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Credit: Inside the MagicDisneyland Park guests were put into an impossible position after a Disney cast member collapsed while driving a submarine ride at the Southern California Disney park. Because Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage wasn’t computer-driven, guests had to take over, guiding fellow riders to safety before the limited oxygen in the underwater vessel ran out.
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Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage opened in Tomorrowland in 2007, but the ride system has been at Disneyland Resort since 1959. It was initially known as Submarine Voyage and loosely inspired by the first-ever nuclear submarine. In 1971, Walt Disney World Resort opened its version, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage, which operated for more than 20 years before closing in 1994.
Walt Disney Imagineering saved the historic Disneyland Park ride by retheming it to a beloved Disney/Pixar property, Finding Nemo (2003). Who doesn’t want to travel underwater and meet Nemo, Marlin, Dory, Squirt, and more?
Despite its age, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage is one of the most controversial Disneyland Resort attractions. Unlike the incredibly beloved Haunted Mansion or Space Mountain, guests either love or hate the submarine ride.
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Guests descend into a real submarine and sit in cramped, uncomfortable seats. The submarine is sealed, and guests look through tiny portholes while trying not to think about the rising temperature, thick air, and sometimes unfavorable smells omitted by other guests.
It’s not all peachy for the Disney cast members, either. On Wednesday, Redditor u/Individual-Let-5269 recently shared this photo of the awkward position that ride operators must stand in for the entire duration of Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage:
I hope the submarine helmsmen like each other
I hope the submarine helmsmen like each other
byu/Individual-Let-5269 inDisneyland
“Just thought it was really funny because I’ve never seen this before,” the guest wrote. “They were in this position the entire ride and didn’t budge after we disembarked.”
In the comments, Redditor u/slawnz described a traumatizing experience on Submarine Voyage–before its Finding Nemo makeover.
“Back in 1992 the “skipper” of our sub collapsed from the heat – they actually stand there to pilot the thing (or at least they did then),” the Disney Park guest recalled.
A dozen guests found themselves trapped in a sweaty submarine with limited breathable air–and more submarines waiting behind them. Luckily, a hero emerged.
“A guest got on the radio and had to be told how to control the sub around the rest of the track,” the Redditor explained.
Hopefully, the Disney cast member recovered from the incident.
What’s the wildest thing that’s happened to you at Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park? Share your tale with Inside the Magic in the comments.