Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
| Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage | |
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| The submarines Neptune and Explorer. | |
| Disneyland | |
| Land | Tomorrowland |
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| Designer | Walt Disney Imagineering |
| Attraction type | "Submarine" |
| Theme | Undersea voyage based on Finding Nemo |
| Soft opening date | June 9, 2007 |
| Opening date | June 11, 2007 |
| Vehicle type | Submarines |
| Vehicle capacity | 41 (40 voyagers + skipper) |
| Ride duration | 13:45 minutes |
| Audio-animatronics | 126 |
| Preceded by | Submarine Voyage thru Liquid Space (1959-1998) |
| Total Water | 6,300,000 Gallons |
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Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage is an attraction located in the Tomorrowland area of Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, which opened on June 11, 2007. Based on the characters and settings of the 2003 Disney/Pixar film, Finding Nemo, the attraction is a re-theming of the classic Submarine Voyage attraction, which closed in 1998.
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[edit] History
The original Submarine Voyage thru Liquid Space attraction was built as part of the "new" Tomorrowland in 1959, and closed on September 9, 1998. At that time, Disneyland's president, Paul Pressler, promised the press and Disneyland fans that the attraction would re-open with a new theme by 2003.[citation needed] One of the first attempts to resurrect the subs was banked on the success of the 2001 Disney animated film, Atlantis: The Lost Empire. However, when Atlantis flopped at the box office, an "Atlantis" themed photo spot was placed in front of the lagoon and plans of re-theming the based on the film were shelved.
However, the attraction remained untouched. Later, the entire lagoon became a scenic viewpoint. The submarines were stored inside the show building without maintenance. Pressler left, and the attraction's announced 2003 return date passed without action.[citation needed] When Matt Ouimet became the President of Disneyland Resort in 2003, there was new activity in the Submarine Lagoon. Neptune, one of the original eight submarines in the fleet, was moored at the old Submarine Voyage station dock for inspection by Walt Disney Imagineering in 2004.
The submarines were being tested to see if new animated show scenes would be visible from the portholes. Rumors spread quickly over the Internet, saying that an attraction based on the Disney/Pixar animated film Finding Nemo was going to finally replace Submarine Voyage. After months of speculation, on July 15, 2005, two days before the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland, the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage was officially announced at the new Turtle Talk with Crush attraction at Disney California Adventure Park by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts President Jay Rasulo. The attraction was a huge success with fans when it opened, queue line times for boarding stretched to nearly four hours.
In 2010, line times still fell around 45 minutes. However, this is expected to change as Star Tours: The Adventures Continue will most likely cannibalize its ridership, giving way to shorter lines.
[edit] The Voyage
At the attraction's entrance, guests enter the Nautical Exploration and Marine Observation (NEMO) research center. There are three seagulls perched on a nearby buoy, bellowing out the phrase "Mine! Mine! Mine!" every minute. The guests board one of NEMO's eight research submarines and set out in search of an active underwater volcano. Through their portholes, guests view a spectacular underwater environment. One of the first things guests see is Darla, the evil fish-killing niece of the dentist in Finding Nemo, freediving amid the coral, holding a bag with a fish in it.
As the journey continues on, the visitor then sees a giant sea bass swimming through a forest of seaweed. The submarines later enter the ruins of an ancient civilization, being explored by the dentist scuba diver P. Sherman, who's in Finding Nemo. Among the stone ruins lies a gigantic tiki head embedded in the ocean floor. The scene soon changes as the subs are immersed in the setting of a coral reef in bright colors of orange, aqua, green, crimson, maize, and more. Giant clams slowly open and close their mouths as the submarines pass. The captain commands the sub to dive much deeper to avoid a surface storm ahead.
Shortly after passing into the caverns, the captain announces that due to amazing new marine technology called "sonar hydrophones", they can actually hear the fish talk (an homage to the original attraction). The subs then pass through a dark cavern where huge eels lunge toward the submarine and lobsters are fighting. The subs pass Marlin and Dory as they discover Nemo has become lost once again. Further along the reef, the guests come across Mr. Ray and his class swimming through the coral looking for Nemo as well. The captain says they are approaching open water and the subs pass Crush, Squirt, and the other green turtles and enter the East Australian Current.
The subs then exit the current and enter a spooky graveyard of sunken ships where Marlin and Dory continue their search for Nemo. Bruce, Anchor, and Chum swim inside a sunken U-Boat surrounded by World War II mines. The submarines hit one, shaking the sub and causing it to temporarily lose power. The sub goes dark and Marlin and Dory are suddenly surrounded by small glowing spots. Suddenly, a huge deep-sea anglerfish appears. After Marlin and Dory escape the monster, they go through a forest of jellyfish.
