Why were these rides removed from the parks

[haley123]

20K was closed because it was to expensive to maintain. Not sure about the rest of the rides though.

 

[La2kw]

Many thanks to La2kw for the pics of the Disneyland subs. It is cool to see, although I agree w/ a PP, they don't seem quite as magical?-looking as the originals -- although I would dearly love to be able to take my own children for a ride on them in WDW!

Glad you liked them. The Disneyland subs are the originals. The WDW subs were based on the Nautilus and were built after the Disneyland subs. The Disneyland subs used to be gray, but were repainted yellow some time ago. I think taking a ride in a "Yellow Submarine" is pretty cool.

 

[La2kw]

icarus- Always keep in mind that the parks are a business and they are expected to make profits. There were several reasons the subs closed in Disneyland- and they all became a problem at about the same time...

First, new laws regarding pollution emisions came into effect. The subs were deisel powered and had no modern pollutant reduction systems. Plus they were costly to operate and there was no way to retrofit other cleaner power plants.

Probably the biggest factor though was a law that was, I think from Orange County, that when attractions underwent a major rehab, the new version had to comply with then recent laws regarding equal access for persons with disabilities. There was no way a wheel chair was going down the steps of the subs, and at the time, no one wanted to commit to making an investment of the needed magnitude to make the attraction compliant with all the new ordinances. Budgets for park attractions were being slashed, even for those already under construction. It was more important that the top exec to make an absurd bonus.

I do not know why the subs in WDW were closed, but I would guess the contributing factors were similar to the ones in DL.

These problems have been addressed with Disneyland's subs. The subs are now electric and there is an alternate experience for disabled guests. WDW could have done the same thing if they were willing to spend the money.

 

[Got Quattro?]

Not only was that remark not funny, it was also incorrect, on both counts. .

It wasnt supposed to be funny...it was the truth....as i said not in a disney park. But 2 seperate skyway typr rides had cable failuirs in the 90's.

And the 20,000 boats leaked and needed major rehab.....the cost was too much and that and other factors added to their closure.

 

[GoofyasGoofy]

One of my favorite rides at WDW when I was a kid was the swan boat ride in the moat around Cinderella's Castle. A CM told me that they shut it down, along with the skyride because some guests would throw trash out the sides and trash the moat or anyone under their car in the Skyway to tomorrowland.

 

[Buzz Litebeer]

Does anyone know why the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Ride and the Sky Ride (don't know what Disney called them) were taken down? I have been wondering about the 20,000 . . . ride for years, but since looking at a recent thread showing older images of Walt Disney World, I noticed that there was a Sky Ride as well. It seems to me that the Sky Ride would still be pretty popular, as many parks still have these in service, and our kids love them. The 20,000 . . . ride looks like it was pretty awesome as well. It seems like it may have been pretty hot inside the sub at times, but definitely a interesting ride.

I also remember when the Mr Toad ride was around, and then taken down, people complained about it. I've also heard similar rumors about the Small World ride, almost being dismantled, with park visitors expressing their concern with this as well.

Just wondering if anyone knows what the reason was to dismantle those rides?

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was closed in 1994 because the attraction was too expensive to operate and maintain properly.

The Skyway was closed in 1999 following the death of maintenance worker Raymond Barlow in February of that year (Disneyland's Skyway had closed in 1994 when critical safety upgrades were deemed too expensive. It bears mentioning that a guest fell from Disneyland's Skyway earlier that year as well). WDW was found to be in violation of federal safety codes and fined close to $5,000 by OSHA.

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was closed in 1998 to make room for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

There are no plans whatsoever to close "it's a small world" at WDW. The Disneyland version is slated to undergo a multi-million dollar renovation next year.

 

[Buzz Litebeer]

These problems have been addressed with Disneyland's subs. The subs are now electric and there is an alternate experience for disabled guests. WDW could have done the same thing if they were willing to spend the money.

Well, the problem was that by the time John Lassiter was named head of WDI and ordered the old Disneyland Subs to get overhauled and given the Finding Nemo overlay, WDW's Sub Lagoon had long been removed and filled in. If it had remained an empty lagoon, WDW might have traded Captain Nemo for Finding Nemo.

 

[stellablue]

Cool website-thanks!!

Try here:

http://waltdatedworld.bravepages.com/id26.htm

 

[minnie61650]

...... It did have to be shut down when it was exceptionally windy but it was lawyered out of existence due to the "possible" legal liabilities of having an over head ride with no containment precautions. They figured it was just a matter of time before someone fell from it and headed for Disney's pockets. A CM was killed while working on it, maintenance, if I remember, but that was just a coincidence and only served to show how easily that could happen. So in the end it was closed....

