Following an intensive refurbishment, the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea-themed walkthrough, Les Mystères du Nautilus, reopened last summer at Disneyland Paris. We were recently at Disneyland Paris and got our first opportunity to tour the depths of Captain Nemo’s submarine.
You can’t talk about Les Mystères du Nautilus without mentioning the imposing structure that is Space Mountain, located right behind it. In fact, the Nautilus itself can be found within a lagoon directly in front of the Discoveryland marvel. In typical Disney fashion, all is not as it seems, as you descend a spiral staircase, you’re actually heading towards a show building next to the Autopia, instead of the actual Nautilus.
Les Mystères du Nautilus is a unique opportunity for everyone curious about underwater exploration to see first-hand the marvelous innovative spirit of Captain Nemo and his crew to achieve this very same dream. The majority of the experience remains the same as it ever was, with all of the props and accessories receiving a thorough refurbishment. That includes Captain Nemo’s impressive organ, based on the real prop from the movie (which currently sits in Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion).
What has changed is much of the lighting and special effects throughout the attraction, in addition to an all-new soundtrack and narration. Perhaps the most controversial change was the removal of the giant squid animatronic, which has been replaced by a new screen-based scene, inspired by the multiplane camera, which achieves the illusion of a very deep, mysterious, and distant underwater vista. The scene is impressive, but knowing that it was previously a far more impressive animatronic is a bit of a let down.
Experience Captain Nemo’s innovative spirit for yourself, with our complete video tour of the updated Les Mystères du Nautilus: