Ever wonder what happens to the discarded ride vehicles and Audio-Animatronics of defunct theme park attractions? Some may find a home in the recycling bin, while more iconic pieces might be sold to collectors or shipped off to the studio’s archives for cataloguing and preservation. Still others, like the unfortunate Audio-Animatronics of America Sings, are stripped down to their nuts and bolts in order to be repurposed for current or future attractions.
Relatively few pieces of theme park history ever make it beyond the berms of Disneyland and Walt Disney World, but there are a few remote places where you can find genuine articles from days gone by. How many of these have you spotted so far?
San Francisco, Calif.: Autopia ride vehicle at the Walt Disney Family Museum
Image: Trisha Fawver, Flickr (license)
For those of us who weren’t around when Walt’s original park opened to the public in the summer of 1955, it’s a rare and special treat to see some of the retired attractions up close. Although you can find a few fascinating bits of Disney Parks history at the Disney Gallery on Main Street, U.S.A., a far richer history awaits those who make the trek to the Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio of San Francisco.
The museum, founded in 2009 by Walt’s daughter, Diane Disney Miller, is unparalleled in its trove of artifacts from Walt’s life and career. Perhaps one of the coolest parts of the museum’s permanent galleries is the room devoted to the development of Disneyland, including a working Audio-Animatronic bird from the Enchanted Tiki Room and an intricate, 14-foot diameter model of Disneyland’s most iconic attractions.
As museum guests make their way from Walt’s miniatures display to the Griffith Park Carousel bench to the model of Disneyland, they’ll also find a vintage Autopia ride vehicle among the park memorabilia. Painted cherry-red and in pristine, if not perfect condition, the ride vehicle was donated to the Walt Disney Family Museum by Christopher Disney Miller and dates back to Disneyland’s Opening Day. Although Autopia has since undergone many tweaks and revisions in order to make it a safer and more enjoyable experience for underage and licensed drivers alike, it’s fantastic to get a peek at the beautiful models Disney used in the park’s early days.
Emeryville, Calif.: Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train at Pixar Studios
Image: Deborah Coleman, Pixar
In September 2018, Disney California Adventure’s “a bug’s land” permanently shuttered to make way for an Avengers-themed land. During its 16-year lifespan at the Disneyland Resort, the area predominately catered to young children with water-based play areas and a variety of slow, kid-friendly attractions like Francis’ Ladybug Boogie, Tuck and Roll’s Drive ‘Em Buggies, and Flik’s Flyers.
When Disney began tearing down “a bug’s land” last year, it wasn’t immediately clear where the rides would end up. There don’t appear to be any immediate plans for Francis’ ladybug spinners, nor Tuck and Roll’s pill bug bumper vehicles, but recent rumors have pointed toward a possible retheming for Flik’s airborne flyers as the suspiciously similar Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind attraction is scheduled to debut sometime in 2019.
As for Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train—a slow-moving train ride through Heimlich’s various oversized snacks—part of the attraction made its way north to the Brooklyn Building of Pixar Studios’ campus in Emeryville, Calif. While visitors can no longer journey with the caterpillar as he samples an array of candy, cookies, fruits, and vegetables, they can still snap a photo with the candy corn-munching bug in his new (and permanent) home.
Castaway Cay, Bahamas: Nautilus submarine from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Submarine Voyage
Image: Rod Ramsey, Flickr (license)
If you’ve been on any Disney cruise, you’re familiar with one of its most popular ports of call: the privately-owned island called Castaway Cay. It’s a picturesque stretch of soft white sand and crystal blue waters, but if you look just a little bit more closely, you may spot a piece of Disney history that seems to have strayed a little too far from home.
Back in 1994, one of the Magic Kingdom’s staple attractions was showing signs of wear. After nearly twenty years, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage was starting to look a little tired, and most guests had already fixated on a different sea-themed story: the immensely popular animated flick The Little Mermaid. While the lagoon would eventually be reconstructed as Ariel’s Grotto (then Pooh’s Playful Spot, and finally, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train), Imagineers needed to find a way to get rid of the dozen metal-colored submarine-like boats still floating around backstage.
As Disney didn’t have immediate plans to keep another submarine ride afloat in the Magic Kingdom, the way they did with Disneyland’s 2007 Finding Nemo overhaul of the Submarine Voyage, they scrapped most of the attraction vehicles. One was shipped across the property to Disney’s Hollywood Studios as part of the now-closed Backlot Tour, while two more were postmarked to the Bahamas and sunk in the waters of Castaway Cay.
Submerging and preserving the boats ended up a more arduous task than Disney had expected, though, especially when hurricane weather hit the island. Today, guests will find just one remaining Nautilus on the floor of the snorkeling lagoon, sans wheelhouse and dorsal fin but still a charming sight—and a unique find from Disney Parks history, to boot.
Sacramento, Calif.: Original Disney California Adventure entrance mural
Image: Disney
Some of the random bits of Disney history you’ll find outside of the parks have little to do with the company’s more well-known attractions. Take, for instance, the postcard-perfect sculptures that decorated the entrance to Disney California Adventures back in 2001. When the park underwent an extensive (and expensive) facelift in 2012, Disney was left with a lot of decisions to make. Dozens of attraction props and external décor needed to be repainted, refitted, or removed entirely from the park—including some of the scenery that had become emblematic of the California-inspired theming.
Allow us to jog your memory: Before the Esplanade became a wide, open space for guests to freely congregate, 11-foot, eight-inch sculptures spelled out C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A from tan turnstile to turnstile. Against the backdrop of an elaborate ceramic mural and a faux Golden Gate Bridge, the letters were intended to form an oversized tableau of the Golden State; instead, they served as unusual photo backdrops, a makeshift jungle gym for kids too antsy to wait in line, and another avenue for Disney to promote limited-time events and holiday celebrations.
Just one decade after their debut, however, the entrance to Sunshine Plaza was thoroughly dismantled: record-breaking mural, Golden Gate Bridge, letters and all. Rather than completely destroying the sculptures (a fate that befell the enormous mosaic when it became apparent that the panorama of Californian mountains, wildlife, and urban landmarks could not be relocated without sustaining irreparable damage), Disney elected to donate them to Cal Expo in Sacramento. For the last six years, they’ve helped welcome visitors to the annual California State Fair from their new position in front of the Main Gate… looking every bit as golden and resplendent as they did while gracing Disneyland’s Esplanade.
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What other Disney Parks memorabilia have you spotted in unusual locations?
