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TinaMouse
04-19-2007, 06:21 PM
Why did they get rid of the sky ride? I loved it! Were they concerned about safety?

santoanderson
04-19-2007, 06:22 PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyway_%28Disney%29

"The Disneyland Skyway was removed in November 1994 because it was too costly to make safety upgrades. Also, people would throw objects and spit off the buckets as they went overhead. At Disneyland, the Fantasyland Skyway station remains, but the Tomorrowland station has been mostly removed. In 1998, Tokyo Disneyland closed their Skyway attraction and the Fantasyland station was removed to make room for Pooh's Hunny Hunt, while the Tomorrowland station was remodeled into a candy store. At the Magic Kingdom, the Skyway was removed in 1999, but not before a worker was killed when he was swept off the platform and dropped 40 feet on February 14 of that year. [1] The Tomorrowland station is off-limits to guests, while the Fantasyland station is now used for stroller parking. When the Disneyland Skyway closed, the holes in the Matterhorn were filled in and the supports were dismantled within weeks.

Another key reason for the decision to remove the Skyways was because they were in technical violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act. It was very difficult to load and unload mobility-impaired guests (one must step up when boarding and down when de-boarding), and this usually required having to stop the ride. Furthermore, wheelchairs could not be loaded onboard because the vehicles were too small."

TinaMouse
04-19-2007, 06:26 PM
WOW! Quick and efficient! Thanks for the response!

santoanderson
04-19-2007, 06:27 PM
Hey, I'm a geek. No problem.

sleepyjeff
04-19-2007, 11:36 PM
Really want to ride a sky tram?

Come to Portland, Oregon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Aerial_Tram

chrisaustx
04-19-2007, 11:48 PM
I love how Wikipedia is now the new "authority" on everything, some 12 year old kid could have wrote that article for all we know. Disneyland rides which were built years ago are grandfathered from ADA compliance, that Wikipedia claim is clearly false. The former Disneyland Resort President, Paul Pressler decided that the labor hours to operate the skyway were excessive. In his style of budget cuts and ride closings, he justified closing the skyway because he just opened another labor intensive ride, Indiana Jones. Paul Pressler decided to close an aging and labor intensive ride called the Submarine Voyage a few years later, because the Rocket Rods were opening and he wished to save money on the tomorrowland labor budget. In the Paul Pressler era, he never allowed rides to be added without eliminating an existing attraction. This is the answer I got when I asked someone I know who works at Team Disney Anaheim, as to why it was torn down, to save money for the labor budget in 1996/97 because Indiana Jones was so expensive to operate. I have also heard the claim that Eisner required each Disney unit to cut its operating budget and increase profits by 25% in the mid 1990's, this is probably the reason why Pressler cut so many cherished attractions with high labor costs.

futurecm21
04-20-2007, 05:41 AM
If you liked the Disneyland skyway, you should visit San Diego Seaworld. They have a similar ride.

futurecm21

Malcon10t
04-20-2007, 06:08 AM
Another key reason for the decision to remove the Skyways was because they were in technical violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act. It was very difficult to load and unload mobility-impaired guests (one must step up when boarding and down when de-boarding), and this usually required having to stop the ride. Furthermore, wheelchairs could not be loaded onboard because the vehicles were too small."The problem with wikipedia is everyone can add their opinions to it without basing it on fact. This portion was false. Just like Matterhorn, Nemo, Peter Pan, Indy, or any other ride in Disneyland, Disney is not required to be able to load and unload wheelchairs. There was no violation of the ADA. Think of every other ride in Disneyland. Majority you have to step up into and down getting off.

The Lovely Mrs. tod
04-20-2007, 06:20 AM
If you liked the Disneyland skyway, you should visit San Diego Seaworld. They have a similar ride.

futurecm21

You might want to try the San Diego Zoo as well. SeaWorld has a cool observation tower, where you go straight up while the tower slowly turns.

The Zoo has a fully operational skyway, which can be a godsend when you find yourself at the far end of the property 30 mins before closing.

TinaMouse
04-20-2007, 06:36 AM
You know, it is one of those rides that I LIKED, but scared me to death. I'm not a height person. I did go on the one at Sea World just last summer. It goes out over the water. Nice ride and I enjoyed it immensely.

Regarding Wiki--the teachers are now asking the kids (jr high, in my case) to not cite it in their presentations. Hopefully, it will all get retooled, because it is certainly a popular site in my house!

santoanderson
04-20-2007, 06:42 AM
I'm fine with using Wiki if it isn't on a term paper.

I liked the skyway when it was open, but I was also a victim of getting splashed by falling soda.

itig
04-20-2007, 07:36 AM
Really want to ride a sky tram?

Come to Portland, Oregon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Aerial_Tram

I don't want any ol' sky ride, I want to ride over Disneyland!
...but the spitting and throwing stuff thing is nasty.

