)
Exterior view of Launch Bay, located in the heart of Tomorrowland, that features Star Wars characters, video games, galleries of treasured memorabilia, authentic replicas of large-scale artifacts, during the media preview of Star Wars Season of The Force on Nov. 12, 2015 in Anaheim, California.(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Guests ride inside the Monorail in the Tomorrowland area at Walt Diney Co.’s Disneyland Park, part of the Disneyland Resort, in Anaheim, California, U.S., on Friday, May 24, 2013. (Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
In this handout photo provided by Disneyland Resort, Guests arrive in Tomorrowland at the Disneyland Resort on April 30, 2021 in Anaheim, California. (Richard Harbaugh/Disneyland Resort via Getty Images)
In this handout photo provided by Disneyland Resort, Guests watch the rides in Tomorrowland at the Disneyland Resort on April 30, 2021 in Anaheim, California. (Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort via Getty Images)

Plans for several major Marvel attractions were rejected, according to WSJ.

Bob Chapek, who took over Disney’s theme parks business in 2015 and served as CEO from 2020 to 2022, wanted Imagineering to “stick to budgets and schedules,” since he believed the department “had been allowed to operate without the same discipline required of the rest of the company.”

During the Chapek era, “senior financial executives were visiting WDI daily, sitting down to approve or disapprove budget items, even tiny ones, line by line,” WSJ reported.

This isn’t the first time updates to Tomorrowland have been put on the back burner.

In 2019, Disney released concept art showcasing a new entrance to the land. However, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, those plans never materialized.

Before 2024’s D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Experience, fans thought that news about a revamped Tomorrowland would be announced, but that never happened.