Waxing Sentimental of a Disney World Gone By

[ScottieDog]

I hope you folks wont think I'm being rude for starting a new post so soon after registering (I'm really new to this) but I've after reading so many great posts about "the world" as my family calls it I'm feeling sentimental for the Disney of my childhood.
For example on my last trip to Orlando I was devistated to see the Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was no more!!! Now I knew that 2000 Leagues was history before I left, so I was prepared, but still... to see it gone and just those empty tracks below the water made me sad. And is it me or has the song on the Carosel of Progress changed? Oh, and then there was the Kitchen Cabaret at the Land in Epcot. "sigh"
Ok, one last memory...I can vaguely remember a ride that brought you around DW in a ski lift kind of divice. Now, I'm sure I'm not nuts and that they did exist....can anyone tell me what that ride was called and why they got rid of it?

Thanks,
Cathryn~

 

[Schmeck]

The ride was called... AAhhh, i can't remember! But it went from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland.

 

[goofybabe2001]

Hello i to miss many of the sme attractions.I believe it was called the skyway.The rides i miss the most were at epcot .....horizons and world of motion.

 

[MHG26]

The Skyway....it was removed cus someone fell out and died...

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Does anyone remember when the Skyway was removed? I remember seeing pictures of it but I don't remember it being there, even on my earliest trips.

Welcome ScottieDog! Don't worry about starting threads so soon! Any more questions, just fire away! "See" ya' around!!

 

[ScottieDog]

Thanks all
I wonder what the average age is on this board? I'm in my mid-30's. We used to go as a family when I was a kid and I swear Magic Kingdom was forever "imprinted" on my psyche. Listen up parents...uou take a young child to Disney and they're ruined in terms of any other parks...NOTHING else can compare! That said it's the "old" rides that I love best, i.e Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Jungle Cruse. But you know what, it's sooooo in the eyes of the beholder because when I was there last year I overheard some kids calling Jungle Cruse "lame". I suppose that compaired to Tower of Terror or Dinasour it is but gosh...lame? "sigh"

Cathryn~

 

[BonnieA]

Cathryn you're not alone in your rememberances of Disney World. I'm a few (quite a few) years older than you. I have a son who is almost your age. He went the first time when he was 5. He'll be returning with me next week (yay).
Yes the song did change in Carousel of Progress. You probably remember a song called "Now is the Time". It was the one they used when they first put the attraction in Disneyworld. But the song played now is the original that played when it was an attraction at the NY Worlds Fair in 64/65. I remember that well.
Yes, Mr Toad is gone. Can't stop progress I guess. And Winnie the Pooh is more popular than Toad nowadays. I doubt that many children today even know the story of The Wind in the Willows and Mr Toad.
Do you remember "If you had Wings"? A very favorite of mine.
I guess we just have to be thankful for those that remain. Who knows how long they will.

 

[goofydad621]

I often think of the Disney of my youth. The skyway was open 9 years ago and I think 7 years ago but not sure on that one.
The thing I really miss is the Magic Shoppe and the penny arcade on Main Street.

I do miss the other rides that you mentioned also.

 

[ScottieDog]

Oh my goodness...yes...I do remember "If you had wings" wasn't it sponsered by Delta or some other airline? And the chairs, weren't they were like the Doombuggy chairs at Haunted Mansion?

You know it might be time to vist the folks and go through some old photo albums.

Oh oh oh...and remember the laytex balloons with the ears. )

Cathryn~

 

[Disnurse2B]

Awww. Thinking of Disney as a child brings a tear to my eye. Some of my earliest memories are from WDW. I will never forget being mesmerized by a glass blower in a shop on main street. My Mom and Dad bought me a hand blown ballerina that we watched being made. Does anyone know if they still have htat shop there? I would love to by my dd one on this trip in MAy.

 

[kjs1976]

I never got to ride 20,000 leagues or the skyway...never got on them our first two trips and they were gone by the time I got back 4 years later!

I miss the Lion King show where Mickey's Philharmagic was.

 

[Nolcrest]

ScottieDog - good topic. Oh, I too miss the Disney of yesteryear. I'm not a thrill ride seeker and really love the classics. That's what Disney is to me. Oh yeah - I remember the latex mickey balloons. I LOVED the Delta ride in Tomorrowland. Carousel of Progress is still one of my favorites and I love relaxing on the WEDWAY People Mover (whatever it's called now).

