How Did the Skyway Work?

Originally Posted By TMICHAEL

Disneylands' Skyway closed quite shortly after the idiot unlocked, opened the door and fell/jumped into the tree at the Alice In Wonderland attraction. I believe the ADA excuse actually was used as the main reason for its closure. But the "accident waiting to happen" reality was a completely valid reaction by the DisCo to protect themselves and the guests below. Spitting and throwing objects out of the buckets was a daily occurrence whenever I pulled a shift there.

 

Originally Posted By CMDad

1968

<a href="http://www.marsanf.com/images/043.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.marsanf.com/images/043.jpg</a>

 

Originally Posted By Mr X

Holy retro batman!

Nice pic. Thanks!

 

Originally Posted By danyoung

Ahhh - I LOVED the Tomorrowland of 1968!

 

Originally Posted By Disneymom443

A little before my time, but thanks for the memories.

 

Originally Posted By Phantom

The Disneyland Skyway's closure had nothing to do with that fool guest who managed to open the door of his cabin and jump into a tree.

The ADA had something to do with it, as it was overdue for a change, but any change would have to make it ADA compliant. That would mean elevators and a new system with larger vehicles - which wouldn't fit through the Matterhorn with good clearance.

Ultimately, it was easier just to shut the thing down. After all, who was going to stop coming to the park because the Skyway was gone? And this fit in nicely with a policy, at the time, of closing down an attraction to open a new one - to (somewhat) mitigate increases in park operating costs. The Skyway was closed because Indiana Jones was opening. While it cost a lot more to operate Indy, closing the Skyway at least offset the cost a little.

For a while, Disneyland management got on this kick about cutting back on operating costs by closing things down or operating them limited hours. After Toontown/Roger Rabbit in 93/94, when management changed, nothing "new" was built without closing something else. Skyway = Indy. Tomorrowland '98 was all "replacements", with the Peoplemover and CicleVision combining into Rocket Rods, which didn't last long. The Submarine Voyage shut down.

 

Originally Posted By cheesybaby

I've never bought the ADA reasoning. If ADA compliance was an urgent issue in 1994, how did the MK Skyway survive until 1999?

 

Originally Posted By brotherdave

It's funny, if the ADA would have made Disney make changes to their ride, then why do other parks still operate their's??? Wouldn't they have to change their's too??? Cedar Point, both Busch Gardens parks, and Sea World San Diego are just a few examples that come to mind that STILL have operating sky rides similar to Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom. Although I could see if major changes occurred in the stations (which ironically still exist at the MK), but that wasn't the case. If they were to reinstall the rides today, THEN they'd have to meet ADA requirements. I think it had more to do with operational costs and guest safety (both from above and down on the ground) that lead to there removals. Also, there were a few fatal accidents that occurred at other parks (Six Flags Mid-America and Magic Mountain) during the 80s and 90s due to the nature of the ride. Mid-America's actually had an arm collapse which sent a bucket plummeting to the ground. The Magic Kingdom also had a fatal accident involving an employee shortly before they removed theirs. I feel that these incidents are mainly what led Disney to remove their rides.

Although I did like to ride the skyways , I'm actually sort of glad that they were removed. They didn't fit the theme of the parks well, especially in Fantasyland. When most major theme parks began adding them in the 70s, it was no longer an innovative ride. Their time had came and went. Now, the Peoplemovers on the other hand... I really wish Disney would have expanded the use of those transportation attractions. (EPCOT, anyone???)

 

Originally Posted By danyoung

>If ADA compliance was an urgent issue in 1994, how did the MK Skyway survive until 1999?<

As I understand it, ADA regulations only come into play if a major rennovation is needed. I'm not sure if that's what happened to the Skyway, but it is possible that it was indeed the ADA requirements that made retrofitting the ride too expensive for Disney.

 

Originally Posted By sjhym33

The ADA regulations do say that existing facilities are exempt from the ADA regulations until a refurb happens. Even then there is a percentage clause that says if the refurb will only change a certain % of the existing facility the exemptions still stands. Once that % threshold is reached then the facility must meet all current ADA guidelines.

Several years back Disney instituted a major initiative to make facilities meet ADA guidelines. It is one of the reasons you see new attractions with wide standby and FP queues. The idea of backdooring guests with disabilites is not the option that Disney prefers anymore. The MK has the biggest challenge because of the age of the attractions. The ADA thing comes up a lot with discussions concerning attractions that have been closed like 20K and Skyway but it is my understanding that while it may have been consideration it was not the reason those attractions have been closed.