When I was four, it terrified me. When I was a teenager, I laughed at it. Now, I’m an old woman and I remember it fondly: Disneyland’s Adventure Thru Inner Space. It was Disney’s first Omnimover ride and last partnership with chemical company Monsanto. It had a swingin’ theme song written by none other than the Sherman Brothers and it showcased polyester like no attraction before or since.
In the 1957 episode of the Disneyland TV show, Our Friend the Atom, Walt Disney proposed an attraction about the atom for Tomorrowland at Disneyland. The 1964 World’s Fair happened, so the atom ride got pushed back. Monsanto and Disney were good friends at this point, Monsanto hosting the Hall of Chemistry in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. Disney suggested a replacement using the latest in ride technology and Monsanto jumped at the idea. Adventure Thru Inner Space debuted with New Tomorrowland in 1967.
The ride itself had a simple premise. Guests in their “atom-mobiles” were shrunk down to the size of an atom to witness water in action. A Mighty Microscope sat in the queue area for the attraction and appeared to shrink people who had boarded the ‘atom-mobiles” to about six inches high.
As guests boarded, they were greeted by the voice of Paul Frees, who later went on to become the Ghost Host in the Haunted Mansion. He voiced the recording of a scientist who was the first to make the trip, and the guest saw the attraction through his audible point of view.
Guests were first injected into a snowflake, and continued to shrink through the ride. The snowflake got bigger and bigger until it was only visible as molecules, including one shaped like a certain mouse head. Then came the atom; a flashing red light. The narrator says we dare go no further, and the snowflake begins to melt. But don’t worry – the scientist has you on visual – that’s Pete Renoudet (or Renaday, depending upon the project) doing the voice attached to the giant eye above guests.
You can hear the soundtrack to the attraction here (zoom ahead to the 9 minute mark to hear the Miracles from Molecules song):
The attraction exited into a molecular showplace, featuring a fountain with oil running down strings, polyester fashions, and more wonders of chemistry.
The ride was taken out in 1985 and replaced with Star Tours in 1987. A tribute remains in Star Tours: the Adventures Continue on the Death Star under construction.
The song Miracles from Molecules played at the exit of the ride; it was written by the Sherman Brothers and continues to play in the Space Mountain bathrooms and was featured sung by Tony Anselmo as Donald Duck at the end of an episode of The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse (or “Mickey shorts”).
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Let’s Hear From You
It was a trippy ride folks, and I miss it. How many of you can still remember the Mighty Microscope? Let’s hear your stories so our memories of the past can inform the generations of today.
