It was one of my favorite rides since I love mermaids. I actually cried when I heard that they got rid of it. I still don't know why they did, and it bothers me to think that one of the reasons might have been because it was "cheesy". It wasn't to me. Another one was that kids didn't seem interested in something like that and had never heard of the movie or book the ride was based off of!
This was one of my favorites as a kid! Long before The Little Mermaid, I was fascinated by mermaids and loved seeing them under the water here!! Watching it now, it seems a bit creepy!! For the poster who doesn't get how it worked.... from my memory, there were literally these submarines at the top of a small "lake" that you climbed into and then walked down stairs to the seating area. I think the sub went down a bit, around the little lake, and then up again. It was cool to kids!!!
I was born in '87 and my brother in '89, and to this day we lament the shutdown of this ride. Now my sister will get to see it too. Thanks for the video.
i remember this ride from when i was young, probably around 1978. i didnt make it back to disney world till 1994. Its the old rides like pirates of the caribbean, haunted mansion, swiss family tree house, its a small world, ect. that keep me coming back for the memories. I had looked so forward to riding 20,000 leagues again. It will be missed
This was the first ride I went on at Disney in 1979 visiting from the UK. I was only 9 then! Brings back some memories as I have not been back since then.
definitely a must-see when i was a kid, loved it! when i'm a billionaire, maybe disney will let me open up 'disney retro'? just the cool stuff like this, none of the time-filling stuff your parents dragged you into because it was air-conditioned and the line was short. :)
I remember riding this ride when I was six or seven years old. All that was going through my mind was "Wow, awesome! I'm in a submarine and I'm underwater!" That was the life.
If you ever go on a Disney cruise you can see two of the old submarines from this ride in the lagoon at Castaway Cay, Disney's private island. They don't publicize it, but if you snorkel out into the lagoon you'll see the submarines. Pretty cool!
Liked this before the video even started. This was one of my absolute favorite rides. It was always breaking down, but I was a big fan of the novel, the movie, and this ride brought it to life for me. I loved studying the ocean, and this was as real as it could get for me when I was a kid. I was so mad when they turned it into some stupid character meeting spot before it became that grotto thing.
@iMaxStephen This is an old comment but I guess I'll respond. The subs were on a track and only partly submerged. There's a little cave area it rides into and when you pass the entrance, bubbles are pushed up making it seem you are going down as it becomes dark. Most of what you experience is darkness. One scene is of another sub being attacked by giant squids. Really cool as a kid. Walt was really imaginative. The book is good too!
This was one of my very favorites!! As a kid, I couldn't wait to get on this ride. It was even better at night. Hopefully something just as cool will replace it (although, I seriously doubt it).
i remember this too in the 70s. from what i remember in the early 80s a little old lady died of a heart attack on this ride. thats why it was stopped. even though there was a sign stating if you dont like cramped places or have a phobia dont ride. she did and she died. the family sued disney and they shut the ride down.
I never got the chance to see this as I visited WDW the first time in 1997 and Disneyland in 2002. I was lucky enough to see the walkthrough version of this while I was in Disneyland Paris in 2003.
@lissettebaybee Finding Nemo is where The Living Seas used to be in EPCOT. The 20,000 LUTS location became several different things including some character greet area for Ariel and a playground. It is now being changed into something pretty big along with what was previously the Toon Town Fair.
Oh my god! this ride is gone!? I remember this ride, I loved science and this ride hooked me good! I rode it like 4 times in 1 day back in . . . god I cant rember. So sad! So sad!
there was one at Disneyland In Anaheim,California. But that ride closed in 1999. It was replaced with finding nemo. I know this because I went on it when it was still 20,000 leagues under the sea.
Lucky for me I had a chance to ride this in the 70's. As a kid I thought we were really underwater. Well, deep underwater. Shame it had to go. I took the gf and her daughter to WDW over the summer. It was still a blast but I would have liked to have gone on this once more.
