20 Disney Rides That Had to Close (and Why)
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- Опубліковано 25 тра 2024
- Some Disney rides come and go, but their legacy stays with us forever. Today we’re going to take a trip back in time -- back before Lightning Lanes, Rise of Resistance Boarding Passes, and virtual queues -- and talk about why some Disney rides were FORCED to close...and what mysteries there were behind them.
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When moving back to Florida I was DEVASTATED to hear Maelstrom closed and was even more upset about The Great Movie Ride.
I loved the great movie ride! It was such a fun experience as a kid
Great movie ride scared me as a child
@@amandaorlove5952 only the alien part scared me
Even before I knew who all the actors and movies featured were, I loved the Great Movie Ride as a kid. It was a historic ride with direct involvement from Hollywood icons. Still upset about it.
@@kelsiedwards335 I really feel like they could of refurbed it and updated the movies not take it out. I feel like Mickey and Minnie don’t fit in Hollywood more so in Toon Town in Magic
The Great Movie Ride was probably the hardest to lose of all of these 😭It closed just 1 week before I started working at WDW and had been one of my favorites. I worked at Rock n' Rollercoaster and a coworker of mine had been transferred from GMR where she had been one of the actors on the ride.
The great movie ride was one of my favorite of all time, was so sad to see it go 😢
I grew up 14 miles from Disneyland and was 4 years old when it opened in 1955. I remember so many of these great old rides ! You could actually just walk around the park and enjoy yourself. It was fun. I could see the closing fireworks from my backyard!
@@lamarchainey2346 Costa Mesa !
That sounds really sweet
Repent to Jesus Christ
“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’””
Matthew 4:4 NIV
@@believeinjesus6972 OK.
What a great experience that had to be! One of the worst things about these type of parks now a days is all the time you spend in line waiting. Back in the early years there wouldn’t have been mobs of people all at once.
This makes me miss MGM so much 😢 It really was devoted to that movie magic, old Hollywood vibe, which made it so different from the other parks! I love the new innovations, but the old rides will live forever in my childhood memories 💕
“This attraction was constantly broken down, a lot like myself.”
- same AJ same
She got deep there for a second 😂😂😂😂
@@user-hl9ww3ml2m I know! I backed up ten seconds to make sure I heard her right hahaha
@@JamesonThomas24 same lol
I cackled but also…. AJ… girl… you ok?
That’s a mood
For me the Backlot Studio tour closure was a real loss - entertaining, informative and inspiring for those who are interested in working in different aspects of film and tv production - the fire and flood section was so memorable for me
Greatly miss Maelstrom and Great Movie Ride. Also, EPCOT went downhill when it strayed from its original concept of being a kind of permanent World's Fair, with a lot of inspiration coming from the 1964 and 1939 New York World's Fairs. Now, sadly, almost everything has to be promoting Disney IP.
Could not agree more! Epcot is but a shadow of itself :(
However it still does promote Walt’s idea of a unified future…in a modern ways yes but still close to that idea…the way it was made to look was just design
The concept had to change because the original concept just wasn't working very well and lost its appeal. People want more thrill rides, not walk through pavilions. It still has that Worlds Fair concept, but like a real worlds fair, it also has rides that are appropriate to their respective countries, such as Frozen for Norway and Ratatouille for France. Epcot was always perceived as the most boring of all Disney parks, and even The Simpsons made fun of it. Disney IP's get people into the park, so why shouldn't they use it? What is so sad about doing something that is successful?
I went on alien encounters when I was 5 (solid choice by my parents however they didn’t know what the ride was) but I was so terrified that my dad ended up ripping the shoulder harness off and grabbing me. We obviously shut down the ride temporarily after that and I still remember the terror I felt over 20 years later
We still remember that experience as truly terrifying and we were in our 30's at the time! But as adults we loved it! They should have banned small children though. My wife laughs when she's frightened. And the she never stopped as the tears ran down her face! I don't scare easily either. I spent 32 years as a firefighter/paramedic. But I about you know what my pants when in total darkness I could feel him on my shoulders and feel his hot breath on my neck! That was GREAT!
@@robertgunn1537 I really wish as an adult I could go back and get the experience. I’m sure it would have been very different 😂
I went on that ride when I was 6-7 with my godparents who also didn’t know what the ride was, and I was so traumatized afterwards that not only it took about an hour for me to calm down, but when we got back to the hotel my godmother put on the dishwasher and I could have sworn that horrible alien thing was coming for me from under the sewers. I still get jumpy just thinking about it.
I went as a teen and loved it but totally could see how it would be scary for a little kid!!
Should have had an age limit on it, just a ride I loved it it was fun!
Miss Mr Toads wild ride and 20,000 leagues under the seas...
And Disney World's skyway buckets, Snow White scary adventures
And the stitch ride
This probaly isn’t as important but RIP horizon
Those closed? When?
@Lonely Cat Yes! I love Toad and ride it every time I’m at Disneyland. But Magic Kingdom still has Proplemover.