.

I agree. I think the bean counters were very concered more about safety and liability that the sky ride incurred.

These examples may have played a part in why Disney dismantled the skyway.:

Saturday, February 5, 1978 - At Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park in Valencia, California, a man was killed after a gondola car of the Skybucket ride slipped from its cable and plunged 50 feet to the ground. The man's wife was also seriously injured in the crash.

Tuesday, July 26, 1978 - Three people were killed at Six Flags Mid-America (St. Louis) theme park in Eureka, Missouri after their gondola car fell from the park's Skyway ride. Another person, also riding in the car, was seriously injured. The ride was shut down immediately, leaving nearly 100 stranded in the 27 remaining cars, some of which had stopped at heights of up to 200 feet. Firefighters were called to the park to rescue the occupants of those cars. A park spokesman claimed that the car simply "dropped off" its cable.

Saturday, October 21, 1979 - On the Swiss Sky Ride at the Texas State Fair, two gondola cars dropped 85 feet from the ride's cable to the ground. One man was killed, a 20-year-old woman was left a quadriplegic, and 17 other riders were injured. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission concluded that the ride's operators knew of defects in the ride, but failed to report them. The woman won a $3.1 million settlement on the basis that the ride had been operated negligently in high winds.

Just my 2 cents

 

[minnie61650]

When did 20k close + When will the new attraction open = WAY TOO LONG!

I read a Jim Hill article ( actually EUROPACL posted the link on another Forum-Thanks EUROPACL.) saying there is a good chance that the MK will get a LMM ride between 2012 and 2015.

I am really hoping that the MK does follow through and add the Little Mermaid attraction..
I suggested to an Imagineer back in the late 80's that the 20,000 Leagues ride should be replaced with something from the LMM. They did add Ariel's Grotto which gave me hope that an actual LMM attraction might be added in the future. I had almost given up hope until I just read the Jim Hill article.

Here is a post about my conversation with the Imagineers.
From this thread Post #25:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1131835&page=2

When my family was visiting Disney in 1987 or 1988 my sis and I decided to go see the EWP and left the children with our DH's. A young man sat on the bus beside me and said he was an Imagineer and asked if I was enjoying Disney and if I had any Suggestions. He said they were going to close 20,000
Leagues and asked what I thought they could put in there. My suggestion was something with Little Mermaid since she was popular at the time. (Ariel's Grotto is there now.) I also told the Imagineer that I thought the Dumbo ride needed more Elephants (they only had 10 at the time and now they have 16) I also told him they should add another ride very similar to Dumbo but not Dumbo in another land (Aladdin's Magic Carpet) so they could distribute the young children out in the park more.
I have no idea if he passed on my ideas or if another CM suggested similar ideas, but I always smile when I go to the MK and see these attractions. I say to myself "Yes, maybe I should/could have been an Imagineer. It is fun to see ones ideas at the parks even if those ideas were not mine alone.

Here is the link from the Jim Hill article:

http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_h...ecial-how-suite-it-is-edition-of-why-for.aspx

I am still hoping the MK gets a LMM ride.

 

[jfulcer]

I don't have any photos of how it looks now, but on a similar note, this is a great website that has images of almost every coaster in the world, and many of them during construction. The data base is clumsy to use, but if you are a coaster fan, the site is worth the time.

http://www.rcdb.com/ig2389.htm

I used to work with the guy that runs this. He made immense amounts of money and ended up buying his parents house when they retired and moved south. He was a rather strange individual, but knew what he was doing...

 

[madbrad76]

Speaking of the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Ride, I noticed an odd looking object while using MSN's Live Search Maps. It is sitting in the back of the “Legendary Years” main building. This picture here isn't as good as using the "Bird's Eye View", but I couldn't save the picture using it.

This link here might provide a better view http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=nqrgfs863v6y&style=o&lvl=2&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=17485751&encType=1. I'm not that familiar with the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Ride at MK, but from looking at this picture it appears to look like a submarine of some sort. Maybe someone might have some additional info.

 

[DarkwingDuck1979]

That's not a 20,000 Leagues sub. What it actually is, however, I haven't a clue.

 

[Buzz Litebeer]

These examples may have played a part in why Disney dismantled the skyway...

The last example you cited was in 1979. Disneyland closed their skyway fifteen years later.

 

[Buzz Litebeer]

I also remember when the Mr Toad ride was around, and then taken down, people complained about it.

I should point out that most of the protests came about as a result of the SaveToad.com website.

 

[kimmar067]

Actually the Skyway was very safe and the accidents had nothing to do with the closures. The only accidents on the Skyway happened either due to people being where they shouldn't be or by someone working at circumventing the safety systems.

