I always wondered why the Disneyland Skyway ride was closed. Here is the explanation from Disneyland Guru. (via: WIL WHEATON dot TUMBLR)
The Skyway was closed because it was expensive to maintain, had higher costs than many other attractions, required a minimum of four castmembers at each end, and had very limited passenger per hour numbers. Access issues were also considered, as there was no real alternative for making this attraction ADA compliant.
I’m not buying it. The reason why the Skyway was closed is because it wasn’t USEFUL. It was a tad ironic that Tomorrowland had so many rides devoted to transportation that didn’t actually TRANSPORT you anywhere. It was ALWAYS faster to walk to Fantasyland than to take the Skyway to it. You’ll see why when you look at this map from Disney Stuff.
It takes you a long distance. It LOOKS like it’s a useful ride, but when you just finished riding Mission to Mars and want to go on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, it’s actually EASIER and FASTER to just walk there. The Skyway ride entrance was tucked into the back corner of Tomorrowland that took you as long to walk to as it did to walk around the Matterhorn into Fantasyland.
I find it interesting that the things that didn’t work at Disneyland actually WORK at other amusement parks. Take for instance, the Skyride at Lagoon in Utah.
The Skyride is obviously styled after the Disneyland ride, but it is insanely useful. Tired parents can suggest the Skyride to their excited kids and get all the way across the park and REST while doing it. I’ve highlighted the route of the Skyride on the Lagoon map.
As you can see, the utility of the Skyride is indisputable and that’s why it still runs today, outliving its inspiration by decades.
The lack of utility is also what killed the People Movers at Disneyland. They never actually MOVED PEOPLE. They took you on a slow crawl through Tomorrowland, where you were to marvel at OTHER rides.
When Disneyland tried to put an exciting ride on the People Mover tracks with Rocket Rods, it was actually a fun ride. Unfortunately, the tracks couldn’t handle the physical stresses and they had to shut it down within a year.
Walt Disney was trying to showcase the methods of transportation for the future, but sadly, didn’t actually use them to TRANSPORT people, which is something the tired families visiting Disneyland NEED. The only vestige of this part of Tomorrowland is the Monorail, which is incredibly useful. At present, it takes you from Disneyland to Downtown Disney and the Disneyland Hotel.
Ironically, he did use the methods of transportation of the PAST to transport people in his original design for the park. The Disneyland Railroad provides the same utility as the Lagoon Skyride does. When parents are tired, but the kids want to run to the next section of the park, they can load the kids on the train and get from Frontierland to Fantasyland, Toontown, or Main Street, all while resting. Nostalgia aside, the Disneyland Railroad is a highly useful ride, which is why it’s still in operation today.
In the end, the Skyway ride was retired because of it’s lack of utility. It wasn’t about cast members. It wasn’t about ADA compliance. It wasn’t about low passenger per hour rates. It was about the fact that it was further to WALK to the Skyway entrance than it was to just walk to Fantasyland. Even so, I still miss being able to slowly ride through the Matterhorn and hover over the Teacups.
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Disneyland is 60 years old. I was there for its 25th anniversary and then again for its 50th anniversary. I can hardly believe ten more years have passed.
