FILE: View of parkgoers gathering near Autopia as others ride the Skyway gondola lift at Disneyland in August 1984. (Walter Leporati/Getty Images)

Tucked behind a Fantasyland food cart, surrounded by overgrown bushes, are six steps that lead to nowhere. At the top of the small landing, a chain bars Disneyland guests from going any farther. Beyond the steps lies nothing but landscaping - and the memories of a long-gone attraction that was once one of the park's iconic sights.

If you love looking for lost remnants of Disneyland rides, two spots in the park still mark the location of the Skyway, a brightly colored gondola ride that once sailed over guests.

Disneyland was anything but a sure thing when it opened in 1955. "I even had to borrow on my life insurance to launch the original project," Walt Disney remarked. But within weeks, it was clear the park was a hit. In the first six months, over 2 million people passed through its gates, and before Disneyland's first year was over, work started on new rides.

The stairs in Fantasyland, seen on June 18, 2025, are the last remnants of where a nearby Skyway station once stood. (Katie Dowd/SFGATE)

In 1956, the expansion rolled out, adding Tom Sawyer Island, the Rainbow Caverns, the Indian Village in Frontierland, the Astro Jet, Storybook Land and the Skyway. The Skyway was the first of its kind in the United States, and Disney hired the Swiss company Von Roll to build it, mimicking the ski gondolas of the mountainous nation. The total bill was $300,000, or about $3.6 million today, adjusted for inflation. In the days when Disneyland charged guests per ride, it cost a D-tier ticket for the quarter-mile ride from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland; if you wanted to head back, you needed to pay again.

Compared with attractions like the Matterhorn, the Skyway was hardly a thrill ride - unless you were afraid of heights or a mischievous child dropping a lollypop on your head from above. But its unique views of the park, including a section that went through Matterhorn mountain, made it a memorable part of the Disneyland skyline. And despite what you'd think, daredevil teens didn't try to leap out of the buckets.

FILE: Aerial view from the Disneyland Skyway gondola, which transported riders between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, as it travels within the Matterhorn on June 1, 1981. (Bob Riha Jr/Getty Images)

The only recorded fall happened in 1994, when a 30-year-old man tumbled out near the Alice in Wonderland ride. He was lucky enough to land on a tree, which broke his fall. The man walked away with minor injuries, but he nonetheless attempted to sue Disney for damages; he dropped the suit after admitting it was his fault he'd fallen out.

The Skyway ferried over 150 million guests during its nearly 40 years in operation, but few things last forever in a Disney park. Von Roll conducted routine checks of the attraction, and during an inspection in 1994, the company found signs of fatigue in metal components inside the Matterhorn.

"[Von Roll employees] said, ‘Hey, we have a major problem. Either fix it or shut it down,'" Robbie Von Roll, a member of the family, recalled in a YouTube interview last year.

With the Skyway's popularity waning - and its 10 workers needed for the soon-to-be-opened Indiana Jones Adventure ride - Disney decided to shut down the ride.

FILE: The Fantasyland terminus off the former Skyway ride stands behind trees at Disneyland in May 2016 before its demolition. (Orange County Register/MediaNews Group via Getty Images)

"You look at one attraction and say, ‘Its time has come,'" a Disneyland spokesperson said at its closure in November 1994. "As people have grown up and have memories of the Skyway, there will be a new generation that will grow up and have memories of Indiana Jones."

The gondolas, cables and support pylons came down, and the hole through the Matterhorn was closed, but the large Swiss-style chalet that once housed the Fantasyland station remained. As trees grew around it, guests wondered for decades if the space would ever be repurposed. In 2016, they got their answer: It was demolished, making way for construction on Stars Wars: Galaxy's Edge.

FILE: Work continues on Star Wars Land as Disney prepared to demolish the Fantasyland terminus off the former Skyway ride at Disneyland in May 2016. (Orange County Register/MediaNews Group via Getty Images)

But the six steps that once led to the Skyway station still remain. If you look behind the Fantasyland fruit cart, across from Red Rose Taverne, you can easily see the stairway to nowhere. The staircase to the Tomorrowland terminus is also visible. Walk toward the Autopia gift shop, as if you're going to the bathrooms behind it, and look up. A staircase going up the building now leads to a blank wall, but it once took guests up to the Tomorrowland station.

The stairs in Fantasyland, seen on June 18, 2025, are the last remnants of where a nearby Skyway station once stood. (Katie Dowd/SFGATE)

A staircase that once led to the Tomorrowland Skyway station in Disneyland, as seen on June 18, 2025. (Katie Dowd/SFGATE)

For those longing for the return of the Skyway, there's a glimmer of hope. When Disneyland submitted an environmental impact report as part of its $1.9 billion expansion plan, it mentioned the possibility of "themed ride systems" taking guests across Disneyland Drive and into the theme parks. While the only shows a large pedestrian bridge, plans are still evolving. So perhaps one day, you'll have the opportunity to sail over the park in your very own gondola - just don't drop anything while you're in it.

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