Mark Twain, Liberty Belle, and other Disney steam boats

Caleb,

The Disney steamboats that you mentioned are not "old historic" boats. The oldest of them, the Mark Twain, has been in service since 1955. While they are indeed steam powered, they are amusement park rides, built specifically for that purpose. They float, but are guided by underwater tracks. Everything on them including the engines are replicas, not originals.

Hmm, while that may be true, the Mark Twain is much older than the Natchez, the MQ and definately the AQ. I think in many ways it is an historic vessel, but it IS an amusement park ride, not an independently manuvered vessel.
It is really cool that Disney still runs the MT as a steam powered, sternwheel propelled boat.The actual operator is in the rear on the boiler deck, the guy in the wheelhouse is there mostly for image. Used to be you could ask and be admitted to the wheelhouse, even blow the whistle and get a Disneyland Steamboat Pilot's "License" Wish I still had mine! Got it on my Honeymoon back in '76. (it was a very quiet rainy day in the park!)
S'
David D.

Caleb,

The Disney boats are listed in the web directory but unfortuantely it´s even hard to find a direct link for them.

Why aren´t they listed as historic boats? Mainly because I don´t know much about them and I don´t have any pictures.

Carmen

Just back from Disney World

I was at Walt Disney World last week. Unfortunately, the Liberty Belle steamboat was "being refurbished", so was not operating. The boat was sitting idly at it's normal dock, so I have photos of it in the daytime and at night, with the lights on. The only work that was observed on the days I saw it were birds sunning themselves. Heaven only knows if they actually did any work on the boat at all. The boat still looks good, as do most attractions at the Magic Kingdom. The steam train was operating and we had a nice, leisurely journey around the park. I even took the ferry one day. While not a steam powered vessel, it was more interesting that one would expect a theme park ferry to be.

Thanks, Darin, for the update. Last time I was at Disney World was in about 1987 or 88. The Mississippi-style boat ADMIRAL JOE FOWLER had been replaced by the single-stack-aft-of-pilothouse RICHARD F. IRVINE. If I remember correctly, both did have engineers operating the propulsion machinery, watching the fire, etc.

I think it was Louise Feilhauer who told me that after Capt. Wagner moved to Orlando, Florida in semi-retirement, he was approached by the Disney organization to be "Captain" on one of these boats, a position he declined to accept. For those of us who knew him, not only did he "walk the walk", but also looked every inch the part. When he appeared on the TV show "To Tell the Truth" in the early 1970's, the panelists picked him unanimously as the Captain of the DQ.

Bob, I think you are correct. The Fowler was lost to a drydock accident, and the Irvine has been renamed the Liberty Belle, since it operates in Liberty Square. It is the boat with one smokestack. It still looks good, although I wasn't on it, as it was closed that day. Fowler, Irvine, and Potter are now the names of the ferries in the Seven Seas Lagoon. I rode the Irvine the day I was there.

The Fowler was lost at dry dock. Aparently it was hoisted up and the chains broke under the tension. Concrete brock the hull and it couldn't be repaired. It's a shame, it had more of the Mississippi look and now every other Disney park has a lease 2 boats (Disneyland has a sailing ship and the Mark Twain). When you are on the boat you can even tell that there is a dry dock on the rivers of America, the sam efor the ferry boats and other water craft for the seven sea Lagoon or Bay lake. And the put the Belle in rehab again!!!!!! When I went a year ago they just had it running from a 1 and a half year rehab. Thanks for the posts!!!! Caleb