I’ve been on six of the extinct attractions on this list, and the one I miss the most is Great Movie Ride! If Disney wanted to spruce things up and make it feel new, why not update it with some modern classics instead of getting rid of it entirely? 😭
I would guess licensing fees.
Because it shouldn't need updating..... the classics are the classics for a reason.. they were introducing newer generations to the classics.
Been
I guess I'm in the minority, but I found it incredibly underwhelming. 😕
Exactly. I can see how there are some licensing issues at the same time Disney owns enough newer properties that true newer classics owned by Disney could be added while some older ones are retained. Losing that ride kills the central attraction to the park.
I am so glad that I got to experience Alien Encounter. it was a complete surprise and refreshing for a teenager. I will always remember hat experience and people can't believe Disney would have such a ride.
It was awesome
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was always my favorite. When Eisner closed it, I literally cried. I would still be riding it today if it were open. I would prefer it today over any ride there, but, I haven't ridden Rise of the Resistance yet. So we shall see.
I miss it too! I would love to see that one make a comeback.
They still have it at Tokyo Disney! I really hated it because I don’t like enclosed spaces but it’s there lol
Ohhh I remember that one!!! Wow I still remember the sounds and feel and sights. Also miss it. One of my childhood favs. For sure 😁
One of my fav three rides in the day!
I’m still bitter about the loss of the OG Journey into Imagination.
Same. It’s the one part of OG Epcot I really miss. Especially the old Imageworks
Ditto. I don't hate the new version, but the COLORS of the old one...it was like if Rainbow Brite was a Disney ride. 🌈
I envy you. I never got to go on OG. I just got to see Figment with Eric Idle.
OG original Journey Into Imagination was parodied in an effort of South Park. Imagination Land episodes have the guy from the ride taking the characters to Imagination Land. Probably my favorite episodes.
Yes!
Some of these hit hard. It’s like visiting your childhood home and seeing all the trees cut down and new add-ons. Technically it’s the same place, but some of the Magic is gone.
Alien encounter was messed up!! Loved it!!! Lol!! I’ll never forget the hot breath in the back of my head. Or hearing the screaming on the other side of the room in the dark. And the guy in the rafters getting eaten and his “ blood “ would rain down on the people… yeah.. Disney….
It was terrifying . Awesome !!
I had the awesome experience of riding the Alien Encounter on my honeymoon trip to WDW. I have to say it was an incredible experience I will never forget, but I can definitely see how it was too much for little kids. It sent chills down my spine and had me totally captivated. Loved it!
I remember going , I was 9 and terrified haha but still loved it !!
We got married in May of 95 and went to Disney in August-and it scared the hell out of my wife, but she loved it.
Alien encounter was amazing !!
The "Vomitron 3000" !!! LOL!!! Perfect name for Mission Space. :)
@Maude Zelma no
Still miss Journey to Imagination from the 1980s and Mr Toad’s Wild Ride.
Although not technically a ride, the attraction I miss the most was that 360 degree movie experience called America The Beautiful. That was my favorite.
The Backlot Tour was my favorite. It was the first ride I rode on my first trip to Disney and when my husband and I took our kids on their first trip to Disney that was the first ride we went on. Sad part is that that was also it last day of operation before it was shut down. I’m glad they got to experience it once.
Disney sucks that change classic rides with dumb ip rides to get little kids to like it and make money Disney is making rides so cheap now no creativity
AJ told the truth about Horizons. There was no sinkhole, it was just that they lost the sponsorship and didn’t want to pay for such an elaborate ride. I miss it every day of my life.
It's pathetic that they want someone ELSE to deal with the financial expense of maintenance while they royally rip us off on EVERYTHING from ticket and hotel prices to food and merchandise. I stopped going there over 12 years ago and never will go again.
I took my wife to Epcot in the spring of 1996 and we rode Horizons. I rode it many times with my family when I was younger, but she moved here in her late teens and had never been. It is definitely missed !
there was a sinkhole I have seen the picture of it sinking
@@Teletran35 No. You didn’t. This has been disproved many many times.
agreed but that is what disney does well.....they LIE!
I terribly miss Hollywood Studios theme of the making movie process.
This, as well as Epcot's (or at least Future World's) edutainment, which basically now only exists in Spaceship Earth.
@@B0nd07 absolutely…the theming is now IP no matter what park and land. Also, how can we make the most money from each guest
Everytime I visit the park, the mismatched feeling of part hollywood part Magic Kingdom 2 upsets me...The new lands may look amazing, but they really should have gone to a whole new park...Like B0nd07, I'm also upset about Epcot becoming IP land as well...I do want to ride attractions with characters I love but I also want to see things I can't see anywhere else..Like figment, and Alien Encounter. I can't believe 2006 was the last time disney world got an entirely original ride..It's so sad. I curse the fact Pandora got built and not Beastly Kingdom which would have mostly been filled with none-IP based attractions...I still love the parks but they haven't really been as exciting to me lately due to all these reasons.
I agree completely. The early years of Hollywood Studios had a great cohesive theme, not the random unrelated attractions we’ve got now. Really miss the Great Movie Ride!
