This attraction was one of the worst maintenance headaches at Disneyland.

The ride was built by Arrow.

The area was 16,000 square foot with 2 sections each section with 32 saucers: 16 were flying while 16 were being loaded

Each saucer was 6 feet in diameter

Guests steer the saucers by leaning

The Flying Saucers were designed by: National Research Associates, Inc. NRA was founded in 1958 by Mel Beardsley An early use for a similar single-seater (but not self-propelled, being inflated by blowers below the deck) was a ride at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Disney licensed the technology from NRA. The name GEM is derived from the acronym for ground-effects machine.

Required a "E" ticket in 1964-1965

The Flying Saucers ride uses a big, blue oval, bisected into two halves, each with thousands of round air valves, Each half has a movable arm. There are four fleets of 16 saucers. Unlike other “batch load’ attractions, this one loads efficiently.Loading and unloading takes place in a neat cluster of two rows of saucers. Sit down on your individual Space Age pod. Hold on to the round handles on either side of your seat. As the ride cycle begins, a giant arm slowly swings away from the loading area, releasing your group of saucers. Air valves directly below your saucer lift it up.Tilt your body to make your saucer scoot across the ride surface. Wherever you go, your saucer actuates air valves as you pass over them. All the lift comes from below. Your saucer has no moving parts—or, more accurately, you’re the only moving part of your vehicle. You can go remarkably fast. Maneuvering your saucer is easy and intuitive if you’re sitting alone. (When two children share a seat, they need to cooperate.) Bump into other guests—surprise them from behind! This ride has been called “the bumper cars of the future,” but that’s not entirely apt. Earthbound bumper cars collide with a jarring thump. But these airborne bumping saucers bounce off each other delightfully when they collide. It’s a different sensation. If you sit straight up, you’re likely to find yourself bouncing up and down. So lean in any direction. Scooting and colliding are more fun than bouncing. When your ride cycle ends, the giant arm pushes you back into the loading area, releasing the other fleet of saucers in your half of the oval onto the same ride surface.