Classic Walt Disney World: The Best Magic Kingdom Attractions from the Past

Walt Disney World, together with the Magic Kingdom, opened on October 1, 1971. Nearly four decades have come and gone since the opening day. In that time, three new theme parks have been added to Walt Disney World addition to scores of hotels and other entertainment options such as water parks.

And over that time, some beloved Magic Kingdom attractions have come and gone including these three favorites from my childhood.

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (1971 - 1998)

One of the Magic Kingdom's original opening day attractions, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride took guest on a wild adventure until it closed for good in 1998 to be replaced by The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride. The ride
still lives on at Disneyland in California, and for the most part, is the same ride with just a few small differences.

This delightful attraction was based on the 1949 Disney film version of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Guests would start their journey by boarding an old fashioned car and enter Toad Hall. Depending on which side you entered the attraction (there were two queue areas), would determine which scenes your car would pass through. All riders, however, ended their whimsical journey with their car being run over by a train and ending up in Hell (complete with devils). This ending was not part of the movie, but rather an ending created just for this ride.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage (1971 - 1994)

This submarine voyage ride was based on the 1954 Disney film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea which was base on Jules Verne. Opened two weeks after the grand opening of the Magic Kingdom, this ride was an instant hit and a classic favorite until it closed in 1994. When it initially closed, it was announced the closure was temporary, but it would never reopen. There has never been an official explanation from Disney as to why the ride was closed, but rumors persist that it was closed due to high maintenance requirements or the sizable workforce needed to keep the attraction going.

The ride involved guests boarding a submarine that would, once it left the dock, dive deep into the ocean. Once underwater, riders would encounter a surface storm which caused the submarine to dive deeper into the depths of the ocean for safety. It was from the far reaches of the ocean that riders would see shipwrecks from the past. The submarine would glide past ships broken in two and lying on the ocean's floor.

Moving along, the submarine would encounter the underside of a huge iceberg, narrowly missing hitting it before coming face to face with a large squid that had already had a submarine in it's clutches.

Rising to the surface, the passengers would narrowly escape being the squid's next meal. Once sadly on the surface, the submarine would glide back to the docks where passengers would exit and the next group of brave sailors to be would be waiting for their adventure.

For those of you not lucky enough to have had a chance to experience this ride before it was shut down, you can still experience it, virtually at least, online at http://virtual-toad.com.

Skyway (1971 - 1999)

The Skyway was one of the Magic Kingdom's original opening day rides. The Skyway took visitors from either Tomorrowland to Fantasyland or Fantasyland to Tomorrowland. Because of this, the ride has two names, either Skyway from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland or Skyway from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland.

The Original Disneyland in California and Tokyo Disneyland in Japan both had their own skyway rides that took visitors back and forth between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. Both closed for different reasons in 1994 and 1998 respectively. The version at Walt Disney World closed in 1999 without a specific reason given. However, earlier in the same year it closed, an employee who was cleaning the loading platform was killed when another worker, not aware of the other employee's presence, started the ride up. This caused one of the ride gondolas to startle the worked and caused him to fall 40 feet down.