@@Inurantchan I totally agree, the parks have, for me lost their original distinctive appeal now they all seem the same.
I just found this gem and had to comment. First: great video.Second: My hubby and I visited Disney World in 1985 and we rode the people mover. It was a ride that was laid back and showed you a LOT of the park. My Dad had retired from Eastern and they told us about it. Now let me say that we had no children(thank goodness because we got to enjoy the park ourselves, haha)but we were not all that old. But this ride was one we would go to every day we were there and plan what to go do each day. I still remember the ride even tho I am older and lost my hubby recently. Thank you for bringing back a beautiful memory for me.
I took my family to Disneyland in 1994, the Skyway was still there. We must have barely made it. When we returned in 2005, it was gone. A park employee told us they closed it because people were throwing things out of the cars, and there were also regulatory issues. Structural issues could have been repaired, but all of it put together... Bloody shame, the rides weren't terribly long, and it was a convenient way to get from one side of the park to the other.
You missed one of my favorites. 20,000 leagues under the sea. That was around in 1988 when I first went to Disney.
This is the one ride that I had always wanted to go on growing up so I was extremely disappointed when I finally got to WDW in 1997 only to find that it had closed down just a few years earlier.
AJ missed Timekeeper and The Legend of the Lion King in MK.
@@PalisadesParketeer The Legend of the Lion King was epic.
That was my favorite ride when my parents took us to Disney World in 1973. I was truly saddened when I learned they were shutting it down.
It was a great ride, I remember it fondly.
I miss Figment, so freaking much. Loved that ride.
I miss Fignent too, and enjoyed Ellen's energy ride, it was cool how you sat in a theatre, then the seats split up into a train. Mx
I clearly remember there was a puppeteer called Dreamfinder. He wore a purple tuxedo and huge top hat. He would walk around the parks with Figment in his hands. You could pet him and he would make funny sounds. I miss those old meet and greets so much.
I wish Epcot would bring back the OG Figment so bad... that was the best ride in Epcot for kids barnone... It's way better than even the updated / new version of the ride.
You didn't mention how Disney tried the Flying Saucer ride again in Car's Land. They made the ride vehicles larger so more guests could fit. It started out as a bit of a novelty, but was hard to control. They closed it down and turned it into Luigi's Rollicking Roadsters. My daughter with Downs calls it Dancing Cars.
In 2000 my family went to Disney, and I distinctly remember learning how babies were made from the making of me short film in the wonders of life pavilion in Epcot…. No one ever seems to remember this “attraction” but I will never forget!!!
"The coolest Disney ride I've never got to ride"
you technically did if you've been on Luigi's Flying Tires at Cars Land when that was a thing, it was the same ride concept. And just like the Flying Saucers, it too was closed and replaced. It actually lasted for a shorter amount of time than Flying Saucers did...only about three years. History continues to repeat itself
When my mom told me about the Flying Saucers, I wanted to try them out. I'm glad I did on the Tires. Too bad they got deflated.
My husband and I both enjoyed the Movie Ride every time we went to WDW, which was like every 2-3 yrs. It was fun to experience all the movies, especially The Wizard of OZ. We were very fortunate to experience most of the rides in this video. Every visit always had to include visiting Figment, Carousel of Progress and Thunder Mountain Railroad. Sadly my husband passed away not long ago and I will never visit WDW again. It holds so many Memories for both of us from throughout the many years!!
Remembering those times are so bittersweet...I miss visiting WDW with you sweetheart and only you!
❤❤❤😪😪😪
I'm kind of disappointed we didn't get to see the Osborne Lights on this list! That was an amazing time that I wish was never gotten rid of! That and Captain Eo! Definitely a classic!
I never got to see those lights! By the time I made it in the holiday season... it was gone!!!
The ride I miss the most and you didn’t cover: Mr. Toad’s Wilde Ride at the Magic Kingdom. I always went on it as a kid, great memories. 🥰
I literally came here just to add that. Such a great ride!
I LOVED this ride!
They took it out? 😭
@@808frost3 Yea sadly
I remember the submarine ride at disney world. I loved that ride. It was called 10,000 leagues under the sea.
I believe it was 20,000 leagues under the sea, based on the titular movie starring Kirk Douglas.
20,000
The ride vehicle was partially built at the Tampa Ship yards and my dad help build them.
@@GusGus1996 I loved that ride. It end with an imagined dangerous obstacle ahead (“ surface, surface, surface!!”).
That was the first ride I ever went on there when I was 7.
Inner Space, People Mover (including the Tron segment) and the Disneyland Railroad's dinosaur section will always be my favorites.
I still miss so many of these. Disneyland’s People Mover, World of Motion, Journey into Imagination, Great Movie Ride, and especially Horizons loss have never stopped hurting.
A defunct attraction that I love that's not on this list is Cranium Command. To me, it's not only an attraction of significance because of the whole stolen Buzzy fiasco but ALSO, it literally helped inspire a PIXAR movie...Inside Out. Pete Docter, the Inside Out director, worked on the Cranium Command preshow. The only Epcot attraction past or present to inspire a movie.
