Mysteries of the Nautilus

As we conclude our visit to Discoveryland, let's go back to the visionary who started it all, Jules Verne. Among his greatest works is "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," which inspired one of the greatest Disney adventure films, along with several Disney Parks attractions. In fact, an early Tomorrowland attraction at Disneyland was a walk-through exhibit of sets and props from the making of the 1954 movie.

Added to Discoveryland in 1994 as part of the park's first significant expansion, Les Mysteres du Nautilus invites Guests to step down into the might submersible and explore the world of Captain Nemo.

This self-guided walking tour passes through several chambers of the Nautilus, including the Captain's quarters, furnished in rich wood and occupied by a collection of artifacts from his worldly travels.

Our adventure also carries us past the engine room and the air lock, where divers come and go from the Nautilus on their missions of exploration beneath the sea.

The charts room is filled with maps and devices to aid in navigation. There's even a map of Nemo's secret island stronghold, Vulcania. Spiral staircases in this room, while inaccessible to Guests, appear to lead up to the bridge. You can almost imagine hearing the Captain shout to Mr. Baxter, "Steer clear the tottering columns!" (pronounced kol-yooms, of course)

Next up is the Grand Salon. Here and in other chambers of the Nautilus, many of the props you see are genuine antiques, including books and maps dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries. Having real items like this adds to the believability of each scene.

At the far end of the Grand Salon is Captain Nemo's massive pipe organ, designed to replicate the one seen in the film. The original organ from the movie was part of the attraction at Disneyland until 1967, when it was moved to the ballroom scene in the then-under-construction Haunted Mansion. You can still see it there today.

The organ in the Grand Salon of Les Mysteres du Nautilus is somewhat haunted itself. As the instrument steams through Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor," the face of the Captain appears in the mirror above the keys.

The real thrill of this attraction, though, comes when the iris of the observation window slides open to reveal the Nautilus under attack by a giant squid. The creature grabs hold of us with its suckers, pulling us toward its snapping jaws, until the sub's electrical defense system kicks in and wards it off.

Safe from the threat (for now), we decide to return topside to continue our day at Disneyland Paris... but not before appreciating one last detail. The exit turnstile for Les Mysteres du Nautilus continues the nautical story line right to the very end.

Flashback: Skyway

In the last post, you may have spotted the Skyway cab rising in front of Space Mountain. The Skyway attraction took its Guests on one-way trips between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom, from 1971 to 1999. While Skyways also operated at Disneyland (passing through the open grottoes of the Matterhorn) and in Tokyo Disneyland, the Walt Disney World version was unique in that it was the only such attraction that made a 90° turn.

After traversing the skies over Tomorrowland, the cabs would come down closer to ground level at the edge of the Grand Prix Raceway (today's Tomorrowland Speedway). There, a switching station seamlessly transferred the cabs to another line, lifting them up again toward Fantasyland.

The photo below indicates where some of the towering Skyway pylons were located in Fantasyland. Although the resolution isn't the best, eagle eyes might also spot the old Fantasyland trash can designs, original blue and metal rental strollers, and the roof of the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea extended queue (at bottom right).

At the other end of the line, the Skyway cabs came down to a beautiful Swiss chalet before changing passengers and heading back out to Tomorrowland once again. Since the closing of the Skyway more than a decade ago, the Tomorrowland station and each of the pylons have all been removed. This chalet, though, can still be found on the western edge of Fantasyland, where today it provides a scenic backdrop for the stroller parking area near It's a Small World.

Many Disney Parks fans lament the loss of the Skyway. It was certainly a classic attraction, having originally debuted at Disneyland in 1956, and it offered spectacular views of sections of the park.

For my money, though, I was okay with the Skyway floating into history. While it may have been a unique attraction when Walt Disney added it to Disneyland in the '50s, decades later sky rides just like it had become commonplace in parks across the country. It also never quite worked for me as part of either a fairy tale village or futuristic setting.

As for those views, some were certainly magnificent. Guests aboard the Skyway were also treated, however, to looks at backstage areas and barren rooftops. From this vantage point, Mickey's PhilharMagic, for example (below), would look considerably less magical.

The Skyway was fun in its day, but as is often the case in the Disney Parks, the time came for a change. Even though Walt brought the Skyway to his park, he also introduced the idea of constant evolution:

"[Disneyland is] something that will never be finished. Something that I can keep developing, keep plussing and adding to. It's alive. It will be a live breathing thing that will need change. A picture is a thing, once you wrap it up and turn it over to Technicolor you're through. Snow White is a dead issue with me. A live picture I just finished, the one I wrapped up a few weeks ago, it's gone, I can't touch it. There's things in it I don't like; I can't do anything about it. I wanted something alive, something that could grow, something I could keep plussing with ideas; the Park is that."

- Walt Disney

The Many Hidden Tributes of Winnie the Pooh

A really fun example of Hidden Disney in the parks comes when one attraction pays tribute to another. This is often the case when a new attraction has replaced an older one. The Imagineers like to work in subtle references as a nod to the past.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh opened in Fantasyland in 1999 in the former home of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Before Toady headed off for nowhere in particular, he passed the deed to the property to his friend Owl. A picture of the transaction hangs in Owl's treehouse and can be seen to the left as you pass through on your adventure. Take a look down to your right in the same scene, and you'll catch a picture of Mole from The Wind in the Willows, tipping his hat to one silly ol' bear.

Winnie the Pooh is found at the far edge of the castle walls, where the village borders a wooded area. Here is Pooh's Playful Spot, a playground built on a portion of the site once occupied by the submarine adventure 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The land here is about to be reclaimed once again by the Fantasyland expansion, but for the time being a tribute to the original attraction can be seen.

Enter Pooh's house through the door at the side of the tree. Once inside, turn around and look in the wood grain just above the doorway. There, you will find a stamped impression in the distinctive shape of Captain Nemo's Nautilus.

Some tributes, like those mentioned above, are placed intentionally. Others exist in the form of objects which remain from the past, like these lava rocks in the area close to Ariel's Grotto which were once part of the edge of the 20,000 Leagues lagoon:

Also in this stretch of Fantasyland, tucked back in the bushes behind Dumbo's Circus, are two themed utility covers. The casual observer might just think they're painted dark green to blend into the foliage, but the color and the rivets in the design call them out for what they really are: another remnant from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and a glimpse into Fantasyland's past.