20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

[figmagination]

I was reading about 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and I never read about why it closed. Can someone tell me why it closed or some factors leading to it being closed?

[btharvey]

One factor would be accessibility ... steps/stairs keep lots of people from experiencing the ride.

[Melanie]

Not sure if I'm remembering correctly, but I believe there was pressure on the utilidors below from the attraction?

[Ian]

There are literally a dozen stories floating around about why it was closed, but I think at the end of the day it was ultimately about money.

They had shut it down for a refurb and once they dug into it and saw what needed to be done (potentially relating to the accessiblity issue that btharvey mentioned as well as the utilidor issue Mel referenced) they realized it was going to cost a small fortune.

They hemmed and hawed and went back and forth on whether or not to spend the money and ended up dragging their feet for nearly a year over which time things actually got much worse. At the end of it all, they just decided the attraction wasn't worth saving and ended up letting it sit vacant for nearly a decade.

One of the more shameful periods in WDW management history if you ask me ... Disneyland has found a way to keep their sub ride up and running and even to plus it big time by converting it to a Nemo attraction. Shame WDW couldn't follow their lead instead of taking the easy way out yet again.

[Stu29573]

The loss of 20,000 was one of the biggest slaps to to the guest experience ever. As Ian said, it was a money issue. Instead of fixing the attraction they went cheap and let it rot. In the end they paved over it and built a playground. It was a horrid end to one of Walt's most beloved attractions (yes, I know he never saw the WDW version, but he often bragged about his Disneyland fleet being the 8th largest sub fleet in the world...and despite the differences in the subs, the attractions were essentally the same) We can only hope that a lesson was learned....

[Disney-4-Me]

We used to go to Disney World in the middle of the summer. The 20,000 leagues queue was always long and hot, the trip in the sub was hot and sometimes pretty stinky. But the whole experience was magical! We loved it and still miss it!:(

I always assumed that another part of the issue with closing, besides accessibility, was the relatively small amount of people per load.

[Victor Kelly]

Cost will always be a determining factor for anything. What I can remember is that the ride took forever to load and unload, the lines were miserably long and hot. Upkeep was a huge pain because everything needed to be repainted every few years. Any metal would also corrode.

In the end the attraction was worn out, dated as far as technology, WDW decided to scrap the ride. It sat neglected for so many years still filled with water that is was a shame to see and not be able to ride.

[figmagination]

Thanks! You all have been a big help. So basically money? Hmm, sounds like they're just letting space sit there now. I wish they'd do something with the lagoon, seeing as that 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea won't come back. Couldn't they drain it and put something else there?

[joonyer]

Thanks! You all have been a big help. So basically money? Hmm, sounds like they're just letting space sit there now. I wish they'd do something with the lagoon, seeing as that 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea won't come back. Couldn't they drain it and put something else there?

The old 20K lagoon site has long been filled in and paved over. Once filled, it became the site of a playground called Pooh's Playful Spot (in addition to Ariel's Grotto meet & greet). I love Pooh, but that was a sorry excuse for a former E ticket Attraction). Pooh's Playful Spot was closed last year to make room for the Fantasyland expansion under construction now, so something else, (hopefully worthy of an "E" ticket) is going to be put there. I think it will either be the site of the Little Mermaid attraction or the Seven Dwarf's mine train ride.

[figmagination]

Oh yeah! I forgot all about the Pooh thing there! Thanks