6. El Rio Del Tiempo
Location: Epcot
Opened: October 1, 1982
Closed: January 2, 2007
Yes, a third lost Epcot attraction. Epcot quickly gained a reputation among families as more educational than entertaining. Kids considered it more of a science center than a theme park. One of the chief complaints had to be (and continues to be) the park’s World Showcase. The lovingly recreated international pavilions feature some incredible entertainment, inspiring detail, and delectable food offerings. But kids aren’t exactly clamoring for an authentic Moroccan meal. When a child's eyes light up at the mention of Walt Disney World, it's probably not a Canadian film they're hoping to see.
While plenty of Circle-Vision films told the story, only two World Showcase countries had an actual ride through their respective cultures. El Rio Del Tiempo (The River of Time) was a slow-moving boat ride through Mexican history. The journey began in a glowing lagoon around an ancient pyramid under a crisp night sky. Like Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean, the boats would float through the lagoon and alongside a fine-dining restaurant that shared the central pyramid and starry skies. The ride itself featured "small world" style Audio Animatronics and screens that depicted Mexican culture, history, and celebration.
What Happened: El Rio Del Tiempo was updated in 2007 as Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros, drawing from the avian trio in Disney’s 1944 film The Three Caballeros. Donald Duck, Jose Carioca, and Panchito Pistoles criss-cross Mexico in a modern travelogue ending in their concert in Mexico City. Even though the transformation is the kind that Disney Parks fans detest (needlessly injecting animated characters into classic attractions), there didn’t seem to be much backlash. It could be because the ride is very well hidden and was never a standout in the park’s lineup.
7. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: Submarine Voyage
Location: Magic Kingdom
Opened: October 14, 1971
Closed: September 5, 1994
When Disneyland opened the outstanding Submarine Voyage in the park’s Tomorrowland in 1959, it fit: submarines were the technology of the future, and Walt’s fleet was among the world’s largest. By Magic Kingdom’s 1971 opening, things had changed. Submarine Voyage was given a Jules Verne makeover (including replicating the fantastic Nautilus hull) to fit into Fantasyland. The attraction itself was almost identical to Disneyland’s version, but the 20,000 Leagues story was a stylistic choice that was invigorating and elegant.
What Happened: Both the subs in California and Florida have incredibly low hourly capacity and are very, very expensive to run. Magic Kingdom’s closed in 1994, allegedly so that Cast Members could be rerouted to the New Tomorrowland that had just opened. For many years, the large lagoon was empty. Eventually, the Ariel’s Grotto greeting area was built into a cavern on the lake’s edge, with a bronze statue of King Triton in the water. It was a big lagoon to just be placemaking!
Eventually, the beautiful lake was filled in and became Pooh’s Playful Spot, a soft-floored play area to compliment the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh across the path. That lasted for just about five years before the plot of land that had been the Submarine Lagoon and its accompanying dark ride showbuilding was finally leveled to become New Fantasyland.
Today, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train sits where the lagoon once was, and a new path leading to the approximate location of the showbuilding houses Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid, Be Our Guest Restaurant, and Enchanted Tales with Belle. That’s a big plot of land!
Disneyland’s Submarine Voyage closed a few years after Magic Kingdom’s. The lagoon in California was vacant for a decade before the Subs miraculously returned, just as the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. A ride called 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is located at Tokyo DisneySea, but has little in common with the Magic Kingdom original. DisneySea's is a dry dark ride that only simulates being underwater, though it's an incredible and monumental dark ride in its own right.
Read the in-depth feature Lost Legends: 20,000 Leagues for the full story!
8. If You Had Wings
Image: Disney
Location: Magic Kingdom
Opened: June 5, 1972
Closed: January 3, 1989
Ready for take-off? Shortly after Magic Kingdom's grand opening, this 1972 Omnimover-based dark ride took flight in the park's Tomorrowland. A living travelogue of destinations serviced by Eastern Air Lines, the ride cleverly combined physical sets with then-cutting-edge projection effects. Designed by Disney Legend Claude Coats, the ride was a true wonder from beginning to end... especially in its feature "Speed Room" wherein riders passed through a cavernous ellipsoid chamber surrounded in projections of flight.
Still, the reason the ride is remembered by so many of Magic Kingdom's first generation today is thanks to its theme song, "If You Had Wings." The catchy and clever melody was crafted by the legendary X Atencio (lyricist for Pirates of the Caribbean's "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" and Haunted Mansion's "Grim Grinning Ghosts"). If You Had Wings is recognized for the role it played as a prototype for the industry-focused, sponsored, informational dark rides that would follow at EPCOT Center a decade later.
What Happened: The When Eastern Air Lines folded, so did the ride. However, it re-opened just five days later as "If You Could Fly." Mostly unchanged, the now unsponsored ride lost one major piece: its theme song. Enthusiasm plummeted. Eventually, the space was re-used for a separate aviation themed dark ride, Delta Dreamflight. It, too, was de-sponsored and became Dreamflight, then Take Flight, before finally folding altogether so the ride could be rethemed as Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.
Read the in-depth Lost Legends: If You Had Wings feature for the full story!
9. ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter
Location: Magic Kingdom
Opened: June 20, 1995
Closed: October 12, 2003
The headlining attraction of Magic Kingdom’s 1994 remodel of New Tomorrowland, ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter was… well… terrifying. Guests were strapped into a circular theatre facing a large glass tube, supposedly expecting to see a "typical" demonstration of teleportation technology… until a carnivorous alien (a healthy mix of spider, snake, and grasshopper) is accidentally caught in the beam and teleported to Earth. The creature shatters the glass tube and escapes into the audience, drooling on your shoulder, crawling around thanks to 3D sound, and splashing the audience in the blood of an unsuspecting employee. Sounds fun, eh?
