20,000 Leagues Under The Sea ...

[Daisymae26]

... did anyone else absolutely love this ride? i did and i was disappointed when they shut it down. does anyone know why?

[wasabi girl]

Yes!!! I think so...I only went to WDW once as a child ( the ride was in operation then ) and I fainted in the LINE...My Mom had to take me out and get in the shade & something to drink and I never got to go on at all...ever!!! When we started to plan our first (DH, DDs & me) trip I scoured the park maps for 20,000 Leagues and couldn't find it, I was SO disappointed that it exists no longer. I have no idea why it closed. :confused:

[SonicLogic]

20k closed because it was hot, stinky and very boring.

[wdw4us2]

Originally posted by SonicLogic
20k closed because it was hot, stinky and very boring.

Sorry, SonicLogic but there are many people who do not share your opinion, myself included.

Daisymae - If you want the backstory as to what really happened to 20K Leagues, check out this link:

http://www.crazedfanboy.com/spotlight/20k.html

[warpdarkmatter]

it was the best if they ever bring back the subs in disneyland i will vacation there no hope for them in disneyworld to bad

[SonicLogic]

Thanks wdw4us2! That site you posted validates everything I said about 20k. However, it might be easier to understand if I share a little more detail with you.

The subs had a capacity of 38 guests (two rows of 19 on each side of the sub). From stem to stern, the subs were 40 feet long. When you take into account the stern area used by the engine compartment and the forward area used by the pilot, the available space for the guests was only 30 feet! That works out to just under 1.6 feet of space per passenger. Suffice it to say, people were packed in those subs like sardines!

In addition to the crowded conditions, the AC units in the subs rarely worked right. As a result the interior of each sub was hot, humid, musty and very smelly. The air circulation was almost nonexistent which magnified the problem if any guests had body odor.

20k was very slow to load and unload. Therefore the queue always moved at a snail's pace. The attraction itself was very slow paced as well and the special effects were not well done. The queue was always long because the ride capacity was very low.

[DVCconvert]

Thanks wdw4us2! That site you posted validates everything I said about 20k.

Nope, sorry...it does not.

I was there, I rode it repeatedly; it was not "hot, stinky nor boring".

It wasn't the fastest loading ride, but neither is Dumbo.

This was a classic which deserves a place in a Disney Park.

[ctrabada]

Perhaps I speak with colored child's eyes... but I remember this ride fondly... I loved it and was so very sorry when it closed. I don't remember it being hot or stinky and yes, it was a little cheesy, but so much fun! what kid doesn't like looking out a porthole and pretend she's in a submarine? I dunno, maybe that's why I became a certified diver....

[SonicLogic]

Originally posted by DVCconvert
I was there, I rode it repeatedly; it was not "hot, stinky nor boring".

While 20k was still in operation, most guests expressed the opinion that the attraction was slow, boring, hot and fake looking. After its closure many 20k devotees nostalgically recall the ride and tend to forget its many shortcomings. I guess that is to be expected but fond memories don't alter the facts. Here are some typical guest comments:

"First ... those subs were HOT! The sun beat down on those metal tubes and air conditioning or not you used to sweat like crazy. The subs had those little red fold-down seats that weren't very comfortable and you'd end up crammed in there with a bunch of hot, sweaty, not-so-pleasant smelling park guests."

"I also remember the windows fogging up a lot and not really being able to see anything ... the ride was VERY slow loading and you could wait in line for a long time to get on. Even worse was you could wait for a long time to get OFF ... after you've been broiled alive for the 20 minute ride all you wanted to do was GET OUT at the end."

"The ride had a solid sheet of water, perhaps 1/4 inch, in the bottom, the mildew smell was awful, the ride was suprisingly jerky in motion, and since it was a very untypically calm Florida day the fumes while at the dock where horrible. In my best case scenario they would have re-engineered the ride keeping the great theme alive but with the disign and engineering prowess we have all come to expect from WDI. Given a choice of the old ride or nothing I would choose nothing. For the last several years of its operation I never went on it because it was a worse experience each time I did go on it before."

