Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
| Submarine Voyage: Finding Nemo | |||||||||||||||
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 Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage in 2008 | |||||||||||||||
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| General statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Attraction type | Undersea voyage | ||||||||||||||
| Designer | Walt Disney Imagineering | ||||||||||||||
| Theme | Finding Nemo | ||||||||||||||
| Vehicle type | Submarines | ||||||||||||||
| Riders per vehicle | 40 | ||||||||||||||
| Duration | 13:45 | ||||||||||||||
| Audio-Animatronics | 126 | ||||||||||||||
| Total Water | 6,300,000 Gallons | ||||||||||||||
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 that closed in 1998.
History
One of the first attempts to resurrect the subs was contingent on the success of the 2001 Disney animated film Atlantis: The Lost Empire. However, when Atlantis failed at the box office, an "Atlantis"-themed photo spot was placed in front of the lagoon and plans for an Atlantis re-theming were shelved.
The lagoon became a scenic viewpoint. The submarines were stored, unmaintained, inside the show building. Pressler left, and the attraction's announced 2003 reopening 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 tested to see if new animated show scenes would be visible from the portholes. Rumors quickly spread over the Internet that an attraction based on the Disney/Pixar animated film Finding Nemo would 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 then Walt Disney Parks and Resorts President, Jay Rasulo.
The attraction was a huge success when it opened in 2007, with queue-line times sometimes reaching four hours.
In 2008, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage received an award for outstanding achievement from the Themed Entertainment Association.[1]
In 2010, line times had fallen to around 45 minutes. Wait times have, since then, decreased a bit further due to the new adjacent Tomorrowland attraction, Star Tours: The Adventures Continue.
On January 6, 2014, the attraction closed for an extended refurbishment to make improvements to the rockwork and coral. During this time, the lagoon will be drained. The attraction is scheduled to reopen in late 2014.[2] There are rumors that this closure is nothing but a cover to shut down and demolish the ride, as was the fate of the ride's Florida counterpart, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage, but no evidence has surfaced of this, other than the revelation of plans to demolish the ride for an abandoned Tomorrowland makeover.[citation needed]
The voyage
At the attraction's entrance, guests enter the Nautical Exploration and Marine Observation (NEMO) research center. Three seagulls, perched on a nearby buoy, cry out "Mine! Mine! Mine!" every few moments. Guests board one of NEMO's eight research submarines and set out in search of an active underwater volcano. Through their portholes, guests see 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 plastic bag with fish she has captured.
As the journey continues, guests see a giant sea bass swimming through a seaweed forest. The submarines then enter the ruins of an ancient civilization, which are being explored by the dentist scuba diver P. Sherman from Finding Nemo. Among the ruins lies a gigantic tiki head, embedded in the ocean floor. The subs then enter a coral reef with many bright reflective colors. Giant clams slowly open and close as the submarines pass. The captain commands the sub to dive much deeper to avoid a surface storm ahead.
At this point the "sub" travels through a waterfall and enters the hidden ride building, where guests find themselves moving through what appear as underwater caverns. The captain announces that, due to new advancements marine technology, they can use "sonar hydrophones" (an homage to the original attraction), to actually hear the fish talk. The subs pass through a dark cavern where huge eels lunge toward the submarine and lobsters can be seen. The subs pass Nemo characters Marlin, a clownfish, and Dory, a regal blue tang, as they discover that Nemo has gotten lost again. Farther along the reef, guests encounter Mr. Ray and his class swimming through the coral looking for Nemo as well. The captain announces that the sub is approaching open water, Nemo, Squirt, Crush and the other green sea turtles enter the East Australian Current.
The sub then exits the current and enters a spooky graveyard of sunken ships, where Marlin and Dory continue their search for Nemo. Bruce, a great white shark, and Chum, a mako shark, swim inside a sunken submarine surrounded by World War II mines. (Anchor, a hammerhead shark is not included in the ride.) The submarine "hits" a mine, causing it to shake and temporarily lose power. As the sub goes dark, Marlin and Dory are surrounded by small glowing spots, which turn out to be phosphorescent dots on a huge deep-sea anglerfish. After Marlin and Dory escape the monster, they make their way through a forest of jellyfish.
The submarine reaches the active deep-sea volcano. The Tank Gang chants as lava flows down the volcano's sides. Marlin finally finds Nemo and has a joyful reunion. The volcano erupts just as the sub escapes and returns to the reef. The fish gather and celebrate finding Nemo once again. Suddenly, a pod of humpback whales appears, and one of them swallows both Dory and the submarine. Dory swims about trying to understand the whale's vocalizations. After a few moments, the whale shoots the submarine and Dory out through its blowhole. Dory then mistakes the sub for a "big yellow whale" and speaks whale; saying goodbye.
