Immerse yourself in the world of Disney-Pixar's Finding Nemo, on this fascinating submarine voyage! Board the yellow research submarine of the Nautical Exploration and Marine Observation Institute (N.E.M.O.). Sit at one of the portholes where you will be dazzled by the underwater curiosities as your submarine dives fathoms beneath the surface. Your mission is to explore a newly erupting undersea volcano!
Float past the scattered ruins of an ancient civilization that rest on the floor of a lush kelp forest, recently uncovered by the volcanic explosions. Watch deep sea divers as they search for diverse exotic fish. Then hang on as your sub dives down further to avoid a coming sea storm. Thanks to the "sonar hydrophones," you can hear the fish darting about in the bubbles outside of your sub as they chatter amongst themselves. It's Nemo and his wee turtle pal Squirt! Nemo's dad, Marlin, isn't far behind. Your submarine follows Marlin as he searches Nemo, passing myriad aquatic wonders including the East Australian Current, a graveyard of sunken ships and much, much more!
Film fans won't want to miss the familiar seagulls perched on the red buoy tethered to the seafloor as they clamor, "Mine! Mine! Mine!" And for those unable to negotiate the steps down into the hatch or who simply wish to stay ashore, enter the Observation Outpost at the end of the dock. Manned by a member of the N.E.M.O. Institute, this facility offers a high-definition video version of the voyage via onboard "SubCam."
Atraction
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage is located under the monorail station in Tomorrowland. The queue winds around under the monorail track, and is largely shaded. Notice the vegetation, which resembles underwater coral reefs and creatures such as sea anemones.
Four subs at a time can pull up to the loading dock, where Cast Members will lower a boarding ramp. The sub loads from the front and the back. There is a steep, narrow circular staircase down into the sub - be sure to hold onto the handrails. The seats fold down - follow the person in front of you as far as possible and pull down on the seat and sit down. Each seat has its own porthole. There are twenty seats on each side of the sub, and although each seat will have a little different viewing experience, all will have an equal view of the attraction (and see Nemo the same number of times). There's nothing visible on one side of the sub that isn't visible on the other and no particular location in the sub is better or worse.
As the sub pulls away from the dock the captain's voice provides information on what the sub is doing and what can be viewed outside the portholes. To "hear" the fish, the sonar hydrophones are turned on, and Nemo and friends can not only be heard, but are also visible swimming around outside. After some adventure and a few surprises the sub returns back to the dock where guests disembark by going back up the steep staircase and out. The voyage takes approximately 12 minutes.
The Voyage
At the attraction's entrance, guests enter the Nautical Exploration and Marine Observation (NEMO) research center. There are three seagulls perched on a nearby buoy, bellowing out the phrase "Mine! Mine! Mine!" every minute. The guests board one of NEMO's eight research submarines and set out in search of an active underwater volcano. Through their portholes, guests view a spectacular underwater environment. One of the first things guests see is Darla, the evil fish-killing niece of the dentist in Finding Nemo, freediving amid the coral, holding a bag with a fish in it.
As the journey continues on, the visitor then sees a giant sea bass swimming through a forest of seaweed. The submarines later enter the ruins of an ancient civilization, being explored by the dentist scuba diver P. Sherman, who's in Finding Nemo. Among the stone ruins lies a gigantic tiki head embedded in the ocean floor. The scene soon changes as the subs are immersed in the setting of a coral reef in bright colors of orange, aqua, green, crimson, maize, and more. Giant clams slowly open and close their mouths as the submarines pass. The captain commands the sub to dive much deeper to avoid a surface storm ahead.
Shortly after passing into the caverns, the captain announces that due to amazing new marine technology called "sonar hydrophones", they can actually hear the fish talk (an homage to the original attraction). The subs then pass through a dark cavern where huge eels lunge toward the submarine and lobsters are fighting. The subs pass Marlin and Dory as they discover Nemo has become lost once again. Further along the reef, the guests come across Mr. Ray and his class swimming through the coral looking for Nemo as well. The captain says they are approaching open water and the subs pass Crush, Squirt, and the other green turtles and enter the East Australian Current.
The subs then exit the current and enter a spooky graveyard of sunken ships where Marlin and Dory continue their search for Nemo. Bruce, Anchor, and Chum swim inside a sunken U-Boat surrounded by World War II mines. The submarines hit one, shaking the sub and causing it to temporarily lose power. The sub goes dark and Marlin and Dory are suddenly surrounded by small glowing spots. Suddenly, a huge deep-sea anglerfish appears. After Marlin and Dory escape the monster, they go through a forest of jellyfish.
