Piloting Submarines in the World of Tomorrow

Last Wednesday my phone rang while I was reading, and I was surprised to see that the call was from Disneyland. Being a seasonal cast member, my last day of work had been on New Year's Day, and I wasn't expecting to work again until starting the Disney College Program at the end of the month. I picked up the phone.

"This is so-and-so from the Disneyland Resort. I'm calling about your training schedule for the college program. You'll be starting on the tenth."

"Excellent," I said. "The tenth of February, I presume."

"No, actually the tenth of January," came the reply. "This Sunday." Unexpected, but not at all unwelcome.

"Sounds good," I said, pulling up my calendar.

"You'll start at 6 a.m. and then you'll working these hours on these days to train for your new attraction."

"Okay, and what attraction is this for?" I asked. I had been gunning for the Haunted Mansion ever since I applied to become a cast member.

"Oh, you'll be working the submarines."

Inside, I broke down a little. Kinda like Space Mountain. I had really hoped to continue working at Splash Mountain throughout my time with the Disney College Program. The New Orleans/Critter Country area had really begun to feel like home, not just because I spent so much time in the area but also because I really liked the atmosphere of the place. And now I was the kid who was told by his parents that the family was moving out of the state. In less than a week. One phone call had suddenly thrust me from home to the other side of Disneyland.

Of course, I didn't go down without a fight and asked if it was possible to stay where I was. Unfortunately, this year happens to be the year that the Rivers of America get drained for routine maintenance and will be down for several months. That means everyone who works a river-based attraction has to find a place at the other New Orleans/Critter Country attractions, and sadly there was no room left for me. So I took the defeat graciously (I'm in reality quite mild-mannered when it comes to fighting) and accepted the loss.

Okay, so I make this sound like it's a tragic ordeal. It's really not. The situation has been bittersweet at worst. Yes, I was disappointed to no longer wear the burgundy suspenders and work at Splash Mountain, but that disappointment was eventually overshadowed by the excitement of piloting the legendary submarines, Walt's original fleet of eight. So far, after one day of training, the work has lived up to my expectations. I think I'm really going to enjoy working the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage in the world of tomorrow.

Here's to the future!
T.H. Excellence

Three "E" Ticket Rides

In 1958, three years after the grand opening of his renowned Disneyland, Walt made a trip to Europe for work on his new feature Third Man on the Mountain. Over the course of the trip, he became inspired to build three new attractions based on Switzerland's Matterhorn, Alweg's monorail, and Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which the Disney studios had adapted into a live action film a few years prior. Returning from the trip, Walt excitedly told his brother Roy of these new adventures he wanted to build in Disneyland, but was promptly shut down. As successful as the new park had been, the Disney Co. still had quite a bit of debt to pay off, and Roy refused to consider any new expensive attractions until they were debt free.

However, Walt's tenacity wouldn't let him take "no" for an answer. Some time later, Roy went to Europe for discussions with potential investors and Walt called a meeting together with his Imagineers to make an announcement. "We're going to build the Matterhorn, the Monorail, and the Submarines," he told them enthusiastically. The announcement caught the Imagineers off-guard. They all knew Roy would never agree to finance Walt's ideas as long as the company was still in the red. "What will Roy say?" they asked. "We're just going to build 'em," Walt replied. "Roy can figure out how to pay for 'em when he gets back."

And so per Walt's orders, work began and three new classic Disneyland attractions were born, each one unique in its own right. No one had ever tried to build a roller coaster inside an artificial mountain before, and to top that, Walt's Matterhorn "bobsleds" were the first coaster vehicles to run on tubular steel track, which revolutionized the roller coaster industry. And of course, nothing like the Submarine Voyage had ever been attempted before. For the first time, guests were taken underwater as they sailed pasted coral reefs, sunken ships, and even the lost ruins of Atlantis, all without leaving the borders of Tomorrowland. Finally, the Disneyland Monorail was the first of its kind on the western hemisphere. Walt hoped that the introduction of the monorail to his park would lead to a new widespread method of transportation that would relieve the traffic congestion of metropolitan areas.


On June 14th, 1959, a huge gala celebration was held to commemorate these spectacular new attractions, and Walt considered the event the "second opening of Disneyland". Vice president Richard Nixon and family were on hand for the ribbon cutting of the Disneyland Monorail while Walt's submarines were christened the eighth largest submarine fleet in the world. Across the way, alpine climbers scaled the Matterhorn to its peak while Swiss dancers performed below. The entire celebration was televised by the American Broadcasting Company, allowing viewers from around the country to enjoy the excitement that surrounded the festivities.


In addition to these three new adventures, June 14th also marked the introduction of the E-ticket. When Disneyland first opened, all the attractions required a specific ticket for admission. Smaller rides took an "A" ticket, while bigger adventures such as the Jungle Cruise required a "D" ticket, with "B" and "C" tickets in between. When the Matterhorn, monorail, and submarines debuted, they were deemed worthy of a new ticket, the "E" ticket. The term became renowned both inside and outside of Disneyland and is used to this day to describe the biggest and the best that Disneyland has to offer, even though the admission tickets were discontinued in the 1980's.

The Matterhorn and the Disneyland Monorail have both continued to serve happy guests ever since that exciting summer of 1959. The Submarine Voyage also continuously operated until 1998, at which point the subs "submerged" into Disney history until resurfacing in 2007 as the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. And, as always, Disneyland fans continue to describe Disney's best experiences as classic "E" ticket adventures! There is no doubt about it - June 14th is certainly a day to remember in Disneyland history!

T.H. Excellence

All photographs copyright the Walt Disney Company.

Disneyland PhotoBlog - Featuring the Submarine Voyage

Hi all! Over break I made a day trip to Disneyland and spent part of my afternoon photographing the submarine lagoon in Tomorrowland. Those pics as well as a few others are included below.







That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed them!
T.H. Excellence