The captain tells the first mate not to enter anything that has happened in the ship's log because "nobody would believe it anyway." He then says, "We'd better take her up before we have a run-in with a sea serpent or an encounter with a mermaid" (references to the original attraction, which featured four mermaids and a gigantic sea serpent). Two coral formations then appear, one shaped like a sea serpent's head, and the other shaped like a swimming mermaid. The sub then reenters the harbor, where a pair of king crabs snap at air bubbles coming from a sewage pipe. An instrumental version of "Beyond the Sea" plays as the captain thanks the passengers for riding. Each voyage lasts approximately 15 minutes.
The submarines
The attraction reused the eight original Submarine Voyage thru Liquid Space attraction vehicle hulls built at the Todd Shipyards in San Pedro, California. Vertical rollers attached at each end of the keel roll within a submerged guide channel. The original diesel engines were replaced by electric battery-powered propulsion units which are charged at the loading dock by contactless inductive coils, increasing efficiency and eliminating fuel spills. Guests board through a hatch at either end by crossing hinged loading ramps and descending 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 40 spring-loaded fiberglass seats. Lap sitting of small children is permitted. 46 on-board flotation devices limit maximum capacity to 45 guests and one helmsman. When the boarding ramps are raised the hatches are sealed watertight (but not airtight) and mooring lines released. Although their viewports are below water level, the "submarines" do not actually submerge when "diving". Descent and submersion is simulated with bubbles that rise across the viewports when the vehicles pass through compressed air released under the hull and waterfalls. Each viewport blows fresh dehumidified air across its glass to prevent fogging. Each cabin interior has 40 viewports framed with dark blue mesh, and a wavy blue stripe painted across the ceiling. The original subs's exteriors were painted navy gray; the new livery colors are bright yellow above water, a light blue 'boot stripe' at the waterline, and a reflection-reducing matte blue-black below the waterline.
The sail of each submarine (from which the helmsman operates) has a control console and a board of indicator lights displaying the submarine's operation status if anything abnormal were to happen on the ride's cycle. Cast members on this ride are trained on how to respond to each abnormality, and are always in contact with other operating positions of the ride. Although the submarine is on a guideway, the helmsman controls its forward and backward movement via a small joystick to regulate these speeds (shown in RPMs, in lieu of the actual propeller which moves the boat) which vary in different sections of the ride. Cast members operating the submarines must guide the submarine through a series of laser sensors, each which activate a different scene for the show. Guiding timers and block-lights are placed throughout the ride to help the cast member properly time each scene. Helmsmen cast members are also able to unlock the watertight hatches via levers in the sail, which is done each time the boat arrives to dock. Each sail also carries a flashlight, opening/closing checklists for the ride's opening/closing crew, and a radio to communicate with other boats and stations in the attraction.
The queue, docks, subs and scenes have all been re-themed to represent the movie's Australian harbor, and the narrator and his first mate speak with Australian accents.
Marine Observation Outpost (M.O.O.) – Guests see a show on a high definition LCD screen which is similar to the underwater attraction. This alternative experience is provided to accommodate guests with conditions preventing them from boarding the subs.[3] This "virtual" version was filmed from aboard the submaries before the attraction opened to the public, and includes a few minor features that were subsequently removed from the actual attraction.
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
Show scenes
- Ancient Ruins of Atlantis (Lagoon)
- Coral Reef (Lagoon)
- Coral Reef, Enter Caverns (Pop-out eels)
- Cavern Entrance (Mr. Ray's Class)
- Finding Nemo (Nemo gets lost)
- EAC (East Australian Current)
- Graveyard of Ships (Shipwreck)
- Mine Field
- Distant Lights/The Anglerfish
- School of Jellyfish
- The Erupting Volcano
- Transitional Scene, Nemo Reunited
- The Whale's Mouth
- Hidden Sea Serpent and Mermaid (Tribute to Submarine Voyage)
- Harbor Scene w/ Fighting Crabs (Rear Lagoon)
- "Beyond the Sea", found on the Finding Nemo soundtrack, instrumental version plays as the submarine docks into port.
See also
- Submarine Voyage
- List of current Disneyland attractions
References
- ↑ "14th Annual Thea Awards". Themed Entertainment Association. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
- ↑ Glover, Erin (2013-12-13). "Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage at Disneyland Park to Close for Refurbishment January 6". Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
- ↑ Disneyland's Redesigned 'Submarine Voyage' Accommodates Disabled Guests – International Business Times
External links
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Coordinates: 33°48′46″N 117°55′02″W / 33.8129°N 117.9172°W