Disney developed Alien Encounter alongside George Lucas (of Star Wars and Indiana Jones fame) and planned to duplicate the extreme sensory show as each Tomorrowland across the globe got their respective updates in the 1990s. After a period of development hell in which then-CEO Michael Eisner declared the show “too scary” and then “not scary enough,” Alien Encounter opened quite later than expected and ultimately closed earlier than hoped for.
What Happened: As the name suggests, ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter was an intense experience that often ended with children shrieking and begging to go home. Parents must’ve practically stormed the Guest Relations office. In the end, the attraction was just too much for Magic Kingdom. It closed briefly to be retooled, and now exists as the highly-despised Stitch’s Great Escape, replacing the bloodthirsty alien with the comical Stitch who burps chili dogs and spits on the crowd. It's still horrifying, but in a totally different way. Plus, with a ride that's too "silly" for teens but too dark for kids, Stitch's Great Escape appeals to practically no one. The attraction is so disliked by fans, it owned its own in-depth Designing Disaster: Stitch's Great Escape feature that tells the full story.
It’s too bad Alien Encounter wasn’t given a chance in other Disney Parks as originally intended. Disneyland contains far more in the way of dark stories and "PG-13" inspired rides (like Star Tours and Temple of the Forbidden Eye) and it’s unlikely that Alien Encounter would’ve been chased out of town there. Since Magic Kingdom is almost entirely dedicated to G-rated stories and settings, Alien Encounter was an odd man out and eventually was deemed too dark for the park.
Read the in-depth Lost Legends: ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter feature for the full story!
10. World of Motion
Location: Epcot
Opened: October 1, 1982
Closed: January 2, 1996
Yes, a fourth Epcot attraction that’s been wiped from the face of the Earth. Back in the early days when Epcot’s concept of World’s Fair pavilions was actually enforced, that circular pavilion in the northwest corner of Future World was called World of Motion and dealt with the concept of transportation. Like almost every other Epcot pavilion of the time, the best way to tell that story was through a dark ride.
World of Motion was an Omnimover dark ride that chronicled the growth of transportation from foot power through equestrian periods, the invention of the wheel at Babylon, and the Age of Flight with Leonardo da Vinci. The steamboat follows, then the steam locomotive. Even the world’s first traffic jam. Like Horizons and Journey Into Imagination, there was something so wonderful about World of Motion and its progressive, brilliantly designed, classic style. One particularly iconic moment was immediately after the ride departed the boarding station, spiraling around a massive support pole outside of the attraction. Reportedly, the support and track are still behind the new glass exterior of the pavilion.
What Happened: As General Motors slumped in the economy, they began to consider pulling their sponsorship of the transportation-themed pavilion. Disney made them an offer to design an entirely new ride that would focus on the company’s cars: Test Track. Obviously GM bought the plan and World of Motion closed in early 1996 (which, ironically, forced the temporary reopening of Horizons to counter the park’s low ride count). After some technological flubs postponed its opening, Test Track opened in 1999. Even Test Track didn’t last long. In 2012, it closed for good, re-opening as the VERY different Test Track Presented by Chevrolet (that’s a GM brand) later that year.
Read the in-depth Lost Legends: World of Motion feature for the full story!
11. Maelstrom
Location: Epcot
Opened: July 5, 1988
Closed: October 5, 2014
The fifth well-loved, classic dark ride to be taken from Epcot, Maelstrom belonged to the Norway pavilion, and told the story of Norwegian myth and culture. The boat first sailed through a dark tunnel and up a hill where the voice and eyes of Odin promised that any who seek the spirit of Norway would find adventure and peril. It then entered a Viking port, then a mythical marsh where a three-headed troll cursed the boat to fall backwards down a waterfall. The backwards-traveling boats then passed by polar bears before correcting direction and splashing down in the North Sea surrounded by oilrigs.
The mish-mash of stories gives an impression of the World Showcase dilemma: creating an engaging ride that shares the highlights of a culture’s stories and myths while also promoting tourism and explaining the country’s place in modern economics and production. Somehow Maelstrom managed, and that’s saying something given that the ride clocked in at just over four minutes.
What Happened: Disney struck gold with 2013’s Frozen, which became the highest grossing animated film of all time and dazzled critics, families, and fans. The movie is set in the fictional kingdom of Arendelle, which is definitely stylistically based on Norwegian customs and architecture. Princesses Anna and Elsa of the film took up residence in the pavilion’s restaurant and gift shops, but it wasn’t enough. Maelstrom closed October 5, 2014 to be transformed into Frozen Ever After, which opened Summer 2016.
Read the in-depth Lost Legends: Maelstrom feature for the full story!
Parting is such sweet sorrow
Nothing lasts forever, but it's still a shame that we had to lose the eleven attractions here. Whether their replacements are lacking or they simply were too grand to leave so soon, we desperately miss these eleven classic and beloved rides. That's why our Lost Legends series was born... Watch for links to Lost Legends throughout the site to get the in-depth histories of forgotten favorites.
Five of the eleven are from Epcot... What does that say about Epcot today? Were the five removals here worth their replacements? What others rides have disappeared from your favorite parks that you wish you could have another ride on? Did we miss any major Disney losses? Tell us in the comments!
Comments
I totally agree! "If You Had Wings" captured an older walt-like era at the park, one where it was a rare freebie attraction (paid for by sponsorship) while all the others still used the old ride tickets.