Many of the opening day attractions of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World have become classic attractions beloved by all who experienced them, and many still exist today. But one incredibly popular ride no longer exists in the park due to a variety of strange reasons, the Disney Skyway.
Located in three different Disney Parks, the Skyway was an attraction that transported guests between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland above the park in bucket style ride vehicles. Today we are just discussing the Magic Kingdom's history and downfall.
While primarily a transportation system, this ride became known for the amazing views it gave of the park as it passed above two of its most iconic lands.
This opened along with the park and remained largely unchanged throughout its entire history, with the main change being that the sights of the park looked very different in the final years than what they did when the park first opened, with new rides like Space Mountain springing up alongside the Skyway path.
In the 1990s, Disney began to look at retiring various versions of this ride. Due to its outdated ride system it was expensive to keep running and there had been a few high profile incidents that involved deaths at both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom. It would eventually be the financial aspect that would close the ride in 1999, when it was the last version of the attraction still open in the world.
Despite the closure, the two stations would remain a part of the park for years after it closed.
In Fantasyland the station would only close in 2009 to make way for New Fantasyland where its former location is now occupied by the Tangled bathrooms.
In Tomorrowland the station actually still stands to this day. The second floor was removed but the first floor still operates as bathrooms in Tomorrowland.
In a way this attraction recently got a spiritual successor at Walt Disney World as a more wide scale transportation system between different parks and hotels, the Disney Skyliner. Even after a rocky start, this became a perfect addition to the resort, reimagining a part of the original Magic Kingdom in a new modern way.
Comments
Post a Comment