Also, while not a attraction in the way you think of, the defunct music loop made for Wonders of Life is an absolute masterpiece. It's an attraction for your EARS. People rave about the Innoventions loop, but the Wonders of Life loop deserves some love too
I love this comment! Thank you for sharing. I wish that "The Wonders of Life" pavilion would be reimaged into "Play Retro" and host Cranium Command, Body Wars and the original "Star Tours" attractions.
loved that ride
I loved this one, and this is one of the ones I was thinking of.
I love listening to the old attractions background music loops. Wonders of life is one of my favorites.
I was in Disneyland when it opened in 1955 and on Main Street The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse had an enchanted Forest where the trees moved when you passed through it along with a meet and great with the mousekateers also Disneyland opened with horses you could ride thru frontierland. Still miss those flying saucers.
Do you remember the house of tomorrow ? At Disneyland, it was at the entrance to tomorrow land way back when. As a kid at the time I wanted to live in a house like that.
@@jerrysneedsr1066⁰⁰00
I have an odd soft spot for Davy Crocket's River Canoes. Not so much Mike Fink's Keelboats, which essentially took you through the exact same route as the canoes and the steamboat, but always had a much longer wait.
Another pair of early attractions that showed you the same scenes from different perspectives were the Casey Jr Circus Train and the Storybook Land Canal Boats, over in Fantasyland. Anybody who's been there recently tell me if these still operate?
@@dadoctah As of my last visit to Disneyland in 2020, both were still running.
I was scared to death on the Inner Space ride because I thought I really got shrunk, and that I'd never go back to my normal size again!
I miss Captain EO. I was lucky to catch it on its final return in 2014. I was so overtaken with nostalgia that I had tears! 😩🥺
Me too!!! They could at least put it out on DVD if they really wanted to.
@@phoebelajoie5466 You can still watch it on UA-cam.
@@arthurschwartz2755 Yeah at least till copyright laws remove it.
I remember seeing Captain EO... I found it to be 'okay'. I found the part played by Michael Jackson to be annoying for some reason, even when I was a little kid. So while I didn't hate it, I'd rather be riding the teacups or something instead lol.
I believe Captain EO replaced Mission to Mars at Disneyland some time in the 1980s
Growing up in Orange County CA - I was fortunate to go to Disneyland quite often in my childhood. There was also a pack-mule ride (real horses or mules) in Frontierland in the 50’s. It was around where Big Thunder mountain is now and went back along the river. I also rode the boats, but I think they ran longer than just 55-56 and went sometime into the 60’s - but not as the Phantom boars with fins. Thanks for the memory lane tour, AJ! The saucers were a fave!
I also went to Disney pretty often. My sister had an internship at Disney in Florida, so I got to go about once a month!
I rode those boats in the 70's!! We used to jump in each others boats during the ride!! Fun times!!
The boats were there in the 90s too, they probably break them out while working on the submarine ride.
I remember riding the boats in Disneyland in the 90’s- with my little girl. it had a Gummy Bear theme
In 1981 my boyfriend and i took a Greyhound Bus from N Miami to Disney World. It was the middle of the hottest April I can remember. We discovered Pirates of the Caribbean and wound up riding it 5 or 6 time only because outside it was too hot. They changed Pirates sometime in the 90's or 2000's. But I will never forget those 5 or 6 rides.
The grandparents of all extinct rides are 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Mister Toad's Wild Ride. I have only been to any Disney park once, in 1978. There was only the Magic Kingdom. These two rides were the best. I also was on If You Had Wings. For such a "simple" ride, it was amazing. To this day I remember how it felt to be on all three.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was notorious for its long lines, with wait times of up two hours typical for the ride. That's what killed it. The ride itself was interesting, but with its low capacity it was unable to accommodate enough riders.
I grew up in Anaheim and know Disneyland like the back of my hand. The motorboats in Tomorrowland were functioning and in existence into the mid-80's. One of the major reasons they had to remove the "Sky Buckets" was because people were always spitting out of them or tossing items out of their gondolas. Locals knew you never walked under the "Sky Buckets". One idiot jumped out of the "Sky Buckets" and into a tree. I remember as a kid loving "Circle Vision". Not really a ride, but great air-conditioning in the summertime! Oh, and TRON inside the People Mover was so cool!
Repent to Jesus Christ
“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’””
Matthew 4:4 NIV
O
makes sense
Looking at those photos, I think the average park guest today would be too heavy to ride those gondolas
I made my first trip to Disneyland in 1979. I was 18 years old. I could swear the motorboats were gone, submarines were there. I miss the People Mover and the Sky Buckets. The People Mover was a great ride if one just wanted to take a break from all the walking and relax. The Sky Buckets were a great way to get from one side of the park to the other. Also, being a teen in the "70s, they were the only place I can think of where we could smoke a joint in the park!
