Skyway (Disneyland)

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Skyway

The ride with its original gondolas
Disneyland Location Anaheim, California, USA Coordinates 33.813756°N 117.919745°W / 33.813756; -117.919745 Park section Fantasyland & Tomorrowland Status Defunct Operated June 23, 1956 to November 9, 1994
Statistics
Manufacturer	Von Roll
Product	Sky Ride
Manufactured	1947
Type	Ropeway
Height	60 feet
Speed	4 mph
Cabins	42
Track length	1,200 feet
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Skyway was a Ropeway built by Swiss manufacturer Von Roll that was previously located at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, USA. Opening in 1956, nearly a year after the park opened, the ride was a unique and novel concept mode of transportation to get between the Tomorrowland and Fantasyland areas of the park. The ride would close in 1994, with decreasing ridership, the loss in money due to Euro-Disneyland and lack of maintenance, alongside an accident that year were to blame.

History

The ride would open on June 23, 1956, after soft opening 13 days before. The ride took guests around a leisurely trip around the park, offering a mode of transportation between the Fantasyland and Tomorrowland areas of the park. The ride was Von Roll's first Sky Ride in the United States. WED Enterprises had bought the Skyway from Von Roll's factory in Switzerland, where it was first built in 1947.

In 1957, the Skyway would close for a while as major renovations over at Tomorrowland were being conducted. The central 60ft tower was demolished so a new, thicker tower could be lodged inside the new Matterhorn Bobsleds coaster, which was one of two new attractions, the other being Submarine Voyage. The Skyway would reopen on time in 1959 alongside the new Tomorrowland renovations. The gondolas were replaced and modified in 1964.

In 1983, Fantasyland was closed in its entirety to begin a massive makeover, which resulted in the Sleeping Beauty castle's gateway being risen for the second and last time in the park's history. During this time, the Skyway was operational, giving guests a unique view of the construction down below. The Skyway didn't stop at Fantasyland, as it was required that all the gondolas go back to Tomorrowland without any unloads. The main ride and structure virtually saw zero changes aside from these renovations and revamps.

Closure

On November 9, 1994, the Skyway was closed forever. One of the reasons was blamed on metal fatigue. The support structure inside the Matterhorn mountain was developing stress cracks and could only be accessible by closing Matterhorn Bobsleds and opening up the mountain, which was extremely costly. ADA did not have bearing on the ride as grandfathered with code B77.1. All operating funds directed towards Skyway would be redirected to Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. Once that happened, the holes inside the mountain were patched up, and the ride was dismantled after the 1995 season.

While the Tomorrowland station was destroyed after the 1998 revamp of the land, the station at Fantasyland would remain abandoned, simply chained up from guests and hidden with trees, until mid-2016, where the City of Anaheim approved the Walt Disney Company for the "demolition of 5,132 square feet for Skyway Building #7301", where it would be swiftly demolished to make way for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.

Accidents

• On April 5, 1983, an extremely powerful gust of wind caused one of the gondolas to have its guide wheels derail, stranding 104 people off 40 feet off the ground for 2 and a half hours, until the Anaheim Fire Department evacuated guests from ladders and cherry pickers. Nobody was seriously harmed or injured.

• On April 17, 1994, a guest deliberately jumped off their gondola and fell approximately 20 feet (6 m) and landed on a tree nearby Alice in Wonderland. he was rescued and he was treated of his minor injuries. He then proceeded to sue Disney for $25,000, claiming he had simply just fallen out of the ride. Just before the trial date in September 1996, he had admitted he purposely jumped off the ride, and the suit was dropped.