Disneyland's Innoventions – The Bottom Floor – Daps From the Past

InnoventionsInnoventions is an ever changing attraction in Disneyland’s Tomorrowland.  Because of that there is much ground to cover on the history of the attraction.  For now, we’ll start on the ground floor.

The attraction opened in 1998 as part of a new Tomorrowland initiative.  The building once housed such attractions as Carousel of Progress, America Sings, and the top containing the “game grid of Tron” for the PeopleMover attraction.  Though the latter attractions were either shows or rides, Innoventions was a walk through with interactive exhibits.

Because the bottom floor once housed rotating shows, this type of theater system was incorporated into the new attraction.  In the earliest versions of Innoventions, guests stepped onto a moving floor that was in front of a doorway into the building.  Along the walls were murals depicting themes that Innoventions covered.  Up above the doors were television screens that would bring up Tom Morrow to introduce what the building was about.

The zones, which were the themed areas, included Home, Entertainment, Sports, and Transportation.  Tom greeted guests in animatronic form, singing a version of “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” as guests entered into the first part of the building.  Once he rotated through, a host explained the featured technology that corresponded to the zone.  Often, a volunteer from the audience was brought up to show off the invention.  After it was done, guests could go explore the rest of Innoventions.

Innoventions 6In the beginning of the attraction, the bottom floor mostly housed computers that offered interactive games and information.  Among them was a way to make a virtual fireworks show.  At times, the zone show was bypassed, and eventually there was no show at all.  This version of the bottom floor stayed around for about a decade before being converted to The Dream Home.

The Dream Home was a collaboration between a few companies: Microsoft, HP, and Taylor Morrison.  The renovation did away with Tom Morrow and the zone idea.  The themed story of the Dream Home is that the Elias family (a nod to Walt’s father’s name) is opening their home while they celebrate in party fashion.  Guests gathered at the entrance to the home, where it was decorated with a banner and a facade to look like a one story house.  A host explained the celebration and some of the technology of the outside.

After, guests could go explore the “house” where every room featured new and upcoming technology that outlined what an automatic home of the future could be.  Among the rooms were touch screen displays to play music or watch a movie.  One of the kids’ rooms featured a story theater where a cast member would read through a Disney story while the room came alive with special effects.

Eventually, the entrance to Innoventions changed within 2013-15 and guests went up a ramp to the top of the building instead of the bottom.  This did away with the Dream Home show and some of the interaction between cast member hosts and the audience that gathered.  Finally, in February of 2015 the Dream Home closed for good, cutting off the bottom of Innoventions for tear down of the house of the future.

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