here’s an article I wrote for a necrohillia pornography magazine a while back. Hey that ain’t my thing but they pay their bills on time and the checks clear.

Here it goes (photo not included}

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Here’s a photo of the “Disneyland Naval Yard” in Anaheim California, with the 8 vessels of the Submarine Voyage attraction in their original 1959 appearance. These of course are not true submarines, they are boats that are guided by tracks with portholes beneath the waterline for guests to view the underwater spectacles of the ride.
The vessels were built by Todd Shipyards in Los Angeles, and Electric Boat was contracted as a consultant. Originally the “subs” were fashioned after and named for active US Navy nuclear submarines of 1959, when the attraction opened. Walt Disney himself would humorously brag that he owned the 8th largest submarine fleet in the world.

The vessels are moved by an actual propeller powered by an onboard diesel engine, which also provides interior electric power. The “helmsman” sits in the conning tower, which features windows and is always above waterline, where he can see all the ride’s control functions. The guest portholes are all below the waterline and do not share the helmsman’s view. He controls the vessel’s speed manually, following positioning signals in the above-waterline space to maintain ship separation; the vessels actually float but are guided by a track beneath the keel so no steering is required. As the vessel traverses the route it automatically triggers various lighting and mechanical effects that are part of the show. Bubble machines are used to help simulate diving and surfacing. At any one time three boats are actively running on the attraction with guests, while the other five are in standby or undergoing maintenance (similar to real naval fleets).

For damage control, there is a round seat cushion in the conning tower designed to seal a broken porthole. The vessel never really submerges, nor can it sink as there is a track directly beneath it, so if it were to flood the water would equalize to the outside “sea level” and would not fill the passenger compartment.
The attraction was originally influenced by the USS Nautilus (SSN-571) and its historic submerged transit beneath the North Pole in 1958, and to a lesser degree by Disney’s live action feature film “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” of 1954. In later years, the subs would be painted yellow and white to more resemble research vessels such as the deep diving Alvin (DSV-2). In 2005 the attraction was overhauled and rebranded to the Disney/Pixar hit film “Finding Nemo.” At that time all the boats were surveyed to determine if they were still safe to operate; inspectors determined that they were so well built they were good for another 40-50 years of service. The ride is still in operation as of 2025.

In 1971 a similar ride was built at Walt Disney World in Florida, called “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage.” This attraction was directly themed after the 1954 Disney live action film, including the external appearance of the “subs” and the underwater show. Although popular, the ride closed permanently in 1994, being deemed too expensive to operate.