If you are in Walt Disney World this weekend, you know that there is definitely an influx of Guests as it is a marathon weekend!
When any marathon weekend hits Walt Disney World Resort, we see Guests come in from all over the world so that they can set their alarms to wake them up at 3:00 a.m. and head to the start line so that they can race through Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios — depending on their race length and track.
One of the best parts about the races is that all participants will have the chance to see characters and indulge in fun photo-ops that would otherwise not be available to any other Guest who is just visiting the Park. At the moment, Disney’s Wickedly Delicious Wine & Dine Marathon weekend is coming to a close, and it seems that one of the photo-ops that runners were able to see brought an attraction back from the dead!
Bioreconstruct took to Twitter to show off one of the photo sections, which has a 20,000 League submarine as part of the photo-op.
Former 20,000 League submarine as photo op at start of Disney Wine and Dine half marathon.
Former 20,000 League submarine as photo op at start of Disney Wine and Dine half marathon. pic.twitter.com/fewCL8c6yD
— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) November 7, 2021
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage is an extinct Magic Kingdom attraction that used to reside in Fantasyland. The ride opened in the Park’s opening year 1971 and remained in place in 1994. The ride idea was brought from Disneyland but was meant to be even bigger when created at Magic Kingdom Park. It has been said that the ride did not open with Magic Kingdom, but two weeks later, due to infrastructure problems.
When discussing the now-extinct attraction, Disney Fandom states:
By the time development work for what is today Walt Disney World began, Disney imagineers had already been working out a rough concept for a sister attraction to Disneyland’s Submarine Voyage. It was one of the biggest and most expensive Disney attractions ever conceived. The Florida version had 12 submarines (14 counting two submarines which grappled with giant squids on either side of the track).
It is popularly believed that the Magic Kingdom attraction was originally intended to have been installed in place of the Submarine Voyage at Disneyland in 1959, as the two attractions were identical except for the theming and some elements of the plot. It is also believed that the ride’s corporate sponsor, General Dynamics, preferred to keep the original concept, and so the Submarine Voyage opened in 1959 with a non-specific theme, and with nuclear as opposed to Victorian submarines.
Related: Unearthed Aerial Shots Showcases Now Torn Down and Extinct Universal Attraction
After closing, Disney auctioned off many parts of the ride, brought some to Castaway Cay in the future, and it seems that they have also kept one ride vehicle for themselves!
Have you ever had the chance to ride 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage? Do you wish you did?Â