DVDizzy Forum

Thinking about it made me sad even though I have never been to Disneyland. Six Flags St. Louis used to have a vonroll skyride like it but they took it down in 1981. Anyone think they should have kept the skyway at Disneyland?

Well, it is one of those things: it isn't really doing any harm in being there, but it isn't exactly a massive crowd puller. The main reason was the cost of maintaining it versus the crowds it pulled. Wikipedia states:

"The Disneyland Skyway was removed in November 1994 because it was too costly to make safety upgrades. Also, people would throw objects and spit off the buckets as they went over head."

Indeed someone has managed to escape from the ride and fall - although they did survive.

The Skyways are relics of Yesterland,a nd I always question the need to hang on to old rides JUST for the sake of nostalgia. Some rides - like Mr Toad's Wild Ride and Tea Cups - have stood the test of time, but Disney wouldn't hesitate in replacing them if numbers dwindled. As much as I'm keen to ride the new Submarines, I question the wisdom in replacing a Yesterland ride with something similar.

Having said all that, the Skyway - or something like it, was an excellent way to see and snap the park from a different angle. The monorail service kind of serves that purpose.

Seaworld in Australia, which has borrowed a few elements from Disneyland - such as a train and a monorail, animatronic rides, 4D shows and a Carousel - still maintains its own Skyway. ("The Sky High Skyway") Must pay it a visit someday. It seems like Disney-Lite on the Gold Coast!

Loomis wrote:Well, it is one of those things: it isn't really doing any harm in being there, but it isn't exactly a massive crowd puller. The main reason was the cost of maintaining it versus the crowds it pulled. Wikipedia states:

"The Disneyland Skyway was removed in November 1994 because it was too costly to make safety upgrades. Also, people would throw objects and spit off the buckets as they went over head."

Indeed someone has managed to escape from the ride and fall - although they did survive.

Yeah, I read in Mouse Tales that the Skyway is the most inefficient ride ever since it has low rider capacity and is expensive. The book also said that that someone who escaped did it on purpose to sue Disney for money . He conveniently landed in a comfortable tree by the teacups. I forget if he lost the case or not, but I'm pretty sure he did.

The last time we went, Six Flags Great Adventure still had its skyway ride. I think it's a little scarier than Disney's because it's soo high and is longer.

Putting it back in Disneyland/WDW? I dunno. Maybe if they designed new buckets/cars or a new system it would work better.

There's a guy on yahoo skyrides group that sometimes crys when he looks at the picture of Mickey and Minnie riding the last car on the skyway

I really liked it. Certainly had a totally different perspective than the Monorails or anthing else. It was also a great saver of your feet on those long days.

This spring when I went to Disneyland I went up ot the Fantasyland end where the building still stands and hordes of security dexcended upon me. Wonder if that is where Walt's frozen body is being kept or what other secret they are trying to protect?

While it's odd now not to see them when I go to a Disney park, I absolutely hated them (heights and all), so their absence has not had a huge impact on me.

I hated them to, the only purpuse of them in my opinion was at the end of the day if you were tired and on the wrong end of the park you could jump on it to go to the other side of the park, but Disney has other things like the train and Monorail which do the same thing

Does Disneyland have a Monorail INSIDE the park or is it like WDWs & goes to the main entertance of the park to the TTC/ parking area & surrounding hotels?

Fidget1234 wrote:Does Disneyland have a Monorail INSIDE the park or is it like WDWs & goes to the main entertance of the park to the TTC/ parking area & surrounding hotels?

The monorail in Disneyland DOES run through the park, but it also extends beyond the park as well.

You can hop on the Disneyland Monorail at the Tomorrowland station or in Downtown Disney, which presently hovers over the Finding Nemo Submarine Construction site.

In 1961, the track was lengthened to leave the park and stop at a station near the Disneyland Hotel. Today it still has the two stations: one at Tomorrowland, and one in Dowtown Disney (the area surrounding the former Disneyland Hotel Station, now known as the 'Downtown Station').

It is worth noting that it not only takes you around Disneyland's Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, but also through bits of DCA (across the Golden Gate Bridge) and past the windows of the Grand Californian Hotel.

Presently, because of the construction on the Nemo subs, the monorail is in "shuttle mode" going one way between Tomorrowland and Downtown.

