Fantasyland can be a little bit overstimulating sometimes. With massive crowds, attractions everywhere, and lots of roaming characters, there are always a million things competing for your attention. So it’s very possible you’ve breezed right past this hidden gem many, many times without ever noticing it. Let’s talk about the stairs to nowhere.
In the first 40 or so years of the park’s operation, Fantasyland hosted one half of the Skyway attraction, transporting visitors across Disneyland in gondolas. One of the two stations for the ride sat in the land, tucked in the back not too far from the walkway to Frontierland.
Source: PhotoBucket
When the attraction closed in the 90s, the station wasn’t demolished right away. It stayed in the back, disguised by landscaping and carefully placed trees. But the station finally came down in 2016…except for the start of the stairway leading up to it. This piece then became a set of stairs…to nowhere.
Today, the Stairs to Nowhere are the only trace remaining of the Skyway in Fantasyland, aside from some décor inside the Matterhorn. It’s a good reminder of how quickly and dramatically the park changes over time!
I remember riding the skyway on my first ever visit to Disneyland in 1975… I loved getting the aerial view of the park.
I wish I had experienced it! I’m sure the vantage point was amazing.
I found it so odd that a place that claims it has the most incredible attention to detail would leave not one, but two staircases to nowhere. But I won’t lie, I love seeing them.
I’m honestly surprised they didn’t just rip out the stairs with the whole rest of the building. It seems like a weird thing to leave behind!