Cruise back in time on an authentic steam-powered paddlewheel riverboat. Mark Twain Riverboat is a 14-minute sightseeing voyage aboard a recreation of the glorious 19th-century riverboats that carried people and cargo up and down the mighty Mississippi. The Mark Twain takes you in a full circle around Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island. Along the banks of the Rivers of America, you'll see many intriguing sights and sounds across 3 different lands - including the backwoods of Frontierland, the wrought-iron railings of New Orleans Square and the peak of Chick-A-Pin Hill towering over Critter Country.
Journey back to the days when traveling was as much about elegance and romance as it was about transportation. Board the gleaming white, 4-level, 105-foot-long vessel. You are free to walk around the decks to inspect the 400-passenger, 5/8th-scale ship and admire its meticulously detailed craftsmanship. Several chairs are available in the box of the first deck.
Passengers wait for the 28-foot-high, 105-foot-long riverboat, which departs every 25 minutes, from inside a sheltered area located in the Frontierland section of the park. The waiting area is made to resemble a real riverboat loading area, with cargo deliveries sharing space on the dock. Historic United States flags are displayed at the attraction's entrance.
Upon boarding the 150-ton riverboat, passengers are free to move about the vessel's three levels. The lower deck's bow has chairs, which are the only seating on board. The upper deck provides a vantage point for viewing landmarks throughout the voyage.
The wheelhouse, where the riverboat's pilot is stationed, is also located on the upper deck. The lower level of the wheelhouse features a sleeping area and a sink to maintain the illusion of this being the captain's living quarters. At the pilot's discretion, a small number of passengers may be given permission to ride in the wheelhouse for the voyage, after which they are presented with souvenir Pilot Certificates.
The pilot signals the departure and arrival of the Mark Twain using a horn and bell system, along with various signals to other river craft attractions. Because the riverboat travels along an I-beam guide rail throughout the ride, the pilot does not maneuver the ship. Instead, the pilot serves as lookout for other river traffic, such as the Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes and the Rafts to Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island, and communicates his observations with the boiler engineer. The boiler engineer is stationed on the bottom deck towards the stern. This is where the throttle and reverser are located. From here, the boiler engineer controls the speed and direction of the riverboat. Steam from the boiler is used to power the paddle wheels and thus pushes the craft along its guide way.
The voyage on the Rivers of America around Tom Sawyer Island features pre-recorded narration by a riverboat guide voiced by Thurl Ravenscroft, another actor portraying Mark Twain, who speaks of his days piloting a riverboat, and by the (not present) "captain" of the ship, voiced by Disney voice actor Stephen Stanton. The narration playback, operated by the pilot via a control panel in the pilot house, points out the following sights: Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes landing, Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island, Settler's cabin (formerly the Burning settler's cabin, but no longer aflame in Disneyland), Indian Chief, Indian Village, Big Thunder Mountain, Sacred Indian burial ground, Animals and abandoned mine cars, and Big Thunder Falls
Touring Tips
- This is a fairly quiet and peaceful ride - a good place to take a break and get away from the crowded walkways. The journey takes about 15 minutes, and the riverboat departs twice an hour. On busy days the Mark Twain shares the boat dock with the Sailing Ship Columbia, and one of the two departs every 15 minutes.
- There are a few chairs on the bow of the riverboat on the lower deck - this is the only seating on-board. Arrive and board early to get a chair.
- The top deck gives you an excellent vantage point for photos of Tom Sawyer Island, New Orleans Square, the Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain.
- Disney characters are sometimes found cruising on the Mark Twain. Woody and Jessie from Toy Story make frequent appearances in Frontierland near the Mark Twain's dock - check the Times Guide for times and location.
- Only the pilothouse is off limits to passengers. Check out the Victorian lounge on the Promenade Deck or the captain's quarters on the Texas Deck.
Facts
- Originally named the Mark Twain Steamboat when the park opened in 1955, the stately, 5/8-scale stern-wheeler was the first functional riverboat to be built in the United States for fifty years.
- Walt Disney named the Mark Twain after the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. One of America's greatest writers and Walt's personal hero, Clemens was a riverboat pilot as a young man. That experience inspired his pen name: "mark twain" is a riverboat term that means a vessel is at a safe depth.
- Other Disney riverboat attractions now appear at Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris.
- The Mark Twain riverboat burns diesel fuel to heat its boiler, which continuously heats water into steam, which is then routed to two pistons that turn the paddlewheel. Spent exhaust is then routed back to the boiler.
- The riverboat is guided through the Rivers of America via an I-beam track, which is hidden under the green and brown dyed river water.
- The boat drafts only 18 inches of water, for the river is relatively shallow. At its deepest point it is no more than 8 feet near the switch at Fowler's Harbor, where it resides when not in operation.
