Astro Orbitor is a rocket-spinner attraction featured at all five Magic Kingdom-stlye parks at Walt Disney Resorts around the world. Although each ride may have a different name, all share the same premise of rockets spinning around a central monument, commonly a large rocket. As each form of the attraction appeared, new designs and locations have been implemented to fit with changing schemes of several Tomorrowlands. Image File history File links Disneyland_Astrojet_poster. ... Tomorrowland is one of the many themed lands at the many Magic Kingdom-style parks run by The Walt Disney Company around the world. ... Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is the division of The Walt Disney Company that conceives, builds and manages the theme parks and vacation resorts for which Disney is famous, as well as a variety of additional family-oriented leisure enterprises. ... March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 28 is the 332nd day (333rd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... April 13 is the 103rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (104th in leap years). ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 12 is the 102nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (103rd in leap years). ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Magic Kingdom is a theme park covering 107 acres (433,000 m²) at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. ...

History

Disneyland

Astro Orbitor in Disneyland

In 1956, the first rocket-spinner attraction opened at Disneyland and was known as the Astro Jets. The attraction was made by Klaus Company Bavaria and similar to several versions found in travelling carnivals. The "jets" made a 50-foot circle around a large red-checkered rocket and guests were able climb upwards of 36 feet in their ride vehicles from the ground level they were boarded at. The attraction stood between the Submarine Voyage and Flight to the Moon. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1632x1232, 428 KB) Summary Astro Orbitor at Disneyland, Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1632x1232, 428 KB) Summary Astro Orbitor at Disneyland, Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Submarine Voyage, 1995 The Submarine Voyage was an attraction at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. ...

The name Astro Jets was changed in 1964, when United Airlines, a new sponsor for the park (specifically "The Enchanted Tiki Room") disputed the name was free advertising for a rival company's (American Airlines) coast-to-coast jet-airline service, the name was changed to Tomorrowland Jets. The name lasted until September of 1966, when the attraction was closed to make room for the new renovated Tomorrowland.

The attraction returned in August of 1967 as the Rocket Jets. This version was located on top of the new PeopleMover platform, and was accessible from ground level via an elevator. The focal point of this version was its replica Saturn V/NASA-themed rocket in the center. This version remained open until 1997, when it closed for renovations with the rest of Tomorrowland. The new form of the attraction opened one year later as Astro Orbitor. The new version is a replica of the Orbitron, Machines Volantes at Disneyland Paris. Rocket Jets was an attraction at Disneyland at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. ... The PeopleMover (July 2, 1967–August 21, 1995)(officially the PeopleMover Thru the World of Tron, from 1982-1995) was an attraction in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and remains open at the Magic Kingdom in Lake Buena Vista, Florida as Tomorrowland Transit Authority. ... This article is about the rocket. ... The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an agency of the United States Government, responsible for that nations public space program. ...

The Astro Orbitor was planned to be placed where the Rocket Jets were, but weighed too much for the current building. Instead, it was relocated to the entrance of Tomorrowland, and placed on groundlevel, thus making the ride the new focal point as guests step from the main plaza of Disneyland into Tomorrowland. One concept drawing had guests boarding the attraction underground and others had the center of the attraction featuring a water moat (similar to the "Dumbo the Flying Elephant" attraction in Fantasyland). Both ideas were never carried out.

The mechanism for Rocket Jets on top of the was dismantled and a kinetic satellite-themed sculpture known as Observatron was built out of the ride's skeletal structure. The Observatron was originally planned to come to life every fifteen minutes and appear to summon signs from the skies, while a selected soundtrack (such as selected music pieces from Space Mountain and Le Visionarium at Disneyland Paris) would play over Tomorrowland. However, the mechanism has been prone to failure and occasionally will be inactive for periods of months or play sporadically on certain days.

However, the future of the Astro Orbitor may change. Since it retained the 1998 gold and bronze color scheme when most of Tomorrowland was repainted blue and silver in 2005 and 2006, reminiscent of the white and blue 1967 paint scheme, the attraction may be repainted in the future. Rumors on some Disney fan sites are that along with a return of the Peoplemover, a new version of this ride will replaced upon the Peoplemover platform. Reasons to support these rumors are due to controversy among Disney fans that it obstructs the view of Tomorrowland's main thoroughfare, and takes up space that could be used for the frequently overcrowded viewings of Remember... Dreams Come True fireworks show. Remember. ...

