History

The original Submarine Voyage attraction was part of the "new" Tomorrowland in 1959, and closed on September 9, 1998.

Disneyland's then-President, Paul Pressler, promised the press and Disneyland fans at the time that the attraction would reopen with a new theme by 2003.

One of the first attempts to resurrect the subs banked on the success of the 2001 animated film, Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

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But when Atlantis failed at the box office, instead of creating a ride at the location based on the film, an "Atlantis" themed photo spot was put in front of the lagoon, and the attraction was put on hold.

Later, the entire lagoon was forgotten and 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, many noticed new activity in the Submarine Lagoon.

Neptune, one of the eight submarines in the fleet, was moored in 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 about an attraction based on the Disney/Pixar animated film Finding Nemo. 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's California Adventure by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts President Jay Rasulo.

The attraction was a success with fans and queue line times for the ride stretched to nearly four hours when it opened, and this attraction still has the average wait time of 45-90 minutes today.