Mission to Mars (attraction)
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| Mission to Mars | |
| Land | Tomorrowland |
| Designer | WED Enterprises |
| Attraction type | Circular theater with air-cushioned seats |
| Theme | Exploration of Mars |
| Hosted by | Third Officer Collins |
| Ride duration | 15 minutes |
| Audio-animatronics | 1 (Mr. Johnson in the pre-show) |
| Sponsored by | McDonnell-Douglas |
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| Disneyland | |
| Opening date | March 21, 1975 |
| Closing date | November 2, 1992 |
| Replaced | Rocket to the Moon (1955-July 1967); Mission to the Moon (July 1967-January 1975) |
| Replaced by | Toy Story Funhouse (1996); Redd Rocket's Pizza Port (May 22, 1998-Present) |
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| Magic Kingdom | |
| Opening date | June 7, 1975 |
| Closing date | October 4, 1993 |
| Replaced | Flight to the Moon (December 24, 1971-1975) |
| Replaced by | ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter (June 20, 1995-October 12, 2003); Stitch's Great Escape! (November 16, 2004-present) |
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Mission to Mars was an attraction located in Tomorrowland at Disneyland and at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.
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[edit] History
The show was originally Flight to the Moon and opened in 1955 along with Disneyland. In 1975 the destination was changed to Mars because man had already been to the moon.
The show was initially sponsored by McDonnell-Douglas. After sponsorship ended, the company's logos were removed from the attraction, but the outline of the stylized tail fin in the McDonnell-Douglas logo remained (and remains as of 2008) part of the building's facade.
[edit] Show
The show was designed in cooperation with NASA and was a revised and updated version of the previous attraction Flight to the Moon. Guests would now be launched on a spacecraft into space and then approach the surface of the red planet Mars.
Guests would first enter a viewing area known as Mission Control, which was modeled after a typical mission control center with chairs and control panels for about ten seated Audio-Animatronic "technicians" whose backs were to the audience as they moved their heads and arms. Facing the audience was an Audio-Animatronic named Mr. Johnson. He would then use film clips to explain how man had made numerous advances in space travel and manufacturing in microgravity, and also learned how to deal with the effects of space. The lecture was interrupted once per show by an intruder alarm caused by a large bird crash-landing near the spacecraft launch pad.
After the pre-show, guests would move on and finally board their spacecraft. Inside was a circular theater with stadium-like seating with circular flat screens on the ceiling and floor. During the mission, guests could look at the views from outside the spacecraft from either of these screens. There were also side screens that showed film clips or graphics. "Third Officer Collins" was the tour guide, and discussed the mission as the spacecraft explored space and Mars. Eventually, the ship was damaged, possibly by a volcanic eruption, and the ship had to quickly head back to Earth. The seats in the attraction would simulate the vibrations and G-forces from "Hyper-space" during take-offs and landings by filling up with compressed air. Finally, the spacecraft landed safely back on Earth and Officer Collins would then urge guests to return and visit again. As he explained, "there's a lot more to see on Mars".
[edit] Disneyland Aftermath
The attraction closed at Disneyland on November 2, 1992, having first been removed from most visitor documentation by 1991. One reason behind the closure was that the controversial attraction ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter was to open in the building as part of then-CEO Michael Eisner's ambitious "Disney Decade". Along with Alien Encounter, The Timekeeper and "Plectu's Fantastic Galactic Revue" would have opened in the radical and richly-detailed "Tomorrowland 2055".
However, the "Tomorrowland 2055" project was canceled in early 1993 when the Euro Disney Project suddenly found itself in almost a billion dollars debt. Michael Eisner started cutting costs around the company, and was not happy with the estimated cost of the Tomorrowland project, though he had liked the idea. Start of construction on Disneyland's new Tomorrowland was changed from Fall 1994 to Spring 1997, but Alien Encounter, The Timekeeper, and Plectu's Fantastic Galactic Revue never opened. The building remained unused until it officially reopened as a restaurant, Redd Rockett's Pizza Port in Disneyland's new Tomorrowland on May 22, 1998.
[edit] Magic Kingdom
The show closed its doors in Walt Disney World at the Magic Kingdom in Florida on October 4, 1993. It re-opened as the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter as part of the Magic Kingdom's New Tomorrowland on June 20, 1995, along with The Timekeeper. Alien Encounter became unpopular due to its dark content, and was shut down; this also led to the attraction never being opened as planned at Disneyland. Stitch's Great Escape!, which retooled many of the Alien Encounter elements in a more comical context, was opened in its place.
