August 28, 1966 – The 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Exhibit Closes in Disneyland
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On August 28, 1966, the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Exhibit closed in Disneyland’s Tomorrowland area. Originally opening on August 3, 1955, the attraction came about by accident: as the opening day for Disneyland drew near, Walt Disney realized that he’d fallen behind schedule on Tomorrowland. The film on which the exhibit was based had been immensely popular with audiences, so it was decided that the sets from the film would be used for a walkthrough attraction. Meant to be a temporary attraction, it proved to be so popular that it lasted for 11 years. It would resurface again in 1989, when the sets were brought out at the Disney-MGM Studios in Florida; the attraction proved once again to be popular, and inspired the build for the Disneyland Paris attraction Les Mystères du Nautilus, opening in 1994.
