Disneyland Tomorrowland McDonald's Happy Meal

In 1998, Disneyland park in Anaheim, California got a "New" Tomorrowland.  The area got a bronze "steampunk" look, with inspiration from the Jules Verne feel of Discoveryland at Disneyland Paris that opened in 1992.  Disneyland's new Tomorrowland even got a new "fast" ride called Rocket Rods that took over the old PeopleMover attraction track.  McDonald's promoted the new Tomorrowland, but not in the United States.  This Disneyland Tomorrowland McDonald's Happy Meal was released in Asia.  This particular set is from Thailand.  The four toys interlock to become a little version of Tomorrowland.

The anchor piece of this set is a balancing toy called Minnie's Space Station.

This is marketing at work, as there is no "Space Station" ride in Tomorrowland.  This appears to blend the land's Observatron sculpture with the Astro Orbiter rocket ride.

Here, the Astro Orbiter gets a new name, "Mickey's Astro Rocket."

At Disneyland in California, the Astro Orbiter is at ground level.  In Florida, it is high in the sky on top of the roof of the PeopleMover load station.

Donald's Spinning Saucer is based on...I'm not sure what, actually.  The Flying Saucers ride that existed at Disneyland from 1961 to 1966?

There is a Jet Packs ride at Shanghai Disneyland's Tomorrowland (opened in 2016) and an Alien Spinning Saucers ride coming to Toy Story Land at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida (in 2018).

One of the most heavily promoted aspects of the new Tomorrowland was a new "thrill ride" called Rocket Rods.  Here it is called Goofy's Rocket Racer.  This ride took over the old PeopleMover track and was supposed to pop a wheelie and race around Tomorrowland.

Rocket Rods closed for good in 2001, after facing all sorts of technical problems and disappointments.

The "New" Tomorrowland quickly became something in the past.  The concept of Tomorrowland has changed quite a bit at the Disney Parks over the years, and continues to do so.

Mission From Mars: A Close Alien Encounter Of The Candy Coated Chocolate Kind

Aliens and candy go together like E.T. and Reese's Pieces.  So the Mars, Inc. Candy company introduced "Mission From Mars" in 1991.

The Mission From Mars crew visits Earth because their natural candy resources have been depleted by a Marsquake.

It is well known that aliens love candy, soft drinks and brand name products.  This is documented in "E.T." (1982) and in the 1988 movie "Mac and Me" (a film about an alien race that enjoys drinking Coca-Cola, dancing at McDonald's and shopping at Sears).

When the Mission From Mars crew is not busy working, they enjoy watching "The Mattel and Mars Bar Quick Energy Chocobot Hour" on TV (their alien friends Kang and Kodos from "The Simpsons" told them all about that show).

Mission From Mars stars Captain Romtu (the helmeted alien), Gleep (an orange blob with long arms and legs), Scoota (a reptilian creature) and Bing (a springy cyborg).

Artist John Blair Moore (well known for his work on the "Darkwing Duck" comic book and "Invaders From Home") wrote and illustrated the Mission From Mars comic.

The Mission From Mars comic is a "mini comic book" found inside the 1991 Disney Comics Darkwing Duck Issue #2, which was also drawn by John Blair Moore.

The aliens landed on Earth on Halloween, the perfect time to easily promote delicious and healthy candy (hey, there's peanuts in a lot of these items, and that is sort of healthy).

M&M/Mars sponsored the "Star Wars" Star Tours attractions at Walt Disney World and Disneyland for years.

Be on the lookout for cameo appearances by Mars Candy Brands.

You'll find Milky Way, M&Ms and Snickers.  Gleep holds a bowl containing two brands of candy that I can't identify.

Bing snacks on a Twix bar (which side will he choose?) and Kudos.  Romtu enjoys a Mars Bounty bar, which I've never heard of before.

Gleep has a bunch of candy, including Starburst and 3 Musketeers.  He also has a Mars Almond Bar and PB Max, both of which have been discontinued.

Mission From Mars appeared at about the same time that Disney announced "The Disney Decade" expansion plans for Walt Disney World in Florida.  This was to include a New Tomorrowland described as "an intergalactic spaceport for arriving aliens."

I thought these characters would have fit in well at Tomorrowland's "Mission to Mars."  The "Alien Encounter" attraction ended up replacing that in 1994 (which was later replaced by "Stitch's Great Escape" in 2004).

In September 1991, Disney Adventures Magazine had a special Mission From Mars Contest.  The Grand Prize was a Mission From Mars Halloween Party, complete with alien costumes and candy (so you could re-enact the Mission From Mars comic, I suppose).  The First Prize was a cassette tape of the Mickey Mouse Club's band, "The Party."  Second Prize was a box of candy.

The Mission From Mars characters appeared as CGI characters for this ad (and probably the commercials, though I can't remember them), which were very new and very rare in 1991.  My, how times have changed.  These days it is the hand drawn characters that are rare!

Keep your eyes open for the return of the alien characters in "Mission From Mars 2:  Attack of the Russell Stoverlords."