So the curiosity got the best of me and I decided to head down to the local Passamaquoddy library and do some research on Mr. Verne.

As it turns our, Jules Verne was a French-born author who is responsible for such timeless classics as Journey to the Center of the Earth, Around the world in 80 days, and my personal favorite, 20,000 leagues under the sea. Many of these books were very much in the science fiction genre as he would write about air, space, and underwater travel long before Orville and Wilbur Wright would take that famous flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina and decades before the invention of submarines. So it was only natural that when it came time to rework the design of Tomorrowland, the folks over at Disney decided to theme it after much of the visual imagery that is described so well in the Verne classics. After all, you have to go back to the drawing board whenever it’s no longer futuristic to talk about flying to the moon or playing virtual reality video games.

This brings me to the main topic that I wanted to write about. As a young child I was enamoured by the Walt Disney live action film “20,000 Leagues under the Sea”. The 1954 films starred a much younger Kirk Douglas. Captain Nemo, Prof. Pierre M. Aronnax and crew are out to prove (or disprove) the existence of a sea monster which is known for disrupting sea traffic. Now the voyage takes place on a submarine, much like the submarines that would eventually open up as an attraction at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World on October 14, 1971.

I have fond memories of this attraction. As a child, the idea of getting onto a vessel that would take me underwater actually frightened me a bit. It wasn’t until my parents had to point out that the sub doesn’t REALLY go all the way underwater that I decided to get on the ride. This is a testament to some of the great work that the Imgaineers are known for doing though. Because, for an attraction built in the 1970′s, they really did a great job at making you feel like you were going on this underwater voyage complete with lighting, sound effects, and special props in the water along the way. One of these is the giant squid which ultimately brings the film (and the attraction) to a dramatic climax. In a way, I suppose you could say not only was the story of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ahead of it’s time but the attraction as well. This was the first time a theme park ride like this had been opened to the public. I mean, not many people can say that they have the 5th largest naval fleet in the world with 24 subs operating between Disneyland and Walt Disney World. And you thought this was just another theme park ride? And people are still confused to this day to the reason why it was closed in 1994. Sure, there are the constant complaints of ride break-downs, slow loading and unloading of guest traffic, the high cost of maintenance issues, and the subs not being handicapped-accessible. But was that really the reason? The attraction was still wildly popular up until closing day and the subs have even come back in a new and improved way with all new characters in Disneyland in California. And even now the Nemo subs have some of the longest lines in the Anaheim park.

The last thing I’d like to ponder is, why this attraction was placed in Fantasyland in both of our U.S. parks. I thought they really had the right idea in Disneyland Paris when they put the subs in Tomorrowland. The Disneyland Paris Tomorrowland REALLY embodies the Jules Verne theming moreso than any of the other parks and it’s only fitting that an attraction which originated more than a century ago as a Jules Verne novel be placed in Tomorrowland. I know what you’re thinking.”Don’t put so much thought into what attractions are placed in which lands”. And to that I would have to say I tend to agree. Sometimes you only have so much space in the park to place attractions and sometimes you have to put the attractions where they will physically fit even if it means stretching the theme of the attraction or the land to try to make it work

It certainly was nice to be able to reminisce about this great classic story, film, and attraction which I have fond memories of. I’m looking forward to seeing what else comes out of Jules Verne week here in Passamaquoddy. Now I need to find this Glenn fellow. It seems he’s been posting pictures of me with bad hair all over his web site.

Kunglaoosh!