Just as with any other Disneyland ride, there were many stories circulating about the Submarine Voyage during the years that it was in operation.

I titled this page “Stories” because there are so many fables floating around about the submarine ride that it’s not always easy to tell which stories are true and which are made up. Often times even when someone, like a Disney Imagineer, really “knows” something about a past, present, or upcoming attraction at Disneyland they aren’t allowed to tell. In any case, I did my best to look for real stories to put on this page and, whenever possible, I cite the original source of the information.

According to David Koenig, author of an unauthorized history of Disneyland called "Mouse Tales”, an out-of-town couple once asked a submarine operator how long the ride lasted. When the Disney employee replied “Two days”, the couple hopped the Monorail to the Disneyland Hotel, packed up all their luggage, and returned for what they thought was an overnight cruise!

Koenig also tells the story of an incident that took place on Pearl Harbor Day, Dec 7, 1974. Koenig says that one submarine actually smacked another, leaving 38 Japanese tourists standing atop their seats neck-high in water before they either squeezed onto the pilot's ladder, or burst out the hatch to swim off into the lagoon.

In addition, Koenig tells of the submarine worker who stripped down to his underwear to save a mermaid, and the prank that Submarine operators would play on each other by sliding a coin under the hatch of the pilot dome, preventing it from sealing. When the sub motored under the waterfall, the pilot would get soaked.

Koenig states that he interviewed a maintenance worker at Disneyland who said that the original Submarine Voyage was closed because the tunnel was collapsing. Koenig’s source said: “In at least one place, the guide rails had broken free, and the repair costs were deemed too excessive. At least one sub had damaged its sail when traveling across this section. The water level in the lagoon has to be maintained to prevent a large sinkhole from collapsing underneath Innoventions, which would take out Autopia and Rocket Rods as well. Attempts to seal this hole have all failed, mostly due to the porous soil, so Disney pumps something like 50,000 gallons of water per day into this mess to keep things 'stable.' Each year, the amount of water necessary grows, and nothing can or will be done about it."

You can read more from David Koenig at Mouseplanet.

According to Emuck.com, The 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea ride at Disney World also had structural problems. The Lagoon actually leaked water into the Magic Kingdom’s Wardrobe Department which was directly underneath the submarine vault. It's part of the vast Utilidor system that's underneath most of the Magic Kingdom. The submarines only leaked when they rolled across the seams at the bottom of the sea. Since Disney World stopped operating the subs in September 1994, the leaks have largely stopped.

There are many ridiculous stories online at DisneyLies.com, which suggests that Disney’s submarine fleet were actually made of “modified school buses” but contained real nuclear technology. The site also suggests that a part of the Submarine Voyage took guests on a journey through the real ocean.

Stories are even beginning to circulate about the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. According to Jim Hill Media:

“Some Disneyland guests reportedly got a surprise late last year when they strolled into Tomorrowland early one morning. Right after that theme park had opened for the day. ‘What exactly did they see?,’ you ask. Well, there -- sticking up over the construction wall that surrounds the old Submarine Voyage lagoon -- were two seagulls from Finding Nemo. You know, the ones who continually cried ‘Mine! Mine! Mine!’ in that motion picture? Anywho ... I'm told that the sculpting of these two test figures was particular impressive. But what really amused those early morning Tomorrowland visitors was when someone down in the still-dry lagoon accidentally hit the wrong switch. And then suddenly these two robotic seagulls began moving. More importantly, they began loudly squawking ‘Mine! Mine! Mine!’ Evidently, what had happened is that the Imagineers had brought the two seagull figures into Disneyland to do a little after-hours testing. To see if it would be really annoying for theme park guests walking through this area to continually hear these robotic birds start squawking ‘Mine! Mine! Mine!’ everytime a new submarine started sailing around the lagoon. While, prior to the first guests being allowed into the park that day, this Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage sound test was supposedly completed and the seagulls were then shut off. But then -- by accident -- these robotic birds suddenly got turned back on right after rope drop. I'm told that those guests who actually got to observe this event found it to be doubly amusing. Both because of the squawking seagulls as well as the sight of Disneyland managers frantically talking into walkie-talkies, saying things like ‘Can we please get someone to go down into the lagoon and shut off those birds? The guests aren't supposed to be seeing or hearing this.’ Evidently, after 20 minutes of repeatedly shouting ‘Mine! Mine! Mine!,’ the Finding Nemo seagulls were suddenly silenced and then quickly pulled out of sight. Those folks who actually saw these figures in action said that they were a great coming attraction for the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage attraction.”

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