I’ve had a day of immersing myself in reading about all things WDW and this led me to watch the episode of Roseanne where the Connors go to WDW.
Two things struck me.
First, they did zero planning: they had the idea to go and pretty much left immediately. No ADRs! No FPPs! They rope-dropped, rushed to the plaza and then had no idea what to do next! I was crying with laughter at their amateur approach!
The second thing was there used to be a cable car across Tomorrowland! Why did that go?
The Skyway was great! You had an aerial view of MK long before the advent of Google maps. The station in Fantasyland was replaced with the Tangled-themed restrooms.
That episode is from 1996. No FPP! Sure it’s TV, but planning wasn’t actually necessary then. No real need for ADRs either. The first time I remember making ADRs was 2007 and we made them just a couple of months in advance on the phone with the CM and we got everything we wanted: California Grill, 50s Prime Time, Coral Reef, Boma.
According to the Yesterland link (thanks @gamusicman), Disneyland closed its Skyway in 1994, MK in 1999 and Tokyo Disneyland in 1998. Speculation is that they were closed for business reasons. The Skyways were expensive to operate and had a low capacity. the cable car systems were expensive
That article made me miss 20,000 leagues… my favorite ride from my childhood.
^^^ What they said!
You had to go to a ride entrance to get fastpasses, so often you sent a runner (preferably someone who knew the park layout or could read a map) to get the fastpasses.
You put your tickets in the machine and got a printed out piece of paper with a return time. You could ride anytime after that time.
You had to wait until you used each fastpass before getting another, unless your wait was over 2 / 3 ? hours.
Fun and games!
But ADRs were often walk ups. We did Le Cellier for dinner by phoning at lunchtime.
The Skyway was really neat! I remember riding the Skyway in 1994 with my grandparents when I was 8.5 years old. I think there was a waterfall near the Tomorrowland station. I do remember the line being really slow waiting for the Skyway.
I also have a very vague memory of going through the Matterhorn at Disneyland and putting my hands over my hears because I was afraid of the Abominable Snowman (this would have been before the WDW trip). The Skyway went through the Matterhorn at Disneyland Park near the top where the Abominable Snowman is situated.
When did the original ticket system of FP show up at WDW? I remember using it for the first time at Disneyland in 2000 (I think, I know we were there in 1996, 2000 and 2005). My immediate family ended up being in the park the same day as my uncle and cousins. FP was new to us at this time (we only went to a Disney park every 2-3 years and alternated between coasts). FP paper tickets were available at only the headliners (Space Mt, Big Thunder, Splash Mt). My uncle and father had cell phones (they were still in their early stages then) and one person would take all the tickets to a FP booth for a ride (example Big Thunder) and the other would call and let us know when the FP return time was. We were very efficient in our touring with this strategy and implemented a similar method for future vacations.
It was first introduced in 1999.
My first visit was 1992 with DH. Next was 2005 with kids, and that was when I remember heading off to get fastpasses whilst DH and kids would follow more slowly.
I remember holding on to my Dad really tightly while on the Skyway! That thing made me sooo nervous. I was also terrified of 20,000 Leagues because I didn’t understand how submarines worked and I thought we would all drown. This was the mid 80s. I was young! I’m glad I can chuckle about it now. It wasn’t so funny back then though!
I loved 20,000 leagues too!
Oohhh, you are talking about our 3 boys’ FAVORITE ride when they were little! We did that 5 times in one day, once. They are all adults now and still talk about that ride!!!
Show them this one time.
Very cool - thanks!
I went in 2001, for the first time, zero planning! Most Restaurants were walk up and it was paper FPs (which I miss!) had a fantastic time 