Submarine Voyage, Underwater theme park ride in Disneyland, California, US.
Submarine Voyage is an underwater ride at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, where eight yellow vessels travel along a 1,365 ft (416 m) guide rail through artificial lagoons. Each vessel has portholes along the sides through which riders see sea creatures, sunken ships, and rock formations. The submarines are not true submersibles; passengers sit below the waterline, and the diving effect is created by bubbles.
Submarine Voyage opened at Disneyland on June 14, 1959, as part of Tomorrowland's expansion alongside the Matterhorn Bobsleds, an enlarged Autopia, the Disneyland Monorail and the Motor Boat Cruise. It was one of the first rides requiring an E ticket. The eight hulls were built at Todd Shipyards in San Pedro under retired Admiral Joe Fowler, with design advice from General Dynamics' Electric Boat Division. The ride closed on September 8, 1998, and reopened in June 2007 as Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.
The name refers to the American fascination with submarines during the Cold War, when these machines represented both technology and adventure. Today families ride together in the cabins and peer through the round windows at the artificial underwater world.
Riders climb down narrow stairs into the cabin, so the ride is difficult for people with limited mobility. The journey lasts about 12 minutes and takes place in enclosed spaces with artificial lighting.
The submarines are not true submersibles: they are boats whose 38-passenger seating area sits below the waterline, with the pilot in the conning tower above. The diving effect comes from a curtain of small bubbles rushing up at a slight angle, not from the vessel descending.
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