Skyway (Disney)
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| Skyway | |
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| Land | Fantasyland; Tomorrowland |
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| Designer | WED Enterprises |
| Manufacturer | Vonroll LTD |
| Attraction type | Vonroll Type 101 detachable monocable gondola lift |
| Propulsion method | Top-mounted, 55HP electric motor |
| Soft opening date | June 10, 1956 |
| Opening date | June 23, 1956 |
| Closing date | Nov 9 1994 |
| Vehicle type | Passenger |
| Vehicle names | Cabin, Gondola cars |
| Vehicle capacity | 4 |
| Guests per car | 4 |
| Ride duration | 3:36 minutes |
| Length | 1200 ft (365.8 m) |
| Total height | 60 ft (18.3 m) |
| Maximum speed | 4.0 mph (6.4 km/h) |
| Ticket | D |
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| Skyway | |
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| Disneyland | |
| Opening date | June 23, 1956 |
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| Closing date | November 9, 1994 |
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| Skyway | |
| Magic Kingdom | |
| Opening date | October 1, 1971 |
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| Closing date | November 10, 1999 |
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| Skyway | |
| Tokyo Disneyland | |
| Opening date | April 15, 1983 |
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| Closing date | November 3, 1998 |
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The Skyway was a gondola lift attraction at Disneyland, at the Magic Kingdom, and at Tokyo Disneyland. Since all versions of this attraction took riders back and forth between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, the route from Tomorrowland was called Skyway to Fantasyland, and the route from Fantasyland was called Skyway to Tomorrowland.
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[edit] History
The Skyway at Disneyland opened on June 23, 1956. It was built by Von Roll, Ltd. based in Bern, Switzerland. It was the first Von Roll Type 101 aerial ropeway in the USA. Walt Disney Imagineering bought the ride from Switzerland. It was a 1947 Vonroll sidechair model. In 1959, a major renovation added The Submarine Voyage, the Disneyland Monorail, the Matterhorn (now a Fantasyland Attraction), and the Motorboat Cruise, but when the Matterhorn was planned it was designed to be built right in the path of the Skyway, so without a single closure of the Skyway, the Matterhorn was built around the Skyway.
During the Fantasyland renovation at Disneyland in the mid-1980s, the Skyway made only roundtrips from Tomorrowland.
The Disneyland Skyway was removed on November 9, 1994 due to stress cracks in the Matterhorn roller battery supports. At Disneyland, the Fantasyland Skyway station remains but is off limits to guests and completely empty (no machinery), and the Tomorrowland Skyway station has been demolished. The holes in the Matterhorn were filled in and the Skyway supports were dismantled within weeks.
In 1998, Tokyo Disneyland closed their Skyway. The Fantasyland station was removed to make room for Pooh's Hunny Hunt, while the Tomorrowland station was remodeled into a candy store.
At the Magic Kingdom, the Skyway was removed in 1999. The Tomorrowland station was demolished in the summer of 2009, while the Fantasyland station is now used for stroller parking, but will soon be demolished to make way for the expanded restrooms for Peter Pan's Flight.
[edit] See also
- List of past Disneyland attractions
- Magic Kingdom attraction and entertainment history
- Incidents at Disneyland Resort
- Incidents at Walt Disney World Resort
