Today we’re sharing the top ten secrets of Tomorrowland at Walt Disney World. Looking for more Magic Kingdom secrets? You can read about Liberty Square here, Main Street here, Adventureland here.

1. All of the plants are edible

All of the plants in Tomorrowland are actually edible! That’s because the land is themed off of the future – and the future would likely focus on “Sustainable Development”. This is definitely more visible in Disneyland. There, it’s easy to spot lemons, oranges, broccoli, and more growing in the planter boxes. There’s even a “Agrifuture” Billboard at that park.

But, the same holds true for Magic Kingdom. Disney would prefer you don’t eat the plants, as they spray them with pesticides and they might be dirty. But, here’s a little known secret – almost every plant at Disney parks can be eaten. They don’t want to risk a child eating a poisonous plant, so nothing grows in the park that could hurt a guest.

2. Several rides pay tribute to former attractions

There have been many rides in Tomorrowland that no longer exist today (see fact 7). Disney leaves little tributes to these attractions. One of our favorites includes the luggage set at the exit of Space Mountain that says Mesa Verde. This is actually a tribute to a ride called Horizons from Epcot – Mesa Verde was one of the locations you could visit.

Courtesy of The Kingdom Insider

Our other favorite is on the People Mover. You’ll hear “Paging Mr. Morrow, Mr. Tom Morrow, please contact Mr. Johnson in the control tower to confirm your flight to the moon.” as you pass through a tunnel. This pays tribute to an animatronic named Tom Morrow that was a part of Flight to the Moon. He was renamed Mr. Johnson when the attraction became Mission to Mars.

3. A portion of the former skyway station still remains

The Skyway was a gondola attraction at Walt Disney World that connected Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. The ride closed in 1999, but the stations remained for many years. The Fantasyland Station was replaced by the Tangled Restrooms, but the Tomorrowland station remains today. They removed the top half of the building and the waterfall and built a bathroom on the ground floor. Unless you remember this ride and station, you wouldn’t know that this was the same building.

Courtesy of Retro WDW

4. It has one the oldest attractions in Magic Kingdom – dating to before the park opening.

The Carousel of Progress has been around since the 1964 New York World’s Fair. The attraction was a part of the General Electric Pavilion and was a huge hit. It was moved to Disneyland from 1967-1973, and later became a part of Tomorrowland at Walt Disney World in 1975. It is the only attraction at Walt Disney World to have been touched by Walt Disney himself.

5. The sign for Buzz Lightyear’s space ranger spin was previously used for Delta Dreamflight

Take a look at the sign above the doors to the Buzz Lightyear ride. It’s in the shape of a cloud. This is because of the attractions history. It opened in 1974 as “If You Had Wings”, later renamed to Delta Dreamflight. The attraction was sponsored by an airline and each variation took you through different travel locations. The cloud was very fitting as the signage.

When the attraction was overhauled to become Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, the cloud sign was reused and painted over.

6. The Spaceship on top of the misting station was a movie prop

The red spaceship on top of the Cool Scanner misting station is actually a prop from the 1986 film Flight of the Navigator. It’s almost unrecognizable, but the spaceship was painted and props were added for the transformation! You can see the resemblance in the shape and lines around the edges.

7. THERE ARE 14 TOMORROWLAND ATTRACTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN RETIRED

These attractions include:

• Flight to the Moon (1971–1975)
• Skyway to Fantasyland (1971–1999)
• Circle-Vision 360° (1971–2006)
• America the Beautiful (1971–1974, 1975–1979)
• Magic Carpet ‘Round The World (1974–1975)
• American Journeys (1984–1994)
• The Timekeeper (1994–2006)
• If You Had Wings (1972–1987)
• Mission to Mars (1975–1993)
• Delta Dreamflight (1989–1998)
• ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter (1995–2003)
• Push the Talking Trash Can (1995–2014)
• Tomorrowland Power & Light Co Video Arcade (1995–2015)
• Incredible Tomorrowland Expo (2017 – 2018)

8. There used to be a AAA Lounge behind Carousel of Progress

There are lounges all across the Disney parks for corporate sponsors, private events, and DVC members. Some of these include the HP Technology Lounge above Mission Space and the DVC Lounge above the Imagination Pavilion. But, there used to be an AAA VIP Lounge next to the Carousel of Progress for people who booked their travel through AAA. Guests would get a voucher that gave them admission to the lounge, and had access to free soft drinks, air conditioning, and couches.

9. Sonny Eclipse has been performing since 1995

Sonny Eclipse is an animatronic alien who performs in Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe. He’s been on stage since 1995 performing a 27 minute long show with different songs and jokes! The instrument he uses is a glowing keyboard called an Astro-Organ. Sonny’s set includes eight original songs, co created by Walt Disney Imagineering and composer George Wilkens.

Courtesy of The Disney Diva

10. The Palm Trees have an interesting backstory

As you are walking from in Tomorrowland, you might notice the metallic palm trees. The Tomorrowland Light and Power Company (you might know it as the Space Mountain gift shop) developed an ingenious product called Power Palms. The backstory is that these metallic trees capture energy from the sun. They then store this energy in globes that hang from the trees, which are designed to look like “futuristic” coconuts. When the globes are full, the Power Company harvests them and uses the energy to power Tomorrowland.

If you look carefully, you will notice that one Power Palm is folded up. You’ll also notice that that particular Palm has no coconuts. Why? Because the Power Company has already harvested the energy.

Wrapping It Up

We hope you enjoyed these 10 secrets about Tomorrowland! If you liked this article, let us know in the comments what land we should do next!