Mark Twain Riverboat
| Mark Twain Riverboat | |
|---|---|
| Park | Disneyland Park |
| Land / area | Frontierland (Disneyland) |
| Type | Riverboat ride |
| Opened | July 17, 1955 |
| Designer | Walt Disney Imagineering (WED Enterprises)
|
| Status | Operating |
The Mark Twain Riverboat is a paddle steamer attraction in Frontierland (Disneyland) at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. The white, multi-decked sternwheeler carries guests on a scenic circuit of the Rivers of America (Disneyland) around Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island. It is an opening-day attraction from 1955 and one of the most recognisable sights in the park.
History
Walt Disney wanted an authentic Mississippi-style riverboat as the centrepiece of Frontierland, and he wanted it built like a real vessel rather than a stage prop. The boat — originally called the Mark Twain Steamboat — is a five-eighths-scale sternwheeler, about 105 feet long and 28 feet tall. Its hull was prefabricated at Todd Shipyards in San Pedro, California, while its decks and superstructure were built at the Disney studio. The name honours Samuel Langhorne Clemens, the author who wrote as Mark Twain and who had himself worked as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi as a young man.
The Mark Twain is commonly described as the first functional sternwheeler built in the United States in about fifty years, and its designers researched historic riverboats extensively because the craft had largely fallen out of construction. Walt Disney funded completion personally when sponsorship money ran short.
The boat's maiden voyage took place on July 13, 1955, four days before the park opened, during a private party for Walt and Lillian Disney's 30th wedding anniversary. It was christened as part of Disneyland's opening-day ceremonies on July 17, 1955, with actress Irene Dunne as its sponsor. Opening day was not entirely smooth — with no established capacity limit, the decks were overcrowded and the boat listed noticeably — but the Mark Twain settled quickly into regular service and has circled the river ever since, interrupted only by refurbishments, including a major rebuild of the river and its track during the 2016–2017 closure for construction nearby.
Experience
Guests board from the Frontierland dock, between Frontierland (Disneyland) and New Orleans Square, and are free to explore three decks during the voyage. The lower decks offer shaded seating and close views of the paddlewheel, while the top deck gives the widest views across the river, the Disneyland Railroad route and the rooftops of New Orleans Square.
The boat follows a submerged guide track around the Rivers of America (Disneyland) on a journey of about twelve minutes. A recorded narration, presented as the voice of the captain with commentary in the character of Mark Twain, points out the passing scenes: frontier settlements, a Native American village, wildlife, burning and abandoned cabins from the park's storytelling history, and the other river traffic. Guests regularly share the water with the Sailing Ship Columbia and the rafts and canoes serving the island, including the Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes.
Although styled as a nineteenth-century steamboat, the vessel is a working steam craft in miniature: a boiler generates steam that drives the pistons turning the great stern paddlewheel, which genuinely propels the boat, while steering follows the fixed riverbed track. Between voyages its whistle, calliope-like tones and towering white profile make it a landmark visible from much of the park's west side.
See also
- Rivers of America (Disneyland)
- Sailing Ship Columbia
- Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes
- Frontierland (Disneyland)