Walt Disney World

No form of the attraction existed in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World until 1974, three years after the park's opening, when Tomorrowland underwent a massive expansion including the creation of the first Space Mountain, a new location for the Disneyland-attraction the Carousel of Progress, a new WEDWay Peoplemover, and of course the Star Jets also opened. The Carousel of Progress is an attraction located in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom Park at the Walt Disney World Resort, currently operating under the name, Walt Disneys Carousel of Progress. ...

This version of the attraction was based on the Disneyland version, in both location (on top of the Peoplemover platform) and in style (both feature a large Saturn rocket). However the attraction vehicles were different than any other previous form as they were much larger and featured a flatter back-end and larger tail fins. This form of the attraction lasted until the 1994 rehab.

1994, the Astro Orbiter opened when "The New Tomorrowland" premiered. The land was now a haven for retro-futurism with a 1920's view of the future. The attraction featured a highly stylized iron-work tower in leiu of the center rocket along with various planets on the outside of the attraction as to appear as if the rockets were weaving between the planets and guests feel as if they are going much faster than they appear to. The ride at the Magic Kingdom does 11 rotations per minute and averages 1.2 million miles a year.^[1]

Attraction facts

Disneyland

• Previous names:
  • Astro Jets
  • Tomorrowland Jets
  • Rocket Jets
• Current name: Astro Orbitor
• Grand opening: 1966
• Re-opening: August 1967
• Re-opening: May 22, 1998
• Designer: Walt Disney Imagineering
• Rockets: 12
• Rocket height: 26 feet (7.9 m)
• Rocket distance from tower: 20 feet (6.1 m)
• Ride duration: 1:30 (11.5 revolutions)
• Ride system: Controlled moving rockets rotating around central tower

May 22 is the 142nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (143rd in leap years). ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Walt Disney Imagineering was formed by entertainment mogul Walt Disney on December 16, 1952 as WED Enterprises (WED: Walter Elias Disney) to develop plans for a theme park and to manage Disneys personal assets. ...

Magic Kingdom

• Previous name: Star Jets
• Current name: Astro Orbiter
• Grand opening: November 28, 1974
• Re-Opening: 1994
• Rockets: 12
• Rocket distance from tower: 20 feet (6.1 m)
• Ride duration: 1:30 (11 revolutions)
• Ride system: Controlled moving rockets rotating around central tower

November 28 is the 332nd day (333rd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

Tokyo Disneyland

• Current name: Star Jets

Disneyland Paris

• Current name: Orbitron, Machines Volantes

Hong Kong Disneyland

• Current name: Orbitron

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 28.418404° -81.579229°

Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

Trivia

• In Disneyland Paris, the attraction is named Orbitron Machines Volantes.
• The names of the rockets at the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland attractions are the same.
• The Astro Orbitor had one of 50 hidden "Mickey 50 Ears" added to it as part of the Happiest Homecoming on Earth celebration.
• The Walt Disney Co. has never explained why Disneyland version has the spelling Astro Orbitor, while the Magic Kingdom version has Astro Orbiter, but some guests have speculated that it may be derived from the French version of the attraction, Orbitron, Machines Volantes.

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Disneyland. ... Wikinews has news related to: Disneyland marks 50th anniversary The Happiest Homecoming on Earth is the eighteen-month-long celebration (held through 2005 and 2006) of the fiftieth anniversary of the Disneyland theme park, which opened on July 17, 1955. ...

See also

• List of current Disneyland attractions
• List of current Magic Kingdom attractions

Disneyland is a theme park within the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California conceived by Walt Disney. ... The Magic Kingdom is a theme park located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. ...

References

1. ^ Astro Orbiter. WDWHistory.com. Retrieved on August 12, 2006.

External links

• Disneyland Park - Astro Orbitor
• Walt Disney World Resort - Astro Orbiter

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