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Skyway Terminals
- Thread starter steve2wdw
- Start date
BwanaBob
Well-Known Member
The Fantasyland "terminal" is still there...just used for character greetings and other extras (at MNSSHParty, they gave out candy while fog billowed out and spec effect lighting lit up inside the old station)
The old transition (changed direction from tomorrowland to fantasyland) is now the storage for Barnstormer.
Anything in the old stations, or are the old buckets out in the scrapyard w/ the submarines?
BwanaBob
Well-Known Member
Another perfect example of an attraction just wasting away! (can you say 20,000 leagues?)
In my opinion, those are the areas to add some of these new attractions...but NOOOO...lets take something thats drawing guests and close it, strip it, and call it something else.
I guess if your Eisner, it costs less to retro an already existing ride track than to build an entirely new one (incl a ride building)
Testtrack321
Well-Known Member
So magicall all-knowing Lee, what is it then? 
Lee
Adventurer
It wasn't the ADA.
Nothing in the ADA requires an existing ride to be brought up to code. A new ride has to be compliant, not an old one.
Bottom line with the Skyway and 20K.....they were a pain in the a$$ to operate.
Low capacity...high maintenance...labor intensive...and CMs hated to work them.
In fact, CMs "sabotaged" the subs prior to an inspection by then company president Mike Ovitz, just so he would say "This ride is in awful shape! Close it down!"
Nothing in the ADA requires an existing ride to be brought up to code. A new ride has to be compliant, not an old one.
Bottom line with the Skyway and 20K.....they were a pain in the a$$ to operate.
Low capacity...high maintenance...labor intensive...and CMs hated to work them.
In fact, CMs "sabotaged" the subs prior to an inspection by then company president Mike Ovitz, just so he would say "This ride is in awful shape! Close it down!"
BSikor
Active Member
Disney has been using "low attendance and high cost of repair/ADA compliance" reason for closing the 2 attractions (20,000 & Skyway), but in actuality safety was the number one consern.
Skyway was closed shortly after a CM was killed as he fell to his death as he was cleaning the area around the skyway. A car hit him and he held on to it as long as he could. There was always consern over the lack of safety on the skyway. No seatbelts, no real easy way to assure safety of the guests. After the accident it was said to be the deciding move to close the attraction.
20,000 had been plauged with a long stretch of disrepair. It was very seldomly overhauled or seriously looked at. An old co-worker of mine worked on the last days of the attraction. There is a section of track that splits off in two directions. The one path to the left went back stage to take the out of service subs off the track, and the second on with the normal path of the ride. The subs escentailly a set of giant rings on the bottom of the subs which guided them along the metal tube shaped track that the rings went through (think thread going through the eye of a needle). As the rings went along the tube track, it took you through the coarse of the ride. One day the switch gate that determined if the sub would go backstage or on the rest of the ride, jammed. A problem that had supposedly happened frequently, but was able to be fixed before any serious problem. Not this day. With the switch stuck, and the crew unaware, the sub literally aproached the end of the line. The sub, comlete with guests of ages, came off track and began to sink uncontrolably. Guests had to be evacuated and the ride was closed for investigation. The gate problem as well as outdated ride system and communication was too expensive to correct, so the ride was closed. Again, Disney says it was because of the cost to make it ADA compliant, which is probably true as well.
Skyway was closed shortly after a CM was killed as he fell to his death as he was cleaning the area around the skyway. A car hit him and he held on to it as long as he could. There was always consern over the lack of safety on the skyway. No seatbelts, no real easy way to assure safety of the guests. After the accident it was said to be the deciding move to close the attraction.
20,000 had been plauged with a long stretch of disrepair. It was very seldomly overhauled or seriously looked at. An old co-worker of mine worked on the last days of the attraction. There is a section of track that splits off in two directions. The one path to the left went back stage to take the out of service subs off the track, and the second on with the normal path of the ride. The subs escentailly a set of giant rings on the bottom of the subs which guided them along the metal tube shaped track that the rings went through (think thread going through the eye of a needle). As the rings went along the tube track, it took you through the coarse of the ride. One day the switch gate that determined if the sub would go backstage or on the rest of the ride, jammed. A problem that had supposedly happened frequently, but was able to be fixed before any serious problem. Not this day. With the switch stuck, and the crew unaware, the sub literally aproached the end of the line. The sub, comlete with guests of ages, came off track and began to sink uncontrolably. Guests had to be evacuated and the ride was closed for investigation. The gate problem as well as outdated ride system and communication was too expensive to correct, so the ride was closed. Again, Disney says it was because of the cost to make it ADA compliant, which is probably true as well.
BwanaBob
Well-Known Member
OK...So when exactly did all of this happen? And wouldn't you think that by now, with all the updated systems, something couldn't be retro-fitted into the attraction?
...But of course, even if they could update it, now all you have is a dozen rusted-out pieces of garbage rotting out in the back lot-parted out for pieces.
Which brings me to my orig question...Why spend $$ and do an overhaul on something that isn't causing problems (ie: AE) instead of utilizing quality real estate??
:veryconfu
BwanaBob
Well-Known Member
By the way...I also heard the rumor locally that the state had something to do with closing down 20,000...
...problems with maintaining water quality?? (EPA)
And before someone says otherwise, yes I know that many of the attractions are tied in w/ the filtration unit by Splash, but 20,000 was built well before Splash. Did Disney run pipe from PoC and Splash for Q.C.?
...problems with maintaining water quality?? (EPA)
And before someone says otherwise, yes I know that many of the attractions are tied in w/ the filtration unit by Splash, but 20,000 was built well before Splash. Did Disney run pipe from PoC and Splash for Q.C.?
OliveMcFly
Well-Known Member
I remember very little about 20,000. I was scared of it and probably would be if it were still open. I do have video of it though. Are the divers and mermaids and all still in tact or did they remove those as well? Cause I know you go into a cave or something right? You wouldn't see that from the character area so they might be there? Probably not but just curious.