Pathing Around The Park: Tomorrowland to New Orleans Square

It's that time! Time to start "pathing" our way around The Park again. When we last were strolling, we had just finished winding our way from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland by one of our favorite routes.  It's another month, and time for another one of our favorite paths; this time we'll be picking up from where we left off at the entrance to Tomorrowland and carrying on to the next stop on our usual route, New Orleans Square.

Few of our trips into Tomorrowland are complete without stops at the following attractions.  They are "must-dos" in our book and most Days In The Park will find us riding almost all of these, especially now that we've become halfway decent at Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.  Mr. Lightyear has an amazing attraction named after him in which you sit in your very own XP-40 Star Cruiser, armed with nothing more than a badly-sighted laser gun, charged with tackling and taking down the Evil Emperor Zurg (sworn enemy of the galactic alliance) and all of his Double-A battery-stealing minions.  It's an awesome ride, and a great way to get out of the heat on hot summer days, and an even greater way to show your kids just who's the boss around here.  You point your laser gun and shoot; simple, right?  But totally awesome!  Who has the highest score in your family?

Now that Star Tours is once again open, all is right inside Tomorrowland.  "Star Wars" fanboys and fangirls, unite!  It's worth a trip into this Land if for no other reason than to give this new, updated attraction a spin.  Almost everyone is familiar with the older Star Tours attraction, so the premise is much the same.  But add in a new 3D-HD version, a new pilot, and up to 54 different ride possibilities made up of 11 different attraction elements (planets and characters), and it's a party in your Star Speeder!  But be warned, this one is known to cause some motion sickness.  If you're able to handle turbulence well, though, you can't afford to miss it.  We never do!

And what trip into Tomorrowland would be complete without a stop at arguably the galaxy's greatest store?  Welcome to the Star Trader, your one-stop place to shop for all of your "Star Wars" paraphernalia.  You can find everything from caps, t-shirts, plush all the way up to creating your own light-sabers.  A perfect place to stop and shop for souvenirs for the kiddies, or maybe that adult in your group who just refuses to grow up like Mark does with us.  And who could resist a life-size replica of an X-Wing Fighter?  Not us, say we!

And we've only just scratched this surface of this particular Land O'Plenty.  There is tons to do inside Tomorrowland, and we enjoy almost every bit of it.  Looking for a bit of Michael and some 80s cheese (oh, it's so gouda)?  Then check out the Captain EO Tribute.  Looking to blast through the galaxy and see the stars?  Hop on board Space Mountain, always a popular ride with everyone.  Hungry?  Head on over to Red Rockett's Pizza Port for, you guessed it, pizza or pasta.  Innoventions is always a great place to beat the heat with tons to see including the House of Tomorrow (today!) and Asimo the scary robot.  Not had quite enough "Star Wars" yet?  Check out the Tomorrowland Terrace and catch the Jedi Academy show, where your kids can be the stars and get actual Jedi lessons from actual Jedi and then fight an actual Darth Vader.  How cool is that?!  Not quite out of breath yet?  Take a ride and see if they ever find Nemo on the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, or teach your kids the meaning of the phrase "burn rubber" and "eat my dust" on the fastest racing attraction in Tomorrowland, Autopia.

click on any of the photos for larger versions

Right about now we've sampled all of the best wares that Tomorrowland has to offer and we're ready to move on to our next adventure.  Where some people might think that Fantasyland might be the next logical stop (since we missed so much there before), we say nay!  Our next favorite place to unload ourselves is in actuality New Orleans Square.  And our favorite way to get there?  By hopping on board the Disneyland Railroad at the Tomorrowland Station, of course!

It may be totally old school, and we may in fact be able to walk faster than the train can carry us, but we absolutely love to ride the Railroad and we do so every chance we get.  Not only is it a great way to get around The Park and rest those weary feet of yours should you need to, but there's a show included.  We love "two-fer"s!  If you're riding the rails between Tomorrowland and Main Street, USA (the stop before New Orleans Square) you get a sneak peek at the Grand Canyon, Disneyland-style!  But wait, there's more!  You also get a sneak peek at the Grand Canyon, Jurassic-style with Primeval World.  Any time we're with the kids, they love hopping the train and seeing this particular part of The Park which, astoundingly enough, many people don't know about.  A ride and a show at the same time?  Can't be beat!

Next stop, the Main Street, USA station, but we're just going to sit tight and move right on through.  Still, while you're here, take a few minutes while you're waiting for the new passengers to load (and the old to unload) to stare down Main Street and just soak it all in.  It's one of our favorite vantage points inside The Park to just sit and people-watch, and you never know who (or what characters) you might see roaming around.

Next and last stop, New Orleans Square!  And that's where we quit pathing for this trip.  Next time, we'll roam around a bit and explore some of our favorite "haunts" (get it?) inside the Square, and who knows where we'll wind up next?  Well, we do, but you'll have to come back to find out.

Got a path of your own that you like to take from Tomorrowland?  Let us know because we'd love to discuss it with you.  And let us know if you enjoyed our little path.  That's the beauty of The Parks; so many different things to see and experience, and so many different ways to do it.

Until next time, keep pathing!