The submarine reaches the active deep-sea volcano. As lava flows down the edge of the volcano, the Tank Gang chant then Marlin finally finds Nemo in a joyful reunion. The volcano erupts just as the subs escape and return to the coral reef. The fish gather and celebrate finding Nemo once again. Suddenly, a pod of humpback whales appear and one of them swallows both Dory and the submarine. As Dory swims about trying to speak whale, the whale shoots the submarine out through its blowhole. The sub captain tells the first mate and the passengers not to mention anything because "nobody would probably believe them anyway".
He then says, "We better take her up before we have a run into a sea serpent or enchant with a mermaid." (in reference to the prior attraction which featured four mermaids and a gigantic sea serpent.) Soon after he says this, we see two coral formations one shaped like the sea serpent's head the other shaped like a swimming mermaid (hidden mermaid and sea serpent). The submarine then enters the harbor and view a pair of king crabs snapping at air bubbles atop a sewage pipe. The song "Beyond the Sea" (instrumental) plays as the captain thanks the passengers for riding. Each voyage lasts approximately 15 minutes.
[edit] The Submarines
The attraction reused the eight original Submarine Voyage thru Liquid Space attraction vehicle hulls built at the Todd Shipyards in San Pedro. Vertical rollers attached at each end of the keel roll within a submerged guide channel. Battery/electric propulsion charged at the loading dock by "no contact" inductive coils while boarding replaced diesel engines, increasing efficiency and eliminating fuel spills. Guests board through a hatch at either end by crossing hinged loading ramps to spiral stairs. Twenty aft-boarding guests are seated facing the starboard side, and fore-boarding guests are seated facing port. Each submarine originally seated 38 guests, but removal of the diesel engines increased seating to forty fold-down, spring-loaded fiberglass seats. Lap sitting of small children is permitted. Forty-six on-board flotation devices limit maximum capacity to 45 guests and one skipper. When the boarding ramps are raised the hatches are sealed watertight (but not airtight) and mooring lines released. The "submarines" do not actually submerge when "diving", they are truly just elaborate boats with seating and viewports below water level. Descent and submersion is simulated with bubbles that rise across the viewports when passing compressed air released under the hull and waterfalls. Each viewport blows fresh dehumidified air across the window to prevent fogging. Each submarine cabin interior features forty viewports framed with dark blue mesh and a wavy blue stripe painted across the ceiling. Originally the sub exteriors were painted Navy Grey. The new submarine livery colors are bright yellow above the water, a light blue 'boot stripe' at the waterline, and a reflection-reducing matte blue-black hull below the waterline.
The queue, docks, subs and scenes have all been re-themed to represent the Australian harbor of the movie, and the narrator speaks with an Australian accent.
Marine Observation Outpost - Guests are presented a show on a high definition LCD screen which is similar to the underwater attraction. The alternative guest experience is provided to accommodate guests with phobias and those unable to transfer via the spiral-stairs due to limited physical abilities.[1]
[edit] Nemo submarine names (2007– )
- 107 Nautilus
- 207 Scout, formerly Neptune, formerly Seawolf
- 307 Voyager, formerly Sea Star, formerly Skate
- 407 Mariner, formerly Explorer, formerly Skipjack
- 507 Seafarer, formerly Seeker, formerly Triton
- 607 Explorer, formerly Argonaut, formerly George Washington
- 707 Neptune, formerly Triton, formerly Patrick Henry
- 807 Argonaut, formerly Sea Wolf, formerly Ethan Allen
[edit] Show Scenes
- Ancient Ruins of Atlantis (Lagoon)
- Coral Reef
- Coral Reef (Mr. Ray's Class)
- Finding Nemo
- EAC (East Australian Current)
- Graveyard of Ships (Shipwreck)
- Mine Field
- Distant Lights
- The Anglerfish
- School of Jellyfish
- The Erupting Volcano
- Transitional Scene
- Coral Reef (Finale)
- The Whale's Mouth
- Hidden Sea Serpent and Mermaid (Tribute to Submarine Voyage)
- Harbor Scene w/ Fighting Crabs (Rear Lagoon)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Disneyland - Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
- DisneySubmarines.com
- Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage at the Internet Movie Database
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Coordinates: 33°48′46″N 117°55′02″W / 33.8129°N 117.9172°W