If we ever invent time travel I predict that it will be used mostly for tourism, especially to go to a time in order to ride attractions that are no longer there anymore.
I was going to say that too!
This brought back some memories. My first Disney experience was 1968 and I remember the submarines clearly. I am getting ready to take my wife to Disney World in January. This will be her first Disney experience.
I'm shocked that my parents and some relatives don't remember 20,000 leagues under the sea. I rode on it in the mid 1980s and still remember it clearly, probably because it was the first thing I rode when I first went to WDW.
WDW replacing The Great Movie Ride with Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Train was the greatest betrayal of my life.
I still miss Mr. Toad’s wild ride to this day at Walt Disney World. I finally got to ride it again at Disneyland.
What is Disney World thinking???
Body Wars always reminded me of The Magic Schoolbus :)
I truly miss some of those rides.. But I wish Disney would either 1. Open up another park, and have those old rides with new ones brought back. Or 2. Really look into VR, and try to replicate it 1 to 1. It would be a money maker, and frankly they could have a virtual park with zero maintenance or cost.
The Great Movie Ride, the Backlot Tour, and the Maelstrom are rides that I was fortunate enough to experience and I miss them severely 😭 The replacements for all 3 are fine, but disappointing for the fact that they diminish the theming of their respective parks. Like I had a lot of fun on Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, but it seems like it should exist in Toontown. And I totally understand why they wanted to capitalize on Frozen - duh - but they could have incorporated the characters while still making it about NORWAY. That could have been really cool actually.... And Toy Story Land is cute, but Hollywood Studios is just becoming Magic Kingdom Part II; it's not about the magic of movie-making and that makes me so sad. I miss Lights, Motors, Action! sooooo much lol
I almost went on Ellen's Energy Adventure, my parents were like "Let's check this out!", and then we saw that it was 45 minutes and my sister and I didn't care about Ellen or Dinosaurs haha - if only we'd known Bill Nye was part of it!
The ride I wish I got to experience on this list the most is definitely the original Journey Into Imagination, but Extra Terrorestrial seems awesome and I never really knew what Horizons was, but that seems sick. Honestly, all the old Epcot ones sound amazing. But now instead of cool educational stuff, we get Moana and Guardians of the Galaxy in Future World...? Uhh.... Nah, I'm not bitter.
Adventure Through Inner Space! I absolutely loved that ride. When I was young I half believed it was real.
You're not alone. There was a transparent tube you watch as people on the ride (presumably) ahead of you had already been shrunk down on their way to going microscopic. While I waited in line, I couldn't take my eyes off of them. Then I noticed that the same people kept s&owing up(because they were on a loop) and they all seemed to be frozen.....great ride though.
I also thought it was real, that ride was really memorable for me.
That was one of my favorites! So compelling!
I am STILL in mourning for this one. I would love to take my son on it.
We called it the Make-out ride. 🤣
How could you forget “Mr Toad’s Wild Ride” at Magic Kingdom?
I loved that one…for some reason it was just so…restorative. Felt like a little kid in wonder 😔
Man Mr. Toad was the whole reason my bird is named toad. Her RBF looks like an angry toad!
I rode that one so many times!
What, 'Mr. Toad's Wlid Ride' is closed???
@@frankbrislin4378 It closed in Disney World in 1998 but remains open in Disneyland.
I LOVED Horizons and the "choose your own adventure" at the end. I had completely forgotten about World of Motion until you mentioned it and that makes perfect sense that it is now Test Track. I very much remember the man who fell off his bike and landed in the mud with the pigs. :) Thanks for sharing all of this!
Just wanted to say I love this channel. Any time I miss Disney World, your videos help me miss it less
Adventure Through Inner Space was KING!! A long, cool, fascinating break on a hot SoCal day.
My first trip to Walt Disney World I was able to experience Body Wars. To this attraction had the most impact on me personally. I was entering college and choose pre-med because of this.
Ok that is an awesome story.
got sick as a dog on that ride...that is when I learned very quickly...that I cannot do simulator rides, I get motion sickness
Aw, I had no idea Maelstrom and The Great Movie Ride are no more. I'm glad I got to ride them when my family visited in 2005.
I’m so glad when I was a kid my dad filmed the figment ride. I have it in its entirety on a vhs tape.
Growing up going to the parks constantly id say the biggest one for me is the great movie ride. Really one of its kind and truly immersive for its time. I really miss it a lot. I get the redo for kids maybe, but man why change perfection.
Disney sucks that change classic rides with dumb ip rides to get little kids to like it and make money Disney is making rides so cheap now no creativity
@@skatingwithIuke have you been on rise of the resistance yet lol? They all still have great theming and still just as immersive. You just have to wait 4hrs or pay more to ride it lol
I sure am glad Spaceship Earth is still there in something close to its original format - I got emotional riding it for the first time on my first visit to Epcot last month. I love 80s era Epcot - what's left of it. Also thank you for the daily vlogs - I used so many of your tips AJ!
Yes, original EPCOT -- after Horizons, Life, and Living Seas were completed -- was the best EPCOT of all! They've only made it worse since.
