Sorting out the hip from the hype in new CD-ROMs and Web sites. Tomorrowland: The Future Ain't What It Used to Be A CD-ROM about the new Tomorrowland attractions at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., opens with a short clip of newsreel footage from 1955. Walt Disney himself, looking a bit awkward as he tries to manage a hand-held microphone and a script while making eye-contact with the camera, is shown in mid-sentence: ". . .A vista into a world of wondrous ideas, signifying man's achievements . . . a step into the future, with predictions of constructive things to come."

The new Tomorrowland--completely rebuilt for the first time in 21 years--has a different goal, and calls upon the expertise of leading technology companies to meet it. It presents "a period that is supposed to have been," according to John Hench, a creative development director with Walt Disney Imagineering. We didn't get the future we wanted, so Disney has gone to great lengths to create a reasonable facsimile.

The CD-ROM's best features are the Quicktime movies of the new attractions. The Rocket Sled, Astro Orbiter, and other rides are presented in short clips that let the attractions speak for themselves.

The disk also has information about "Innoventions," an interactive exhibit of new technologies that have an impact on the home, workplace, health and sports/fitness, transportation, and entertainment. The exhibit combines Disney's storytelling abilities with high-tech expertise. The result is hands-on exhibits from leading tech companies that tell the story of the near-future in an interactive way.

Designed as a press giveaway, the CD-ROM is available from Disney's sales representatives, or call Disneyland Park Events at (714) 781-1800. At press time, the Disney Web site (www.disneyland.com) did not yet have a meetings and conventions section, but expect information for planners to be up by

mid-July.