Ever wonder the real reason for loosing 20K?

Originally Posted By oc_dean

A few years ago an LP poster created an extensive post on the real reason why we lost the "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" attraction.

It's not a story easily found anywhere on the net .. but someone just brought it up and provide a link to it .. and I thought I'd place it here in the WDW section.

Interesting read: <a href="http://www.crazedfanboy.com/spotlight/20k.html" target="_blank">http://www.crazedfanboy.com/sp...20k.html</a>

 

Originally Posted By oc_dean

You know something ...
shenanigans is something that is going to infiltrate EVERY company! Even our beloved Walt Disney Co.

Had deliberate sabotage never entered the minds of OPS department of the Magic Kingdom park ...... the very least they could have done was dry docked each sub, so that they didn't deteriorate any further just sitting in the water.

It closed in 1994. Yet, everything was left basically alone .. until the entire ride was leveled exactly 10 years later - 2004.

Disneyland's closed in 1998.
The decision to reinvigorate it into "Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage" came in 2004/5 .. with it sitting unattended a good chunk of time ... similar to WDW's.

With a similar amount of deterioration ... it probably would have cost about the same .. perhaps a bit more .. to renovate 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.

I can almost be certain it would have been "Finding Nemo 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea".

We found out the renovation to DL's wasn't easy. We got to witness it's rebirth .. but they did it!

And while 20K sat awfully close to the underground "Utility Door" infrastructure .. I'm sure these so called leaks weren't so terrible. Otherwise .. why did the lagoon remain filled with water right up to it's final demise in 2004?

 

Originally Posted By ChiMike

Dean,

While the DL subs sat in water from 1998 on. The WDW subs with everything in the outside lagoon in 1995. The sets in the showbuilding remained until 2004.

The closing, neglect, and missed opportunity (as you point out) of this attraction were handled SO badly and SO incompetently that it would make a TLM installation all the more redeeming.

 

Originally Posted By mrkthompsn

The real reason is because Captain Nemo sunk the sub. Didn't you see the movie??

 

Originally Posted By DlandDug

An interesting read, indeed. I do wish the author would use exclamation points a bit more sparingly. Also, the Disneyland (not "Disney Land") attraction was the Submarine Voyage, not "Submarine Voyages."

Finally, I do take exception to two observations:
"...(when Walt Disney World opened in 1971, the combined total of twenty seven submarines between this park and Disneyland gave Uncle Walt the fifth largest submarine fleet in the world)..." Walt Disney had been dead for nearly six years when the 20K attraction opened. According to Disneyland publicists, the fleet in Anaheim alone gave "Uncle Walt" the fifth largest submarine fleet in the world.

"...but remember, this was a time when the Mountain rides (Space, Splash, and Big Thunder) and even the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' were still just gleams in Uncle Walt’s eye." Half right. Only Pirates and Space Mountain were, indeed, gleams in Uncle Walt's eye.

 

Originally Posted By ChiMike

^ I agree Dug, it was the equivalent to a message board post. Basically repeated Jim's information in regards to 20K.

Dean, I meant to say above that they were removed in 1995. A lot of us were still a little naive and did not fully understand the black and white nature of the changes that were occuring.

 

Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom

After walking around Fantacyland at WDW today I have come to the conclusion that by removing 20K from Fantacyland it completely altered the appearance of that area. It just seems that something is missing. Althought I appreciate having additional land mass for people ( I think the 20K lagoon created a smaller area for people to walk around Fantacyland ). Today I noticed that Poo's Playfun Spot was basically a ghost town even with huge crowds in the Magic Kingdom today.

 

Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey

<<Today I noticed that Poo's Playfun Spot was basically a ghost town even with huge crowds in the Magic Kingdom today.>>

That's because it's crap.

 

Originally Posted By leobloom

^Nikki that's not like you at all!

(But what you said is the truth, so kudos to you for that)

 

Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey

^^^Baby, I'm full of surprises.

 

Originally Posted By oc_dean

I'm sure the area amounts up to this:
<a href="http://www.gummylump.com/files/product/a_2903.creative-playthings-avenger.gif" target="_blank">http://www.gummylump.com/files...nger.gif</a>

 

Originally Posted By tonyanton

there isn't that much to do!

 

Originally Posted By A Happy Haunt

^^^It is a basic corral for bratty kids!!

Fine with me!! I did get a cute picture of my kids sitting in Pooh's house..

 

Originally Posted By bobbelee9

Sorry, even at WDW, kids need a chance to just be kids. They spend the day rushing from ride to ride, everybody gets stressed. Let them run around Pooh for a half hour to let off steam. Back in 2001, we had to drive to WDW, me, 2 daughters and 2 granddaughers. The youngest was just learning to walk, she hated being strapped in a car seat for the 21 hour drive.

 

Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey

^^^^^But does it have to be so BIG? It's huge, and even though it takes up all that space, there's not a whole lot of substance to it.

 

Originally Posted By bobbelee9

^^^True.

 

Originally Posted By MPierce

>> Sorry, even at WDW, kids need a chance to just be kids. They spend the day rushing from ride to ride, everybody gets stressed. Let them run around Pooh for a half hour to let off steam. Back in 2001, we had to drive to WDW, me, 2 daughters and 2 granddaughers. The youngest was just learning to walk, she hated being strapped in a car seat for the 21 hour drive. <<

I agree bobbelee. If they had put it down in Mickey's Toon Town Fair I don't think you would have heard one complaint about it, location, location, location.

 

Originally Posted By Spirit of 74

I just wonder what kids ever did for fun (or to let off steam) at WDW before things like Pooh's Playground?

Oh yeah, they walked instead of getting pushed around in strollers until they were 10.

I'll tell you Paris and HK are such eye-openers to how fat and lazy the average American parkgoer really is. I have a great picture of a stroller parking area in front of HKDL City Hall with NO strollers in it.

Pretty soon, they'll have to rip out attractions at WDW to expand walkways (like freeways going from six to 10 lanes) to keep up with all the triple wide parents pushing double wide strollers and the lazies driving around and running people down with ECVs.

 

Originally Posted By avromark

Well look at it this way, they won't have to ever replace a "sub" anymore for lack of buoyancy

 

Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey

<<Pretty soon, they'll have to rip out attractions at WDW to expand walkways (like freeways going from six to 10 lanes) to keep up with all the triple wide parents pushing double wide strollers and the lazies driving around and running people down with ECVs.>>

Dude, didn't you see WALL-E? We're all going to be shuttled around on those floating barco-lounger things - fat, happy and ignorant.