As the name implies, Tomorrowland is supposed to be a gateway and showcase for the future. That is hard to pull off. It's a moving target, and it still needs to be entertaining. Some of the rides are still there and have changed, but many attractions are completely different.
When we went in the '80s much of the technology seemed to be about future transportation possibilities. So there was the Monorail, which has still survived; the People Mover, whose track became the Rocket Rods, which were really cool but plagued with technical difficulties, and so now there is nothing there; and the Skyway, a gondola lift that that went back and forth between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland and no longer exists.
There were also innovations in how you watched entertainment, with a carousel theater where the stage moved around while the audience stayed in place (home of America Sings) and a 360 degree circle theater where you could face any direction and see the movie from that angle (home of America The Beautiful).
The most science-related was probably Adventure Through Inner Space, where you could see the vehicles ahead of you (atom-mobiles) getting shrunk down you could get a microscopic view of things like a snowflake without the microscope.
Even back then, so many years ago, there had been many changes to Tomorrowland, and perhaps there will be many more. This is what we have now.
Astro Orbiter: This was there from my childhood too, but the did a major overhaul on the design, making it look a little more steampunk, I think. Before it was a pretty simple, 1960s style rocket design, and now it brings to mind an astrolabe combined with a sextant combined with an old-fashioned model of the solar system. The way the ride works is quite similar to Dumbo's Flying Elephants in Fantasyland, but there are two key differences. One is that you seem to go higher. Also, in addition to the vehicles not being adorable elephants, they are much more awkward to get into and less comfortable to sit in. It is almost like getting in and out of an awkward bathtub.
Autopia: This is probably the least changed ride. They have incorporated the Aardman Chevron cars into the queue, but it is still a small car where you have to hold the gas pedal down to move and steering does affect the direction, but you are on a track. Steering properly basically just makes the ride smoother, as opposed to the car continually going side to side as it hits the rail and corrects. The scenery is cute (especially the car park), but it is not an exciting ride, and the line is always long. Still, I try and always take it, because it's the closest I come to driving most of the time.
Buzz Astro Lightyear Blasters: This is where America The Beautiful used to play. Now you ride slowly past targets, with a blaster that will keep score, with targets and the main villain Zurg being inspired by the Toy Story spin-offs. It is not quite as fast-paced, or as fun, as Toy Story Mania in Paradise Pier, but it is still pretty fun.
Captain EO: This opened up after my last childhood trip to Disneyland, then was replaced by Honey I Shrunk The Audience, then Captain EO was revived. I don't think it holds up. The plot would be a pretty perfunctory three-minute music video from 1985, but this is decades later, it lasts longer than three minutes, and it just gets old, moving floor and 3-D effects aside. I suppose part of the attraction is some nostalgia for Michael Jackson, but it does not work for me. I am kind of glad I got the chance to see it once, because I remember it being a big deal at the time, but it is lame.
Disneyland Monorail: I think the reason that this has survived when the other transportation showcase type rides did not is that it actually does some transport. You can travel between Downtown Disney and Tomorrowland, which helps tie the shopping district to the Parks. Also, you do get a scenic view of the park. It was a novelty when we first rode it; now it is something that we may or may not do.
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage: This ride has the most interesting balance of change and not change. It started out based on 20000 Leagues Under The Sea, so Captain Nemo, not Nemo the adorable clownfish with the bad fin. There were no animatronics, just models, so it was probably starting to look dated, and the boarding is a somewhat awkward process (though less so than with a real submarine). It was closed for a long time, and that seemed like a shame. If Atlantis: The Lost Empire had taken off, they would probably have revived the ride then, but no, it took cartoon fish. Now you have many of the same models, but they have also worked in some animation that appears on a screen, and familiar voices from the movie. It is cuter, but the boarding and seating is still a bit awkward.
Innoventions: They replaced America Sings with a place to showcase new technology. While that seems like it is most in the spirit of Tomorrowland, we only went once, and it was really boring. I think they have gotten better about jazzing things up, like adding Iron Man into the mix, but I want go on rides, and I liked America Sings a lot. The incorporation of some of those characters into Splash Mountain helps some, but this will probably never be my favorite ride.
Space Mountain: This is basically a roller coaster. It is not particularly futuristic perhaps, but it is fun. This is why we always go on Space Mountain, and do not go back to Innoventions. The space part is that you are in the dark, and there are places where it is like you are going past stars or things - it is somewhat space-like in that way. What really sets it apart, though, since it is all interior and dark, is that you can't really anticipate anything. The twists and turns reveal themselves as you feel them, because you don't see them coming. For this reason, it may be worse for some who are prone to nausea. Also, it shakes a lot more than the Matterhorn or Thunder Mountain Railroad. That's not to say that it rattles like it is old and is going to fall apart; it just shakes you up more. The New York New York Roller Coaster in Las Vegas was like that. Those are just things to know before you go.
Speaking of things you should know, they have done a variation around Halloween where they add some ghostly figures and eyes. I think I like the traditional ride better, but they are not really that different. Also, there is usually a huge line, but Wednesday morning it was only ten minutes. Tomorrowland is where lines get backed up the most, so choosing your timing is important. (See http://sporktogo.blogspot.com/2013/03/when-to-go-to-disneyland.html for more on that.)
Star Tours: This opened in 1987 in the old Adventures Through Inner Space spot. It's a motion simulator ride, so while you are watching the action on a screen, you are still being lifted up and down and moving around. The story is always that you are trying to take a simple tour, and end up getting far off course, but now (since 2011) it is Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, because now you can get a combination of different scenes, allowing 54 possible ride experiences. This may be a reason to go on it more than once. (We went once, and got Darth Vader, Kashyyyk, and Coruscant.)
Starcade: This is another one of those areas where maybe your kids are tired of rides, but this one costs quarters, so it seems like a worse deal. However, they were renovating it last time, so maybe it will be different. Some of the games are retro, which is cool, but there are other places you can do that. We did pop in to try the claw machines, because we have to.
Redd Rocket's Pizza Port: This is a cafeteria style restaurant where there is pizza, but also pasta and salad available. The food is okay in general, but the breadsticks were awful. Avoid those. Really, the best eating is not in Tomorrowland, but it is a bit far to get to the next land sometimes.
Tomorrowland Terrace: I think we have only had breakfast here, a long time ago, but it was fine.
They seem to have a normal breakfast menu and then switch to burgers.
This is also where the Jedi Training Academy takes place. This is obviously not for us, but kids who do it seem to like it a lot.
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