Living with the Land is the only other Future World ride very close to its original format.
I do too! First trip to Disney was in the 80s, in my 20s. Parents could not afford it when we were little but they made sure we got there as soon as we could! Despite being a very grown-up young lady then (worked on Wall St days/college nights) I reverted back to being 12...even jumping up and down yelling "Get up, get up, we have to be there as soon as it opens". Mind you, I was definitely a night person but for Disney World...And now I have such fond memories of there with my Dad, who passed at only 58.
Agreed. But the original narrator was way better
@@bradlevantis913 The original narrator was Walter Cronkite.
I legit loved the Rocket Rods. I'm SO glad I got to enjoy them when I did. I almost always wound up in the park alone (late teens/early 20s, on trips with parents for conferences and I'd escape to Disneyland for days) and they use to have a great single-rider pass. I could easily ride it 5+ times in a day and still enjoy the rest of the park
Disney sucks that change classic rides with dumb ip rides to get little kids to like it and make money Disney is making rides so cheap now no creativity
FYI, the tornado effect in Mickey and Mini's Runaway Railway is a complete new structure and effect. It does not use anything from the original ride.
I was on the engineering and design team that did the main structure and mechanics for it :)
The flying room in "If You Had Wings" was the best. Even a bit better than the Omni Theater in EPCOT's Horizons.
Loved that ride too!
It's better than Buzz Light year.
That ride was sponsored by Eastern Airlines. I remember it when I was a kid. The "People Mover" would give you a preview!
I was too young to remember this at the time, but we have pics from 1966/1967 of the live mule rides at Disneyland.
Are you sure that wasn’t from Knott’s Berry Farm? I remember riding those mules.
I had been on 11 of these rides, as well as other defunct attractions at both Disneyland and Disney World. As a kid, I preferred Maelstrom over the Disney World version of Pirates of the Caribbean. I just loved that backwards part of the ride. When I went back in 2015, it was pretty sad to walk by the Norway pavilion and never get the opportunity to ride Maelstrom again.
I wish I could've gone on the Flying Saucers at Disneyland. I was lucky to ride it's descendant Luigi's Flying Tires at California Adventure a few times during it's 3 year run from 2012 to 2015.
I have happy memories of If You Had Wings (which was replaced by Delta Dreamflight and then Buzz Lightyear). I only got to ride it in 1979 but it didn't require tickets so you could ride it over and over. That was my first experience with a Disney park and all of its magical animatronics and animation so it left quite an impression. I'm sure if I rode it now it would seem boring, but for my 8 yr old self back then, it was amazing.
At 14:53 the Disney World attraction from 1972-1987 "If You Had Wings". I rode that in 1979 during my college yrs at USF in Tampa. Gotta tell you, at the end of this ride was an ACTUAL Eastern Airlines Employee sitting at a desk waiting for you to walk up to make plane reservations. Not kidding. He wrote out paper tickets & accepted your paper check as payment. I used to ask them every time I got off the ride, "does anyone actually buy a plane ticket from you?" The response was, usually "No." So their job was just to sit there for hours & feel strange watching people get off the ride at Disney. Weird, huh?!!
Wow, that's interesting information. I loved that ride! Never noticed the Eastern Airlines agent, or maybe I was just too excited to go to the next ride LOL. Those were my University years too.
You mentioned the Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland in Frontierland at Disneyland but you didn't mention that back in the late 60's there were also mules (live animals) that you could ride through Nature's Wonderland. My best friend was a "mule skinner" (a ride attendant to get people on and off the mules) in the summer of 1967. That was a lot of capital and work that didn't get many people through the ride.
Having grown up in SoCal in the sixties, it's the old-school attractions I miss the most. Never got to attend the Golden Horseshoe Revue, which is probably my greatest Disneyland regret. Star Tours and Captain EO (yikes!) were after my time. And my mom reported visiting and trying to ride the Mine Train only to discover after boarding that it had been changed to Big Thunder Mountain.
Thank you for defining what a “mule skinner” was.. the name is a bit troubling lol
I remember seeing them. Loved the train
I'm enjoying AJ's slow descent into madness. 👍
it's the covid brain fog
I went to Disneyland for the first time at 5 years old in 1996. The best was the submarine ride. And that Orac whale with the Kraken STILL burned in my memory. I remember begging to go on it again and my dad (a fantastic storyteller/actor) was happy to and encouraged my theory that it was real! Lol. We went on it 3 times.
RIP Dad, one of my FAVORITE memories with him and the thing I remember most from Disneyland
Skyway... went on that ride MANY times as a little kid. It was my favorite because it had really great POVs. But then... "some kids" discovered another cool thing about the Skyway and it had nothing to do with the cool POVs. To be honest, when it closed I thought it had more to do with misuse rather than disuse.
What was the other cool thing they discovered
Has anyone else noticed that all of the rides replaced were 15+ minutes and replaced with inferior rides that are less than 3 minutes long?
Standing in line and/or walking between lines...er...attractions creates more desire for expensive food and drink.
