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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea


Image: Disney

If you’ve taken a trip on Disney Cruise Line and visited Castaway Cay, Disney’s very own private island, you may have stumbled across a piece of Magic Kingdom history. The island, which is included as a stop on most Port Canaveral-based itineraries, features a themed snorkeling area. In addition to tropical fish and man-made reefs, guests snorkeling may  have also come across one of the Nautilus vehicles from the Magic Kingdom’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction.

Though the sunken Nautilus has likely been removed, since there have been few if any known sightings of it in recent years, nods to this classic attraction may be found around Walt Disney World. An image of the famed sub may be seen carved into a wall at the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, atop the weather vane at the Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid attraction, and a visit to Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto at Disney’s Polynesian Resort is filled with references to the Nautilus, including one of the most unique souvenir glasses in Walt Disney World.  

Space Mountain

Space Mountain

Image: Disney

If there is one theme that remains consistent with most Disney theme parks it’s space travel. It is no surprise then that pieces of space-themed attractions may be borrowed from other parks. The most notable examples of this are the astronauts guests see during their trips around the galaxy on Space Mountain. While these two seem to fit right at home in this Tomorrowland attraction, their original home was actually within a much larger attraction over in Epcot.

Spaceship Earth has gone through a number of renovations since its opening in 1982, with one of the most major refurbishments being the work that was done to make way for the 1994 version of the attraction narrated by Jeremy Irons. During this refurbishment, the astronauts that originally manned the space station located near the top of the sphere were removed and eventually brought over to Space Mountain. Wondering where exactly the space station was located on Spaceship Earth? It can be a bit difficult to see today, but if you turn around near the top of the backwards descent, you may notice some framework that resembles a space station. (Just remember to remain seated and avoid using flash photography, please!)

 
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