The reasons behind the closure of Disneyland Skyway and its counterparts

The Skyway was an aerial lift attraction at Disneyland, at the Magic Kingdom, and at Tokyo Disneyland. The Disneyland Skyway, one of Walt Disney World's original attractions, was a 5-minute long cable-car style ride that ran between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, passing over the Cinderella's Golden Carrousel tent, and the Grand Prix Raceway. The ride was listed twice on park guide maps - it was listed as the Skyway to Tomorrowland from the Fantasyland terminal, and as the Skyway to Fantasyland from the Tomorrowland terminal. Guests boarded the Skyway from a loading areas like a Swiss chalet in Fantasyland, and from an area west of Space Mountain in Tomorrowland. when the Matterhorn was planned it was designed to be built right in the path of the Skyway, so without a single closure of the Skyway, they tunneled through the Matterhorn. As guests were entering the mighty Matterhorn mountain they could see it was hollow inside! The screams from terrified Bobsled passengers echoed within the great hollow chamber. The ride was open year round until dusk, and closed temporarily during rain storms or high winds. The one-way ride required a "D-Ticket" and took an almost 90-degree turn as it passed near the Grand Prix Raceway. One day a passenger on the Disneyland Skyway stood up in his bucket, struggled with his door, managing to open it, fell out and landed in a tree outside of the Alice in Wonderland attraction and survived.
The Disneyland Skyway was removed in November 1994 because it was too costly to make safety upgrades. Also, people would throw objects and spit off the buckets as they went over head. Today, the attractive Skyway station in Disneyland's Fantasyland remains as a reminder of the Skyway attraction. At least the landscaping around it looks great. The Tomorrowland station has been mostly removed and was at one point a service station for the 1998 attraction Rocket Rods. In 1998, Tokyo Disneyland closed their Skyway attraction and the Fantasyland station was removed to make room for Pooh's Hunny Hunt, while the Tomorrowland station was remodeled into a candy store. On November 10, 1999, the Skyway at the Florida's Magic Kingdom carried its last guest, joining the closure of its Disneyland counterpart. When the Disneyland Skyway closed, the holes in the Matterhorn were filled in. 
The Skyway closed for practical reasons. First, it was a very slow-loading and unprofitable attraction. Second, it was also extremely difficult to accommodate guests with disabilities, unless wheelchair-bound guests left their chair on the loading area and took a round-trip ride. However, reports that there was a death on the Skyway were in fact true, although it was not a guest who lost their life. In February of 1999, an outside contractor, who was allegedly not wearing any protective equipment or safety harness, accidentally fell to his death.
At Disneyland, the Fantasyland Skyway station remains, but both stations still remain, off-limits to guests.

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