Abandoned - Disney World's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

When the Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: Submarine Voyage became an instant hit. It was a theme park attraction like no other in Florida and a classic ride within Walt Disney World for decades to come. However by 1994, the iconic attraction was abruptly closed and would sit abandoned for the next decade, sitting in the middle of the most visited theme park on earth. Join me today as I find out why and take a look at the history of this beloved attraction.

Travel Channel - @BrightSunTravels

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Bright Sun Films 2024

Presented in 4K

[Hankler_fish]

I feel like every time a "temporarily" closed attraction gets a character meet & greet in its queue space, you know it's never coming back lol. Same thing with Stitch's Great Escape

[Mechamaniac]

The Tokyo Disney Sea attractions surrounding 20, 000 Leagues are breathtaking. They're centered around being on the island of Vulcania and include a roller coaster that takes you through the volcano as well as the Nautilus ride. I've been to TDS 4 times and have yet to manage to ride the roller coaster because TDS doesn't do Fast Pass etc. and the lines every time I have been there have been more than 2 hours long.

[TrashComments]

This was one of the few Disney rides that I wish was still around today because it showed how creative the Disney Imagineers were. The immersion and atmosphere when boarding that nautilus was absolutely amazing. When people say that this was the true definition of an E-Ticket attraction, they’re not wrong at all!

Rest easy, 20, 000 LUTS, we miss you ❤️

[JK-Handyman]

The best part of this video was the interview of Chris Cooper. As A father of a 4 year old I can relate to the magic & imagination little kids can have and its so precious. Life loses its luster as we age unfortunately and its only revitalized when we have our own children and can relive our childhood through their them as the discover the world with fresh un-jaded eyes.

[kupwave]

I loved this ride as a 5-year-old. I still remember walking down the steps, sitting on the stool/chair, and being in awe of everything I saw underwater. I was crushed when I found out they closed it years later. It was such a great memory and ride!

[Vulpine]

Former 20K sub driver from the early eighties here. Fantastic video. Really brought back memories. At the time I worked there, we still had twelve subs total. Ten of them were powered by natural gas engines and the other two were experimental diesel models. And, yes, the ride was hugely popular at the time. Our line during peak seasons would easily hit 120+ minutes. The one thing this video can't quite convey is the incredible ambience of the attraction. Once you were in the queue line, the various rock and coral formations basically sealed you off from Fantasyland. You would look across the lagoon and see Volcania (much like in the movie) towering up. Music from the movie also set the mood. It was like walking into the movie made real life. For us, the outfit was a mixed bag. It looked awesome. The shirts were nice and breathed well. The hat was heavy (mainly because of the metal Nautilus buckle on the front of it.) The pants were rather uncomfortable. I remember them being incredibly stiff. But there is no doubt it was one of the most iconic outfits in the park. There as a certain pride to wearing that outfit. It was very unique and we always stood out to the guests. Interestingly, we were not permitted to walk anywhere else in Fantasyland except directly to the tunnel accesses either behind Pinocchio's (next to us) or behind Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (across from us) as our outfits didn't "fit-in" with the rest of the area.

[fyrestar]

Fun fact--there is water from 20, 000 Leagues in the queue of The Jungle Cruise as well! I was a skipper from 2018-2020 and you could find it on the walls in the fastpass queue, inside a small metal cannister facing unload. I could always tell it because it's marked with a small piece of glow-in-the-dark tape!

[annconover]

My father got into trouble with his bosses at Disney. He worked for Reddy Creek, and his job was to make sure the water was safe and clean. Once he came home and said he made 20k TOO clean. You could see the strings/wires from the far side of the park in the late 70's early 80's. They had to add dirt to cloud up the water for a wile.

[jaredb]

My grandpa was one of the production leads at Morgan Yachts when the boats (submarines) were produced for the 20, 000 Leagues Under The Sea ride. He also worked on the original Paddle Wheel river boat, The Admiral Joe Fowler, as well as all the rental runabout boats for when the Magic Kingdom originally opened. He had some of the coolest stories about meeting Roy Disney and working on incredible projects such as these.

