"
This is the captain speaking. Welcome aboard. We are now underway and proceeding on a course that will take us on a voyage of exploration through liquid space. En route, we will pass through the Bermuda Triangle and probe waters seldom seen by mankind. Our orders are to find the lost city of Atlantis... or die trying. So make yourselves comfortable, please, but remain seated at all times. And no smoking, as it would interfere with our instruments."
--The Captain, the narrator of Seabase Atlantic
"
What... what is that? Are those rock formations, or perhaps... perhaps ancient ruins? Could it be the lost city of Atlantis?"
--The Captain, the narrator of Seabase Atlantic
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Seabase Atlantic opened on January 2, 1979 in the Magic Kingdom at Disney World. The park had had a very large, open area for expansion that bordered both Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, one begging to be built upon. It had actually been the site of a proposed "Fairyland" miniland, set to open as a part of Fantasyland with the rest of the park. It would have featured smaller rides and walk-through attractions that were based on classic children's stories, like Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood, with the centerpiece a roller coaster revival of the scrapped Disneyland concept of Rock Candy Mountain. But due to time and monetary constraints, it never happened.
Luckily, Disney had a trick up their sleeve to replace it. The Submarine Voyage in Anaheim had been an instant classic since the 1959 Tomorrowland expansion, and Seabase Ryūjin in Tokyo was beloved by many. So, the Imagineers decided to bring a "journey through liquid space" over to Orlando, one that would explore the depths of the mysterious Atlantic Ocean.
There was great debate over that theme, however. Many Imagineers wanted the ride to be based on the
Nautilus of
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea fame. In the end, it was decided that that would be better received at Discoveryland in the soon-to-open EuroDisney, though it's likely that the ride would have taken its cues from the Verne classic if EuroDisney wasn't in development at the time.
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Seabase Atlantic's queue is just as richly detailed as any other Disney ride's, despite its relatively compact and smaller size. The line is surrounded by whistling pipes, steaming vents, and sacks and crates of provisions. (It's most similar to the scene in OTL's
Atlantis: The Lost Empire inside the launch bay before the
Ulysses sets off.)
Guests then leave the interior of the building, and step out onto the docks. A yellow oceanographic submarine comes by, and they board it. After listening to the safety spiel, the journey begins.
The sub cruises forwards slowly, and out the windows are nothing but (animatronic) fish and undersea foliage. The captain explains that the guests will be undergoing a "voyage of exploration through liquid space" and explore the mysteries of the Atlantic. The sub then takes a turn, and the water becomes clearer, and lighter, mimicking the Caribbean. The guests have entered the Bermuda Triangle, and can see evidence of it everywhere out their portholes. Sunken ships of all eras and ages lay abandoned on the seafloor, as tropical fish and turtles dart in and out of their crevices and holes. Near the end of the segment, the subs pass by a crashed 1930s airplane, which the captain hints at being none other than Amelia Earhart's. With that revelation dropped, the ride progresses on into the large showbuilding.
Inside are underwater caverns, steadily darkening and growing devoid of fish as the guests move forward. Searchlights from the sub switch on, and direct gazes to numerous sights to behold: underwater volcanoes, bioluminescent sea creatures, and what just might be mermaids.
Finally, the subs find themselves right where they wanted to be, as the searchlights reveal crumbling ancient ruins. They may be covered in algae and have seaweed growing out of every pore, but as the guests cruise past the Tomb of Poseidon, it is confirmed.
The subs stop for a moment, and a diver glides into view. He reaches out for the Trident of Poseidon, and grasps it, which causes reverberations in the water. The expedition has just set off Atlantis' security measures. The diver is quickly pulled out of view by a tentacle, and the sub jets away, fear in the voice of the captain.
For a moment, all is silent except for the instruments onboard. Then, out of nowhere, a loud noise is heard and the terrifying sight of a giant squid or a sea monster (it depends on which side the guests are sitting on) shoots past the portholes. But instead of attacking the sub, they see each other, and begin a dance of death, jetting around the sub and hitting it, denting the roof and making noise. In reality, it's nothing but clever sound design and a crumpling roof, but it seems very convincing to the people onboard. Luckily, the monsters don't substantially hurt the submarine, and the guests make it back to the surface and disembark.
