Do you want to experience the wonders of the ‘Submarine Voyage’ in Disneyland? Do not let claustrophobia or handicap deter you, because Disneyland has redesigned this wonder voyage especially for you!
The Americans with Disabilities Act, which went into effect in 1991 and mandated access to public buildings and other places, cover new rides built at Disneyland and other theme parks.
The engineers at The Walt Disney Co. could not retrofit the hatches and spiral staircases of the original 52-foot submarines to accommodate wheelchairs.Therefore, they did the next best thing.
The undersea voyage has been photographed with state-of-the-art equipment, and the high-definition images will be displayed on a 61-inch plasma screen in a theater designed to resemble an observation outpost.
During the project, a crew used a Panavision high-definition camera to capture images from inside and outside the submarine. The scenes in the lagoon were specially lit and painstakingly filmed with a wide-angle lens.
The theater has benches and spaces for wheelchairs that can accommodate about 10 people. People with hearing loss are given hand held captioning units about the size of a paperback book. Narration is displayed on a back lit screen and triggered remotely as the ride progresses
Inspired by the 1954 Disney film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, opened on June 6, 1959 as the Submarine Voyage (one of the first rides to require an E ticket).
It closed on September 9, 1998, The attraction is to reopen now in 2007 with a Finding Nemo theme, and will be called the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.
Located at at Disneyland in Anaheim, California it is based on the popular 2003 Pixar film, Finding Nemo.
New technology will be used in the Finding Nemo ride to create the illusion of an undersea journey:
Instead of underwater plastic fish on strings, guests will gaze through the submarine portholes at projected images that appear to be moving through the water outside the boat.
So get set to enjoy this wonderful submarine voyage!
Image credit: Disney submarines
Source: The Boston Herald