The submarine reaches the active deep-sea volcano. As lava flows down the edge of the volcano, the Tank Gang chant then Marlin finally finds Nemo in a joyful reunion. The volcano erupts just as the subs escape and return to the coral reef. The fish gather and celebrate finding Nemo once again. Suddenly, a pod of humpback whales appear and one of them swallows both Dory and the submarine. As Dory swims about trying to speak whale, the whale shoots the submarine out through its blowhole. The sub captain tells the first mate and the passengers not to mention anything because "nobody would probably believe them anyway".
He then says, "We better take her up before we have a run into a sea serpent or enchant with a mermaid." (in reference to the prior attraction which featured four mermaids and a gigantic sea serpent.) Soon after he says this, we see two coral formations one shaped like the sea serpent's head the other shaped like a swimming mermaid (hidden mermaid and sea serpent). The submarine then enters the harbor and view a pair of king crabs snapping at air bubbles atop a sewage pipe. The song "Beyond the Sea" (instrumental) plays as the captain thanks the passengers for riding. Each voyage lasts approximately 15 minutes.
The Submarines
The attraction reused the eight original Submarine Voyage thru Liquid Space attraction vehicle hulls built at the Todd Shipyards in San Pedro, California. Vertical rollers attached at each end of the keel roll within a submerged guide channel. Battery/electric propulsion charged at the loading dock by "no contact" inductive coils while boarding replaced diesel engines, increasing efficiency and eliminating fuel spills. Guests board through a hatch at either end by crossing hinged loading ramps to spiral stairs. Twenty aft-boarding guests are seated facing the starboard side, and fore-boarding guests are seated facing port. Each submarine originally seated 38 guests, but removal of the diesel engines increased seating to forty fold-down, spring-loaded fiberglass seats. Lap sitting of small children is permitted. Forty-six on-board flotation devices limit maximum capacity to 45 guests and one helmsman. When the boarding ramps are raised the hatches are sealed watertight (but not airtight) and mooring lines released. The "submarines" do not actually submerge when "diving", they are truly just elaborate boats with seating and viewports below water level. Descent and submersion is simulated with bubbles that rise across the viewports when passing compressed air released under the hull and waterfalls. Each viewport blows fresh dehumidified air across the window to prevent fogging. Each submarine cabin interior features forty viewports framed with dark blue mesh and a wavy blue stripe painted across the ceiling. Originally the sub exteriors were painted Navy Grey. The new submarine livery colors are bright yellow above the water, a light blue 'boot stripe' at the waterline, and a reflection-reducing matte blue-black hull below the waterline.
The sail of the submarines, in which the helmsman operates, contains both a control console, and a board of indicator lights, relative to the submarine's operation. The submarine is on tracks, but the helmsman is responsible for forward and backward movements, which is indicated in RPM's. A small joystick is used to make these speeds, which vary throughout different sections of the ride. Helmsmen are also able to unlock the watertight hatches via levers within the sail. Each sail also features a flashlight, paper towels, opening/closing checklists, and a radio to communicate with other submarines, or other parts of the ride.
The queue, docks, subs and scenes have all been re-themed to represent the Australian harbor of the movie, and the narrator, as well as his first mate, speak with Australian accents.
Marine Observation Outpost (M.O.O.) - Guests are presented a show on a high definition LCD screen which is similar to the underwater attraction. The alternative guest experience is provided to accommodate guests with phobias and those unable to transfer via the spiral-stairs due to limited physical abilities. This show was filmed on-board a few submarines before the ride opened to the public, and contains a few minor features which were removed during the ride's concurrent operation after opening day.
Touring Tips
- This is a very slow-loading attraction and Fastpass is NOT available. The lines this summer are expected to be very long (the prediction is 2-1/2 hours on average). The best plan is to arrive at the park BEFORE it opens and proceed directly to Tomorrowland after the park opens. If it's an Early Entry day the line is likely to already be long at regular park opening, so this strategy should work best on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday, which are non-Early Entry days. Disney has announced plans for the Finding Nemo attraction to remain open up to 2-1/2 hours after regular park closing, so anyone getting in line before the park closes should be able to experience the attraction.
