Based on the characters and settings of Pixar's 2003 film Finding Nemo, it is a re-theming of the classic Submarine Voyage attraction that operated from 1959 to 1998.

One of the first attempts to resurrect the subs was to create an attraction based on Disney's 2001 animated film Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

[4] The next year, an attempt was made to re-theme the attraction on Disney's 2002 animated film Treasure Planet, but it too was a commercial failure.

At one point, Disneyland executives considered removing the submarines, feeling they occupied too much of the park's storage space.

Imagineering creative chief Marty Sklar hired a naval engineering firm to inspect the subs, and they determined they had 40 to 50 years of life left in them, saving them from destruction.

In spite of the enormous price tag, Ouimet was impressed and the Finding Nemo theme for the Submarine Voyage was green-lighted.

It was the first major theme park project for Bob Iger, who became CEO of The Walt Disney Company in 2005, and the first major project for John Lasseter (executive producer of Finding Nemo, and then-chief creative officer of Pixar and Disney Animation) in his role as Principal Creative Advisor for Imagineering.

[5][6] On July 15, 2005, two days before the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland, the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage was officially announced at the new Turtle Talk with Crush attraction at Disney California Adventure by then-Disney Experiences President Jay Rasulo.

They also created more than 40 colors for the lagoon area, such as Yamber (a cross between yam and amber), Mango Mud, Toast, Blue Feint (barely blue), Aqua Jazz, Swamp (dark green/amber), Danger Red, Burning Coal, Split Pea, Earth, Phantom and Peritwinkle.

During its closure, the lagoon was drained and the attraction was refurbished with fresh paint, new coral, kelp, and seaweed, and received enhanced special effects and lighting.

One of the first things guests see is Darla, the niece of dentist P. Sherman in Finding Nemo, freediving amid the coral, holding a plastic bag with a fish she has captured.

At this point the submarine travels through a waterfall and enters the hidden ride building, where guests find themselves apparently moving through underwater caverns.

The captain announces that, due to advancements in marine technology, they can use "sonar hydrophones" (an homage to the original attraction), to hear the fish talk.

The sub then exits the current and enters a graveyard of sunken ships, Jacques and Blenny can both be seen nearby while Marlin and Dory continue their search for Nemo.

Gill, Bloat, Gurgle, Bubbles, and Squirt chant as lava flows down the volcano's sides, while Marlin and Dory reunite with Nemo.

The sub then surfaces and reenters the harbor, where a pair of king crabs snap at air bubbles coming from a sewage pipe.

The original diesel engines were replaced by electric battery-powered propulsion units which are charged at the loading dock by contact-less inductive coils, increasing efficiency and eliminating fuel spills.

Descent and submersion is simulated with bubbles that rise across the viewports when the vehicles pass through compressed air released under the hull and waterfalls.

Although the submarine is on a guideway, the helmsman controls its forward and backward movement via a small joystick to regulate these speeds (shown in RPM, in lieu of the actual propeller which moves the boat) which vary in different sections of the ride.