- The boat uses clean, fresh water from a tank on board to prevent contaminants from the water in the Rivers of America from fouling the boiler.
- The Mark Twain was christened by actress Irene Dunne (Magnolia Hawks in the 1936 movie "Showboat") on Disneyland's Opening Day.
- Walt Disney and his wife celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary aboard the Mark Twain four days before Disneyland opened in 1955.
- When you pass the boy on the log with his dog, there's a "phantom fish" that jumps out of the water.
- Thurl Ravenscroft (the voice of Tony the Tiger) provides the voice of the riverboat guide.
History
A Mississippi steamboat was included in the plans for the first Disney amusement park that was to be built across the street from his Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. Although this park was abandoned in favor of the much larger Disneyland, the plan for having a riverboat attraction was retained.
Because the Mark Twain was the first functional paddlewheeler built in the United States in fifty years, the WED designers conducted extensive research to build it like riverboats were built in the heyday of steam powered ships. The decks were assembled at the Disney Studios at Burbank, while the 105-foot hull was constructed at Todd Shipyards in San Pedro, California (where the Columbia's hull was built years later). Fortunately, when the hull and decks were put together for the first time at Disneyland, they fit perfectly.
Joe Fowler, Disneyland's construction supervisor and a former navy admiral, insisted on creating a drydock for the ship along what was to be the Rivers of America. Walt Disney, dismayed at how much land was taken up by the massive excavation, referred to the drydock first as "Joe's Ditch", and then later, "Fowler's Harbor", the name by which it goes by today. However, Disney remained a supporter of the riverboat itself, funding its construction out of his own pocket when corporate funds fell short.
On the first "fill-the-river" day, the water that was pumped in to the Rivers of America soaked through the riverbed. Fowler quickly found a supply of clay to replace the soil stabilizer used to line the river, and the second "fill-the-river" day was successful.
The Mark Twain had its maiden voyage on July 13, 1955, four days before the park officially opened, for a private party celebrating Walt and Lillian Disney's 30th wedding anniversary. Before the party, as Fowler was checking to make sure everything would be ready for the 300 invited guests, he found Lillian sweeping the decks of debris and joined in to help her.
Disneyland's opening day brought further problems for the ‘'Mark Twain''. Actress Irene Dunne, star of the movie Showboat, had trouble breaking a bottle of water (from many major American rivers) across the vessel's bow for its christening on Dateline Disney. During the riverboat's first official voyage, when the crowd moved to one side of the boat to view a passing scene of an Indian encampment or other sight, the boat would list from the side and water poured over the deck, as no one had determined the Mark Twain's maximum safe passenger capacity.
This oversight caused the Mark Twain to almost capsize on a voyage a few days later when ride operators continued to wave more than 500 guests on board until the deck neared the water line. As the ship traversed the sparsely vegetated river route, it came loose from its track and got stuck in the muddy banks. Immediately, the park established a maximum capacity of 300 passengers, which still remains in effect today.
After a rough start, the Mark Twain has had a successful 50-year-career as a theme park attraction. During its first few years of operation, passengers could buy a non-alcoholic mint julep aboard or listen to card and checker players re-enact dialogue of that era. Occasionally the Disneyland band would play music on the lower deck bow to entertain both the passengers and the theme park visitors on the river banks.
The Mark Twain underwent a major refurbishment during the Spring of 1995, during which all the decks and the boiler were replaced. September 24, 1995 saw the first and only Disney Fantasyland Wedding, to this day, to be held on an attraction, in theme clothing. A local Orange County couple, Kevin and Patricia Sullivan exchanged vows on the bow of the boat as she circled the Rivers of America. The grooms father Ed Sullivan, a 50 year Disney veteran, donned the classic Mark Twain costume for the once in a lifetime ceremony. The couple sealed their vows by pulling the ships steam whistle together. From atop the upper most deck, the couple let loose ropes, unfurling a ship sized JUST MARRIED banner across the stern.
When the Rivers of America were drained in 2002, the boat was noted to have considerable hull damage. It underwent a refurbishment in 2004 to repair the hull, which included replacing the keel. For the park's 50th Anniversary celebration in 2005, a new, more colorful paint job was applied to the durable riverboat. To celebrate the 2009 release of The Princess and the Frog, the riverboat has been used as a stage for a show that will be based on the movie.
Hidden Mickeys
- Between the Mark Twain's smokestacks, are two Hidden Mickeys incorporated into the ship's decorative ironwork.
- Examine the S.S. Mark Twain River Excursions billboard found between the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Rivers of America. The large painted sign is affixed to a small wooden building near the loading dock for the Mark Twain and the Columbia.