When did they take out the Skyway...

[Stitch Inside]

And why? Just curious.

 

[snappy]

Wasn't this the ride where several CM's were hurt?
I remember riding it, I guess in 78, not sure if it was still there in 1994, don't think so.

 

[Mimi Q]

It closed in 1999 after someone was killed on it.

 

[HollyJoy]

DH and I were in MK on our honeymoon in 1996 and we rode it then!

 

[SueM in MN]

Here's a link that tells the story about the skyway.
It closed for economic reasons - it was often temporarily closed because of weather (it couldn't operate during high winds or thunderstorms), for repairs (it was an old ride and you can't just go pick up Skyway repair parts at your local hardware store). It also carried relatively few people, was a slow loading ride that took a lot of CMs to operate.

 

[2belles'mom]

Thanks SueM, I had been wondering about that...

 

[eeyore0062]

The 2 loading areas are still there. One is next to Small World as you are walking to Liberty Square. I often wondered why they didn't use that area for a new attraction. The other is in Tomorrowland to the right of Space Mountain. There are restrooms located on the 1st floor and a staircase that is blocked off. I believe there is a stage that sits in front of it, now.

 

[Disney-Kim]

I know the one at Disneyland closed earlier than the Disneyworld one. I had the chance to ride both. So WDW had to close after 1992 when we rode it.
I heard that a CM was killed by the WDW one...parts fell or something...can't remember and the DL supposedly one of the reasons was liability. People throwing stuff out...someone got hurt or something. I remember reading on some sites about it.

 

[Mimi Q]

Here is part of the AP story from the 1999 WDW accident:

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – A part-time custodian at Walt Disney World died after he was swept from a platform by an elevated cable car and fell 40 feet to the ground.
Raymond Barlow was on a platform for the Skyway in Fantasyland when the cable-car ride was switched on in preparation for the park's opening Sunday morning. Whoever switched it on didn't know Barlow was standing in the path of the cars, Orange County sheriff's Deputy Robert Larson said.
Barlow, 65, grabbed the four-person gondola and struggled to pull himself inside. He let go when he was over a flower bed, snapping tree branches on the way down, park employees told investigators.
"He was looking for a place to fall. He didn't want to fall on the concrete, so he fell on the flower bed," Larson said.
Barlow, who was hired in September, died a short time later at Orlando Regional Medical Center.