Welcome to a fun journey through Disney’s past! Did you know that some Disney rides featured famous celebrities like Jackie Chan, Whoopi Goldberg, and Cher? One such ride was called Superstar Limo, but it wasn’t very popular and closed within a year at California Adventure in the early 2000s. It was a slow ride through Los Angeles with animatronic versions of these stars. There was even an idea to turn it into Miss Piggy’s Limo Service!
Disney parks have had some spooky rides too. One was ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter at Walt Disney World. It was so scary that only people over 12 were recommended to try it. The ride featured a terrifying alien and was designed by George Lucas! It ran from 1995 to 2003 before being replaced by a Lilo and Stitch attraction.
Another thrilling experience was the Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour at Tokyo Disneyland. This tour took guests on an adventure with Disney villains, ending with a showdown against the Horned King from “The Black Cauldron.” A guest with a sword would defeat him in the end!
For almost 40 years, Disneyland had a ride called Submarine Voyage. Guests boarded submarines and explored underwater scenes with turtles, fish, and even mermaids. The submarines were originally gray but were painted yellow in the 80s. In 2007, the ride was revamped with a Finding Nemo theme.
Disneyland’s Frontierland once had the Rainbow Mountain Stagecoach ride and the Rainbow Caverns Mine Train. The stagecoach ride featured real stagecoaches and closed in 1959. The mine train took guests through glowing caverns and later became Mine Train through Nature’s Wonderland. Today, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad occupies the spot, but you can still see traces of the old mine train.
Disneyland’s Flying Saucers, which operated in the early 1960s, were like bumper cars that floated on air. They were fun but only worked well for people within a certain weight range, leading to their closure.
Walt Disney World had a ride called If You Had Wings, sponsored by Eastern Airlines. It took guests on a journey around the world with animatronic scenes. It later became Delta Dreamflight and eventually Buzz Lightyear’s Space Rangers Spin.
Horizons at Epcot was a popular ride showcasing futuristic scenes with robot butlers and chefs. Guests could choose how they wanted to return home—through space, desert, or ocean. It was replaced by Mission Space.
Adventure Through Inner Space at Disneyland let guests experience being shrunk to a microscopic size. Body Wars at Epcot took riders on a journey through the human body, directed by Leonard Nimoy. Another Epcot attraction, The Making of Me, explored human conception with a mature content warning.
Maelstrom at Epcot was a boat ride through Norway’s history, featuring a three-headed troll. It was replaced by a Frozen-themed ride in 2014.
The Great Movie Ride at Walt Disney World took guests through scenes from 12 classic films. It operated from 1989 to 2017.
Disneyland once had Holidayland, a picnic area with sports fields and a performance tent. It existed from 1957 to 1961. Disney’s Animal Kingdom planned a Beastly Kingdom for mythical creatures, but it never happened. Instead, Camp Minnie Mickey opened temporarily in 1998.
Walt Disney dreamed of Lilliputian Land, inspired by “Gulliver’s Travels,” where everything would be tiny, making guests feel like giants. Although it was never built, some ideas can be seen on the Storybookland Canal Boats.
Thanks for joining this magical journey through Disney’s past! If you enjoyed learning about these defunct rides and lands, be sure to explore more Disney history and share your favorite stories with friends!
Research the defunct Disney rides mentioned in the article and create a timeline. Include the opening and closing dates, as well as any interesting facts about each ride. Use colorful visuals to make your timeline engaging and present it to the class.
Imagine you are an Imagineer at Disney. Design your own ride inspired by one of the defunct rides or lands mentioned in the article. Create a detailed drawing or model of your ride and write a short description explaining its theme, features, and why it would be popular with visitors.
Choose one of the defunct lands, such as Holidayland or the planned Beastly Kingdom. Role-play a day in that land with your classmates. Assign roles, create a script, and act out a typical day, including activities and attractions that might have been available.
Select a celebrity who was featured in a defunct Disney ride, like Jackie Chan or Whoopi Goldberg. Research their career and contributions to entertainment. Prepare a short presentation to share with the class, highlighting their role in the Disney ride and any interesting anecdotes.