- The stairway down into the submarine is steep and narrow. Hold onto the handrails and watch your step. Children may require some assistance from their parents.
- The entire queue is accessible for wheelchairs and ECVs, but the attraction is not. For those not able to use the stairway into the submarine, the "Observation Outpost" is available. This room is off to the side of the loading area and holds two wheelchairs/ECVs and up to 10 people. There is a large high-definition screen on the wall where the same scenes that those aboard the submarine are seeing and hearing may be viewed. The "pre-boarding" narration is somewhat different, though, since the premise is that the room is a marine observation outpost with a remote live submarine camera. There is not a separate line for the Observation Outpost - entry is through the regular queue.
- The submarine is fairly narrow with seats that are very close together and a relatively low ceiling. Those who are claustrophobic or "plus-sized" might want to ask to experience the attraction from the Observation Outpost. Simply ask a Cast Member when you reach the loading area.
- If you are borderline claustrophobic, then do not be the first one to board from either the front or the back - those seats are partially under the staircase and have less headroom.
- There is no height requirement but smaller children may need to sit on a parent's lap to see through the porthole.
- There is one very dark scene with a big scary-looking fish that some children might find frightening.
Facts
- The submarines are powered by something called Inductive Power Transfer (IPT). A magnetically coupled pair of coils transfers the power without physical contact, eliminating electrical contacts under water. One coil travels with the sub as it draws power from an electrical grid. While this kind of system has been used for other rides, this is the first time it has been used long-term under water!
- The original submarine voyage, inspired by the movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, opened on June 6, 1959 and closed on September 7, 1998. The Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage uses the same track and the same 8 submarines, though they have been modified. Modifications include the addition of one additional seat and porthole on each side and conversion of the power source from diesel to electric engines.
- The Disneyland submarine fleet is the 8th largest in the world. The names of the submarines are: Explorer, Scout, Voyager, Mariner, Seafarer, Nautilus, Neptune and Argonaut.
- New projection technology developed by Walt Disney Imagineering allows Nemo and Friends to appear exactly as they do in the movie, but in a 3-D underwater setting.
- To maintain the vibrancy of the bright colors of the coral and rockwork in the California sun, Imagineers developed a new "paint" made with recycled glass. There are more than 40 colors with names like Mango Mud, Phantom, Yamber, and Peritwinkle.
- The lagoon holds approxmiately 6.3 million gallons of water.
- Some references to the original Submarine Voyage exist in the new dialog - like the "sonar hydrophones", and the captain's comment about seeing sea serpents and mermaids.
History
The original Submarine Voyage thru Liquid Space attraction was built as part of the "new" Tomorrowland in 1959, and closed on September 9, 1998. At that time, Disneyland's president, Paul Pressler, promised the press and Disneyland fans that the attraction would re-open with a new theme by 2003. One of the first attempts to resurrect the subs was banked on the success of the 2001 Disney animated film, Atlantis: The Lost Empire. However, when Atlantis flopped at the box office, an "Atlantis" themed photo spot was placed in front of the lagoon and plans of re-theming the based on the film were shelved.
However, the attraction remained untouched. Later, the entire lagoon became a scenic viewpoint. The submarines were stored inside the show building without maintenance. Pressler left, and the attraction's announced 2003 return date passed without action. When Matt Ouimet became the President of Disneyland Resort in 2003, there was new activity in the Submarine Lagoon. Neptune, one of the original eight submarines in the fleet, was moored at the old Submarine Voyage station dock for inspection by Walt Disney Imagineering in 2004.
The submarines were being tested to see if new animated show scenes would be visible from the portholes. Rumors spread quickly over the Internet, saying that an attraction based on the Disney/Pixar animated film Finding Nemo was going to finally replace Submarine Voyage. After months of speculation, on July 15, 2005, two days before the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland, the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage was officially announced at the new Turtle Talk with Crush attraction at Disney California Adventure Park by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts President Jay Rasulo. The attraction was a huge success with fans when it opened, queue line times for boarding stretched to nearly four hours.
In 2010, line times still fell around 45 minutes. However, this is expected to change as Star Tours: The Adventures Continue will most likely cannibalize its ridership, giving way to shorter lines.
Hidden Mickeys
- There are two sets of lockers in the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage's Observation Outpost. Examine the lockers to find a Hidden Mickey in one of the lockers. (The Observation Outpost allows guests who are unable to board the submarines to participate in the station's undersea exploration.)