New Retro-Inspired Astro Orbiter Poster at Magic Kingdom Pays Homage to Disneyland Classic

While at the Magic Kingdom we noticed a new attraction poster for the Astro Orbiter in the tunnels under the Walt Disney World Railroad.

The poster features a streamlined, mid-century modern aesthetic, showcasing a rocket vehicle carrying a couple soaring toward the Tomorrowland text in the distance, with other sleek rockets streaking across the background. The design is clearly inspired by the classic Rocket Jets poster by Ken Chapman that appeared at Disneyland, which was also inspired by the original Astro Jets poster by Bjorn Aronson.

Rocketing Through Disney Parks History

• The lineage of the spinning rocket attraction in Disney Parks demonstrates Tomorrowland’s evolving vision of the future.
• The very first iteration of this ride was Disneyland’s Astro Jets, which opened in 1956.
• When Walt Disney World opened in 1971, the park's high-altitude spinner attraction was named Star Jets.
• The Star Jets opened in 1974, situated atop the central show building in Tomorrowland that houses the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover.
• In 1994, as part of the park's "New Tomorrowland" project, which shifted the land's theme from a pristine, corporate future to a more pulp-fiction, retro-futuristic spaceport, the attraction was refurbished and renamed the Astro Orbiter.
• The ride vehicles were updated, and the central tower was redesigned, complete with spinning, planetary rings that now make it a distinctive park landmark.

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