@@MGower4465 Perhaps with some people it does... It never has with me or my family.
People apparently balked at spending 20 minutes in a ride. This had the unfortunate result of making EPCOT seem like there's nothing to do. Where once just the ride time of Horizons, World Of Motion, Energy and Health (combined with displays) took well over 2 hours to explore, the current and future line up of Test Track, Space and Guardians can be done in less than 15 minute ride time.
@@richardperhai8292 the only people who had an issue with the 20 minute rides were the Disney bean counters when it came time to service and maintain them. The turntable mechanism of Imagination was quite complex and was the first thing the bean counters looked to eliminate in the early 2000s cheapening, er, "refurb"
I guess they want people moving along on the lines faster plus spending more time outside buying food and souveniers.
I loved Alien Encounter I was 11 when it opened so it was perfect and AJ you forgot the getting " hit with blood "... and let's not forget "It's my mother in law!!"
I had the good fortune of riding the Rocket Rods not long after it opened. I loved that ride, it was exhilarating!
I do miss the People Mover though and I wish they would bring it back.
Back in the day when you went through the Queue at Space Mountain you could look up and see the roller coasters and all the "stars" and planets. Now there is only the ceiling until you get on the ride. Does anyone know why WDW changed the queue??? I REALY miss the old one.
The original Journey into your Imagination, and Horizons. I miss legendary EPCOT.
The “ thing “ I miss most in Disneyland wasn’t a ride, it was a snack stop in Fantasyland. The Welch’s grape juice stand. Cool mural of Bacchus from Fantasia. Sure beat Dole hands down!
Love this attraction ( this is the attraction that I meet my wife on, when I was 16, I'm 58 now,) going to Disneyland this
Coming Sunday, with my wife
29yr old daughter and our 18yr old son. Can't wait.
That’s lovely! Congratulations!
When I was really little I got a splinter in my hand (Thanks Blizzard Beach), the day after we were in EPCOT and rode Body Wars and I had a FULL BLOWN meltdown on the ride which was something I had never ever done before, they actually had to stop the ride and when they got me off and into the light my hand was swollen 3 times it's size because my splinter was infected and apparently the story line of the ride was just too real for me. We did get a fun backstage ride to medical and then a fun trip off property to the hospital, but I never rode Body Wars again
I'd love to see the Peoplemover/Rocket Rods rebuilt as an RMC coaster through the buildings.
@@saviorself1164 I sympathize - it was one of my favorite rides as well. But the track is irreparably damaged; it can't be rebuilt without major renovations, including ripping apart most of the buildings.
My brother in law had worked at wdw in the monorail station since it opened . He worked from 72- until few years ago he retired .
Thank you for making this video! Brought back some great childhood memories and nostalgia. The Epcot rides that were sooo futuristic then, pretty sure that was the beginning of my love of sci fi!!! I really hope to make more wonderful memories on new rides. (Also, the one where you went into the human body was always my parents fav... they were both in the medical field back then and figured it made them look "cooler" 😆💗😆
I went to Disneyland in 1977...it was my
first time....it certainly has changed alot... Melbourne Australia
You were showing two different boat rides at Disneyland when you were talking about the phantom boats. Majority of the pictures were from the mortor boat cruise that closed in the early 90s.
Yes, there were motor boats at Disneyland until the 90s. The submarine ride of the 50s did not take over that area. The boats were still there!
The total darkness in Alien Encounter was terrifying!
I just learned about Stitche’s Great Escape shut down about either a year ago or a few months ago, and I was just completely devastated. It was my favorite attraction EVER!
Mine was the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I was heart broken when I found out it had been closed down. Especially after telling my girls about it and they wnated to experience it too on our trip. But it's ok we will make other great memories.
I rode Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland back when my family first visited Disneyland on vacation. As a child, I’ll confess I found the Matterhorn (and the Yeti) more entertaining. But I really miss the Skyway. When my husband and I were at Disneyland on our honeymoon, we were waiting in line for the Skyway out of Fantasyland, and a cast member apparently figured out we were newlyweds. They pulled us out of line and had us wait, then sent us out on the last car before the fireworks went off. As a result, we saw the first couple of minutes from the air. That is a moment of magic we will never forget.
True Disney fans knew about the existence of Disney's nature documentary films before Disney+...never forget what Disney did to those poor lemmings. Heck, they even lied about where the lemming migration was. It was by a river near Calgary (not the Arctic Ocean which the film claimed), which lemmings aren't native to. They bought them from Inuit children for 25 cents in Manitoba and shipped them to Calgary to be used for filming. Then created snow-covered turntables that spun to send them tumbling...all for film
And this is why we now have laws protecting animals. Thankfully.
I go WAY back when it comes to the early days of Disneyland. I was a small kid then and I remember the mule rides along the edge of the ''Grand Canyon''. These rides were actually scary, even for adults. I remember my mule's name was Peter Rabbit and his hooves would slip now and then and I was afraid of falling into the' 'canyon''. Not only that, as we moved along he would bite the butt of the mule in front of us, and any minute I expected that mule to buck-kick us both into the deep ravine. But those were really good times!
