The Wheels of Progress

Tomorrowland is a sci-fi community inspired by past visions of the future. The principal design aesthetic for the land is rooted in the Machine Age, a period in the early 20th century during which incredible progress was made in areas like mass production, radio technology and electric motors.

Gears and other mechanical elements figured heavily in the technology of the Machine Age, and they're prevalent in the design of Tomorrowland as well, from the logo for the Tomorrowland Public Works (above, as seen on trash cans in the area) to the hardscape under foot on the Avenue of the Planets (below).

The wheels of progress turn swiftly here.

The Machine Age roughly covered the period between World Wars I and II. This was a time when transportation design was coming into its own, following the streamlined look of aircraft. It was also the age of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, who delighted audiences in comic strips, radio programs and film serials.

The influence of these science fiction adventures is felt throughout Tomorrowland, in the architectural elements and in the multitude of rocket ships and flying saucers which have touched down in this spaceport of the future.

Can Can

Disney's Hollywood Studios does not have specific themed lands like the Magic Kingdom. Instead, it's broken into a number of districts or neighborhoods which collectively attempt to tell a two-pronged story. Hollywood Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard, and Echo Lake are part of "the Hollywood that never was, but always will be," while Animation Courtyard, Pixar Place, Mickey Avenue, Muppet Studios, and the Backlot depict a "working production center."

As a result, you'll primarily find two trash can designs throughout the Studios. In Hollywood, they're done in a Public Works style and color, with a graphic asking Guests to "Please help keep our city clean." In the Production Center, the receptacles take on an even more utilitarian look of brushed metal, with a simple label matching the style of other graphics in the "working" areas.

This simplicity of storytelling detail is not to imply, though, that Disney's Hollywood Studios doesn't take the job of keeping the park clean seriously. Quite the contrary. While other parks at the Walt Disney World Resort refer to their cleaning teams as Custodial, at the Studios they are known by the far-more-appropriate name "Showkeeping."