The boats used in this ride at WDW were scrapped when the ride closed, with one going to their private island in the Bahamas as a coral, and two others being sent elsewhere in the Caribbean, where hurricanes destroyed them.
hey 20,000 leagues under the sea closed 1994 and in 1994 "Les Mysteres du Nautilus" opened and the sub in the "Les Mysteres du Nautilus" lagoon looks like one of those subs.Think about it closed in 1994 and "Les Mysteres du Nautilus" opened in 1994.Maybe one of the 20,000 leagues under the sea sub is that prop in Paris!
It was based on the film 20,000 leagues under the sea. Visitors travelled in "submarines" that ran on a track and they looked out of port holes. The ride was labour and maintenance heavy to run and could only handle limited numbers of visitors. Nevertheless its a pity they scrapped it rather than updating.
@pixie289 YES! i def remember it smelling weird inside the subs, i rode this only once, when i first went to disney world back in 1993, i LOVED this ride, it had such an eerie weird feeling to it, and it was all close together inside the sub, but that made it that much cooler. you really felt like you were going deep when it got dark and stuff. i miss these days of Disney sooo much, its still good, but will never be the same.
I liked the Disneyland version better for certain reasons, such as the way they had the mermaids swimming around, etc. BUT, I like that this version seems longer and is darker. The whole 20k theme is really cool.
I guess you could say thankfully I've been on it 3 separate times but I was 5, 7 and 11 lol. I can BARELY remember the vivid details of any of this and somehow we lost our home videos.
Did it stay in Disneyland a bit longer than disneyworld? Cuz i Clearly remember riding in the old submarine and and seeing the mermaids and the sea serpent. and i was born in 1993.
I wish I could have seen this before they got rid of it. How ironic though that they are now planning an under the sea ride for Ariel where this once was. I wonder if they kept all the structures, just covered them up because the pooh playground only comprises a few hundred square feet of the space.
@rangerssuck94 Fantasyland is undergoing a big expansion right now, so I'm not sure exactly what will be there. That may be where the new Little Mermaid ride is supposed to go.
I used to love this ride. lol it was soo much fun. What ride is this at now. This is in Disney world. But did they replace it with a ride. I know Disneyland replaced it with Nemo. But what about is Disney World?
I was soooooooooo sad to see this one go . It was my favorite of all when I was little. I wish they would remake this one somewhere maybe Animal or Hollywood Studios
Disney World filled their 20,000 Leagues in and built a Winnie the Pooh children's park on top. It was Disney Land who turned their 20,000 Leagues into a Finding Nemo ride.
Well, the engineers should talk to the accountants before they have an exhibit like this but when I was there at the 5 year anniversary(WDW) this was a highlight. Even though it was mainly for Kids and the Folks I still enjoyed the fantasy and the Sub ride. Sickening to see what happened to it if you search online. I'll tell everyone I know that goes, they used to care about giving the best fantasy experience for your money but now they give you the least possible little fantasy for you buck!
how sad that it's gone. why are all the classic rides being removed? i was so angry when Pirate of the Caribbean became a ride based on the movie with johnny depp :(
@smilefeverman The main bau area was paved over for Pooh Playground I guess the 'under the sea' (in the cave) areas were demolished and some are probably adorning some collectors mantles,bathrooms, and porches go to this website 20Kride.com to get the full story
Most of the show-building's foot print has become a clone of California Adventure's Little Mermaid attraction; the lagoon area is being turned into a Snow White-themed roller-coaster
Although all elements looked, very, very fake, this ride stood out for taking the tourists into another world. Unfortunatelly, the movie, itself, was very old and most of today's kids have never heard about 20,000 leagues, making this ride outdated, outmatched by high-tech, modern thrill rides, and hard to maintain. By today's standards, this ride would be very boring and not something that will bring the crowds in trucks.
According to Wikipedia all the props and animatronics were left under the surface and in the dark to rot for years. Just imagine swimming in that dark tunnel and kicking the head of the sea serpent by mistake, not knowing what you touched.
There will always sadly be people who believe if a ride doesn't go 60 mph and drop you 300 ft and flip upside down 9 times, it should be scrapped because clearly everyone thinks like them and would never want to ride it.
at least Disneyland still has a sub ride even if it sucks but Disney World here in Florida has none it was paved over or something and now a winnie the pooh playgrounds sits there....was a damn shame they took this ride out!!!
