Wender·Vista
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
in Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage

— — the lagoon that read like the deep.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A Fantasyland lagoon at the Magic Kingdom where a small fleet of submarines ran a Jules Verne voyage from 1971 to 1994. Twelve boats carried the Captain Nemo theme of the 1954 Disney film: Nautilus, Neptune, Triton, and the rest, past sea serpents, an underwater volcano, and a sunken city. The lagoon was filled in after the closure. The route now lives only in memory and in the wider Fantasyland that grew over it.

from the studio
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage
— bring it home

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage was a dark ride and lagoon attraction in Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It opened on October 14, 1971, with the rest of the park, and closed permanently on September 5, 1994. Designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, the attraction was themed to the 1954 live-action film of the Jules Verne novel. The lagoon and the twelve Nautilus-style submarines stood at the centre of Fantasyland for the run; the lagoon was drained and filled by 1996.

— the year

The Submarine Voyage opened with the Magic Kingdom on October 14, 1971, and ran for nearly 23 years, closing on September 5, 1994. During its run the fleet of twelve submarines, named Nautilus, Neptune, Seastar, Triton, and others, carried passengers through scenes of a giant squid, sea serpents, an underwater volcano, mermaids, and the lost city of Atlantis. The lagoon was drained and filled in 1996. The site reopened in 2005 as Pooh's Playful Spot and was absorbed into the New Fantasyland expansion completed in 2014.

— the water

The defining feature of the attraction was a large lagoon at the heart of Fantasyland, with the twelve submarines tracing a guided route past the show scenes. Disney publicity at the time of opening noted the small fleet ranked among the larger submarine forces in the world by hull count. The lagoon required continuous filtration to keep the show-scene water clear in the Florida heat, and maintenance cost was among the reasons cited for the eventual closure. When the lagoon was filled in 1996, the literal hole left in Fantasyland was significant for a decade.

— where
United States · Lake Buena Vista, Orange County, Florida
— within
Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World
— position
28.4203° N · 81.5814° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
at the lake
Cinderella Castle
park icon
at the lake
It's a Small World
Fantasyland attraction
at the lake
Peter Pan's Flight
Fantasyland attraction
N
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage
Cinderella Castle
It's a Small World
Peter Pan's Flight
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The attraction opened on October 14, 1971, as part of the original opening day of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

The attraction closed permanently on September 5, 1994, after nearly 23 years of operation. The lagoon was drained and filled by 1996.

In Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The site was absorbed into the New Fantasyland expansion completed in 2014.

Twelve submarines, each themed to characters and ships from the 1954 Jules Verne film: Nautilus, Neptune, Seastar, Triton, Skate, and others.

After the lagoon was filled in 1996, the site stood as a temporary play area, opened as Pooh's Playful Spot in 2005, and was absorbed into the New Fantasyland expansion completed in 2014.

Reported reasons included the cost of maintaining the lagoon and submarines, water-quality issues in the Florida heat, and shifting capacity priorities for Fantasyland.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for someone who rode the boats as a child in the 1970s or 1980s. A Medium for an office wall, or a Coaster Set with a handwritten note from the studio, both fit a Disney memory shelf.

The deep submarine blues and lantern-lit show scenes work in mid-century modern, retro-Americana, and jewel-tone maximalist rooms. The piece also reads against a gallery-white wall as a single point of memory.

A Large carries the Nautilus through the lagoon as a single icon. A 4-tile Mural opens the show scenes across a wider wall; a 9-tile Mural reads as the full voyage.

Yes, on the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and steam-tolerant. The Glossy finish belongs on framed wall pieces away from direct splash.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is the studio's own painting of the place, slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure. No licensing, no outside reprints.

— if this one stayed with you

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