I never had the opportunity to ride either of them, but by watching YouTube I find the Rocket Rod's vehicles to have a cool design and the ride looked more fun than the slow PeopleMover. Too bad it had plenty of technical and structural problems and lasted only 2 years. The abandoned structure is an eyesore.
If you rode the Rocket Rod, please tell me about the experience.
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I rode Rocket Rods, and found it a supremely frustrating experience. The hard brakes before each turn just destroyed the exhilaration of building speed on the straights. If Disney had spent the money to properly bank the tracks, it could have been an amazing ride. As it turned out, it was frustrating to riders while continually breaking down and thus, frustrating operators and managers. I would have preferred that Disneyland instead installed Disney World's PeopleMover system, and overlaid it with some better forward-looking storytelling throughout the ride. As it was, though, the cheesy tire-riding PeopleMover offered some throwback kitsch, and I enjoyed it.
Granted its a lesser Disney Movie...but a Meet The Robinsons overlay for the People Mover would work...'keep moving forward'
They were so different other than the path they traveled. The answer depends if you want leisure or excitement at the moment. As always with excitement comes long lines and downtime.
Rockets was fun. Especially being up so high.
Peoplemover was nice because it was a fast load (continuous movement), a long ride, and also because you got a sneak peek into other attractions.
Basically everyone can agree that both had their various negative and positive aspects but both would be taken over the nothingness that currently resides there now.
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PeopleMover stopped pulling in crowds years before it opened, and the attraction felt dated in the new steam punk inspired New Tommorowland introduced in the 90's.
Having ridden both, I preferred Rocket Rods. I liked the constant acceleration and slow downs, but I guess that caused damage to the track. Disney should have waited a few years before dumping this ride. The computers today could probably have handled the constant speed changes better. Disney of the 1990's usually went for Band-Aid solutions when ride systems weren't working properly.