Loomis,

Tell me where the monorail goes within Disneyland. At WDW the monorail is not in any of the parks at all. (Except you take a loop around Future World when you go from the Magic Kingdom to EPCOT.) I have always wondered how all this stuff fit inside Disneyland. Could you also fill me in on the route of the Skyway.

bradhig wrote:Thinking about it made me sad even though I have never been to Disneyland. Six Flags St. Louis used to have a vonroll skyride like it but they took it down in 1981. Anyone think they should have kept the skyway at Disneyland?

I REALLY miss the skyway

The common story I heard was that they took it out because in the 80s or 90s kids started abusing it by throwing stuff off the side - it is a shame. For me it was just sort of a "get-away" inside Dland where you could kick back and enjoy the view.

Pluto Region1 wrote:

bradhig wrote:Thinking about it made me sad even though I have never been to Disneyland. Six Flags St. Louis used to have a vonroll skyride like it but they took it down in 1981. Anyone think they should have kept the skyway at Disneyland?

I REALLY miss the skyway

The common story I heard was that they took it out because in the 80s or 90s kids started abusing it by throwing stuff off the side - it is a shame. For me it was just sort of a "get-away" inside Dland where you could kick back and enjoy the view.

Spitting was also a problem. There's a whole section in Mouse Tales about people who spit on Skyway and what happened to them. One guest spit down on a castmember's hat, he got so enraged that he followed the bucket, and waited for them at the other side. As soon as the spitting guest got out of the bucket, he spit in his face. The guest knew he deserved it and didn't file a complaint.

Escapay

I really miss it for two reasons already mentioned

1) The perspective of the park was wonderful. It is really something that has been lost with the Skyway gone, the People Mover gone, and the Astro Orbitor lowered.

2) On day five, hour eight it was a great rest for the feet. Yes there are other options but if you just got off of Big Thunder and want to go to Tomorrowland your only efficient way to go is walking.

I really only have one specific memory of the Skyway. When I was in 6th grade we went to WDW on a field trip. We had to check in with our teacher at certain times and a group of my friends and I were in Fantasyland and decided to take the Skyway over to Tomorrowland to meet our teacher. The skyway ended up breaking down while we were on it so we were stuck over fantasyland for about 30 minutes. We ended up being late meeting our teacher, and got in trouble, but I had just had such an amazing view of the park I really didn't care.

Escapay wrote: Spitting was also a problem. There's a whole section in Mouse Tales about people who spit on Skyway and what happened to them.
Escapay

It makes you wonder if this spitting and throwing things problem was a problem since Day #1 with Skyway or if this was something that just developed in the 80s?! Did kids just all the sudden become particularly nasty in the 1980s? What is "Mouse Tales"?

Pluto Region1 wrote:

Escapay wrote: Spitting was also a problem. There's a whole section in Mouse Tales about people who spit on Skyway and what happened to them.
Escapay

It makes you wonder if this spitting and throwing things problem was a problem since Day #1 with Skyway or if this was something that just developed in the 80s?! Did kids just all the sudden become particularly nasty in the 1980s? What is "Mouse Tales"?

Mouse Tales is an unofficial/unauthorized book by David Koenig filled with a lot of backstage anecdotes that he gathered from former and current castmembers. It gives a lot of history to Disneyland as well and recently had a follow-up book, More Mouse Tales.

Escapay

I am over at the Disney Podcast Network and there's a thread there which has turned into a discussion about the demise of Skyway.

The thread at that Podcast Site is: http://www.disneypodcastnet.com/viewtop ... 1380#11380

Mr. Mark, a forum member there, posted:

"A few weeks ago I was exploring the Re-Imagineering blog and ran across this article: http://imagineerebirth.blogspot.com/200 ... s-air.html

It seems that the closure of each Skyway, at both DL and WDW, was preceeded by an accident. Also, apparently the bean counters had been looking for reasons to shut them down because there was too little bang for the buck, too much expense in wages, upkeep and potential upgrades to keep them around."

BTW, there's been a few replies and clarifications since that post, so it is worth checking out.

Six Flags St. Louis used to have a skyway and we rode it in 1978. A few days later there was an accidnet bevause the idiots were running it in high winds causing cars to sway too much. One hit a roller battery at an odd angle causing too much croos tension causing the battery to flip and the car to fall killing three people.

I have a website about that ride. Watching the skyway dvd makes me cry even though I never rode that one.

http://www.sfstlskyway.com