Send me your memories of 20k!

[Sub Maniak]

20k or 20,000 Leauges under the sea was a ride I never saw! Tell me your memories.

[mzloolue]

It had an incredibly long line.
It was stuffy.
It smelled bad.
It looked fake.

[Opus1guy]

It had an incredibly long line.
It was stuffy.
It smelled bad.
It looked fake.

You obviously never ventured further down past the Observation Deck. One deck below the level where all the sweaty "tourists" sat fogging up the portholes, was "Nemo's Lounge"....a small but cozy restaurant with an adjacent cigar lounge and bar. The live entertainment was usually very nice, if you liked pipe-organ recitals accompanied by a barking seal. Quite pleasant, really.

;)

[cocoabeach]

My memories were of how close up they made everything for the first part and how fake it looked (even as a kid). But when it opened up and you could see the "diver" that was the big climax for me. I remember my brother would torment me because he would sit at a different porthole and he would say "Holy smokes, look at that!" and then I'd scramble to see it and wouldn't see anything. I'm sure now that he was just pulling my leg.

Basically the ride started out so that you all climbed down inside the small sub. They would have bubbles rise up all around the windows when you took off. If you looked up, you'd see that you didn't actually go down so you had to keep your eyes glued through the holes. You would then drive by a whole bunch of coral pillars, see some fake sea creatures (even the star fish looked fake) and every once in a while you would pass a "scene" which was a mini story event. Like you would see the divers in their diving suit, you passed the squid at the end, etc. If you didn't try hard, the ride would pass without any interest so it was really up to you to enojoy it or not.

But my most memorable experience at 20K was when my grandpa went with us and it made him vow never to go to Disney again. I still laugh about it. Basically, the line was always so darn long at 20K. Back then they had just a tarp overhead for part of the line and it was so stinking hot. And they had a huge pileup of strollers all around it. We got in line and it was so long we weren't at the tarp for a long time and we started burning up immediately. It might have been a convention or something because we then had the line held up for about 10 wheelchair parties (I kid you not) in a row and each party had a sub to themselves. My grandpa saw these people ride up to the front, step up out of the chairs like nothing and then walk on the ride. He was cursing. He said that those people were younger and fitter than he was and they needed to grow up and get in line like everyone else. Anyway, just when his irritation was about to get the better of him, there was this freak rain burst that got us all soaked in seconds. Then the sun came back out and we REALLY fried after that. Really hot muggy clothes--yikes. Anyway, when we got on the ride, the seats were wet, and it smelled so bad from the wet clothes of everyone.

The funny thing is, my brother and I loved it. We totally got into it that time and he even scared me when the squid appeared and I jumped.

From then on, whenever we would go to Disney, it became a tradition to ask grandpa if he wanted to go with us (he was way too old to want to leave over the years) and he'd just laugh like we were insane and say "That d*** Disney!" We would laugh.

[pixiepower]

Cocoabeach that was too funny! LOL

Thanks for reminding me how it really was. I had just been feeling bad that it no longer existed (first time I actually missed it) and that my son never got to see it. No I don't feel so bad!

I also have to admit that although I am resistant to change in things from my childhood, I actually love the Winnie the Pooh ride and Philharmagic. Sorry Toad and the old Mickey Mouse Review with Alice and the trippy flowers.

I do wish they would bring back the theater on Main Street with the old Mickey shorts.

[mzloolue]

You obviously never ventured further down past the Observation Deck. One deck below the level where all the sweaty "tourists" sat fogging up the portholes, was "Nemo's Lounge"....a small but cozy restaurant with an adjacent cigar lounge and bar. The live entertainment was usually very nice, if you liked pipe-organ recitals accompanied by a barking seal. Quite pleasant, really.

;)

:eek: Oh wow, I'm sorry I missed that.:rolleyes:

But it seems that cocoabeach and I agree: long line, smelly, fakey

Too bad we didn't get to ride with Opus.

[rustyinc2fan]

pixie the mickey shorts are still in the kingdom!! when you go into the park on the right is the exhibition hall, where all the camera stuff is, walk into the back past the old camera collection & hang a right, there is a small theater in there that still plays the same mickey cartoons we once got to see in the theater on main street

[mzloolue]

pixie the mickey shorts are still in the kingdom!! when you go into the park on the right is the exhibition hall, where all the camera stuff is, walk into the back past the old camera collection & hang a right, there is a small theater in there that still plays the same mickey cartoons we once got to see in the theater on main street

Thank you for the information.
I had no idea, even though I have been back there.
Another DW secret revealed.:eek:

[pixiepower]

Thanks Rusty! I had no idea! They did have an awesome little kid area in the POFQ lobby with a coloring table, little rocking chairs and a TV playing all old Mickey/Donald/Goofy shorts. The kids were loving it, and I thought it was so nice that they were playing the old cartoons and not their "info-channel" stuff.:)

[stan4d_steph]

When I was little I was always amazed by this ride and loved going on it. It's too bad they didn't try to salvage it like they're doing at DL instead of paving it over.

