1. do they have 20k pins? 2. 2 nemos!?
20,000 leagues was a good ride, the submarines were cool but the effects, (fish, plants, ect.) looked kinda fake. The soundtrack was very good but the other effects could have been improved quite a bit. It's still shame that they got rid of it without putting something else in. An extensive refurb could have done wonders. 7.4
When I was a child I always made sure I rode this ride before I left the Magic Kingdom that day. I'm sure I would still be riding this attraction today if it were still around. Where else can you take a ride in a submarine and not have to pay a fortune? Was it the best ride, no. But, it did a real good, no, maybe the best job at suspending belief.
I was never crazy about the ride itself, but it thought the lagoon with the subs going around looked nice.
I always loved the ride. I am sure I still would being an adult now too. It was jsut something about the feeling you were in a real sub exploring the oceans. Sure the effects were bad, but that was not what gave the ride its fun. The waits were extremely long, but so was every other ride (except if you had wings) since the MK was the only park they had during the 70's until Epcot opened in 82. It will be missed, seeing it as nothing but some trees and a retention pond makes me kinda sick. It causes me to lose faith in WDW's management. I am sure many of us have already heard Disneyland will be reopening the submarine voyage as Nemo. I saw it last year during construction. I am hoping to visit Disneyland again in 2008 after the nemo ride is open and the new monorails are in place. Scott
I am 38 years old now, but I can still remember going on this ride in my pre-teen years. I sure miss the late 70's and early 80's Walt Disney World. It's funny how magical this ride and the whole place seems when you're a kid. Now I'm experiencing the wonder and amazement through my 3 year old daughter's eyes. I went to MK so many times as a kid, I can truly imagine how she sees it. I had an Epcot park employee ask me last week if this was my first time at Disney. I told her I sure wish it was, but unfortunately it's not.
Queue Time-Poor-The ride was notorious for having long waits during the day and peak seasons. But it was somewhat soothing to hear the hum of the engines and smell the chlorine! Audio/Music-Average-The music playing in the queue area was very good but the actual sound system used on the submarines was very old and somewhat muffled. PreShow/Queuing Area-Good-No preshow, but the queue area was simple yet effective in capturing that nautical feel. The music playing and the sounds of the subs added to the exotic nature of the ride. Storyline-Good-Cpt Nemo was basically your tour guide through the sea. It was very simplistic but at the same time it worked very well. Theming-Good-The theming was fantastic. All the rocks and plants added a really far-off feel to the ride. And the Nautilus's were detailed and very cool looking. PostShow-Very Poor-There wasn't one. You walked off an were right back outside in front of Mr Toad's. But did it need one? No. Thrills-Poor-Obviously this was more of a show than an actual ride. The only thrills came when the sub was attacked by the giant squid. Although, as a kid I remember being excited that it was underwater, too! Duration-Good-It was long but that meant you were extremely captivated by the end. Looking out the port holes and staring out into the lagoon's waters was almost hypnotizing in a way. Kid Friendly-Average-Kids who were interested in ocean-life would love it. However, most kids might be somewhat bored and uninterested by the time the 9 minute ocean voyage was over. Overall-Good-I miss this ride. It was one of Fantasyland's most interesting and unique attractions. I always thought Captain Nemo's narration was pretty good and that the effects were quaint but did the job. It's too bad Disney ended up filling up the lagoon with dirt and uses it as a Pooh play area. The lagoon alone by itself was so awesome just sitting there. I'm glad I rode it every year I visited WDW.
OK, so most of you will not consider this ride original or exciting. Fair enough. But I can't name anything else at WDW that has inspired me as much as 20K did. Who can not forget first entering the subs, hearing all the creaks and groans, and seeing the wooden barnacle-covered dock right beside your porthole? You felt as if you WERE actually a submariner. That amazed me, and still does. I think 20K's life at the Magic Kingdom was cut short prematurely. I think it should have been given the benefit of an actual overhall, rather than closing it down. It should have gone down for rehab for about almost a year, and totally repaired. Being a diver, I know quite a few different techniques used to preserve mechanical objects in water, salt, fresh, or chlorine... The fish could have been made almost invincible to having their paint worn away. The subs could have had newer sound systems put in them. These, and many other changes could have greatly benefitted 20K, and would have ensured a longer life, and could maybe have attracted the same scale of fanbase as the Haunted Mansion has. I rated the post show section poor, as basically, you stepped out of the sub, and that was it, something could have been done there, maybe a small portable gift shop like the HM has. I gave the wait time an average, as anyone who experienced the attraction will 'fondly' remember those 100+ minute waits in the summer... To sum it up basically, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea was victimised in it's final years, and should have been given another chance to shine.