Bytebear
04-20-2007, 01:47 PM
If they want arms and legs in the vehicle, they should use plexiglass or a wire mesh similar to the Sun Wheel. The same could be used on the People Mover when they bring it back.

santoanderson
04-20-2007, 02:25 PM
There was that talk a while back about incorporating the Incredibles into a new people mover/skyway attraction. Syndrome had his little island getaway with a people mover, which is rumored to be based on the DL attraction.

simnia
04-20-2007, 02:40 PM
If they want arms and legs in the vehicle, they should use plexiglass or a wire mesh similar to the Sun Wheel.

Yes, there are a lot of solutions. Cameras could be installed to catch people spitting/throwing outside the buckets. Or the buckets could be strung over less populated areas, like the sub lagoon. Or key parts of walkways could be covered, like the shields underneath the monorail tracks. And if all else fails, they could install an electroshock device in each bucket to electrocute offenders. :)

Those disability laws have gotten ridiculous, though, haven't they? That's one area where I feel sorry for businesses. Once politicians get involved to try to improve things, they always end up impacting everybody negatively. Now instead of a few disabled people being turned away from the Skyway, *everybody* is prevented from using the Skyway entirely, due to the costs of implementing the required "improvements."

I wonder if the spitting/throwing problem has gotten worse, or if it was always that bad. Any opinions? I remember hearing about kids dripping ketchup in the '60s.

santoanderson
04-20-2007, 02:48 PM
Ya know, they could always say that you can't bring drinks/food on the thing, don't know bout the spitting though. Instead of one large hole they could put 4 or 5 separate openings about 6 inches tall and as wide as the vehicle. Make the plastic 8 inches thick. Therefore the only way a person could spit would be sticking their head through an opening and getting it stuck.

Malcon10t
04-20-2007, 03:22 PM
Now instead of a few disabled people being turned away from the Skyway, *everybody* is prevented from using the Skyway entirely, due to the costs of implementing the required "improvements."Once again, that wasn't why it was closed. If that was the case, rides like Peter Pan, Indy, Splash Mountain, etc... wouldn't be able to continue because they also have to turn away a person in a chair. I wish this myth would die.

santoanderson
04-20-2007, 03:39 PM
Well myths have basis in reality. Of course the ride wasn't shut down because the disabled were unable to ride, but with certainty there were people that complained & it was added to the list of reasons to take it down.

I can think of a number of rides that require you to get out of your chair to enter the ride vehicle. I guess that could have been done with the people mover, as long as you have a stowable wheel chair.

I hate to sound mean, but if you're in a bulky electric chair you're going to need to make sacrifices. I'm really sorry, I wish you could ride as well as everybody else.

Malcon10t
04-20-2007, 03:55 PM
I hate to sound mean, but if you're in a bulky electric chair you're going to need to make sacrifices. I'm really sorry, I wish you could ride as well as everybody else.Right. And because this IS the policy, shutting down the Skyway had nothing to do with the ADA. If it was, Indy would also be shut down and Nemo would not be reopening without being able to put a wheelchair in the sub. Skyway is no different than any other ride you have to transfer on. I just get irritated when people blame the Skyway's demise on the disabled. Blame it on management who said the cost to maintain it was too high for a low capacity ride.

santoanderson
04-20-2007, 04:01 PM
And you really can't say that this is a bad policy. Heck, a couple days ago I saw a post where someone felt alienated because there was a contest going on in the park. And evidently it made him/her upset because ultimately half of the participants were going to get shafted and feel really bummed.

Disney is about equal opportunity. Every guest should be on equal ground, except for height requirements. I've been to many lame theme parks where a ride is only built for a specific kind of person, hence the lameness.

Bytebear
04-20-2007, 04:15 PM
One of the great things is that all the rides are designed for adults as well as kids. Other parks have kiddy rides, but I can't think of one ride in Disneyland that an adult can't ride (excluding height and weight requirements).

santoanderson
04-20-2007, 04:21 PM
I know, I'm a pretty tall dude. I'm 6'5" and can barely fit into the Autopia cars. The car will actually leave imprints on my kneecaps.

Therein lies another thing. The exceptionally tall and exceptionally short might have troubles fitting into the rides. The obese have the potential to lose weight and allow themselves to fit, but those with height issues would have a really tough time resolving their own problems. I'm not sawing off my femurs thankyamuch.

I know it's unfair comparing the handicapped to riders with extreme height issues, but we are kind of in the same boat. So, should I sue Disney and tell them to make all the ride vehicles bigger? No. I just have to tell myself, "OK, You can't ride the teacups, go find something else." Is it mean to tell a handicapped individual to do the same?

MrTomMorrow
04-20-2007, 04:56 PM
I was half sad to see it go because it was such a classic, but half happy because it actually was kind of an eyesore... the huge pylons, the 80s-colored bucket cars... it didn't seem to fit into the themes of Fantasy or Tomorrow

bloodnswash
04-20-2007, 04:57 PM
My 17 year old son says that in his opinion it made the park look ugly.

shna
04-20-2007, 05:20 PM
I had friends working at DLR back in the late 80's. They had horror stories about couples getting "amorous" in the Skyway cars.

<pause to let that sink in>

Ewwwww. :eek: