[3] It was part of a major expansion of Tomorrowland, which included the Matterhorn Bobsleds roller coaster, an expanded version of Autopia, the Disneyland Monorail, and the Motor Boat Cruise.

As initially conceived, the Submarine Voyage was to feature real fish and other sea creatures, though the idea proved to be unfeasible.

A major portion of the ride simulated the voyage under the Arctic Ocean's polar ice cap undertaken by the nuclear submarine USS Nautilus on August 3, 1958.

The diving effect is accomplished by a dense curtain of small bubbles rushing towards the surface on a slight angle, giving the feeling that the submarine is moving forward and down.

Some of the specific oceanic creatures on the voyage were:[6] After a quiet cruise through the lagoon, the navigation room receives word of a surface storm ahead.

[7] They were fabricated at Todd Shipyards in San Pedro, California, then transported to the "Disneyland Naval Yard" in Anaheim for outfitting under the direction of retired Admiral Joe Fowler.

The "diving" effect was made by bubble screens and using the waterfalls at the entrance to the caves that led the submarines into the cleverly disguised show building.

[7] During the summers of 1959–1967, female cast members dressed in mermaid costumes could be seen sun-bathing themselves and performing synchronized swimming and underwater stunts for four hours each day.

Disney ended this feature in 1967 and replaced them with animatronic creations after several mermaid performers reported health concerns, related to the submarines' diesel exhaust fumes and the highly chlorinated water.

In 2005, an auction took place at the Disneyland Resort, where several pieces of the original attraction's scenery were sold, such as the shark fighting with the octopus on a rock.

[6] Some of these sea chanties were: In April 1998, when the Orange County Register interviewed Disneyland president Paul Pressler regarding the attraction's fate after rumors circulated about the attraction's closure, Pressler stated: "We know in the future we need to do something in that location, but we have not made a decision on the subs, and we won't make a decision until we know what we want to do in the future there."

Many rumors went around over the years, saying that a proposed attraction based on the 2001 Disney animated film Atlantis: The Lost Empire was going to replace Submarine Voyage in 2003.

The successor of this attraction was the Jules Verne themed 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.

The attraction was given a Nautilus theme and a narration by Peter Renaday, whose voice was similar to that of actor James Mason, who portrayed Captain Nemo in the 1954 Disney film.

A similar voyage attraction now exists at the Tokyo DisneySea in Japan, using the same Nautilus theme from Florida, except instead of boats in water, it is a dark ride through a show building, in enclosed suspended cars ("mini-subs").

However, an updated version of the walk-through was built in 1994 in Discoveryland in Disneyland Paris, known as Les Mystères du Nautilus, along with the construction of Space Mountain.

The attraction involves not only an accurate recreation of the Nautilus interiors, but a mock attack from a large animatronic giant squid.