Horizons will always be my favorite lost attraction. Another thing that gets lost when these attractions close is the music. My favorite Official CD from WDW is from the 90's, with classics such and "The Universe of Energy", "One Little Spark" and the original Kitchen Cabaret song.
I also miss ExtraTerrorestrial Alien Encounter. It was an amazing ride, AJ.
I really miss Horizons, Motion, and the OG Journey to Imagination. They were filled with so much optimism. They were entertaining enough that you wanted to ride them again and again, you would always find something new that you didn't see before, and you just felt happy when you exited the ride. And who didn't like sitting in the new Cadillacs and Corvettes at the end of Motion??? Image Works was a wonderful playground for children and adults alike. I also miss 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea which was an awesome experience. Other rides that I haven't seen mentioned include the Mike Fink Keelboats, the Frontierland Canoes, and the Plaza Swan Boats. I was one of the last persons to drive the Swan Boats when they closed at the end of the summer season in 1983. The guidance systems no longer worked, so you had to drive them like an old hook & ladder fire truck (now I'm dating myself!). There were two water jets that propelled the boat (one in front, one in back) that turned 360 degrees and were controlled by two separate wheels in the back of the boat. They would regularly break down because of overheating, and we would have to rescue each other by driving Swan Boats backwards to reach the broken-down vessel and towing them back to the dock with ropes. Because of the giant swan on the front of the boat, the stranded captain would literally have to straddle the swan to grab the rescue ropes and attach them to cleats on the deck of the boat. It was a very relaxing ride (17 minutes long) and gave you a view of the Magic Kingdom from the level of the moat and gardens surrounding the castle into Adventureland. Can't count how many times we crashed into the back of the Oasis snack bar by the Jungle Cruise. The cast members working there had a complex. They knew it would only be a matter of time until a swan came knocking... I used to drive the Fire Truck on Main Street and let kids ring the bell and run the siren. I hear that is no longer an attraction anymore as well.
One thing I clearly remember in Journey into Imagination was they had a massive dark room just before you reached the rainbow tunnel. The instant you stepped in, overhead lights lit up multicolored circles and you had to avoid the black spaces and jump to the next one. I had a lot of fun jumping around in the dark with other kids. It wasn't dangerous at all; the beams of light were spaced wide enough that 99% of kids couldn't possibly jump that far to the next one.
Forgot to add: it does warm my heart that many fans still remember Figment the purple dragon that was in this attraction. My family sometimes asks me what my favorite Disney character is and when i say "Figment" I get strange looks. Then I have to remind them he's a Disney PARKS character, not a movie character. A small handful of relatives remember him but the others still give me confused looks, LMAO...
This was totally a trip down memory lane! WOW do I miss some of these rides. I always think to myself, I wish they would build a theme park that was just all vintage rides.
I loved The Great Movie Ride! I miss it. There was also never a wait for that ride. I wish they could have never had to demolish anything but just expand the park
Once again, Mr Toad’s Wild Ride gets no love.
It's not here, because it didn't have to close. : P
It’s called Winnie the Pooh
Easily coulda gone across the street at the place that would become a Pooh playground (the same one mostly still available in front of the ride) as the expansion was not yet a thing. Everything here had a reason outside of "new attraction". Mr Toad was super popular until the end. There's a reason people boycotted its closure and not many other attractions closures. It literally had no real reason to close.
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was great! Respects!
Loved that, and Peter Pan.
"There's nothing phantom about them, except that they kept disappearing from people's itineraries"
"This attraction was constantly broken down, a lot like myself”
AJ pretty much said: *I wake up and choose violence*
I was lucky to work at EPCOT 1983-1984. I worked at The World of Motion and in Spaceship Earth. I loved every minute of it!
I went to Disneyland in the late 1950s and 1960s with my family several times. I remember a mule train ride where you rode actual live mules walking in a line hitched one behind the next. That did not last long at all. I imagine all sorts of hassles dealing with live mules. They also had the Mini Autopia ride with small cars with noisy engines, like lawn mowers. They did not run on a track but followed a road looping thru a landscaped course with curbs on each side tall enough to keep the cars on the road. You actually steered them. The first time I rode on it I was so excited to be actually driving a car but I got stuck. I was too close to the curb and my car got jammed against the curb. So, when I was stuck, so was everyone behind me. A guy had to come out and kick my car away from the curb so I (and everyone behind me) could finish their drive. Big design flaw. I think it was changed. Then the Flying Saucer ride came later, bumper cars bouncing along on air jets and THOSE frequently got stuck as well. Lots of trial and error in amusement park rides. Many casualties along the way.
I am glad to read about the mule ride. When I tell people about it, they say I am confusing it for Knott's burros. I miss Carousel of Progress and people mover. I haven't been back since the early 1980's. I was on Space Mountain before it opened with an employee I was dating. I don't like roller coasters and it scared me and was so jerky and after this trial run, Disney slowed it down by 30%.