A L S O _T O D A Y [ 2 1 S T ] No future in Tomorrowland By Janelle Brown Disneyland's limited vision of the technological future T A B L E_T A L K Wild about wild mushrooms? Gatherers of the fungus discuss their passion and adventures in the Wanderlust area of Table Talk R E C E N T L Y Hitchhiking Vietnam By Karin Muller Renting a horse -- and other examples of how tourism is changing Vietnam (05/27/98) Getting into Chechnya By Thomas Goltz A journalist's heart-stopping adventure slipping by Russian border guards (05/26/98) Letter from Jakarta By Jeff Pulice When all hell breaks loose, what's an expat to do? (05/22/98) Mondo Weirdo Oh, those tropical nights! Readers relate their nocturnal adventures in the wilds of Australia and Indonesia (05/21/98) "A Walk in the Woods" By Bill Bryson An almost-encounter with two big animals in the middle of the night (05/20/98) Browse the Wanderlust Features archives		WHO STOLE Tomorrowland's SOUL?__ Our Disneyphile finds a fresh façade and a few new thrills at the grand relaunch -- but where's the magic? BY JANELLE BROWN | The media buzz about the relaunch of Tomorrowland at Disneyland, as far as I can recall, began last fall. My first exposure to the new Tomorrow was a glowing New Yorker profile last October of Disney Imagineer Bran Ferren, one of the "visionaries" who conceives Disney's creative projects; my second was a similar Wired profile of Imagineer Danny Hillis in April. So by the time I got the fancy press invite -- with a rocket ship on the cover and a mechanical voice that counts down from 10 when opened -- I knew the hype (a future based on yesterday's fantasies!) by heart. But my first personal introduction to Tomorrowland is the man who calls me and chirps, "Hi, I'm Steve, and I'll be your slave for your stay at Tomorrowland." Slaves certainly don't play a part in the World of Disney, so I have to assume that the man on the other end of the phone is speaking figuratively. In more literal terms, he has been assigned to be my "Astro Guide" -- my personal, one-on-one navigator to Disneyland as I come down to check out the bigger-better-newer Tomorrowland. As it turns out, Steve is just one of hundreds of Astro Guides escorting many thousands of reporters, cameramen, journalists and radio personalities around the fancy new relaunch of this 43-year-old portion of The Happiest Place on Earth. Disney, you see, is quite aware of where its bread is buttered -- it woos each of these press members with not only personalized Disney-style care but feasts of oysters, jumbo shrimp, steak and free martinis. We get Tomorrowland lunch boxes, baseball hats, CDs and solid chocolate rockets delivered to our rooms. In return, Disney hopes to get the kind of eye candy coverage that sends kids to their parents begging for a trip to the Magic Kingdom. From my room in the Disneyland Hotel, this ruse appears to be working. The six months of build-up have culminated in a veritable press frenzy: The TV stations are running not only Tomorrowland commercials, but teasers for their special sneak peeks of the "exciting new vision of the future" and retrospectives of Tomorrowland's history. There's a story in every local newspaper and most of the nationals, too. Tomorrowland, in my childhood memories, was the dullest part of Disneyland -- I preferred fairy princesses to space ships -- but after all the hype I am curious how Walt's visions have been translated into 21st century family entertainment. So on Thursday morning, after washing my face with Mickey soap and conditioning my hair with Mickey shampoo, I go sit under a looming plastic Mickey statue (his arms outstretched in a rigid hug) and drink a cup of coffee from a Mickey Styrofoam cup while I wait for Steve, my Astro Guide, to show up. He arrives in the form of a genial round man with a toothy grin and a balding pate. Steve, it turns out, is a 19-year veteran of Disneyland, a manager of the Plaza Inn (a Victorian-themed restaurant on Main Street, U.S.A.) who has been rounded up specially for this assignment. He is also a veritable font of knowledge about All That Is Disneyland. One of the first things he points out to me, as we climb onto the monorail to head into the park, is the enormous pile of dirt to our right. That dirt is destined to be a mountain in the California Adventure park (which, our monorail narration tells us, will open in 2001). The $1.4 billion California Adventure will be a miniature version of the Golden State: a "wilderness" with hiking and hang gliding, a "Hollywood studio" with special-effects shows and limo rides, a "seaport" with beaches and watery fun. There will eventually be a San Francisco portion, complete with a miniature winery and a Golden Gate Bridge -- all of the greatness of California in a mere 55 square acres. California Adventure is part of Disneyland's attempt to become more of a resort than a theme park. Although still the flagship of the Mouse's mighty empire, Disneyland brings in only one-fifth the revenue of Disney World, its rodent sibling in Orlando. The difference is based primarily on length of stay -- 70 percent of Disney World's visitors come from out of state and remain in the area for an average of four days while visiting the multiple Disney World attractions (the Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, MGM Studio and the new Wild Animal Kingdom). Disneyland, on the other hand, attracts primarily locals who stay just for the day, and sits all alone in the suburban concrete wasteland of Anaheim. Today, however, the star of the show is Tomorrowland, and at 9 a.m. the park is already crawling with press and their name-tagged Astro Guides. Tomorrowland doesn't open to the public until tomorrow, so today the newsies have the future to themselves. The only kids allowed are a passel of local schoolchildren in identical green Tomorrowland T-shirts brought in so the TV cameras have smiling faces to film. Disney, which is fond of reminding the public that Disney is America by aligning itself with patriotic occasions, has chosen Space Day to preview Tomorrowland. Fifty former astronauts -- including Andrew Thomas live from the Mir space station -- have been invited onstage for the dedication. The ceremony is Disney-style picturesque, with flag dancers and confetti and military jets flying in formation overhead; not surprisingly, only TV reporters are allowed in the arena, while camera-less press are relegated to the sidelines. Instead, Steve and I head for the rides. N E X T+P A G E | The legends behind the rides - - - - - - - - - - - - PHOTOGRAPH BY JANELLE BROWN