For all it's cheesy underwater scenes, this ride still had the ability to fascinate me. Even with the knowledge that we weren't going underwater on a submarine, I still always had the feeling we were. Imagineering has to have some brilliant minds that could rework this attraction with updated technology. Going back to the 20K theming would be preferable to me (not every attraction has to be based on a current film), but I'd settle for Nemo or Little Mermaid too. Anything to resurrect the lagoon and make it a working attraction again - character meet and greets are lame and can be put anywhere in the park, so that shouldn't be an issue.
For all the hype that people have decided to bestow on this attraction after its merciful closing, this attraction was never anything that great. A line that was one of the most slow moving on Disney property, special effects that look like they were stolen right from the original movie (and not in that cool, nostalgic way, but that "this ride needs to be updated bad" way), and a dreadfully boring ride, all things considered. We can only hope that the lagoon won't stay vacant for much longer, wouldn't a big E-ticket look great right there in Fantasyland?!
I did love this ride when it was open. It was something fun and interesting to go on. As a kid I actually thought we were going deep underwater! I actually obtained a video of closed ride attractions from a man on ebay. A taped ride of the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was on there and it brought back so many memories! We miss you Nautilis!
I loved it & it was closed, so I heard about it that it was still closed because they're likely going to put something. My husband & I had reviews of this attraction. We couldn't get to go on it because we missed it & now it was closed permanently.
This was far better than what there now--nothing, but it wasn't a very good ride. They should really put SOMETHING in it's place though other than just a character meet and greet.
This ride's effects were always way outdated. The ride was extrememly boring and patience were lost on the line. Very, very, slow moving and it just didn't fit into the Disney theme of ride lines that moved. The next ride that should go is the autotopia cars. Another slow moving line where the gas makes you sick and it doesn't fit into the fast moving line motto of disney.
The concept for the ride was and still is a very good one. Unfortunately, the higher-ups saw fit to remove the attraction altogether rather than be smart and re-fit the ride. It's one of the most missed attractions in the MK by far. I enjoyed going down into the sub with Captain Nemo and looking out the portholes at the visual scenes from the film. Sure, they had some pretty cheesy underwater scenes and animatronics created, but all they had to do was re-do these with updated effects and scenes. It would still be a crowd-gathering ride if they had kept it.
TIME PASSED IT BY. THE SUBS WERE KIND OF NEAT BUT SLOW TO LOAD AND I DON 'T KNOW HOW YOU COULD EVER GET A WHEEL CHAIR IN THERE. THE UNDER WATER SCENE WAS REALLY BAD EVEN FOR ITS DAY BUT THE CONCEPT WAS OK.
Simply put: This was a fun attraction. Different in its execution and worth the wait. Board a 38 passenger submarine for an "underwater" adventure. Travel past the graveyard of dead ships, the underwater city of Atlantis, and do battle with a sub-eating squid!! The attraction closed 1994 due to maintenance costs. (I gave the postshow a "poor" rating mainly because there was none. You simply left the ship. And they didn't force you into a shop at the end when it was built, although I would have liked to have gotten some 20k merchandise.)
May this attraction rest in peace. The idea was GREAT but this attraction was one of the most poorly designed in the Magic Kingdom, IMHO. The wait times were often extreme, access into the subs was difficult for most elders and time consuming for everyone else, the underwater props looked cheap and the ride duration was quick. It was impossible for the handicapped to have access and the ADA may have been the final nail in the attraction's coffin. ...The subs themselves looked really cool, replicating the ship from the movie. Sometimes I think this attraction was ahead of it's time and it would have done well with the benefit of modern day technology...but like Toad, today's kids just don't seem to relate to this theme.