It was one of my favorite rides since I love mermaids. I actually cried when I heard that they got rid of it. I still don't know why they did, and it bothers me to think that one of the reasons might have been because it was "cheesy". It wasn't to me. Another one was that kids didn't seem interested in something like that and had never heard of the movie or book the ride was based off of!
God Bless You for putting up these old Disney videos. Most of these rides I never got to do.
I remember this when I was little. The giant squid actually came at the Nautilus, I nearly shit myself.
This was one of my favorites as a kid! Long before The Little Mermaid, I was fascinated by mermaids and loved seeing them under the water here!! Watching it now, it seems a bit creepy!! For the poster who doesn't get how it worked.... from my memory, there were literally these submarines at the top of a small "lake" that you climbed into and then walked down stairs to the seating area. I think the sub went down a bit, around the little lake, and then up again. It was cool to kids!!!
I remember riding this when I was in elementary school, it was my favorite ride!
I was born in '87 and my brother in '89, and to this day we lament the shutdown of this ride. Now my sister will get to see it too. Thanks for the video.
one of my childhood favorites :-) wish they would have kept it
i remember this ride from when i was young, probably around 1978. i didnt make it back to disney world till 1994. Its the old rides like pirates of the caribbean, haunted mansion, swiss family tree house, its a small world, ect. that keep me coming back for the memories. I had looked so forward to riding 20,000 leagues again. It will be missed
This was the first ride I went on at Disney in 1979 visiting from the UK. I was only 9 then! Brings back some memories as I have not been back since then.
anyone here form that tiktok
Kc D yes
Me lmao
Thank you so much for posting these videos!
I always wanted to go on this ride when i was little, but i never will get to now. Thanks for the video!
definitely a must-see when i was a kid, loved it! when i'm a billionaire, maybe disney will let me open up 'disney retro'? just the cool stuff like this, none of the time-filling stuff your parents dragged you into because it was air-conditioned and the line was short. :)
I remember riding this ride when I was six or seven years old. All that was going through my mind was "Wow, awesome! I'm in a submarine and I'm underwater!" That was the life.
If you ever go on a Disney cruise you can see two of the old submarines from this ride in the lagoon at Castaway Cay, Disney's private island. They don't publicize it, but if you snorkel out into the lagoon you'll see the submarines. Pretty cool!
Liked this before the video even started. This was one of my absolute favorite rides. It was always breaking down, but I was a big fan of the novel, the movie, and this ride brought it to life for me. I loved studying the ocean, and this was as real as it could get for me when I was a kid. I was so mad when they turned it into some stupid character meeting spot before it became that grotto thing.
@iMaxStephen This is an old comment but I guess I'll respond. The subs were on a track and only partly submerged. There's a little cave area it rides into and when you pass the entrance, bubbles are pushed up making it seem you are going down as it becomes dark. Most of what you experience is darkness. One scene is of another sub being attacked by giant squids. Really cool as a kid. Walt was really imaginative. The book is good too!
Thank you so much for the upload!
This was one of my very favorites!! As a kid, I couldn't wait to get on this ride. It was even better at night. Hopefully something just as cool will replace it (although, I seriously doubt it).
i remember this too in the 70s. from what i remember in the early 80s a little old lady died of a heart attack on this ride. thats why it was stopped. even though there was a sign stating if you dont like cramped places or have a phobia dont ride. she did and she died. the family sued disney and they shut the ride down.
I never got the chance to see this as I visited WDW the first time in 1997 and Disneyland in 2002. I was lucky enough to see the walkthrough version of this while I was in Disneyland Paris in 2003.
As a six year old this ride was truly magical. Even though it was very phony looking to older riders. I consider it a loss.
@lissettebaybee Finding Nemo is where The Living Seas used to be in EPCOT. The 20,000 LUTS location became several different things including some character greet area for Ariel and a playground. It is now being changed into something pretty big along with what was previously the Toon Town Fair.
I was on this ride in 1965, I'm sorry that they closed down this ride.
I love this ride, is one of my favorites retired attractions, I would love to see it in person
This ride is a classic! It should have never been closed down. I don't understand why Disney would want to erase such great memories.
