Impressive defunct experiences you've been able to enjoy

ParadoxPortals

ParadoxPortals

Active Member
Original Poster
OK, so rides and shows and restaurants get closed these days at a death rate only matched by the Bubonic Plague's devastation back in the day. So there's now a ton of experiences that you can't do any more at theme parks. Let's list here all of the most impressive things we got to do before they got shuttered. I'll go first:

1) Malestrom at EPCOT (weird ride...).
2) The Great Movie Ride at HS.
3) Seeing the cannon firing for Space Mountain Mission 2 at DLP.
4) Splash Mountain at MK.
5) Ellen's Energy Adventure (also a weird ride...).
6) The Backlot Tram Tour at WDS in Paris (in fact everything at WDS pre-DAW name-change).
7) Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom interactive park-wide card game (I have all cards minus most event ones and 8 of the booster pack exclusive Lighting rarity cards).
8) Camp Minnie-Mickey at AK (glad it's gone!).
9) Caribbean Beach pre-Riviera (let's be real the Rivera ruined that hotel in some ways).
10) Slightly more affordable prices for all things Disney Parks-related!

SIDENOTE: I'm a newer young parks fan so I haven't been able to see and do too much, which is why I wanna hear what all of you have been able to experience in your lives.
 
WorldExplorer

WorldExplorer

Well-Known Member
Impressive:

- Country Bears
- Splash Mountain
- Tom Sawyer Island
- Dinoland, USA - Including the leisurely experience of getting the dinosaur prizes before they became eBay hot ticket items
- Chinese and French acrobats in World Showcase

Less Impressive:

- Epcot Forever - Both versions!

Unimpressive:

- KiteTails
- HarmoniUs
- Enchantment - Again, both versions
- The Tiki Room Under New Management
- Everything related to the 50th anniversary
 
MickeyLuv'r

MickeyLuv'r

Well-Known Member
Impressive:

1. Getting a golden Fastpass. This was back in the days of paper FP, and it was only good for one attraction of our choosing. But it was gold colored. It was too neat to use. We got them because we were picked to answer a preshow question at CBJ.

2. Lost and Found. Often when you lose something at WDW, that's it. But a few times over the years we have gotten stuff back by visiting Lost and Found. Once, when we were boarding the monorail, a toddler of my extended family happened to drop one of the old light-up toys just as we were getting onto the train. It fell into the small gap between the platform and the train, went under the train. I didn't think we had any chance of getting it back, but thought I'd mention to one of the CM's that an item had gone down there. Well, the CM took down our name, and 2 days later it was at Lost and Found! And it still worked!

3. Another amazing thing- that no longer exists was the old Chapeau, and the CM's that would personalize Mickey ears. They used very old Singer sewing machines, and they were masters of the special cursive writing. Glad we got a few.
 
ParadoxPortals

ParadoxPortals

Active Member
Original Poster
WorldExplorer said:
Impressive:

- Country Bears
- Splash Mountain
- Tom Sawyer Island
- Dinoland, USA - Including the leisurely experience of getting the dinosaur prizes before they became eBay hot ticket items
- Chinese and French acrobats in World Showcase

Less Impressive:

- Epcot Forever - Both versions!

Unimpressive:

- KiteTails
- HarmoniUs
- Enchantment - Again, both versions
- The Tiki Room Under New Management
- Everything related to the 50th anniversary
Click to expand...
That reminds me I got to see OG Country Bears and IllumiNations before they went. You've got some nice ones here, especially the Dinoland prizes, I feel that haha
 
ParadoxPortals

ParadoxPortals

Active Member
Original Poster
TrainsOfDisney said:
The double decker bus at Epcot
American Idol Live
Comedy Warehouse
Citizens of Hollywood
Muppets at Liberty Square
World Showcase Players
Who wants to be a millionaire live
Click to expand...
Oh yeah I forgot about American Idol! I never saw it but remember always being really confused by the marquee outside because it seemed so un-Disney to me. I forgot the EPCOT Double Decker ever existed, that's a really good one
 
WaluigiTime

WaluigiTime

Well-Known Member
Impressive:
- Country Bears at both Land and World
- Country Bears Summer and Christmas
- Splash Mountain at both Land and World
- Muppet Vision DCA ( and Hollywood Studios is soon to join ;( )
- Pirates of the Caribbean Pre-Jack Sparrow
- Original Star Tours at Disneyland
- Original Submarine Voyage at Disneyland
- Mission to Mars at Disneyland
- Older versions of the Haunted Mansion Attic at Disneyland

Sort of impressive I guess
- Innoventions at Disneyland
- A Bugs Land

Not very impressive
- Rocket Rods
- Dino-rama

By the way I used to live in California and my biggest regret is not experiencing the horror of Super Star Limo
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
There are way to many to list but everything that was operating from February 1983 to September 2019 I experienced at one point of the other. I'm pretty sure I never missed any because I made it my quest to ride and see everything. Some were better than others but all had there high points.

Just one minor story... When I went to WDW with my wife and two young daughters (age 6 and 8) in 1983 we went to the Carousel of Progress when the attraction theme song was "Now Is The Best Time of Your life" and it truly was. It was the high point, emotionally, of my life. My memories of the entire trip are in my mind and easily accessed. I guess they have their own special file.

Forward ahead to 2002 and I was there solo. I had a job I hated and also had just gone through a divorce, my girls were grown, married and building their own families and I was alone. I sat there on one of the benches (yes, they had them then) watched families walk past and generally was completely engrossed in self pity. I moped for a little while and then decided that I had paid for a ticket and I could just sit on a park bench at home for free so I should make some effort to snap out of it. I got up and walked to CoP because I had such nice memories of it and singing the song all the way back home with my girls. At this time the theme song had changed back to "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow". I listened to that song and something unexpected happened. I started to believe it and immediately started to formulate the plan that I needed to deal with and improve my life. Before I got home I knew what I was going to try to do and was determined to do it. I did do it and after a lot of work accomplished my goal and have lived my life according to my plan since then and have never really fallen back into the funk I found myself in that day. Of course, nature didn't always follow my plan, but I've accepted the limitations brought on by age.

Somehow, that timing was flawless. The song "Now is the best time of your life" was true. That was indeed the best time of my existence and when I needed a kick in the derriere years later "Great big beautiful Tomorrow" gave me the hope that I could fix things. Pure coincidence, I know... but to me it was amazing.
 
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EagleScout610

EagleScout610

What a wisecracker
Premium Member
Impressive
- Splash Mountain
- Great Movie Ride
- 1971 Country Bears (2011 trip)
- 2012 Country Bears (2016 trip)
- (Soon to be defunct) MuppetVision 3D
- (Soon to be defunct) It's Tough to be a Bug
- (Soon to be defunct) Tom Sawyer's Island
- Animation class at DHS *Still have the nightmarish Donald I drew plus the instructor's piece I won*
- Maelstrom (90% sure we rode it in 2011. Will have to check the photos)

Blah -
- DinoRama
- Backlot Tour (I was 11 and didn't appreciate it, would put it in impressive today)
- Stitch's Great Escape (Was absolutely terrified)
- Voyage of the Little Mermaid 1.0 (I was 11 and thought I was "too cool")

BONUS - Getting to catch a glimpse of River Country from the ferry over to MK
 
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