[Sub Maniak]

They just might salvage it. I am thinking that mabye some 20k stuff will be incorperated to Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.

[stan4d_steph]

They just might salvage it. I am thinking that mabye some 20k stuff will be incorperated to Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.They're not putting that in WDW.

[Mark Goldhaber]

For more information on the old attraction, go here (http://www.20kride.com/).

[Sub Maniak]

:cool:
They're not putting that in WDW.
I meant that the stuff from 20k would be taken to Disneyland.

[Opus1guy]

:cool:
I meant that the stuff from 20k would be taken to Disneyland.

Sure. They're trucking the water cross-county as I type!

:)

[Sub Maniak]

Yeah! And Ariel's making sure the fish are healthy in the tank along the way!:D :D

[Mark Goldhaber]

:cool:
I meant that the stuff from 20k would be taken to Disneyland.
No. (http://cgi.ebay.com/DISNEY-S-20-000-LEAGUES-SEAWEED-USED-IN-ORIGINAL-RIDE_W0QQitemZ6607523646QQcategoryZ1380QQcmdZViewI tem)

[cocoabeach]

Cocoabeach that was too funny! LOL

Thanks for reminding me how it really was. I had just been feeling bad that it no longer existed (first time I actually missed it) and that my son never got to see it. No I don't feel so bad!

I also have to admit that although I am resistant to change in things from my childhood, I actually love the Winnie the Pooh ride and Philharmagic. Sorry Toad and the old Mickey Mouse Review with Alice and the trippy flowers.

I do wish they would bring back the theater on Main Street with the old Mickey shorts.
Not to be all emotional but I think you hit on the real cause of my sadness at losing rides. What I regret every time something disappears is that my kids (and my wife even) won't have ever experienced something that held fond memories. I think that Pooh and Philharmagic are amazing and I certainly wouldn't want to trade them. But spinning that crazy (and useless) wheel frantically on Mr. Toad's and having my brother totally ham it up like we were having twice as much fun as we really were was priceless and as the years went by I imagined maybe my own kids would have had a ball pretending to drive the car like mad too.

Sure, they will have their own memories and I can feel better about it for that cause but I just wish that, for a few short moments, I could watch my own kids experience something that I did and I could watch their faces and expressions and hear them talk about it and maybe over the years see them grow to love them in their own ways.

[Opus1guy]

I think that Pooh and Philharmagic are amazing and I certainly wouldn't want to trade them. But spinning that crazy (and useless) wheel frantically on Mr. Toad's and having my brother totally ham it up like we were having twice as much fun as we really were was priceless and as the years went by I imagined maybe my own kids would have had a ball pretending to drive the car like mad too.

This is exactly what many Imagineers and park critics and Guests refer to as "simple pleasures." Something that Walt knew about. That not every attraction needs to be a complex, hi-tech wonder. Not every attraction needs to be an "E" ticket. These simple pleasures are what add the "charm" element to a park. Often kids and adults fondly recall the simplest of pleasures much more than some of the "strap me in and wow me" attractions. There's a certain almost "old-world" charm about them. Something kids of all ages can still appreciate.

This is one of the reasons I've always felt Disneyland in California had much more "charm" than the Magic Kingdom in Florida. There were many more simple little charming spots and attractions in Anaheim. Although sadly, Disneyland seems to be slowly losing more and more of those little charms where parents and tykes could have some simple fun together (like the Sleeping Beauty Castle walk-through dioramas).

I feel certain that if Walt were alive he would have long-recognized the cultural and iconic nature that many of these attractions became, and would recognize the generational appeal and desire of growing up Guests to share those attractions with newer generations. As a fan of Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen (which provided him with much of his inspiration for how he designed Disneyland), he was certainly aware of the appeal of "handing down" and sharing rides and experiences from generation to generation.

Some attractions...you just know it's time for the wrecking ball. But for many (like Mr. Toad)...those are literally timelessly fun attractions whose very existence has become part of the fabric and lexicon of our culture. And which also provokes strong emotional desires to "share" with future generations. They deserve preservation, IMHO. And remain "profitable" and productive to the whole, for these very emotional attachments! Find some new real estate for the new attractions if needed. At Disney, if there's a will, there's a way.

Disney parks are not museums. But they are also much more than your average amusement park. And decisions about changing out existing attractions should not be made by the bean counters or marketing "gurus" or green execs alone. Disney attractions are bigger than them. They deserve tougher and more rigorous considerations and guidelines before removal, in order to minimize the potential damage any future clueless or short-sighted management teams might cause. With such damage often caused just for the sake of "change."

IMHO.

[mzloolue]

Wow Opus, very nice post.

[danyoung]

I was always disappointed by the fakiness of some of the effects (floating plastic fish on a string???), but I still really enjoyed the attraction. I didn't hit it every time because of the afore mentioned long long lines. But I enjoyed it every time I saw it, and I'm sorry it's gone.