Here's why 9 beloved Disney attractions closed and what took their place

Modeled after an attraction of the same name at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Disneyland's Tower of Terror opened on May 5, 2004. The ride was based on a "lost" episode of "The Twilight Zone" in which five guests at a 1930s party at the glamorous Hollywood Tower Hotel stepped onto an elevator, never to be seen again.

Riders entered what appeared to be a service elevator inside the fictional hotel to follow the five lost souls into the Twilight Zone. It was one of Disney's few thrill rides, with a hair-raising drop meant to mimic the plummeting of an elevator as the culmination.

Despite being a fan favorite, Disneyland's Tower of Terror was closed to be rethemed around the blockbuster "Guardians of the Galaxy" Marvel film and had its list ride on January 2, 2017.

Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT! opened less than five months later on May 27, 2017, in line with the release of the series' sequel.

The ride is now based around the character Tivan the Collector, who captured the Guardians for his collection. Riders board a gantry lift to help free the Guardians set to hit music from the movie, and encounter popular characters during their free-falling rescue mission, which now includes multiple, randomized drop sequences.

Snow White's Scary Adventures was an opening day attraction at Walt Disney World in 1971. Located in Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland, the dark ride took guests through scenes from the 1937 animated film, including the evil Queen's dungeon, the forest where Snow White first came upon the Dwarfs' cottage, and the mine where the Seven Dwarfs whistled while they worked.

Though the ride was intended for kids, many found the appearances by the Evil Queen to be quite scary, even after those effects were tamed down in 1994.

Scary as it was, the ride's closure came about as a result of an expansion to Fantasyland and Snow White made her last ride on May 31, 2012, before it was transformed into Princess Fairytale Hall, a meet-and-greet experience.

While you won't meet Snow White at Princess Fairytale Hall, fans of the classic film can instead visit the nearby Seven Dwarfs Mine Train coaster, which is home to six figures from Snow White's Scary Adventures.

Heimlich's Chew Chew Train was a slow-moving ride for kids that opened on October 7, 2002 in "A Bug's Land," a pavilion within Disneyland's California Adventure park.

The attraction paid homage to the hungry caterpillar from "A Bug's Life," and came four years after the Disney Pixar film "A Bug's Life" was released.

However, in the spring of 2018, Disney announced an immersive Avengers and superhero campus would take over the space occupied by "A Bug's Land" and Heimlich made his last trip around the tracks on September 4, 2018.

While the Avengers Campus' opening was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, it finally opened on June 4, 2021.

Tucked in the back of Epcot's Norway Pavilion at Walt Disney World, Maelstrom was an indoor ride exploring the history and mythology of the Scandinavian country. The ride opened to the public on July 5, 1988, and operated for more than 25 years before closing on October 5, 2014.

A "Frozen"-themed ride took its place, becoming one of the first Epcot attractions centered around animated characters. Frozen Ever After, a musical journey inspired by the hit film opened to the public on June 21, 2016.

The film's fictional location of Arendelle was inspired by Norway, making it a natural fit for the space, and even uses the same Viking ships and log flume path as Maelstrom, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Where Maelstrom culminated with a three-headed troll banishing you from his home, Frozen Ever After's apex finds Elsa belting out "Let It Go" in her castle of ice. In both versions, this is when the boat takes a backward, high-speed route before righting itself and hurtling down a 28-foot plunge at the end of the ride.

According to Touring Plans, a Disney trip planning website, wait times climbed as high as 300 minutes on the "Frozen" ride's opening day and it remains popular today.

Horizons, a ride that gave guests a peek into the future, has been closed for more than 20 years, but Disney fans likely consider it an Epcot idol to this day.

The ride, which opened on October 1, 1983, began with a short journey through Earth's past before taking riders on an almost 15-minute-long glimpse at what life might look like in the 21st century.

Humans haven't yet quite realized the depiction of space colonies, floating cities, robot butlers, and desert farms, but it embodied the forward-thinking, innovative spirit of the park, perhaps more than any other Epcot attraction.

There was never an official reason cited for its closure, and it closed permanently in 1999.

The entire building was eventually demolished to make way for another space-centric attraction, Mission: SPACE, which opened on August 15, 2003. The new motion simulator ride mimicked a surprisingly realistic-seeming trip to Mars, g-forces and all. In August 2017, Disney added a less intense "Green Mission" that takes riders on a slower, but still exciting, orbit around Earth.

No matter which "mission" you choose, the ride is thrilling, but perhaps doesn't quite capture the same feeling of hope for the future that Horizons evoked.

The Disneyland Skyway went into operation on June 23, 1956, almost a year after Disneyland opened to the public. The bucket-shaped gondolas transported guests between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, reportedly carrying an "estimated 150 million passengers across the park" during its 38-year run.

It closed in 1994 and today, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge sits where one of the stations was located.

Strangely enough, both Disney World Skyway stations are now restrooms. The first level of the Tomorrowland station is still in use, while the Fantasyland station was demolished in 2012 to make room for a rest area themed to the Disney film "Tangled."

Fans can still see one of Disneyland's famous "sky buckets" inside the Matterhorn Bobsleds attraction.

When Disney-MGM Studios – now Disney's Hollywood Studios – opened on October 1, 1989, guests took a peek behind the curtain to learn how movies were made at The Great Movie Ride.

The Great Movie Ride was built inside a full-scale replica of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, complete with hand prints in the cement by movie stars and classic Disney characters. The ride took guests through various classic movie scenes with the use of audio-animatronics, live actors, and thrilling special effects, epitomizing the park's glitz and glamour Hollywood vibe.

As time went on, however, that "vibe" changed and original attractions closed one after another as the park transitioned to feature newer Disney franchises like "The Muppets" and "Star Wars".

The Great Movie Ride closed on August 13, 2017, and was replaced by Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, which was the "first Mickey-themed ride-through attraction," taking riders into a Mickey Mouse cartoon. While many fans still mourn the loss of The Great Movie Ride, there's no denying that Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway is a better fit for this newer iteration of the park.

Body Wars was once the premier attraction inside Epcot's Wonders of Life Pavilion. Sponsored by MetLife, the entire pavilion was devoted to physical fitness, health, and nutrition.

The motion simulator ride made it seem as if guests were shrunk down and sent inside the human body to study the effects of a splinter stuck in a finger. As often happens with theme park rides, things took an unexpected turn, and riders were hurtled through the various body systems offering jolts and thrills, making it Epcot's most exciting attraction at the time.

When MetLife ended its sponsorship of the pavilion in 2001, Body Wars quietly closed forever in 2007.

Since then, the pavilion has served as Epcot's festival center for annual events like the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival and the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival.

In 2019, it was announced that the dome-shaped area would find new life in the form of the forthcoming interactive PLAY! Pavilion, which is said to include new games, activities, and experiences.

Disneyland's Submarine Voyage attraction opened on June 6, 1959, as part of Tomorrowland's first expansion. The ride shared its opening day with the original Monorail and Matterhorn Bobsleds.

Ride vehicles were designed to resemble real submarines, and Submarine Voyage used boats with bubble effects outside each porthole to create the feeling of diving deep into the ocean. On their way to the ocean floor, guests saw sunken ships, sea life, and a giant squid.

Submarine Voyage closed temporarily in September 1998, which ended up being permanent.

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage took its place, breathing new life into the underwater adventure when it opened on June 11, 2007. It featured characters from the film, updated technology, and even the same submarines used in the original attraction.