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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Infobox attraction<br />
| name = Friendship Boats<br />
| park = [[Walt Disney World]]<br />
| type = Watercraft transportation system<br />
| opened = October 1, 1982<br />
| status = Operating<br />
}}<br />
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'''Friendship Boats''' are the enclosed water taxis, formally the FriendShips, that operate in two areas of [[Walt Disney World]] in Florida: across the World Showcase Lagoon inside [[EPCOT]], and around Crescent Lake in the EPCOT resort area, where they link the park's International Gateway entrance with [[Disney's Hollywood Studios]] and the lakeside hotels. The fleet of eight boats, named Friendship I through Friendship VIII, forms part of Disney Transport and is free to ride. A full Crescent Lake circuit between the two parks takes about 25 minutes.<br />
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== History ==<br />
FriendShips were part of EPCOT from the beginning. Boats have crossed the World Showcase Lagoon since the park opened on October 1, 1982, saving guests the walk of more than a mile around the promenade. The first two vessels, Friendship I and Friendship II, were built at Walt Disney World's own Central Shops, and Friendship III joined them before the end of 1982.<br />
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The fleet's role grew at the end of the 1980s. As the Crescent Lake resorts — the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin, Disney's Yacht Club Resort and Disney's Beach Club Resort — opened around 1990, Disney dug a canal connecting the lake to the World Showcase Lagoon and built a second entrance to EPCOT, the International Gateway, between the France and United Kingdom pavilions. Additional FriendShips, completed from hulls begun earlier, entered service for the new route, bringing the fleet to eight boats. The circuit was later extended along a second canal to Disney's Hollywood Studios, and [[Disney's BoardWalk Inn]], which opened on the lake in 1996, added its own dock.<br />
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The Crescent Lake boats stopped running when the resort closed in March 2020 and returned on November 1 that year. Inside EPCOT, the lagoon service came back in reduced form after the closure, with a single route operating at a time rather than the historic two.<br />
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== Route ==<br />
The Crescent Lake service is a single line worked in both directions. Boats leaving the International Gateway call at [[Disney's BoardWalk Inn]], then at a dock shared by Disney's Yacht Club and Beach Club resorts, then at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin, before following the canal to the dock outside the entrance of [[Disney's Hollywood Studios]]; boats from the Studios call at the same docks in reverse order. The full journey takes about 25 minutes, against roughly the same time on foot along the BoardWalk promenade; since 2019 the Disney Skyliner gondolas have offered a faster airborne alternative on the same corridor.<br />
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Inside [[EPCOT]], FriendShips historically ran two separate crossings of the World Showcase Lagoon: from the Canada side of the lagoon to Morocco, and from Mexico to Germany, each boarding at docks by World Showcase Plaza. The crossings were as much a rest from walking as a shortcut, and the boats were never the fastest way across. Following the 2020 closure the lagoon service has operated in reduced form, with one route running at a time, and the pattern of docks in use has varied.<br />
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The boats themselves are low, sleek, fully enclosed launches with seating for up to about 100 passengers, air conditioning and level boarding for wheelchairs and mobility devices. Each carries a colour scheme of pastel panels that differs from boat to boat. Crossings are short, frequent — typically every 15 to 20 minutes through the day on the Crescent Lake line — and stop in heavy lightning, when buses or the walking paths take over.<br />
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== See also ==<br />
* [[EPCOT]]<br />
* [[Disney's Hollywood Studios]]<br />
* [[Disney's BoardWalk Inn]]<br />
* [[Disney Skyliner]]<br />
* [[Walt Disney World Monorail System]]<br />
* [[Magic Kingdom Ferryboats]]<br />
* [[Walt Disney World]]<br />
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== References ==<br />
<references /><br />
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[[Category:Transportation]]<br />
[[Category:Walt Disney World]]<br />
[[Category:EPCOT]]<br />
[[Category:1982 establishments in Florida]]</div>Admin