Rocket Rods ???

[B_Kustera]

Whatever happened to Rocket Rods. How long was it opened I never went on it and always wondered why it closed. I might be dumb but I have no idea.

[dlport]

The rumors are that it closed due to massive maintenance issues that included but were not limited to vehicle issues, track issues, and tire issues (I will not go into the details).

I personally enjoyed the attraction, and it added a kinetic energy to Tomorrowland that was sorely missing after the removal of the PeopleMover. I have a few pictures on my admittedly out of date website:

http://home.hot.rr.com/dlport/tmwrods.html

[zipadeedudette]

At Disneyland Park, the Rocket Rods attraction premiered on May 22, 1998, as the centerpiece of the biggest overhaul of Tomorrowland since 1967. The Rocket Rods combined two previous attractions -- the CircleVision 360 theater and the PeopleMover track. It seemed like a good idea. Unfortunately, Disney couldn't convince a corporate sponsor to provide funding for a big-budget, entertaining pre-show or for banked turns on the old, flat PeopleMover track. So the ride opened with neither.

The Rocket Rods covered the old 16-minute PeopleMover route in just three minutes, but the Rods had to slow down substantially at every curve rather than offering thrilling banked turns as enjoyed by riders of Test Track at Epcot. The constant speeding up and slowing down took its toll on the vehicles and infrastructure. Almost immediately, the ride became better known for breakdowns and limited operating hours than for entertainment and thrills. In fact, the ride was closed most of its first Summer.

you can read more about it here: Yesterland

[snowballmouse]

it was closed because of the frequent brake-downs. because it used the same path as the people movers, the rocket rod vehicles had to slow down to make every turn. the constant slowing down and speeding up cause the ride to have many technical difficulties.

[dland72]

Another reason was they could not get a Corporate Sponser for the attraction to help with the costs. If they had been able to get a sponser they would have been able to modify the track to allow for "bank turns" and reduce the wear and tear on the Rods.

My DD was very disapointed that this attraction closed. This was the first "fast" attraction that she enjoyed.

[cmw0612]

Actually, the Rocket Rods, did have a coporate sponsor, Goodyear....my how people so quickly forget, granted they weren't as advertised as Fed-Ex is on Space Mountain, I mean a good chunk of the line is just a commercial for Fed-Ex......but Goodyear was indeed the sponsor for Rocket Rods, but it was costing even them too much money in tires, basically they were giving Disney the tires, but when they found out that they need new tires for each car on about a daily basis, as soon as their contract was up they pulled out and for some reason the Rocket Rods closed shortly after that...hmm...wonder why, maybe because each tire cost around $150 at the cheapest wholesale price? Or so people that sell tires for a living that had been on the ride said the tires would run and I believe it, thos tires were huge.

[Briguy1314]

I love it...Disney couldnt find a sponsor to pay for banked turns..... Why not suck it up and pay for it themselves. The capital is there. So since no one else is gonna pay for it, they just leave it out...and in the end loose all of the money they put into it anyways! Seems like messed up logic to me!

[dland72]

Originally posted by cmw0612
Actually, the Rocket Rods, did have a coporate sponsor, Goodyear....my how people so quickly

ACTUALLY, I didn't forget. I was going on what I had "heard." And that was well, just as I previously posted.

[Brer Rabbit]

If you own Roller Coaster Tycoon, you can see what would happen if Rocket Rods didn't slow down on turns... . Get the ghost train, go as high has it can go, and then put it straight down and then a turn. *CRASH*

[Michael]

I say bring back the PeopleMover though! I miss having a nice relaxing ride around tomorrowland.