  Walt Disney’s Edible Tomorrow: The Forgotten Gardens of Tomorrowland When Tomorrowland opened at Disneyland in 1955, it wasn’t just a showcase of rocket ships and robots—it was a place where Walt Disney imagined a better, more sustainable future. One of the most overlooked parts of that dream was edible landscaping. That's right—food that grew right along the walkways. Walt believed in progress through imagination, and part of that progress was rethinking how people lived, ate, and even how they grew their food. This vision was quietly planted—literally—in the form of raised garden beds at the entrance to Tomorrowland.  🌍 “Growing Day”: What Was It? According to early Disney concept planning documents and internal communications, Walt imagined a future where urban environments included functional gardens, not just decorative landscaping. He called this “Growing Day”—a utopian idea where food could grow everywhere, even in theme parks. In this vision, Tomorrowland guests wouldn’t just marvel at flying cars and moon rockets—they’d be walking through a world where lettuce, strawberries, and herbs grew along the path, ready for harvest.  🪴 The Elevated Gardens: A Hidden Gem If you entered Tomorrowland from the central hub during the 1960s or 70s, you may have walked right past Walt’s living experiment. Just near the Adventure Thru Inner Space attraction (now Star Tours), raised planters lined the walkway under the PeopleMover track, often filled with vegetables and fruiting plants. These elevated gardens weren’t just for show—they were test beds. Walt wanted to explore how edible gardens could be incorporated into urban settings. It was Tomorrowland’s quietest—and most meaningful—message.   🚀 Why It Mattered
While many Tomorrowland attractions showed technology for travel and entertainment, the edible gardens quietly pointed to another kind of future—one where nature and technology coexisted. Walt was deeply inspired by the postwar American optimism about solving real-world problems. He believed future cities would be clean, efficient, and nourished by their own surroundings. His Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT) would eventually build on this idea—merging industry, sustainability, and human well-being. 🌾 Legacy Today The edible garden concept didn’t last, and most visitors never knew it existed. But the seed of the idea lived on. Projects like The Land Pavilion at Epcot and even modern “urban farming” echo Walt’s vision. Today, Disney parks are once again exploring on-site farming, composting, and sustainable gardening as part of their broader environmental initiatives. And who knows? Maybe one day we’ll walk into Tomorrowland and pick a fresh tomato along the way—just like Walt imagined.     Rumor is, the gas cars are going to be leaving Disneylands Autopia soon. In a move that will finally bring Disneyland’s Tomorrowland back to the future, the theme park has announced it will replace the gas-fueled miniature cars of Autopia with electric models in the next few years. *CONTINUE READING     This building directly behind the Plaza Inn is the side facade for Star Tours. In an effort to keep Main Street looking like a Victorian town, the facade was fashioned with typical Main Street looking embellishments.   Just behind the Plaza Inn and around the giant tree is Star Tours! Love is on the details!!!!   Ever notice the gardens in Tomorrowland? Vegetables are grown right next to Star Tours!   Tomorrowland currently is a land with SIX abandoned locations. Four of which are former attractions, one abandoned arcade and one shop. Disneyland is stuck in a situation where to fix one problem Disneyland would essentially have to fix them all. Autopia is a massive 230,000+ square feet inside the Disneyland berm! And as you know, everything inside of the railroad track is the most precious land that the Walt Disney Corporation owns.   How big is 230,000 square feet? Well for example, Main Street USA from the Disneyland Train Station up to both the Jolly Holiday Bakery and the Plaza Inn restaurant, inside all the shops including Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln - that's the size of Autopia! Adventureland is 260,000 sq ft - making it 30,000 square feet larger. All of Toontown, including Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway is 250,000 square feet - making it only 20,000 square feet larger. Over at Disney's California Adventure, Avengers Campus including Guardians of the Galaxy is 160,000 sq ft.  Autopia may be big on it's land mass but it's small in it's return. Autopia has hardly any merchandise appeal and no foreseeable natural way to create live-action or animated content for Disney+ or Walt Disney Pictures. Intellectual property motivates fans to purchase a streaming subscription, endless merchandise or a theme park or movie ticket. Each sector of the business feeds the other. And the other problem with Autopia is that it's just an okay ride, ridden by millions and beloved by younger guests. Stack up this individual attraction offering, to ALL of Adventureland or Toontown, every experience on Main Street USA or the new Avengers Campus and it's easy to see where each of these obviously sells more merchandise, more food but even more theme park tickets.   Autopia, for most, is a bonus, a fun nostalgic part of an amazing day. But chances are Autopia motivates very few people to actually buy a ticket! It's easy to see where if this plot of land were to be re-imagined, instead of spending 30-minutes, you might end up spending three hours or more making many different memories while enjoying several experiences instead of one.  Fixing Tomorrowland is not easy. A Disney Parks design lesson learned for Disneyland to better use this 230,000 square feet would be to create an entirely new land or a couple of mega attractions. Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage travels underneath the Autopia attraction, and the abandoned (27 years) People Mover has a track that runs through the Autopia land but also has tracks running through nearly every building in Tomorrowland! Lastly the Monorail takes two beautiful vanity loops over the Autopia.   Over the last decade Disney Parks has entered a new era in theme park design, creating fully immersive lands. The Autopia plot of land symbolizes why every Disney Park's land created in the last decade has no overlapping attractions. Starting with Cars Land, Star Wars Galaxy's Edge and Avengers Campus. Each of these lands can have any single attraction or location removed and swapped out for something bigger and better down the line.
What will be the future of Autopia? We have to wait to see. |
Welcome to a place where Disney nostalgia meets storytelling magic. I create uplifting, history-rich content celebrating Walt Disney’s original vision and the golden age of Disneyland. From forgotten dining spots to untold stories of Walt’s creative team, this blog is a tribute to imagination, innocence, and timeless joy.
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