Who misses 20K leagues????

[beachclubbasics]

Can you imagine how cool it would have been...

has they refurbed this ride as a Little Mermaid Ride? Then we could have had a true "Voyage of the Little Mermaid" rather than the puppet/movie clip show at MGM.

 

[mnagel55]

Part of me misses it for the nostalgia but also I miss it because this is exactly the type of ride that made Disney unique.

Any park can have a coaster or cars moving along a track. What sets Disney apart from the imitators is the unique details they put into the surroundings.

i.e. Without the Yeti and the loading platform EE is just another coaster...same with RockinRoller Coaster.

BUT....20k ....a submarine...underwater...now THAT is Disney!

I don't disagree about the comments re: brakdowns, refurb etc. etc., nevertheless, the imagineering that went into that ride was classic.

IMHO Disney needs to return to the things that made them stand out...not add more stuff that is just a variant on the same old thing.

OT: a few years back I made the same comment about Disney's shops. When I was a kid there was a magicians shop in the MK that contained UNIQUE items...now all the shops sell the same cr*p everywhere.


back to lurking

:lookaroun

 

[Scooter]

I recall riding this attraction twice...and my recollections aren't all that great.

Waitng in long lines on hot days for long times, the claustraphobic feeling inside the subs, the seats were always wet, the moldy smells once you got inside, the bad underwater effects, how cloudy the water seemed.

I imagine as a child this attraction was pretty awesome, but unfortunately, I never rode it until I was 38 years old and was jaded by it's pitfalls.

When an attraction/ride closes, you tend to only remember the good things about it, but for some reason all I remember about this attraction were the bad things.

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

That was my favorite ride at WDW, even though I rode it so much I figured out early on how to look past the water and scenery and figure out how things worked (I think that I believed that we were truly going underwater for the first 5 rides). As a little kid, one of my greatest fears was that the ride would break down and we would have to walk...or , worse yet, swim (don't forget, I was 8 or 9 then...lol) out of that ride...especailly if it broke down near the sea serpent!

Does anyone else miss this E-ticket?

I miss the ride, and I had the exact same fear!!! Don't forget, we were really deep and we didn't have scuba gear or anything! (I was 8 too!)

 

[Tramp]

I only rode the ride as an adult and, therefore, couldn't fully appreciate it as some of you did as kids. As an adult, I wasn't crazy about it. I didn't like the close quarters and the fake scenery was very amateurish and, truthfully, very un-Disneylike, even for the era. The loading was done in super slow motion which only made matters worse once you found out how lame the ride was and it seemed I always sat next to the one person in the park who hadn't showered in a month. :ROFLOL:

From a nostalgic point of view, I miss it cuz the concept was awesome and it's too bad it couldn't have been updated to a high-tech version. :wave:

 

[bjlc57]

what totally bothers me is..

people here who never rode the ride, chime in and say, it was over rated, too slow, poor loading, what not.. I had been riding the ride since it opened. and every time that I took the Disney survey as I was leaving the park, I told them that the ride needed to be reinstated. and EVERY TIME, the survey person told me, that this was the ONE RIDE everyone asked for.. and as for this crap that we were sold on, about it was too much to keep up, then why are two new versions of this ride going other places. and one of them opened right after they drained the WDW one..

this was one of the biggest mistakes ever at WDW to close this ride. and its defended by those who never rode the ride or what not..

 

[marni1971]

^ well said. The attraction wasn`t beyond saving, indeed it could and would have been done so - had the unknown managerial staff not pulled the wool over their bosses eyes. Until that time, 20k was to have reopened on the 16th of December, 2004. However, it was an attraction of it`s time. I can`t see it still being open today unless in a radically altered form. It was environmentally unfriendly and an absolute traffic flow nightmare. Though again good for their time, even by the 80`s the effects were showing their age - not that that seemed to matter upto a few years ago I agree.

I think DLC's subs were lucky they were purely mothballed, and with no ulterior motive. With the budget, resources, history, location and local/AP support, not to mention a new regieme, things have swung in it`s favour. They too could have ended up like WDW. Empty lagoon (though more than grass I suspect) and an empty showbuilding re-enforced purely to support the Autopia. Or more TDA staff!

The other issue regarding WDWs 20K is how much money it would have cost to have the attraction brought to 21st century standards. Ride capacity, cycle time, show time, load and unload system, ADA issues, lagoon issues, ride system and propulsion, staffing and service levels, the high maintainence problem not to mention the actual show itself could have cost a not-so-small fortune to fix. Tokyo DisneySea has shown you don`t need a lagoon full of water to make a convincing voyage under the sea. A hybrid Peter Pans Flight ride system and the dry for wet effects system can produce the same effect for less money (a system that was heavily researched for The Little Mermaid dark ride; hence all R&D is covered now) - though in todays increasingly tight expenditure climate neither one seemed of seems like an option for Orlando.

The worst thing? Ignoring the fact the attraction was closed for the wrong reasons? The fact we waited 10 years for a field. It`s no surprise looking at Horizons, Life, The Odyssey, Superstar Television and Imaginations buildings it`s happened. It`s the fact there is an open willingness to shutter areas of the parks in the interests of the parks, not the paying guest.

 

[yazmin182]

I totally miss it! In fact, I think they should of incorporated Nemo and friends and little mermaid, it would of been very popular again.

They are doing this at Disneyland, with Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finding_Nemo_Submarine_Voyage


As for the ride, I def. miss it! I rode it when i was really young in Disneyland and I remember it was one of my faves. If I was older, I probably would have noticed the faults of the ride but as a kid, i thought it was the greatest thing. I don't remember the fish looking fake but I"m sure you were right, I just remember it was so magical and an amazing experience when I was younger. I'm glad I got to ride it a few times before it was gone.

 

[wendysmom]

I also remember as a child never working out that it went into a ride building until I rode the skyway for the first time and saw the big warehouse type building (that looked less than impressive) that the subs entered as they passed through the waterfall. Also it was from the skyway that it became obvious the subs were actually on tracks, they stood out a mile.

But..but...but... it went into a ride building??!! I can't believe I didn't get that!:hammer: My whole family LOVED that ride, and the whole atmosphere of the place back then. I remember being distinctly disappointed when I did finally ride on a real sub...the thrill of 20 Leagues just wasn't there. No mermaids either, sigh.:lookaroun

 

[marni1971]

^ you`ll be more disappointed to know they wern`t subs either; just boats with windows below the water line.

Sigh... how innocent we were!

 

[Lee]

^ you`ll be more disappointed to know they wern`t subs either; just boats with windows below the water line.

Sigh... how innocent we were!

Not even boats! They wouldn't float for a second. :lol:

 

[Buried20KLeague]

Of course I miss it... Just take a look at my screen name. :wave:

I will say it was pretty cool to snorkel right above one of the subs out at Castaway Cay.. I was the only one out there, too. That sub is/was WAYYYY out in the snorkel area. I'm not even sure if it's there anymore.

But in a way, it was kinda fitting to see it there like that... In a "real" ocean, with fish swimming around it... There was a 5 foot long barracuda just resting on top of it. I must have floated there for 30 minutes just staring.

And let me say also... It was a little intimidating and spooky floating above the sub. Eerie to have something almost the size of a semi sunk right underneath you.

And I've already got our trip booked for June 22nd for Disneyland to take a spin on their fleet. Couldn't be more excited. :sohappy: