Skyway

[ghostygreeter]

I'm not sure if this is old news or not, but there have been walls placed around Skyway in Fantasyland. for those of you who are frequent visitors know where I'm talking about.. however if you have been around recently before the walls were in place, they used it for Stroller Parking, and sometimes Snow White would make some appearances there.

 

[StevenT]

Yes, this just happened a week or so ago. They are finally refurbishing that area and doing something with it. Now only if they'll do something with the other skyride station.

By the way, nice avitar. Hidden Mickey in the clouds, I like it .

 

[ghostygreeter]

I took it about a year or so ago... Are you a fellow CM by chance?

Yes, this just happened a week or so ago. They are finally refurbishing that area and doing something with it. Now only if they'll do something with the other skyride station.

By the way, nice avitar. Hidden Mickey in the clouds, I like it .

 

[Timekeeper]

Disneyland



When did skyway close in Disneyland?

Why did it close?

It traveled through the Matterhorn mountain, what did they do with the huge hole in the mountain? Just plastered over it to completely cover up the hole, right?

Could skyway guests see anything from "inside" the mountain? Or was it just a short black tunnel?

Timekeeper

 

[BeachClubVillas]

I wish they would put the Skyway back in! When I saw this thread, I got excited for a split second before I read it. Oh, well. It was a good ride. I always thought there was a chance they would put it back in since they left the stations intact. Have they started working on the Tomorrowland station yet?

 

[TnkrBelPixiDust]

BeachClubVillas: I wish they would put the Skyway back in!

Same here! I was looking at my pics from the first time I went to Disney back in 1990 and there are pics of me on the Skyway... I wish they would bring it back! Does anyone know why the took it out in the first place??

 

[garyhoov]

Is there any chance they could ever re-build it? It seems like something I heard/read indicated they wouldn't re-do it, but I can't remember. Does anyone remember any official statements?

 

[OnWithTheShow]

Last time I checked there wasn't a Matterhorn in WDW.

 

[tigger248]

I'm not sure when the skyway closed but it was sometime between my visit in 1997 and my visit in 2000. From what I heard it was closed due to safety issues because the doors could easily be opened midflight. I heard stories that some lesser intelligent life forms may have opened the doors and tried to jump out. I do miss them though, it was neat to get a birds eye view of fantasyland. It also was a great place to get some pics of the back of the castle.

In Disneyland the skyway did go through the matterhorn. I'm not sure if the holes are still there though because the last time I went to Disneyland was 1991 and the skyway was still there. It was really neat because you could see down into the mountain and some of the coaster track (we used to like watching for bobsleds). I think you could also see the abominable snowman but I could be wrong about that (you could certainly hear him!)

 

[lnsemsf]

When did skyway close in Disneyland?

Why did it close?

It traveled through the Matterhorn mountain, what did they do with the huge hole in the mountain? Just plastered over it to completely cover up the hole, right?

Could skyway guests see anything from "inside" the mountain? Or was it just a short black tunnel?

Timekeeper

Skyway closed Nov 9th 1994. From what I've seen they are trying to cover the hole through the mountain a little bit but it's still definitly there. You can see the differences here:

- Old

- Current

If you had to ask me why it closed, I'd say budget issues as usual. I rode through it probably back in 1988 so I have only vague memories. I do remember seeing the buckets from the ride at one point when I looked up, so I assume you could see the cars going through the mountain fairly well from the air. Hope that info helps.

 

[testtracker]

A few months after skyway closed, I asked a CM about it and he said that sombody working on it was seriously injured and it became a safety hazard. I also know that there were a lot of people throwing things and spittting off it.
-I have no idea how true this is.

 

[StevenT]

I took it about a year or so ago... Are you a fellow CM by chance?

No, I'm not a CM, just a Disney Enthusiast

 

[joshl33]

Skyway Injury

Actually it was a maintenance person cleaning right as the park was opening. His arm got stuck and he was pulled up and out of the station. He could not hold on and fell to his death in front of guests.

 

[MissM]

The skyway closed in WDW in 1999. A CM was injured and there were problems with guests throwing things over, and there were problems with it frequently needing to stop because of thunderstorms/high winds.

In Feb 1999 the Skyway was in the news when a part-time Disney employee who had been working in the loading area of the ride fell to his death. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration later fined Walt Disney World $4,500 for what it termed a "serious" violation of safety standards. OSHA said the employee lacked protective equipment, such as a safety harness. Two days later, Disney installed safety signs and enhanced safety procedures around the Skyway, a Disney spokesman said at the time. The ride's closing is not a result of any concerns about its safety. However in keeping with a general wish to remove older attractions, and replace them with updated ones the Skyway was finally closed on 10th November 1999, joining it's Californian cousin at Disneyland in Anaheim, which closed in 1994, and the Disneyland Tokyo Skyway which was closed in November 1998.

For info on the Disneyland problems and closure, click here


Since the closure at WDW, the Fantasyland station has been mainly stroller parking while the Tomorrowland one remained completely empty (though they've kept the waterfall going.) You pass it on TTA. I've heard that the revamp to the Fantasyland one are in connection with the changes in it's a small world which will be flipping the entrence and exits as well as providing a new stroller area to limit the horrible congestion you get between it and Peter Pan. I'm not sure exactly how or what they're doing, but that's what I've read.
-m

edit: Here's a photo of the Tomorrowland station in it's very sadly empty state

 

[DSpear456]

They are not removing the skyway building as of right now. They are just doing work on the concrete near the entrance and the wall. I talked to the contractor late the other night. Also they were in the process of taking the track down in the 20K lagoon with a huge jackhammer machine.

 

[bgraham34]

Yeah my hopes were raised but oh well.

 

[M:SpilotISTC12]

Were in Tomorrowland is it. I think its next to Space Mountain am I correct or not because I dont remember seeing it last year. Thanks.
Well now that we have better techology we should make better cabins that dont opening or anything like that. If we made better cabins and cabins with windows (instead of no windows) then no body can get hurt either from jumping out or throwing items out the window and hitting someone.

 

[MissM]

Were in Tomorrowland is it. I think its next to Space Mountain am I correct or not because I dont remember seeing it last year. Thanks.

If you look at the pic I posted, just to the left is Space Mountain. The station was above the waterfall that is still running. If it helps at all, there are restrooms on the ground floor of the old skyway building, off to the side, facing towards the back of the stage (that they're apparently either renovating or tearing down). The rest of the building is pretty empty.
-m

 

[DarkMeasures]

Yeah I miss the skyway. But Blizzard Beach still has a working Ski Lift. It is the closest thing to the skyway in all of WDW.

 

[colav10]

Mouseplanet is reporting that:

Fantasyland Skyway building area - will go under rehab from July 11 - September 30. While the building itself will not be worked on, the grounds in front will be completely redone. The waterfall, bridge and pond will be removed and replaced with a meet-and-greet for Snow White and a new stroller parking area for "it's a small world."