Rivers of America (Disneyland)
| Rivers of America | |
|---|---|
| Park | Disneyland Park |
| Land / area | Frontierland, New Orleans Square and Bayou Country |
| Type | Artificial river |
| Opened | July 17, 1955
|
| Status | Operating |
The Rivers of America is an artificial river at Disneyland Park in the Disneyland Resort, California, flowing around Tom Sawyer Island through Frontierland, New Orleans Square and Bayou Country. It has operated since the park opened on July 17, 1955, beginning with the Mark Twain Riverboat, and it functions both as a scenic centrepiece and as a working waterway for several attractions. Versions of the river were later built at the Magic Kingdom in Florida — removed in 2025 — and at Tokyo Disneyland, where it is called the Rivers of America in Westernland.
History
Walt Disney wanted a true river at the heart of his park's frontier section, with a working stern-wheel riverboat as its emblem. The Mark Twain Riverboat was built partly in a Burbank studio and partly on site, and was christened during the park's televised opening day. The river itself is a shallow, dyed-green circuit whose vessels follow a submerged guideway, although the water, wildlife and planting along its banks are real.
The island at its centre opened to guests in 1956 as Tom Sawyer Island, reached by motorised rafts, with caves, forts, bridges and climbing rocks based on Mark Twain's novels; Walt Disney had taken a personal hand in its layout. The same year brought the Indian War Canoes, guest-paddled craft that were renamed Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes in 1971. The Sailing Ship Columbia, a full-scale replica of the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe, joined the river in 1958 and shares the Frontierland dock with the Mark Twain. The Mike Fink Keel Boats, another early vessel type, operated until 1997.
In 2007 the island was reworked as Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island, adding pirate scenes and effects tied to the Pirates of the Caribbean films while keeping its caves and fort.
Fantasmic!
Since May 13, 1992, the river has doubled as a stage for Fantasmic!, a nighttime show in which Mickey Mouse, as the Sorcerer's Apprentice, battles Disney villains across projections on water screens, live performers, and scenes staged on the island and aboard the river's ships. The Mark Twain carries a large cast for the finale, and the Columbia has played Captain Hook's ship. Viewing terraces along the New Orleans Square waterfront were built into the riverbank for the show. The river also hosted the world premieres of the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films, in 2003, 2006 and 2007, with a screen erected over the water.
Rerouting for Galaxy's Edge
To create space for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, the river closed on January 11, 2016, along with its attractions and the Disneyland Railroad. Its northern loop was shortened, the island was slightly reduced, and a new northern bank was built as a gorge of rockwork and waterfalls, crossed by a railroad trestle that also screens the new land. Earlier drainings followed a similar pattern: in 2010 the park diverted roughly six million gallons of river water for treatment and groundwater recharge rather than discharging it.
The river and railroad reopened on July 29, 2017, with the shortened circuit, new northern-shore scenery including animated wildlife, and an updated Fantasmic!.
Attractions on the river
- Mark Twain Riverboat (1955– ) — a stern-wheel paddle steamer carrying guests on a narrated circuit of the island, passing settler cabins, wildlife and a Native American village scene.
- Sailing Ship Columbia (1958– ) — a replica 18th-century three-masted ship; below deck is a museum of maritime life.
- Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes (1956– , under their present name since 1971) — twenty-passenger canoes paddled by guests with two guides, the park's only guest-powered attraction; they generally operate on busier days.
- Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island (1956– , pirate theme since 2007) — the island itself, reached by raft.