[travisc]

I actually have very fond and one horrible memory of this ride. Growing up my family had a vacation home in St Augustine, Florida. We used to go a few times a year and would always make that trip down to Disney. We had family in Deltona outside of Orlando so we would stay with them for a few days and hit up the Disney Parks. 20, 000 leagues under the sea was one of my favorite rides. Granted I was probably about 7 years old the last time I went on it so I'm sure I was easy to please. I remember always being amazed that the subs actually went underwater. I have fond memories of standing there with my face glued to the glass looking at the scenes underwater. Always trying to see something I missed the last time I went on the ride.

Then I have one more rather vivid memory of this ride. When I was 5 my family and I took the trip to Disney. I remember not feeling good in the park and feeling progressively worse as the day went on. We were waiting in line for 20, 000 Leagues and I remember feeling almost delirious. That was when my mother noticed the red line going up my arm. Apparently the tiny cut on my wrist that I had gotten a few days earlier had become infected and I had blood poisoning. I guess swimming in the Florida Ocean when you have an open wound is ill advised. I remember my mother freaking out and taking a ride in the Disney Golf carts to a first aid area. Then spending like 3 days in a hospital in Orlando. Kind of a traumatizing experience for a 5 year old. Luckily after a few days and IV antibiotics I was fine. Because of that rather bad experience even being as young as I was I will always remember that day waiting in line for 20, 000 Leagues under the Sea. I also remember being disappointed that I didn't get to go on the ride that year. Sadly it closed a couple years later but i did at least get to go on the ride the next time we went to Florida.

Sadly much like the state of Florida itself. All good things come to an end.

[DiamondDepthYT]

Defunctland recreated this ride in VR here on YouTube. It's an amazing recreation.
I showed it to my father, who's only memory of Disney when he was younger is this ride. It gave him a lot of nostalgia.

[SueBobChicVid]

This was the definition of an E-Ticket ride! My first voyage was in 1972 when I was 7 years old. I went on to serve on US subs.

[XFolf]

I'm a huge 20k leagues nerd, the disney sub version is my favorite external design. This video was so satisfying, thank you.

[DG-wuke]

I rode this ride in 1972 in Orlando. 12yrs old and rarely impressed, this was the most memorable ride we visited. At that time everything was handcrafted but made to be realistic to the theme of each attraction.

[Kane_]

7:48 A little off topic but the man on the far right is holding 2 of the best popsicles to ever exist and I miss them terribly. Rest in peace Itsakadoozies

[Nbeages]

I went on this ride in 1993 and I’ve been a submarine sailor In the navy for 14 years. This and down periscope made me want to do it and I love it.

[Lexuthr]

Not gonna lie, as a kid this was probably my favorite ride at Disney and definitely the most memorable. I was there back in 91 and then again right before this ride closed and still remember the entire experience. It was just so cool and unique. Thanks for making this video, really brought back those memories.

[Military-Museum-LP]

I feel so lucky to have experienced this ride. I was impressed and the memory is strong.

[MrDagosti]

I got to ride this on my first trip to Disney in 93. I knew it was in trouble, not because the ride was getting old, but because I was a fan and all the people on my ride had never even heard of Verne or read the book or saw the movie. For those of us who wanted a true adventure, Atlantis and the squid and the acting was Amazing, but Disney made it too cartoonish with the cartoon sea monsters, taking you out of the experience. All they had to do was make a good Captain Nemo Adventure story within a real aquarium, like they had at Seaworld, then add some props and tell the story. To answer that cast member's question, although I was a kid and I didn't become a Marine Biologist, I became a Sci-fi writer. My hope is that Nemo and the ride will be resurrected someday as a Mariana Trench story and I think people will come.

[TheLawnCareNut]

This was one of my favorites as a kid! Thanks for covering it.