Why was the SkyRide taken out of Magic Kingdom?

[wdwlover88]

I heard a few years back someone fell out of one of them and hit the cement and died instantly so they immediatley took them out. Is that true?

 

[nrose101]

I haven't heard that one, I heard cause it wasn't used any more, kids used to spit off it, and also it needed repair and it wasn't worth it.

This is what I can remember from my tour guide on the Keys to the Kingdom Tour.

 

[B'rer Karen]

While a cast member was killed shortly before the ride was closed and removed, the decision had already been made to remove the ride prior to the unfortunate accident. I don't know why the decision was made in the first place, but it had been removed from DL a few years before as well.

 

[tebookie]

Too many people to run the attraction, maintenance, and probably insurance costs.

My guess insurance cost was a major one.

I for one miss this ride. I enjoyed riding above fantasy land.

 

[egoodner]

While these sound like legitimate reasons for taking the ride off-line, I heard in the Keys to the Kingdom tour another reason.

When guests rode on the skyway, they were able to view some of the secrets behind the magic (such as the large building that actually houses the majority of the Haunted Mansion).

Also, thunderstorms constantly kept the skyway shut, and the gondolas were not totally safe for those in the middle of Fantasyland during lightning.

 

[timbud1]

I was entering Six Flags St. Louis when I was around 8 and got there just in time to see lightning hit , a car fall, one left dangling, and many, many people left in limbo. They closed the park and I watched on tv as a mother handed her infant to a rescue worker hanging from a helicopter ladder many HOURS later.

NEVER NEVER NEVER will I or anyone with me get on one of those things. So glad to see in May that my children wouldn't be asking about it!!!!!

 

[wdwguide]

Originally posted by egoodner
While these sound like legitimate reasons for taking the ride off-line, I heard in the Keys to the Kingdom tour another reason.

When guests rode on the skyway, they were able to view some of the secrets behind the magic (such as the large building that actually houses the majority of the Haunted Mansion).

Fascinating what stories these CMs cook up nowadays. After almost 30 years they all of the sudden realize that seeing backstage areas spoils the magic... while the monorails happily continue to roll over resort and park service areas, guests are routed through backstage areas following Fantasmic almost nightly, and lofty attractions such as the Astro Orbiter continue to operate.
Then of course there was that guy called Walt Disney who once had that little family TV show where he liked to go behind the scenes, showing that those really aren't ghosts and pirates, but just a bunch of machines. That that isn't a real duck, but just a bunch of paint on celluloid, voiced by a regular guy who distorts his face to make those funny sounds....

The Skyway closed because it had a poor capacity and was among the most poorly reviewed attractions in the park, not justifying the investments that would have been necessary to upgrade its safety features and to make it more easily accessible to mobility impaired guests. And maybe, just maybe, plans since abadoned for the 20,000 Leagues lagoon and Space Mountain also contributed.

 

[CarnotaurDad]

Call me skeptical, but I don't think insurance would be a reason.....

There are many amusement parks, Cedar Point for one, that operate a skyride and could easily close it if insurance were a major factor.....

There's something else at play at maybe wdwguide has it:

"And maybe, just maybe, plans since abadoned for the 20,000 Leagues lagoon and Space Mountain also contributed."

 

[PattnFmly]

It was definitely poor capacity and a very very slow line to get through, but I am glad I got to ride it way back when. I have photos I took from the Skyway at dusk of Main St and Fantasyland all lit up and festive and they are absolutely beautiful! I can relive the Skyway anytime I want through them.

 

[Maridw]

I remember one time years ago at DL that my sister, her hubby, our cousin & myself rode the Skyway from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland and just after coming out of the Matterhorn, it broke down. We were up there for almost 30 minutes. I still have the pics I took while up there. At one point we could hear this clicking noise and it kept getting closer. We finally saw what was making it. It was the 7 Dwarfs walking to Fantasyland from near Main Street. We heard them long before we saw them.

That is something I will never forget. It was really great in a way. We could sit and watch the people below and on the rides. We could almost see down Main Street. We watched the people on the Autopia and in the Teacups, on Dumbo and the Carousel.

It was a different type of magic for me. I was a senior in high school and my sister was 6 yrs older. We had never really been close and still aren't now, but that day was different. The whole day was magical in many ways.

When my dh & I went to DL in 1999, they had a skyway car in a shop in Tomorrowland. It was neat to see, but sad to think it was no longer around. When we went to WDW in 95 that was one ride my DD wanted to ride, so my mom & I took her to Tomorrowland and rode to Fantasyland and then met the rest of our group in Toontown. But my mom knew it was important for my dd to ride it as it was the only thing she had specifically asked to ride.

 

[CalGal]

The first story I heard regarding the closing of the ride in DL had to do with accessibility for the handicap. With changing laws, a specific quota of rides had to be wheel chair accessible. Since it was a 1-way, the disabled weren't able to get out of their chair. I don't know how much truth there is to that, but my guess is that there were actually a combination of reasons. Some folks were known to try to do very un-Disneylike things up in the air. When he was 3, it beat Dumbo as my son's fave and I still miss it.

 

[WDWAurora]

I agree that this was not the reason that the skyway closed. The decision had been made prior to it, but a worker did die on the ride. My grandparents were there that day. It made the news, etc. He was sweeping off the platform and the ride was turned on. It was then deemed unsafe working conditions, as the platform he was sweeping was too narrow or something like that. The skyway cab hit him and he had a rough landing in Fantasyland, below that entrance. Fantasyland (or that area) was closed the majority of the day as they checked the scene, investigated, etc. I'll try to ask them for more details if I don't forget between now and then!