 

[eeyore0062]

I was 9 years old when Walt Disney World opened. I was there when I was 11 when they still had the A-E tickets and my dad would sit down with the map the previous night and plot out how many tickets we had left, and what we could still ride, the highlight was riding 20,000 Leagues under the Sea... at least that was the highlight for my dad... none of the rest of us really liked it. I remember riding Dumbo and the horrible picture my parents took of me and my brother grinning with our oh so crooked teeth on the Skyway to Tomorrowland. My favorite ride was If You Had Wings. It was sponsered by Eastern Airlines and it didn't require any tickets to ride... so we went on it over and over... it is now Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin! and still has some of the same effects. Everything else in Tomorrowland was kind of Dull... Mission to Mars was a bust, and I really don't think that they have come up with anything really great for that area since then... I should hold judgement for Stitch, but I didn't like Alien Encounter, so I don't have high hopes! My 2nd favorite ride was Mr Toad's Wild Ride. We spent quite a lot of time on Tom Sawyers Island exploring the caves. We ate at the Adventureland Veranda... best counter service in WDW until they closed it. They were building Space Mountain when we were there, and my dad HAD to ride the Skyride so he could see over the ugly green fence (yes, they had them then, too) and take pictures. A habit I have picked up whenever Disney puts up a fence so I can't see. Just GOTTA have that picture over the fence (have a collection of them... RnR, Expedition Everest, The Magic Carpets of Aladdin), ... I remember the Tiki birds and how boring that was, and Pirates wasn't opening for another couple of weeks, which was KILLING me! We loved the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse (wish I could still climb those steps!) We stayed offsite... heck unless you were rich, everyone stayed offsite back then, and there were very few sit down dining experiences, so everyone ate off site, as well! Wow, how times have changed in the past 34 years! Mostly for the better, well... except maybe Mr Toad!

 

[dpuck1998]

The Skyway....it was removed cus someone fell out and died...

Why the skyway closed!!

http://www.snopes.com/disney/parks/skyway.htm

 

[MHG26]

Hah! Ok, well at least I know I didn't make it up if it was an Urban Legend . Glad no one died. However, what about the story of someone dying on the riverboat in MK? Something about a pole breaking and falling on a man's head.

 

[AKQJ10]

The Skyway closed on November 10, 1999, joining its counterpart in Disneyland which closed on the exact same day in 1994. The Disneyland Tokyo Skyway closed in November 1998.

One of Walt Disney World's original attractions, the Skyway was a D-Ticket, 5-minute long cable-car style ride that ran between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, passing over the Cinderella's Golden Carousel tent, and the Grand Prix Raceway. The ride was listed twice on park guide maps - it was listed as the Skyway to Tomorrowland from the Fantasyland terminal, and as the Skyway to Fantasyland from the Tomorrowland terminal. Guests boarded the Skyway from a loading area themed like a Swiss chalet in Fantasyland, and from an area west of Space Mountain in Tomorrowland. The ride was open year round until dusk, and closed temporarily during rain storms or high winds. The one-way ride required a "D-Ticket" and took an almost 90-degree turn as it passed near the Grand Prix Raceway. On November 10, 1999 , the Skyway closed for good, joining its Disneyland counterpart, which closed exactly five years earlier. The Skyway in Tokyo Disneyland closed in November, 1998.


So, why did it close? Well, despite rumors that it had closed for safety reasons after a guest fell from a ride car, the Skyway closed for more practical reasons. First, it was a very slow-loading and unprofitable attraction. Second, it was also extremely difficult to accommodate guests with disabilities, unless wheelchair-bound guests left their chair on the loading area and took a round-trip ride. However, reports that there was a death on the Skyway were in fact true, although it was not a guest who lost their life. In February of 1999, a part-time Cast Member, while not wearing any protective equipment or safety harness, was working in the loading area when he accidentally fell to his death.

 

[Sarahsal]

The death on the skyway isn't an urban legend, you just have the wrong skyway. At least one person died when the skyway broke at Six Flags near St. Louis. It was a while back, (when I still lived in the area) but I don't remember when exactly.

 

[rcraw45425]

We as a family watched old home videos this weekend and were so glad to see that DH had actually filmed almost all of Horizons. That was always one of our favorites. I really hated to see it close, not that I dislike Test Track, it's also a favorite of ours. I'm old enough to remember the Magic Shop on MainStreet and 20K leagues and Mr. Toad. I was lucky enough to go the year that WDW opened, remember we had to stay in Tampa because there were no hotels open yet. Mom was lucky enough to win a trip and I distinctly remember spending the whole vacation watching my Dad eait for the other shoe to drop. He was convinced we'd enjoy our trip but be told upon depature that we owed some phenominal amount of money! Poor thing, I don't think he go tto enjoy himself at all, so scared he'd have to come up with $$$ .

 

[MommytoPayton&Max]

For our first trip in the summer of 1998, it was still there and we rode it. I was quite disappointed to not find it there when we were back in 2003, because it was nice have a view from the top. I just dug out our old 1998 maps (how many other people do this, too!) and when you board in Tomorrowland, the ride was called Skyway to Fantasyland. When you boarded in Fantasyland, it was called Skyway to Tomorrowland. It made a direct trip from about the Tomorrowland arcade to the Barnstormer and then made about an 80 degree angle back to Fantasyland by the Haunted Mansion.

I don't know the reason for the change, but I could probably guess....liability. The little ski chairs you sat in didn't offer much protection and I could see people throwing out items or potentially falling out.

Added: Guess I need to get my hands on that trivia book....lol.

 

[goofyernmost]

We as a family watched old home videos this weekend and were so glad to see that DH had actually filmed almost all of Horizons. That was always one of our favorites. I really hated to see it close, not that I dislike Test Track, it's also a favorite of ours.

Test Track replaced World of Motion...Horizons was replaced by Mission Space. Not real important, just thought I would clear that up.