Write a creative short story set in one of the defunct Disney rides, such as the Submarine Voyage or the Great Movie Ride. Include characters, a plot, and a conflict that takes place within the ride. Share your story with the class and discuss how the setting influenced your narrative.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Hi, I’m Erin McCarthy, editor-in-chief of Mental Floss. Welcome to Mental Floss video! Did you know that Jackie Chan, Whoopi Goldberg, and Cher were once featured in a Disney ride? It sounds fun, but Superstar Limo was widely disliked and didn’t even last a single year at California Adventure in the early 2000s. It was a slow ride through Los Angeles featuring audio-animatronics of those celebrities and others. Perhaps it would have been more successful as one of the later ideas for the ride: Miss Piggy’s Limo Service.
That’s just the first of many defunct Disney park rides and lands that I’m going to share with you today. Walt Disney World once had an attraction inspired by the movie Alien. I’m not talking about The Great Movie Ride, but we’ll get there. During ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter, guests were startled in the dark by an escaped alien. It was frightening enough that only people over the age of 12 were recommended to experience it. Initially, it was going to be called Alien Encounter and feature a xenomorph from the Alien movies, but the parks’ Imagineers objected to building a ride around R-rated content in Tomorrowland, which was meant to have an optimistic vision of the future. So, the creature ended up being a generic, but still very scary, alien. It did have another cool Hollywood connection: George Lucas was one of the designers.
ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter operated in the Magic Kingdom from 1995 to 2003, before being replaced by the Lilo and Stitch attraction, which rumor has it has also disappeared. Another thrilling attraction was the Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour in Tokyo Disneyland, which opened in 1986 and ran for 20 years. A tour guide took groups on a journey involving confrontations with Disney villains from various classic films. These were done with a combination of video and animatronics. The big finale featured the Horned King from the film The Black Cauldron, where he declared that the guests were now trapped and would be sacrificed. One guest who was given a sword earlier in the tour pointed it at the Horned King and defeated him.
For almost 40 years, Disneyland maintained the Submarine Voyage ride. Riders would enter a submarine that was on a track, which simulated being submerged in water while moving past various creatures like turtles, fish, and mermaids. When the ride opened in 1959, the submarines were gray and named after actual U.S. Navy submarines. In the 80s, they were painted yellow and given exploration-related names. In 2007, the ride reopened at Disneyland with a Finding Nemo theme. A similar version at Walt Disney World lasted from 1971 through 1994.
Two of the earliest rides at Disneyland were the Rainbow Mountain Stagecoach ride and the Rainbow Caverns Mine Train, both part of Frontierland. The stagecoach ride featured actual stagecoaches led by horses going through a desert and closed in 1959. The mine train journeyed through illuminated caverns and later transformed into Mine Train through Nature’s Wonderland. In 1979, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad took over the spot, but if you ride that rollercoaster, you can still see remnants of the mine train.
The Flying Saucers existed for five years in the early 1960s at Disneyland. They resembled bumper cars but were slightly lifted above the ground thanks to air vents beneath the ride. According to Yesterland, the Flying Saucers used technology developed specifically for the ride. When it opened, it was reported that the ride cost $400,000 to build. Each saucer was elevated eight inches off the ground and was under the constant control of its pilot, who moved the saucer by shifting their body. Unfortunately, only people within a specific weight range could do that effectively, leading to its closure for a redesign of Tomorrowland.
Between 1972 and 1987, Walt Disney World had a ride sponsored by Eastern Airlines called If You Had Wings. Passengers boarded an omnimover that flew them around the world, showcasing animatronic scenes of places like Mexico, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. It briefly became known as If You Could Fly, and in 1989 turned into Delta Dreamflight, with a new sponsor. The idea was similar but focused on aviation’s history and potential future. Buzz Lightyear’s Space Rangers Spin now occupies the space where If You Had Wings and Delta Dreamflight once were.
