20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Bringing Magical Memories Back to the Surface
In 1994, Captain Nemo’s submarine slipped beneath the water one last time.
Sunken ships, the South Pole, sinister sea monsters – the stuff of scintillating survival stories – were glimpsed by guests that fateful September day, never to be seen again.
Now, it is the stuff of legend.
But I’m here to tell you the stories are true. The Nautilus really did explore the watery depths of Walt Disney World. Captain Nemo was at the helm. And yes. There really was a giant squid.
Are you brave enough to plunge back into the depths to uncover the story that lies 20,000 leagues under the sea? I can’t promise your safety, but I can guarantee a reawakening of adventure, and maybe even a dash of nostalgia. . .
From the Pen of Jules Verne into the Hands of Walt Disney
Of course, Captain Nemo originally sailed through a sea of ink and on waves of paper, battling creatures from the imagination of his author, Jules Verne.
Over the course of the novel, Captain Nemo’s top-secret futuristic submarine, the Nautilus, is discovered by three men who thought they were hunting a sea monster. Together aboard the Nautilus, the four men share in Antarctic adventures, face off against a squad of giant squid, and even encounter warships. With a mix of factual and fictitious people, places, and things, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a timeless science fiction classic.
Oh, and for the record, 20,000 leagues refers to the length traveled under water. Not the depth. The ocean is deep. . .but not that deep!1
It was the kind of tale that Walt Disney would inevitably be drawn to – after all, this is the man who also loved Alice in Wonderland and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer! But before he thought to turn it into a ride, he made it into a movie. Personally produced via Walt Disney Productions, Walt’s movie adaptation was fairly faithful to its original source, and also a bit of a blockbuster.2 Directed by Richard Fleischer and starring the likes of Kirk Douglas and Peter Lorre, the film was praised for its special effects and marketability to kids (and adventure-seeking adults).
The New York Times reported, “As fabulous and fantastic as anything he has ever done in cartoons is Walt Disney’s ‘live action’ movie made from Jules Verne’s ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.'”3
On the heels of such success – as well as the real-life USS Nautilus submarine expedition to the North Pole – an underwater attraction was put into the works for Walt’s California theme park.4 “Submarine Voyage” opened in Disneyland in 1959 and enjoyed a 39-year run before being refurbished into the current “Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.” (Nemo as in the lucky-finned clownfish, not the Captain.)
When the green light flicked on for the “Florida Project,” Walt and the Imagineers took the plunge and penciled in another submarine ride, this time unabashedly referencing 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. What resulted was an underwater escapade like no other.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea – BEWARE OF SQUID
*Some beautiful day between 1971 and 1994*
All aboard!
Climb on into this E-ticket attraction! Today, you’ll be diving under the direction of Captain Nemo (voiced by Pete Reneday). Find a fold-down seat in front of your very own porthole and make yourself at home – this voyage is a long one. (Luckily you’ve also got your very own air conditioning vent! Fancy!)
Of course, there’s more than just one Nautilus operating in Fantasyland’s oceanic lagoon. In fact, between Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, there are 24 subs in all, which gives Disney the 5th largest naval fleet in the world!4
But in the sweet suspension of disbelief, your Nautilus is the only one. Captain Nemo is not just a disembodied voice. And you certainly aren’t following a ride-track in an only partially submerged boat.5
No, with the first stream of bubbles past your window, you’re sinking to depths of the ocean floor, where few have ever ventured before.
Beautifully constructed corals and waving fronds of seaweed provide homes for animatronic – I mean, totally 100% real – fish, sea turtles, and even yawning giant clams. As you dive further and further beneath the waves, you encounter sharks, shipwrecks, and even a few intrepid deep-sea divers, but things really start to get real when you slipped beneath the polar ice cap!
The walls of ice seem to close in around the sub, as an underwater aurora borealis shimmers in a kaleidoscope of colors. As you round the corner of an iceberg, Captain Nemo exclaims – “By Neptune’s flippers!” – you’ve found the lost continent of Atlantis!
Sure enough, between a stream of bubbles, you can make out the ruins of an ancient city. Toppled columns, busted statues, and the rubble of a Pantheon-esque temple all speak to a lost civilization.
A civilization lost because they sank to the bottom of the ocean. . .where you just happen to be.
As this realization hits you (no doubt giving you a sinking feeling), alarms begin to blare, and a red light flashes. Captain Nemo calls for all hands on deck. Mermaids and a long-necked, rather cross-eyed, sea serpent are just outside the sub, but they aren’t the problem.
There’s the wreckage of another sub, “crushed like an eggshell” (as Captain Nemo says). And wrapped around it are the immeasurable tentacles of a giant squid.
The squid reaches toward you, more bubbles flood by, and Captain Nemo hurriedly orders the sub to unleash maximum voltage. Electricity crackles as you barely escape the fatal grasp of the scariest monster in the deep.
A few leagues more and you’re surfacing at the dock. Your journey 20,000 leagues under the sea is complete. You exit the claustrophobia of the submarine, feel the sun on your face, smile, and wish to do it all over again.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Remembered
Although it has been retired for decades now, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea actually can be enjoyed all over again! And I’m not just talking about reading the novel!
The most impractical – but also probably the most fun – way to enjoy our favorite underwater ride once again is to buy a plane ticket to Tokyo. That’s right, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is still going strong in Tokyo DisneySea!6
Or you could skip the Japanese lessons and just re-visit it via Virtual Reality. “Defunctland,” an unofficial park preservation project, has a YouTube ride through of 20,000 Leagues that are specially made for viewing through a VR headset!7 (It’s also cool to just watch it regularly!)
Whether you revisit this retired ride in Tokyo, via VR, or just through your own memory, it’s sure to reignite an old spark of curiosity or fan the flames of an already adventurous spirit.
Were you lucky enough to experience 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea before it went under? Please share your memories with us in the comments below! We’d love to hear about it.
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Photo: Unsplash
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