Should the lagoon have remained?

[Kevie]

A thread earlier about the Skyway made me want to conduct a little opinion thread. I think the 20,000 Leagues lagoon in the Magic Kingdom should have remained. They could have gutted the old 20K track and dock, and just left the cave waterfalls and lagoon empty, if just for scenery.

Why were the waterfalls shut off around 2000 and covered with that "ivy" anyway?

What ticks me off is that they evidently did this to "free up" space, but I think Fantasyland looks MORE crowded with all the trees, and it's STILL wasted space, in fact, UGLIER wasted space...Anyone else think the lagoon should've stayed?

[Disney Analyst]

of course it should of stayed!

[Jessicalover]

Without a doubt it should have stayed but not empty. We deserved to have had our 20,000 Leagues overhauled not destroyed. Pooh's 100 Acer Woods sucks! I wouldn't have minded it if it had been put where it belonged like Toon Town Country Fair.

[horizonsfan92]

What ever happened to the stories of MK finally deciding to add either a huge "E"-ticket or a couple of dark rides back there???

I'm torn on the lagoon. On one hand they have a more walkway space back there which was desperately needed and some of the space is actually being used for something more eye-pleasing/thought-out than the character festival. On the other hand the lagoon had a more enchanting look(especially w/waterfalls) than just landscaped berms.

[Pacha]

I heard, from a former CM, that they had to drain the lagoon and fill it in due to serious issues with leaks, a weak foundation and the like. I guess it was in danger of collapsing or flooding tunnels if I remember correctly. Can anyone confirm or deny this? Current or former CM's maybe?

Far as keeping the lagoon goes, assuming they could have salvaged it, I'd much rather have it tastefully redone than have a playground.

[Hamlet Schmalzbach]

Yea...it should have stayed. Never really had a go 'flow' experience in fantasyland. I have said before, as have many...why did it go? Is nothing sacred.

[BlueSkyDriveBy]

I heard, from a former CM, that they had to drain the lagoon and fill it in due to serious issues with leaks, a weak foundation and the like. I guess it was in danger of collapsing or flooding tunnels if I remember correctly. Can anyone confirm or deny this? Current or former CM's maybe?

Your information is essentially correct, according to Imagineers I spoke with about the lagoon, many years ago. It would have been a very expensive nightmare to attempt to fix, especially around the entrance/exit to the show building, where the foundation of the building supposedly had separated from the foundation of the lagoon floor.

Tens of millions would have been required to fix the problem, with basically no guarantees that the foundation would hold or the leaks would stop. I also seem to recall something about a sinkhole developing under the show building as well, but I'm not 100% certain about that.

[wem1985]

Your information is essentially correct, according to Imagineers I spoke with about the lagoon, many years ago. It would have been a very expensive nightmare to attempt to fix, especially around the entrance/exit to the show building, where the foundation of the building supposedly had separated from the foundation of the lagoon floor.

Tens of millions would have been required to fix the problem, with basically no guarantees that the foundation would hold or the leaks would stop. I also seem to recall something about a sinkhole developing under the show building as well, but I'm not 100% certain about that.

Come on....
Really....
You guys believe that company spin?
IMHO it could've been fixed but Disney was too cheap to fix it.

[Pacha]

Come on....
Really....
You guys believe that company spin?
IMHO it could've been fixed but Disney was too cheap to fix it.

Huh? Why would they lie? I mean, what hidden agenda would drive them to make up a story like that? If they could have fixed it at a reasonable cost, why wouldn't they? I mean, they had to know that it would be a very popular ride. Perhaps Michael Eisner had a strange phobia of submersible craft??

[Kevie]

I think that if the problems were that severe the lagoon would have gone a long time before it did, i.e. when the ride closed in 1994.

[tloolgb]

Come on....
Really....
You guys believe that company spin?
IMHO it could've been fixed but Disney was too cheap to fix it.

I'm sorry where is your insider info then?

It leaks. It was a known fact that both lagoons leaked and so do Disney's rivers. Hence why they all have to be drained and patched every 10 years. However the lagoons always had the issues of being covered with sets and fake rocks, unlike the rivers which could be totally paved over. Ti really fix the leaks the lagoons needed to be stripped bare like Disneyland's was last year and patched. If WDW was never going to reuse the lagoon and it would be and extra chunk of $$ to strip it down patch it and then leave it sitting there why would they need to fix it? Filling it in might only have given us a playground right now...but it is still more than what was there. And now there is all this space that can be used at some point, instead of being an unused lagoon and show building that was leaking. You have to remember, the lagoon was essentially on floor 3. It's like having a pool on your roof...when the issues get really big with it you'll fill it in instead of having it leak onto your office and keep weighing down your structure.

[Bibliophile]

See, this is confusing to me. I'd heard (way back in '04) that the ride was scrapped because it would have cost too much to make it accessible to the disabled. Then I start coming *here*, and I hear that Disneyland has been refurbishing their submarines.
So, I'm still confused. The subs are one of the few things I remember from my first trip, when I was 5.

[horizonsfan92]

In '94 the lagoon was closed for budget reasons. The ride's vehicles were costing too much to run,staff and maintain. I know I'll ruffle some feathers by saying this but, both rides were starting to show their age(the figures were very primative). Sadly you can't always have what you want(MY case and point, horizons being open and closed regularly). Let's just hope that the lagoon's area has a very bright future ahead of it. I remember hearing that Pooh's playground was just the begining for the lagoon so, let's not jump ship before all is said and done....

[Doopey1]

They should build the rumored Little Mermaid dark ride that I've read about in the past. They could hopefully find a way to tie it into the Ariel's Grotto area and it would all flow together nicely and be a good fit for Fantasyland.

[Bibliophile]

They should build the rumored Little Mermaid dark ride that I've read about in the past. They could hopefully find a way to tie it into the Ariel's Grotto area and it would all flow together nicely and be a good fit for Fantasyland.

Oh, I think that's an excellent idea!