Disneyland Submarines On June 14, 1959, as part of Disneyland’s official “second opening” Walt Disney introduced major expansion of the park that included a whole new tier of “E” ticket attractions, including the Submarine Voyage with his version of the Nautilus serving as the flagship for his fleet of eight submarines.
All Eight hulls were fabricated at Todd Shipyards in San Pedro, California, at a cost of $80,000 each, to build "one of the world's largest peacetime submarine fleets" for Disneyland. General Dynamics' Electric Boat Division, builder of the U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered submarines, provided technical data and design advice. They were then transported by truck to the "Disneyland Naval Yard" in Anaheim for outfitting under the direction of Disneyland’s Vice President of Operations, Joe Fowler, a retired Navy Rear Admiral.
During the attraction's opening in June 1959, (then) Vice president Nixon and his family led a parade from Disneyland’s Main Street to the attraction. Walt Disney joined honored guest Admiral Charles C. Kirkpatrick, USN, to introduce the new Disneyland fleet.
With the Navy band playing in the background, Walt assisted the wife of Nautilus’s Chief Machinist Mate Stuart Nelson as she christened “Nautilus D-301” and the entire Disney fleet.
From 1959-1998, this Disneyland ride included a simulated voyage under the Arctic Ocean's polar ice cap undertaken by the real nuclear submarine USS Nautilus in 1958.
Nuclear Submarine Era (1959 - 1986)
Between 1959 and 1985, the fleet of “nuclear submarines” (they ran on diesel engines) included:
• “Nautilus D-301” – named after USS Nautilus (SSN-571) - The first nuclear submarine and the first to complete a submerged voyage around the North Pole.
• “Seawolf D-302” – named after USS Seawolf (SSN-575) - Second nuclear submarine.
• “Skate D-303” – named after USS Skate (SSN-578) - Lead ship of her class. Third nuclear submarine commissioned. First complete submerged trans-Atlantic crossing. Second submarine to reach North Pole and the first to surface there.
• “Skipjack D-304” – named after USS Skipjack (SSN-585) - Lead ship of her class. "World's fastest submarine" during sea trials.
• “Triton D-305” – named after USS Triton (SSRN/SSN-586), the only Western submarine powered by two nuclear reactors. First vessel to execute a submerged circumnavigation of the Earth.
• “George Washington D-306” – named after USS George Washington (SSBN-598) - the U.S. Navy's first operational ballistic missile submarine. Lead ship of her class. Third U.S. Navy ship of that name.
• “Patrick Henry D-307” – named after USS Patrick Henry (SSBN-599) - a George Washington class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine. Later converted into an attack submarine and redesignated SSN-599.
• “Ethan Allen D-308” - named after USS Ethan Allen (SSBN-608), lead ship of her class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines.
Exploration Submarine Era (1987–1998)
This was a slight retheming away from the nuclear references (most likely due to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster with the explosion of a Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant reactor in the Soviet Union.
Nautilus remained as the flagship vessel, with the “D” for Disney dropped such that the name was now simply “Nautilus 301.” Name changes for the other seven vessels were as such: “Neptune 302” (formerly Seawolf), “Sea Star 303” (formerly Skate), “Explorer 304” (formerly Skipjack), “Seeker 305” (formerly Triton), “Argonaut 306” (formerly George Washington – and the name Argonaut, while previously used as a name for an actual submarine, this use of the word “Argonaut” was more aligned with “Jason and the Argonauts” of simply as someone who sets off on daring quest), “Triton 307” (formerly Patrick Henry – Triton was reused, but for some reason applied to a different vessel), and “Sea Wolf 308” (formerly Ethan Allen – though used as two words, harkens back to the second Disney vessel and the second nuclear submarine)
Finding Nemo Submarine Era (2007–Present)
In 2007, Disneyland rethemed the classic Submarine attraction to “Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage” (based on the characters and settings of the 2003 Disney-Pixar film “Finding Nemo”.) The new fleet with completely new yellow vessels includes: 107 Nautilus (still the flagship of the Disney fleet), 207 Scout, 307 Voyager, 407 Mariner, 507 Seafarer, 607 Explorer, 707 Neptune, and 807 Argonaut. These names were now more a reflection of nautical exploration and popular culture references.
Still a popular ride in Disneyland’s Tomorrow Land, the submarine ride - rivaling the adventure-like aspects of the real USS Nautilus’ story - has been described throughout the Cold War and beyond, as the government’s most successful post- Nautilus Operation Sunshine propaganda piece.