"I remember as a kid that there was always water on the floor of the subs and having to wait for what seemed like an eternity and getting sunburned while waiting in line for 20K Leagues, as well as not being able to see clearly out of the windows as well...still, I liked the attraction well enough!"

"The two times we rode it, the sub leaked, stank, and windows fogged up. The 'Rubber fish' and other sections seemed weak. It also broke down for 10 minutes while on it. That doesn't sound long, but with lousy air circulation and some people who had baked in the sun most of the day, it was a wee bit ripe on the nostrils."

[rocketriter]

I recall that the ride started out with a lot of mystery and promise, but after a couple of minutes you began to pass silly mermaids and Atlantis pillars, at which point the excitement petered out.

[ChrislovesMinnie]

I was lucky enough to be able to experience this ride several times in my younger years before the ride closed. Yes it may have been slow, the aroma on hot days wasn' all that great but I seem to remember how exciting it was to board a "real" submarine. To go "Underwater" on an adventure.
This was an original experience I am sorry to say many can not experience. Perhaps someday, it will return, refurbished and then, along with myself and young son, they can all experience this wonderfull Walt Disney original for themselves and not just have to read about it or be told stories about it.

:jester:

[crusader]

While 20k was still in operation, most guests expressed the opinion that the attraction was slow, boring, hot and fake looking.

Yeah. It was all that and then some.

This ride was lame. All the quotes are true. The only attractive part was how it looked on the outside and the thought of it being a sub. Once you rode it - the disillusion was gone forever.

[KNWVIKING]

20 k will always hold a special place in my heart, but not because it was a great ride.

Oct of 1977 I was graduating Navy bootcamp in Orlando. We had "Cinderella" liberty and everybody was going to MK before hitting the shaker bars at night. Couple of us go on 20k together. Just as I'm sitting down this rather large cross-dresser is shuffeling past to sit a few place down.

Now, I'm just an 18 yr old from podunkville in South Jersey so this caught me a little off guard and I'm sure my facial expressions revelled my naivete.

Just this October when we saw people dressing up for MNSSHP it dawned on me that MAYBE I mistook a Halloweener for a crossdresser...... but I don't think so.

But other then that, the ride was very unimpressive.

[wdw4us2]

It was a fun ride for kids and never was to be confused with a thrill ride like one of the mountains.

When I was a teen, we saracastically called it "2 Feet Under the Pond". That doesn't mean it needed to be closed and filled in with dirt. It could have been updated to some other water ride with Atlantis or Finding Nemo as the theme.

After all, plenty of people think Snow White's Adventures is a lame ride and you don't see anyone clamoring to shut it down. I remember my kids saying Disney should have converted that to Pooh and left Mr. Toad alone.

[crusader]

wdw4us2 -

I agree with your kids. Snow White's "scary" adventures should never have been installed the way it was and they most certainly did take out the wrong venue for Pooh.

I also agree that a completely revamped and upgraded 20k ride would be great.

But to say they should have left this one as is.............

for what? Nostalgia? Ok then sit a few ride vehicles inside or in front of the living seas tank and have all the adults climb in through the hatch and pack themselves in like sardines. But don't forget to replace all the real fish with plastic foliage fake sea crap and pump crud into the water to cloud it up.

Enjoy!

[FloraFauna]

As a kid, I totally bought into this ride. The Haunted Mansion or Snow White did not scare me, but this ride did. Especially the part when the narrator says we are going so deep, that the light cannot penetrate the water and they would shoot the bubbles up and it would get dark.

[cvemom]

Originally posted by SonicLogic
20k closed because it was hot, stinky and very boring.

I don't miss it...We always called 20,000 leagues under the armpit.

[CrazyaboutMickey]

With all the amazing technology out there today, you would think they could come up with a truly awesome attraction that could involve a submarine ride under the sea and maybe capitalize on the popularity of Finding Nemo at the same time. I am not someone who is especially creative, yet I can visualize a really interesting (and exciting for the kids) ride that would not only be up to Disney standards, but might even raise the bar.

