20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (What Happened)

[MikeWazowski]

I've been meaning to ask this for a while now. What ever happen to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It was such a great ride. Are they ever going to bring it back. I know Ariels Grotto is there now. It would be great if this would come back.

 

[ilovefh]

Actually Ariels grotto is to the left of where 20,000 used to be. Right now, in the old que area for 20,000 they have the Fantasyland Character Festival.

 

[TREEFROG00]

I don't know if it's true, but, I heard that they had originally closed it down to re-vamp it when they discovered that it was going to cost too much for the re-vamping. By then, it had been closed down for so long, it was going to cost too much to re-open it as it was.

 

[MikeWazowski]

Originally posted by TREEFROG00
I don't know if it's true, but, I heard that they had originally closed it down to re-vamp it when they discovered that it was going to cost too much for the re-vamping. By then, it had been closed down for so long, it was going to cost too much to re-open it as it was.

I kind of remember somthing like that, now.

It makes you wonder how much money would be to much money for WDW to spend, to make over a succesful attraction.

 

[grinningghost]

20K has alot of nostalgic value, if nothing else. I really find it mind boggling that Disney Imagineers can't come up with a new, technologically brilliant submarine attraction. It sure would beat that big old wasted Fantasyland space.

 

[sue Z]

if yopu ever go on the disney cruise and when you go to Castaway bay, a couple of the subs are in the water to make reefs! I overheard a CM telling this to someone while I was in the character festival (which now has villians)!!! Saw the queen of hearts, prince john and cruella

 

[Buzz2001]

Maybe if the new movie, Finding Nemo, is a success, they could theme a new ride to those characters. It seems like such a waste for them to have that space just sitting there not being used.

 

[BrianD]

actually, I heard that the squid finally got the submarine.

 

[BounceyOne]

LOL Brian!!

 

[Matty_Disfan]

Well the subs haven't been scrapped yet, there is a line of them laid out somewhere on the property, but I doubt they still work.

One of my most vivid memories was waiting for over an hour in the heat to get on that ride and coming away a little perplexed at why we waited so long. It was an interesting ride, but so slow loading that it would only be worth it to ride at the beginning of the day... IMHO.

I heard that they were considering retooling the area to make a "Treasure Planet" ride there.... or was it "Reign Of Fire" but because neither movie did well in the box office, the idea was scrapped. They only make rides for the classic films, and those turned out to be duds.... So no ride..... Too bad....

 

[Horizons16]

They took it out of disneyland too so i dunno about the re-vamp thing.... splash mountain doesnt get re-vamped the same time at each park...


Also the track is still down at DL and the fake fish and bubbles still work there...

Is the WDW track gone?

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by grinningghost
20K has alot of nostalgic value, if nothing else. I really find it mind boggling that Disney Imagineers can't come up with a new, technologically brilliant submarine attraction. It sure would beat that big old wasted Fantasyland space.

I'm sure that the Imagineers could come up with great concepts for any theme that one suggests. The question is whether management will bite on the idea and invest the $$$$.

 

[grinningghost]

Well maybe Treasure Planet was a box office bomb, but wasn't 20,000 Leagues a success? Why not just retool the ride based on the same movie? Or is it too old? I forgot Disney doesn't have any old movie fans.

 

[Moosysmom]

When I was on the Disney Magic in the beginning of March, I went to a Behind the scenes with one of the Imagineers from Disney World. Someone in the audience asked him about 20,000 Leagues. He said that the ridership was down and the cost to maintain didn't equal keeping the ride up. He also said that Disney does listen when people write letters (or e-mails). So it is a thought for all you fans. Unfortunately, my first time at Disney World I didn't ride it and when I got back it was Ariel's Grotto.

 

[Empire Day]

I rode it in 1978! and didn't even know it was gone untill I started planing our familys first DW trip last year. I really wanted DS7 to experience it, as I was 10 when I was there last and took over 24 pictures on 20K and still have them!) now all I can do is show him the pictures, But I know they'll find some Magic to replace the ride (if not some vacume to replace opur full pockets with empty ones LOL)

 

[ramkam]

It sounds like the submarine ride is coming back at Disneyland soon. Some people are saying there may be some new theming to tie in with Finding Nemo.

 

[HTHbellhop]

I heard that there was no easy way to make it handicapped-accessible. I'm pretty sure that's why it closed in the first place...and then they just never fixed the problem and decided to scrap the ride altogether. Hopefully some awesome new ride will take its place someday.

 

[cleo]

*Flashbacks of Octa-Emu Nutrient ponds and the eventual sinking of Horizons into the earth* (Ok, so I've been around here a long time. Surely I'm not the only one who remembers this DIS Classic?!)

The story I heard was that it was a technological nightmare, very hard to fix when it broke down, so the Imagineers told the Higher Up's that the boats were leaky hazzards, which effectively put an end to their service.

 

[SueM in MN]

I heard that there was no easy way to make it handicapped-accessible. I'm pretty sure that's why it closed in the first place...and then they just never fixed the problem and decided to scrap the ride altogether.

That keeps coming up as a reason, but it's not why it was closed. There are other rides that are not handicapped accessible; they don't close rides just because they are not accessible.
I agree with cleo's explanation. We've been coming to WDW since 1986 and until it closed permanently, there were many times that the ride was closed for repairs. We were told by a CM that most of the parts were not readily available (some had to be individually made, you just can't go to Sub R Us and get replacement parts). When it was open, it was a slow loading, low capacity attraction with long waits to ride. From what I heard, that and the difficulty (and expense) of repairing it were all factors in deciding to close it.

 

[sha_lyn]

from what I've read, it really can't be fixed. To fix the problems they would have to drain the water. The water is the only thing keeping the walls from caving in. this initself would cause a lot of damage to the underground tunnels/strctures. I really don't know if it is poor design, or if time has taken its toll.