History
The idea of the attraction goes as far back as 1957, when Walt Disney introduced a concept for an atomic-themed exhibit in Tomorrowland on the Disneyland television show episode, Our Friend The Atom. Plans for the attraction were put on hold for the 1964 New York World's Fair. After the success of the fair, the atomic-themed attraction was green-lighted for the New Tomorrowland project. It would stand where the "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea Exhibit/Monsanto's Hall of Chemistry" building stood.
This was the first ride with an Omnimover system. It opened as a free attraction, unlike most, but required a "C" ticket starting in 1972. The original sponsor was Monsanto, which at the time was an agri-chemical company. Irene Kasmer, using Monsanto fabric, designed the uniforms of the attendants. In 1977, Monsanto ended their sponsorship for the attraction. All visual and audio references were removed (except for the end line, "This is Monsanto") and the Monsanto Mighty Microscope's Monsanto logo was replaced with a logo that says "The Mighty Microscope".
The Monsanto posters advertising their products were replaced with Disneyland posters. All the items in the display area were taken away and the gift shop took over all the area of the old post show area. Finally, the Monsanto "Fountain of Fashion" that dripped oil down strings tightened to it was replaced with a series of sculptures that looked like two plates put together with a snowflake on them. However, the shape of the old fountain/oil lamp was reused in the new sculpture. The attraction was finally closed in 1985 to be replaced with Star Tours in 1987.
A tribute to Adventure Thru Inner Space can be found in the Star Tours ride film. At the beginning of the ride, when the StarSpeeder is sent into a maintenance bay after going down a wrong path, the Mighty Microscope can be seen at the bottom of the maintenance area. This near-miss with the Mighty Microscope is featured in all versions of Star Tours. Star Tours itself was closed and replaced with Star Tours: The Adventures Continue at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2011. The Adventures Continue again pays tribute to Adventure Thru Inner Space, with the Mighty Microscope visible when escaping the under-construction Death Star above Geonosis.
Read more about this topic: Adventure Thru Inner Space
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