Other than its geographical position (to the right of the Hub, with direct connections to only Fantasyland and Main Street, U.S.A.), at first glance Tomorrowland in Florida’s Magic Kingdom seems worlds away from its cousin Discoveryland in Disneyland Paris.
The layout is very different, as is the theming (Florida is a “space port” whereas Paris is a reflection of how nineteenth century visionaries imagined the future) and the dining experiences are incomparable. For the sake of brevity, I will not discuss these eateries, nor the shops, arcades, characters or shows.
THE TIMEKEEPER
In 1994, a new color scheme in Florida’s Tomorrowland did bring the two Lands closer stylistically, as did the opening of The Timekeeper, an attraction which bore more than a passing resemblance to Le Visionarium (an opening day attraction at DLP, two years previously). Nonetheless, the Land’s artwork and backstory became more the vision of tomorrow dreamt of by 1930s comic strip characters, rather than that imagined by Jules Verne, H. G. Wells and their ilk.
Although the 360 degree film shown in Le Visionarium and The Timekeeper were pretty similar to each other, there were a few subtle differences, such the inclusion of a scene featuring Gérard Depardieu as an airport worker in the former and a view of the New York skyline in the latter. [Ironically, both of these scenes were temporarily removed: the Depardieu scene due to the 2000 Concorde crash; and the NYC section soon after September 11th 2001].
Aside from the main film, there were several other differences between Le Visionarium and The Timekeeper, including the exterior (which in Paris featured a flying car), the pre-show video and the audio. Although the Paris attraction’s show was in French, there were headphones for guests wishing to listen to the show in English or German. The English audio was not the same as the version used in the Florida version, which was a lot more upbeat, utilizing the voice talents of Robin Williams and Rhea Perlman.
Over time, Florida’s color scheme has changed again, and The Timekeeper has closed (as it did in Paris) and the two Lands feel less related than ever before.
ASTRO ORBITER
One Discoveryland-inspired 1994 Tomorrowland change which is still in place is the re-theme of the aerial carousel Star Jets to the Astro Orbiter. This is based on Paris’s Orbitron Machines Volantes, commonly known just as Orbitron. Both attractions have twelve height-controllable rockets with zodiac signs on the tails rotating around a spinning “planetarium” which makes the ride feel faster than it actually is.
Whereas the WDW version is raised, thus affording beautiful views to the rider (especially at nighttime), the DLP version is slightly sunken, surrounded by “meteorites” and serves as the Land’s main weenie.
SPACE MOUNTAIN
The Paris version of Space Mountain (known in full as Space Mountain: Mission 2) is remarkably different from the Florida version. The exterior design is more steampunk, there are inversions, the rockets go in sets of six each seating four (whereas WDW’s rockets are in sets of two, each seating three), the pre-show is less interactive and there is no pre-launch tunnel of light or no post-ride robots.
Although there are two separate loading bays in both Paris and Florida, in the former these meet up and travel on the same track, whereas the latter has two separate “rides”, called the Alpha Track and the Omega Track.
The main lift in Florida is relatively slow, albeit with plenty to look at. In Paris this section is much faster. You are supposedly being catapulted out of a cannon [The Columbiad] and into space. This portion of the attraction is covered from the elements, but is visible to those outside, which adds to the kinetics of the Land.
The coaster section in Disneyland Paris feels the faster of the two. This may be due to its track length (including storage and maintenance) being 1.1km whereas Florida’s is almost triple this. The visuals are, in my opinion, a lot more interesting though, featuring more near-misses and an easier plot to follow.
Both have a Fastpass option, are manufactured by Vekoma, and have onboard audio (though Paris uses the SOBAT system whilst Florida utilizes Starry-O-Phonic Sound).
OTHERS
Paris does feature an Autopia, closer in theming to its Anaheim namesake than Florida’s speed-orientated Tomorrowland Speedway. DLP also has a Buzz Lightyear attraction, which is practically a carbon copy of the Anaheim one and so misses out on many of the cooler details which appear in Florida, such as three-headed dinosaur, the wall of Z’s, the rotating light effect or the domed screen.
Paris has no version of the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover, Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress, Stitch’s Great Escape! or Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. The nearest it has to the latter two is Stitch Live!, in Walt Disney Studios Park, which uses similar technology and audience interactions to MILF, but caters more towards younger children. (In 2009, there was a live stage show in Discoveryland on a mobile stage by Space Mountain, in which Stitch was the DJ, but the less said about that, the better).
Likewise, there are several attractions in Discoveryland which have no equivalent in Florida’s Tomorrowland. These include Videopolis, Discoveryland Station and Les Mystères du Nautilus. This last attraction sounds like it may have been similar to Fantasyland’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Submarine Voyage, and (whilst based on the same source material) it‘s closer stylistically, thematically and plot-wise to a 1950s walk-through attraction once housed over in Disneyland.
The two other attractions in Discoveryland which do not exist in Florida’s Tomorrowland (although they exist elsewhere in WDW, as well as in California’s version of the Land) are Captain EO and Star Tours. NB, DLP has still got the original version of Star Tours, rather than the “The Adventures Continue” upgrade existing stateside.