From the mid-1980s through the late 90s, Horizons was a hugely popular ride at Epcot. Guests rode through 24 animatronic futuristic sets. According to Disney, the future held robot butlers, robot chefs, and domesticated seals. At the end of the ride, the car would let you vote on how you wanted to return home—through a space, desert, or ocean scene. Nowadays, Mission Space sits in Horizons’ place.
Around eight months after Horizons closed, Rocket Rods opened at Disneyland. This high-speed thrill ride lasted about three years, using an old track that belonged to a much slower ride, which ultimately led to its demise. The coaster broke down too often and permanently closed in 2001. Starting in 1967, for almost two decades, Disneyland guests could experience what it was like to be microscopic while riding Adventure Through Inner Space. People waiting in line would watch as passengers sat in pods, went through a microscope, and were shrunk, replaced by eight-inch tall replicas on screen.
Similarly, Body Wars, located at Epcot’s Wonders of Life Pavilion, operated from 1989 until January 1, 2007. Forty riders took a journey through the human body, experiencing motion sickness for many as they watched a video of their dramatic chase. Fun fact: the video was directed by Leonard Nimoy. Another attraction at the Wonders of Life Pavilion was The Making of Me, where Martin Short learned about his conception, complete with a disclaimer about mature content at the entrance.
Maelstrom lasted at Epcot from 1988 to 2014 before being replaced by a Frozen ride. It was a boat journey through the history of Norway, albeit with some embellishments like an animatronic three-headed troll.
The Great Movie Ride, which was at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios from 1989 through 2017, allowed guests to enter a building resembling Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, board a car, and travel through scenes from 12 movies, including classic films.
In 1955, Disneyland had a simulation called Rocket to the Moon that showed patrons what it would be like to travel to the moon. It closed in 1966 and was replaced by Flight to the Moon, which became less exciting after Apollo 11 landed on the moon in 1969. The area then became Mission to Mars in 1975, which closed in 1993, later becoming ExtraTERRORestrial.
Let’s finish up with a couple of defunct lands, like Holidayland, which was part of Disneyland between 1957 and 1961. This nine-acre area was just outside of Disneyland and was less ride-oriented, containing picnic spots, sports fields, and a large tent for performances. In the early days of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the company wanted to include Beastly Kingdom, an homage to mythical creatures. While prepping for that, Camp Minnie Mickey opened in 1998 as a temporary placeholder, but neither Beastly Kingdom nor Camp Minnie Mickey remains today.
Finally, there was Lilliputian Land, which never came to fruition. Walt Disney wanted part of Disneyland to be based on a section of the book Gulliver’s Travels, with everything made to look tiny, allowing guests to feel like giants. Some elements of Lilliputian Land can still be seen on the Storybookland Canal Boats.
Thanks for watching Mental Floss video, made with the help of all these wonderful people. If you have a topic you’d like us to cover, leave it in the comments. Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel and give us a like if you enjoyed the video. See you next time!
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Let me know if you need any further modifications!
Disney – A famous entertainment company known for its animated films, theme parks, and characters. – Many students dream of visiting Disney World to see their favorite characters come to life.
Rides – Amusement park attractions that people can sit in and enjoy, often moving along a track or through a set path. – The roller coaster was one of the most thrilling rides at the theme park.
History – The study of past events, particularly in human affairs. – The history of theater dates back to ancient Greece, where plays were performed in large amphitheaters.
Adventure – An exciting or unusual experience, often involving exploration or travel. – The play took the audience on an adventure through a magical forest.
Underwater – Located, occurring, or done beneath the surface of the water. – The ballet performance included an underwater scene with dancers mimicking the movements of sea creatures.
Experience – The knowledge or skill acquired by involvement in or exposure to something. – Watching a live musical was a memorable experience for the students.
Attraction – A place or feature that draws visitors by providing something of interest or pleasure. – The new exhibit was the main attraction at the history museum.
Performance – An act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. – The students gave an outstanding performance in their school play.
Guests – People who are invited to visit or participate in an event or gathering. – The theater was filled with guests eager to see the opening night of the musical.
Villains – Characters in a story or play who oppose the hero and are often involved in evil deeds. – The villains in the play added suspense and excitement to the storyline.
