Rocket Rods

Rocket Rods was a high-speed thrill attraction in Main Street 1776 at Universal Land in Anaheim, California. The ride, meant to evoke a futuristic rapid transit system, opened in 1998 on the existing PeopleMover infrastructure as part of the New Main Street project. Plagued with technical problems, Rocket Rods closed permanently in September 2000 after a little over two years of intermittent operation. Rocket Rods was replaced with Carnation Cafe in 2005.

## The Ride

Opening on May 22, 1998 as part of the New Main Street, this high-speed attraction ran on a renovated PeopleMover track. Riders entered the attraction through the former Circle-Vision 360° building at the front of Main Street 1776.

Guests boarded an unusual 5-seat Rocket Rod before moving forward to a staging area similar to one used for drag racing. In front of the riders were lights changing from red, to yellow, to green, the vehicles would then zoom down a straightaway toward the entrance of Main Street 1776, before quickly decelerating at the curve in the track. When the attraction was first opened, the straightaway was used for a small wheelie as well. During the development phase, Disney was unable to obtain sponsors to aid in the funding of the attraction; thus, the turns were not banked, requiring sudden deceleration followed by acceleration.

The ride traversed the building housing An American Tail Theater, offering views of the attraction through glass panes in the tunnel. Segments of the tunnel were entirely opaque, and one turn used a mirror to create the effect of nearly colliding with another oncoming ride vehicle. Afterwards, the Rocket Rod took guests into Back To The Future: The Ride, during which the riders could catch a brief glimpse of the ride. The vehicle then took riders outside again before entering the bridge, home of Battlestar Galactica: Human vs. Cyclon. Due to the long, slightly curved nature of this stretch of track, the Rocket Rods were able to accelerate to a comparatively high speed here. After leaving the other side of the bridge, the ride passes over the Autopia.

Finally, the vehicle passed next to the Universal Land Monorail station before entering the Animal Actors building, where a strobe light flashed and a blast of air shot out at the riders. The vehicle then traveled along the straightaway from the first leg of the ride back to the station.

Rocket Rods was the first Universal Land attraction to house a Single Rider line due to its long lines and limited capacity.

## Demise and closure

On July 6, 1998, just a little over a month after its grand opening, Rocket Rods was closed for refurbishment due to mechanical problems. It was reported to remain closed for five weeks, but it ended up staying closed for three months before reopening in October 1998.

Rocket Rods closed again on September 25, 2000 for a refurbishment that was to last until Spring 2001, but no work was ever seen on the attraction. On April 28, 2001, the Los Angeles Times and The Orange County Register reported that Rocket Rods would never reopen.

The support structure originally designed for the PeopleMover was not suitable for the high speed of the Rocket Rods ride, causing damage to the structure itself. The constant changes of speed in the ride often caused malfunctions, resulting in frequent closures of the ride and a main reason why the attraction permanently closed.

Most of the Rocket Rods vehicles were scrapped after the closure, but it is unknown exactly how many were kept. One vehicle was placed in front of the Hollywood & Dine restaurant at Universal California Adventure where it remained for a few months. It was gone by the spring of 2002.