Do You Remember The Sky Buckets ?

[pirate pixie]

My DH and i were looking at pictures of our honeymoon yesterday ( disney of course )
and there they were !!!
The sky Buckets . We both just screamed because we have been back 10 times since then and never once thought about or missed them . we also found pictures of us in River Country . Do any of you remember the sky buckets and river country .

[TheMartellFamily]

Growing up and staying at Ft. Wilderness we would go at least once each visit. They had the best inner tube ride that I would go on over and over again. They had to close it due to the use of lake water and a parasite found in Florida lakes. I really miss that area and tell my kids about it. Maybe one day they will be able to open it up again.
As for the other we would ride that but I do not like heights so I would ride it once each visit and that was enough.

[c&d]

I miss the "sky buckets" also. I have pictures of us sitting in them. Every time we go I always say how much I miss that ride. I always look sadly over at the stroller parking area.

[slpngbty56]

I remember the sky buckets! It was one of my favorite rides when I was younger. I have some great pictures of the amazing views from that ride.

[just2mickey]

I do remember those and I loved them. I think of them every time we pass the area where we got on them by It's A Small World.

[Jasper]

Add me to the list of those who sadly miss the sky lift! I always loved it because you could see what the buildings really looked like rather than just seeing their fancy facades plus you could see into the backstage areas.

I was young enough back then that things like safety didn't really cross my mind but I did always wonder that with the way Disney always wanted to control the entire park experience why they would allow us to see things from above like that. It is also interesting to see the reaction from my kids when I point out the old loading area because they never got to experience this ride.

[GrmGrninGost]

I never went to River Country, I'm not a water person. However, the Sky Way is one of my most missed attractions, along with Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea!

[Sinewiz]

While back in the day of attending a seminar at the old Disney Institute I was given the inside scoop in regard to why the buckets were eliminated. Unfortunately many "teens" “his words not mine” had begun the practice of swinging or rocking the buckets which was scaring the beejebbers out of those with a few more years on them. As opposed to risking a potential accident, and or law suit, they felt it prudent to shut it down rather than take the chance any longer.

[hnybear22]

I just pickedsome old Disney sing along tapes and one that was obviously a souviner tape called A Day At The Magic Kingdom (vhs) at our local thrift store-
I was thrilled when I got home and watched them- they show not only the Sky Way but alson 20000 Leagues from the top and then from the inside of the boat, River Country and Discovery Island!! Also the electric parade and the fireworks show- the tape was definatley made in the 80's going by the clothes and hairstyles!!
My 10 year old is shocked there was no Splash Mountain in Adventure land!!

[mouseketeer mom]

I would love to see that tape! I was 12 in 1977 and that was my first visit to WDW. I remember feeling a little afraid on the skybuckets and I remember feeling like I was really deep under the sea in 20,000 leagues. Wow. I am old.

[DisneyAndRedSox]

any of you remember the sky buckets and river country .

If you miss river country, go to You Tube and look at River Country: We will never forget

(watch the whole thing for before and after shots)

[beksy]

The buckets were one of my sister's favorite rides. She was so dissappointed that they were gone this trip (shows how long we had to wait to get back!).

[g8rgirl29]

From Wikipedia:
"At the Magic Kingdom, the Skyway was removed in 1999, but not before a worker was killed when he was swept off the platform and dropped 40 feet on February 14 of that year. The Tomorrowland station is off-limits to guests, while the Fantasyland station is now used for stroller parking. Another key reason for the decision to remove the Skyways was because they were in technical violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act. It was very difficult to load and unload mobility-impaired guests (one must step up when boarding and down when de-boarding), and this usually required having to stop the ride. Furthermore, wheelchairs could not be loaded onboard because the vehicles were too small.

On Sunday morning, 17 April 1994, a 30-year-old man named Randle Charles fell approximately 20 feet from one of the Skyway cabins and landed in a tree near the "Alice in Wonderland" attraction. He was helped out of the tree by paramedics and taken to nearby Western Medical Center, where he was treated for minor injuries and released. Charles later filed a $25,000 negligence lawsuit against Disney, claiming that he had suffered permanent neck and back injuries as a result of his fall.

Despite the initial assertion of Mr. Charles' attorney that Randle "wasn't doing anything improper, and he certainly wasn't trying to get out of the ride," Charles indeed jumped, not fell, from his Skyway cabin. Charles' lawsuit was dismissed just before it was to go to trial on 23 September 1996; at that time he admitted that he "came out" of his Skyway cabin and that his lawsuit against Disney was "ill-advised."

Events seemingly repeated themselves five years later. In February 1999, a park custodian at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom was killed when the skyway started up unexpectedly while he was cleaning one of its platforms. Raymond Barlow, 65, was sweeping off a narrow skyway platform inaccessible to park guests an hour after the park's 9:00 A.M. opening when other cast members, unaware of his presence, started up the ride. Barlow, startled by the approaching gondola, grabbed onto it and tried to climb inside; he fell 40 feet into a flower bed, hitting a tree on the way down, and died. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration later ruled that the area in which Barlow had been working violated federal safety codes and fined Walt Disney World $4,500 for a "serious" violation of safety standards. Several months later, in November 1999, the Magic Kingdom's skyway was also permanently closed. Once again, the decision to close the attraction was supposedly based on factors other than its being involved in a recent accidental death.

[wdwgrl377]

Oh my!! I so remember the Sky Buckets! how I missed them...and River Country!! thanks for bringing back some happy memories!!

[CU Tiger]

I miss the skyway! I can still picture in my mind the last time I rode in one with my cousin.

[Mickey91]

I miss the skyway as well!

[brertosh]

Sky Way rocked..........