“Tomorrowland” by Shawn RobareGrowing up in Central Florida meant that I had fairly easy access to my absolute favorite theme park, The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Granted, my parents were pretty jaded about the place, mostly because every single visiting relative expected to go to the parks, but I relished every single second that I had the opportunity to be “on property” as the Disney enthusiasts like to call it.

From the moment I could see the monorail at the ticket and transportation center my mind was mainly on one destination in the park, Tomorrowland. For me, the Magic Kingdom begins and ends with the futuristic wonder brought to life by the area you’ll find after hanging a right at the end of Main Street USA. The Monorail is the first taste of this world, with its sleek design that, as a kid, reminded me of the Visitor’s shuttle craft from the V mini series. At seven years-old, this transportation novelty is the closest thing to boarding a shuttle craft a kid can experience.

Even though I was primed and ready to fly off to the future when departing from the Monorail passenger car, more than ready to sprint straight through Main Street, I knew I’d have to bide my time and wait. Aside from the fact that we usually had family with us that would linger at the opening of the park, gawking at Cinderella’s castle and wanting to check out every single store along the street to the hub, I knew my parents would never break tradition, which was to traverse the park in a clockwise direction. This meant an early entrance into Adventureland and at least six to seven hours before we’d be able to make our way into the “future” of Tomorrowland. Sure, there are (and sadly were) plenty of attractions in the park I loved to visit along the way, but the sheer intoxication of what I knew awaited me at the end of the day was too much for my little mind to deal with on some trips.

So what was so great about Tomorrowland? Well for starters, when coming to that area of the park after exiting Fantasyland the first main attraction you’re greeted with is the Grand Prix Raceway (renamed the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway these days.) Sure, the cars are all hooked to a track and they only go a maximum of seven and a half miles per hour, but they’re still real honest to goodness gas-powered vehicles that a kid can drive! I didn’t have access to go-carts in my neck of the woods, so for years the Raceway was where I could play Pole Position for real.

Tomorrowland also housed attractions like Mission to Mars (where I could experience a trip to another planet), the Carousel of Progress (where I learned that even the 80s, the 70s were the “Best Time of Your Life”), and the Star Jets (now the Astro Orbiter) where I could whip around and see the whole park from one of the highest points available.

Most importantly, Tomorrowland is the home of my arch nemesis, the dreaded and yet ever alluring Space Mountain. The pavilion that houses the dark roller coaster is one of the more striking features of Tomorrowland and it was always the last ride of every visit. Well, that was if I could muster up the courage to actually ride it. I have many memories of waiting in the long line, making the trek all the way to the end, and then chickening out before being strapped into one of the cars (to the utter dismay of my family.) Inevitably my mom or sister would have to escort me out of the building while the rest of the family joyously took to the cars and made the plunge that I was too scared to experience. As a kid I only ever rode Space Mountain once, immediately puking my guts out after disembarking (I’m sure to the utter glee of everyone within eyeshot.) Whether my family believed it or not, I still loved my time spent near Space Mountain, whether I made it onto the ride or not as it was just fun being in and around that building, hearing the screams and cars zooming around.

Since Tomorrowland was the apex of each visit, it was there that I spent both my happiest and saddest times in the park. We usually ended the day eating at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café (I don’t remember whether or not it was called that back in the 80s), with a slice of pizza and a moment to take in the day. As much as I loved making my way around the park to Tomorrowland, I always knew that this is where I’d also always say goodbye to the park. Years later when I started vacationing at Disney as an adult, I’ve always made sure to break my parent’s tradition and start the adventure in Tomorrowland, and at the end of the night, when my feet are dog tired from walking all over the park, I still make the loop around, traveling back to the future.

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Shawn Robare describes himself as “just a guy who remembers what it’s like to be a kid.” He is the Co-Host of the Cult Film Club, a frequent contributor to the Saturday Supercast and is the founder of the pop-culture mega site Branded in the 80s.

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