Seriously, no one loves Disney more than me, but hearing all the reports on Stitch, turning the Land pavillion into a travel agency(I still say that HAS to be a joke because it is too stupid and off- theme to be true) I am starting to think spies for the competition have infiltrated Disney Imagineering with the sole purpose of undermining the quality of experience it has stood for the last 50 years. Either that or aliens have taken them over and stolen their imaginations!

If there is no money for bringing the kind of quality necessary to the Disney parks, I have to ask why? Example for comparison would be Universal. Sure not everything is fabulous there either, they also have come up with less than stellar ideas, but I see more "blow you away" entertainment there and it makes me really sad to see because I really love Disney!

:confused:

[mitros]

I'm with you. The ride was unbelievably smelly, and hot, and uncomfortable. We went on it once in 1988 and never did it again. The part that gets me is that now that they are tearing it up, there are scary rumors that they are going to replace it with a huge character meet and greet instead of another ride. 2006 can't come soon enough. ie: goodbye Michael!

[dpic]

Originally posted by CrazyaboutMickey
If there is no money for bringing the kind of quality necessary to the Disney parks, I have to ask why?
:confused:
There's money. However, it is being spent in France, Japan, Hong Kong, etc, etc.

[CrazyaboutMickey]

You're right about the money I'm sure. How sad. It all started here and Disneyland and DisneyWorld should be the flagships and as such, the best of the best.

I do love the old Disney standards, POC, COP, Haunted Mansion, heck even Small World and I'm the only one in my family that starts singing "in the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki tiki room" when we get near Adventure Land. They all take off in opposite directions! But I have to agree with others posted here that 20,000 Leagues was dismal. When I first went on it at Disneyland, (won't say how old I was, let's just say I was there) it was pretty neat for a kid in that day and age. When I went on it later in Florida, it was just sad. I mean really, fish tied to strings floating in a murky pond? It was definitely an attraction that had to be seriously updated or lose it all together. I don't think you can compare the experience you had there with other original Disney creations (listed above).

:fish: :fish: :fish:

[iluvflorida]

:teeth: It is time the truth is told about 20k. The subs were sent to Europe for Euro-Disney but they got tied up in Govt. red tape and England aquired rights to them in lieu of storage fee. They in turn sold them to Canada. The world knows the end result.

Seriously I enjoyed the ride as both a child and adult.

Glad Mr. Bush is coming to Canada soon. It is time our two country restore complete good will.

[DFiore1]

20,000 was great. I love rides that take you into the water. I was sad when it closed.

[sbelyo]

I was disappointed that it closed. I understand that it was moist and outdated but it was fun for the kids. I wish my DS could've experienced it just once. But the fact that there using that space for a character meet and greet is just deplorable. they really need to put something good there. I wonder whatever happened to the rumor of a villian themed coaster in that area?

[frozone]

I definitely have some nostalgia for the ride (connected to my love for the book and movie), but I agree with others that it was not an attraction that needed to be saved. It didn't have the same iconic quality as some of the older attractions that have remained favorites. It showed its age more than others and there were design flaws that just made it seem sub-par, not of the high quality that people expect of a Disney park.

That being said, it would be fantastic to have an ocean themed attraction that incorporated updated technology. I'm guessing they could even adapt some of their designs from the Tokyo park.

[alwaysmom]

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea! Grew up with it and loved it. A trip Disney wasn't complete unless I went on "20,000 Leagues under the Sea" and of course a few others. Years later as I took my oldest DS then 4 (now 18) to DW, I told him all about it as we waited in line and when he finally took the steps down into the submarine and took his seat I saw a look of fear on his face. He really thought, as I did as a child that we were really going to go way down deep to the bottom of the sea. He had a blast and loved it too. I'm sad that my 2 youngest DS's (6 & 8) will never get to experience the journey to the bottom of the sea. I know they would have loved it too.

:thewave: :thewave: :thewave:

[gapere]

For what it's worth, I bought the DVD set listed on the link below and one of the attractions on it was WDW's 20k ride. It was an absolute blast watching what the ride was like all over again. The picture is decent, considering they are probably recorded off of VHS tapes but I didn't care. Well worth it to me for the cheese factor :teeth:

Walt Disney Park Extinct Retired Attraction Two DVD set (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1380&item=2284358083)