Oh my god! this ride is gone!? I remember this ride, I loved science and this ride hooked me good! I rode it like 4 times in 1 day back in . . . god I cant rember. So sad! So sad!
there was one at Disneyland In Anaheim,California. But that ride closed in 1999. It was replaced with finding nemo. I know this because I went on it when it was still 20,000 leagues under the sea.
I rode that ride many times in the 1970's !
I was just at Disney recently and was heartbroken to find out that the ride was gone.
Lucky for me I had a chance to ride this in the 70's. As a kid I thought we were really underwater. Well, deep underwater. Shame it had to go. I took the gf and her daughter to WDW over the summer. It was still a blast but I would have liked to have gone on this once more.
The boats used in this ride at WDW were scrapped when the ride closed, with one going to their private island in the Bahamas as a coral, and two others being sent elsewhere in the Caribbean, where hurricanes destroyed them.
hey 20,000 leagues under the sea closed 1994 and in 1994 "Les Mysteres du Nautilus" opened and the sub in the "Les Mysteres du Nautilus" lagoon looks like one of those subs.Think about it closed in 1994 and "Les Mysteres du Nautilus" opened in 1994.Maybe one of the 20,000 leagues under the sea sub is that prop in Paris!
This was shot during the daytime. This ride was creepy as hell at night, when all you had were the lights from the sub to illuminate the outside.
It was based on the film 20,000 leagues under the sea. Visitors travelled in "submarines" that ran on a track and they looked out of port holes. The ride was labour and maintenance heavy to run and could only handle limited numbers of visitors. Nevertheless its a pity they scrapped it rather than updating.
This was the coolest ride. I remember riding on it when I was a kid. Shame they took it out.
They actually cemented over the whole ride. It's been turned into the Hundred Acre Wood. Even if we wanted it back, they won't rebuild it now.
@pixie289 YES! i def remember it smelling weird inside the subs, i rode this only once, when i first went to disney world back in 1993, i LOVED this ride, it had such an eerie weird feeling to it, and it was all close together inside the sub, but that made it that much cooler. you really felt like you were going deep when it got dark and stuff. i miss these days of Disney sooo much, its still good, but will never be the same.
I liked the Disneyland version better for certain reasons, such as the way they had the mermaids swimming around, etc. BUT, I like that this version seems longer and is darker. The whole 20k theme is really cool.
I guess you could say thankfully I've been on it 3 separate times but I was 5, 7 and 11 lol. I can BARELY remember the vivid details of any of this and somehow we lost our home videos.
I loved this ride!
Did it stay in Disneyland a bit longer than disneyworld? Cuz i Clearly remember riding in the old submarine and and seeing the mermaids and the sea serpent. and i was born in 1993.
I LOVED THIS RIDE!! :(
im 21 im happy i got to ride this ride a good memory
I really enjoyed this ride as a child
Were the original submarine rides at disneyland and WDW similar?
I remember this ride was always broken down, I finally got to go on it before they closed it down for good and it sucked!
How do you know that ?
I wish I could have seen this before they got rid of it. How ironic though that they are now planning an under the sea ride for Ariel where this once was. I wonder if they kept all the structures, just covered them up because the pooh playground only comprises a few hundred square feet of the space.
Miss this ride!
When was this recorded, btw?
Good things come to those who wait!
@ManEatingSharks no way, i rode this in 1993, so it definitely wasn't closed because of a heart attack in the 80's
That is the creepiest thing I've ever heard. Dark water has always been a fear of mine.
Considering what they can do now it's a shame they didn't revamp this ride.
Is this one in Florida? because the one in Disneyland closed later than 1994
This is much Better than the one at Tokyo Sea. I wish they bring it back
This was one of my favorite rides at Disney. I wish that they hadn't taken it out.
I would take this over the jungle cruise anyday...those submarines were awesome. such a shame...
i never had the oportunitty to ride it . i believed they have a couple of those submarine on the typhon lagoon reef shark atraction
@rangerssuck94 Fantasyland is undergoing a big expansion right now, so I'm not sure exactly what will be there. That may be where the new Little Mermaid ride is supposed to go.
