Rocket Rods - Demise and Closure

Demise and Closure

The Rocket Rods closed on September 25, 2000 for a refurbishment that was to last until Spring 2001, but no work was ever seen on the attraction. On April 28, 2001, the Los Angeles Times and The Orange County Register reported that Rocket Rods would never reopen.

There are a number of reasons that led to the closure of the Rocket Rods:

• The Rocket Rods completed the course of the 16-minute PeopleMover in only about 3 minutes. Because the Rocket Rods project was not given a large enough budget to bank the track's curves, the Rocket Rods had to slow down substantially to maneuver most of the turns.
• The support structure and track originally built for the PeopleMover was not meant to be used for a high speed attraction and began to weaken.
• The constant changes in speed caused the vehicles' on-board computer systems to fail, shutting down the entire attraction. The attraction broke down at least once a day, causing queues of up to three hours. It was not uncommon for guests to receive rain check passes to ride on another day.

Most of the Rocket Rods vehicles were scrapped after the closure, but at least two survived. One was placed in front of the Hollywood & Dine restaurant at Disney's California Adventure, where it remained for only a few months. It was gone by the spring of 2002. Another Rocket Rod is in the hands of a collector. The track is moderately rusted and very overgrown with foliage after a decade of sitting unused. However, Disney did repaint it at one point, suggesting they are still maintaining that structure. Removing the track altogether is nearly impossible, since half of it is located inside of buildings, which would mean having to close all of Tomorrowland & partially dismantle the buildings.

After the closure of Rocket Rods, hopes arose that the PeopleMover would be reinstalled. Rumors still circulate today, usually stating that the PeopleMover will return, possibly as a copy of the Magic Kingdom's version of the ride: the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. The equipment used for the PeopleMover only still exists on the Rocket Rods track in some places, which would mean that most of the equipment would have to be reinstalled to restore the ride.

Rocket Rods' queue area, which was formerly Circle-Vision 360°, is now Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, which opened in March 2005.

As of March 2012, more than a decade after the attraction's closure, the PeopleMover/Rocket Rods track still stands empty. However, the segment along Tomorrowland's main avenue still seems to be maintained, as it was repainted in the area's new blue and white paint scheme in 2005. It has also been reported that foliage that was on the track in the Autopia area has been removed. The track was used for the grand opening of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue as a high vantage point for a group of stormtroopers.