I can only think of two accidents on the Skyways. One at Disneyland where somebody climbed out of the bucket and fell into a tree. It was impossible to fall out of the buckets, he had to climb which he later admitted to doing. The second was at the Magic Kingdom when a CM was cleaning the platform inside of a CM only area and got knocked out when somebody started the ride unexpectedly....

...hmmmm, a few years ago my mom's cousin's son had worked at WDW, and he told us that someone DID fall out of one of the buckets there, and that WAS why it was closed.... ... 's a shame either way.....

 

[goofyernmost]

Well, the problem was that by the time John Lassiter was named head of WDI and ordered the old Disneyland Subs to get overhauled and given the Finding Nemo overlay, WDW's Sub Lagoon had long been removed and filled in. If it had remained an empty lagoon, WDW might have traded Captain Nemo for Finding Nemo.

I have a slightly different opinion about that. The lagoon was very recently filled in compared to the time it would have taken to design the DL Nemo ride, draw the plans, get final approval, have the subs built and so on. I think that after 8 or 9 years the people with power decided that if they don't fill in the lagoon the east coasters would be screaming for an updated sub ride themselves. The final destruction of 20K happened, if I remember correctly, just before the new Nemo ride was announced at DL.

I absolutely believe that the timing of the Pooh (playground) was totally deliberate.

 

[Buzz Litebeer]

I have a slightly different opinion about that. The lagoon was very recently filled in compared to the time it would have taken to design the DL Nemo ride, draw the plans, get final approval, have the subs built and so on. I think that after 8 or 9 years the people with power decided that if they don't fill in the lagoon the east coasters would be screaming for an updated sub ride themselves. The final destruction of 20K happened, if I remember correctly, just before the new Nemo ride was announced at DL.

I absolutely believe that the timing of the Pooh (playground) was totally deliberate.

So they began planning the "Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage" 8 or 9 years ago (1998 or 1999)? Nice trick, considering the movie "Finding Nemo" wasn't released until May 30, 2003.

 

[minnie61650]

The last example you cited was in 1979. Disneyland closed their skyway fifteen years later.

The examples I listed were just a few sky way type ride accidents that occured in the the late 1970's thus the examples. Those types of accidents did not stop in 1979 in fact a more recent one happened in 2003:

Man falls from Scenic Skyway at Knoebels
(Friday, June 13, 2003) - A man was seriously injured in a 30-foot-fall from the Scenic Skyway chairlift ride at Knoebels Amusement Park in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. The man was a member of a group home for mentally disabled people and was riding alone. He was airlifted to a local hospital and is expected to recover.
The ride opened just 2 weeks ago. Inspectors found no problems with the ride.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Shorty82]

...hmmmm, a few years ago my mom's cousin's son had worked at WDW, and he told us that someone DID fall out of one of the buckets there, and that WAS why it was closed.... ... 's a shame either way.....

Nobody has ever fallen from a bucket in WDW, it would have made headlines if someone did. The Skyway was closed due to a combination of operating costs, repair expenses, and lack of an easy was to evacuate the ride. I wouldn't consider 3rd hand information real accurate. If someone fell from a bucket in WDW and the ride was shut down why was DL's shut down a few years before WDW's? My uncle used to be an engineer in the Magic Kingdom and worked with the Skyway and evacuation was a big part of the reason he told me it was shut down.

I know of only two instances where someone got injured on a Disney Skyway, one at Disneyland and the other at Walt Disney World.

A person fell out of a bucket at DL years before the ride was shut down and landed in a tree. He admitted to climbing out intentially. There was no way to fall accidently from a bucket.

A custodian was killed at WDW a few years before it's skyway was shut down but he was in the Tomorrowland Station in a cast only area at the time when the ride started up unexpectedly and he was knocked from the platform and fell to his death.

EDIT: I was mistaken on the time frames.

The man jumped from the DL Skyway in April of 1994 and the Skyway was shut down in November of that year.

From Snopes:

The unblemished safety record of the Skyway (the 1994 "accident" was the first in the 38-year history of the ride), the obvious dubiousness of Charles' claim, and the relatively small amount of damages requested in his lawsuit all made this single incident extremely improbable as the reason for the Skyway's closure on 9 November 1994. The Skyway was not dismantled out of a fear of similar incidents, but for a variety of economic factors, including the attraction's age and carrying capacity, staffing requirements, maintenance costs, and the expense required to upgrade the Skyway to conform to newer safety and access standards.

The WDW was killed in Feburary of 1999 and the Skyway was shut down in November of that year. The same reasons why the DL Skyway was shut down are why WDW's did. The shutdowns had nothing to do with any deaths or injuries.