I think it's terrible they got rid of this ride. I would've loved to go on it. It looks so beautiful!
don't they use some of the old set thou ?
Btw, it's Ariel, Aquata and Andrina at 2:10
I used to love this ride. lol it was soo much fun. What ride is this at now. This is in Disney world. But did they replace it with a ride. I know Disneyland replaced it with Nemo. But what about is Disney World?
so, is the little mermaid ride taking place of it?
I was soooooooooo sad to see this one go . It was my favorite of all when I was little. I wish they would remake this one somewhere maybe Animal or Hollywood Studios
Disney World filled their 20,000 Leagues in and built a Winnie the Pooh children's park on top.
It was Disney Land who turned their
20,000 Leagues into a Finding Nemo ride.
I love that there are mermaids. :D
I would've wanted to go on this.
Only at Disneyland, WDW scrapped it. New Fantasyland covers the area this ride use to be in
It's still in Paris, right across from Space Mountain
That's at Disneyland, CA..this video is at Disney World Florida FYI =)
@MAragon1964 well they kind of remade it into a finding nemo ride
Why did they close it?
which park was this at?
"Les Mysteres du Nautilus" to which you refer is a walk through exhibit whereas 20,000 leagues was a ride in a submarine.
It became ariel's Grotto and then the rest went to pooh's playground. I dont think the tracks are visible anymore
kind of like the jaws sharks when they did'nt work for a scene cameras were used for the sharks pov such as chrissies's scene.
Well, the engineers should talk to the accountants before they have an exhibit like this but when I was there at the 5 year anniversary(WDW) this was a highlight. Even though it was mainly for Kids and the Folks I still enjoyed the fantasy and the Sub ride. Sickening to see what happened to it if you search online. I'll tell everyone I know that goes, they used to care about giving the best fantasy experience for your money but now they give you the least possible little fantasy for you buck!
"Submarine Voyage" 1959-1998 in Disneyland had similar features
I remember that ride but I never got to go on it.
how sad that it's gone. why are all the classic rides being removed? i was so angry when Pirate of the Caribbean became a ride based on the movie with johnny depp :(
is this what the finding nemo ride is like now?
@smilefeverman
The main bau area was paved over for Pooh Playground
I guess the 'under the sea' (in the cave) areas were demolished and some are probably adorning some collectors mantles,bathrooms, and porches
go to this website 20Kride.com to get the full story
Most of the show-building's foot print has become a clone of California Adventure's Little Mermaid attraction; the lagoon area is being turned into a Snow White-themed roller-coaster
@hitmantv41 nope, Finding nemo is at Epcot :) FYI
I'm sad my son will never get to see it like we did
Although all elements looked, very, very fake, this ride stood out for taking the tourists into another world. Unfortunatelly, the movie, itself, was very old and most of today's kids have never heard about 20,000 leagues, making this ride outdated, outmatched by high-tech, modern thrill rides, and hard to maintain. By today's standards, this ride would be very boring and not something that will bring the crowds in trucks.
I can't believe they took this ride out and put finding nemo in.
this ride looks bad ass!
all these extinct rides i can hardly remember. disney has changed so much in the last 20 years.
According to Wikipedia all the props and animatronics were left under the surface and in the dark to rot for years. Just imagine swimming in that dark tunnel and kicking the head of the sea serpent by mistake, not knowing what you touched.
What is it?
YAY , its coming backkkkkkkkk, finaly
But we have a similar ride here in Disney Sea, Japan
There will always sadly be people who believe if a ride doesn't go 60 mph and drop you 300 ft and flip upside down 9 times, it should be scrapped because clearly everyone thinks like them and would never want to ride it.
This ride didn't open until 1971
well if that one nemo ride is a sucess in cali, they might build it also in Floridas Disneyworld
at least Disneyland still has a sub ride even if it sucks but Disney World here in Florida has none it was paved over or something and now a winnie the pooh playgrounds sits there....was a damn shame they took this ride out!!!
This ride - or one like it - still exists in Tokyo Disney Sea!
Now this is what I call an "E" ticket ride!