In the book Remembering Walt, Imagineer John Hench talks about a telling moment in the design of Disneyland. Hench was working on the stagecoach ride that opened with the park, and was trying to convince Walt to allow him to use metal straps, rather than leather, to secure the body of the stagecoach together. Hench reasoned it would be cheaper in the long term.
Walt didn't care, he told John the guests of Disneyland needed an authentic experience, and that meant leather straps. Hench relented, and I don't actually know if that was important to the stagecoach, but I do know the mentality was important to Disneyland.
Disneyland -- and the Magic Kingdom after it -- excel most at trying to give guests authentic experiences -- especially when it comes to transportation -- they can't easily find in the real world, even when sensing that authenticity is subtle and easy to miss.
That's what makes the Riverboat so important. It remains as a connection to that authenticity, that nostalgia for a thing you didn't even actually experience, and a quaint, calm experience that can't be easily found outside the turnstiles (or touchpoints now).
The Riverboat -- in this case the Liberty Belle, the second boat in the park -- operates authentically on an actual steam engine. The Cast refill the boat with water at the port. The water gets converted to steam in a massive boiler, and that steam pushes the arms that rotate the wheel that moves the boat. It is not being moved on a track, it is not being controlled by a ride control system, it is being pushed by actual steam, with someone pushing a giant johnson bar to tell it which direction to go. Even the electricity on the boat is run by a pure steam-powered turbine. There’s an authenticity created here that is doing more than just simulating a paddle wheel steam boat.
For most of the boat's history, the Cast Member would also be there with the boiler, controlling water levels, monitoring pressure, and twisting valves to control speed. Much of that is now automated (for good reason), but guests can still see it all go. The lower level of the Riverboat is a fascinating experience, where you can look across at the guests on the paths outside and the bridges of Tom Sawyer Island, while also looking in a cage at a working boiler and a spinning turbine, or get right up next to giant engines pushing a paddle wheel. That's not a drop on a rollercoaster, but it's a purely unique experience you don't expect to find in a theme park, and that's what makes the Magic Kingdom special.
In fact, every level of the Riverboat is an experience. The bottom deck has its machinery and the hiss of steam, while the second deck has shade, seats, and an adorable little parlor. If you just want to sit a spell and listen feel the water, it's the perfect spot. Meanwhile, the top deck is the sense of adventure, where you can look down at the park below, see across to distant locations, and take in the entire experience up close to the -- again -- authentic steam whistle bellowing out its signals.
Yeah, along the way there's some dialogue with Sam Clemens and Horace Bixby, and some nice show scenes that sell the idea of heading from civilization and into the frontier, but they are just icing on the cake. The experience is being on the boat, and seeing it run. There is nothing else like it in theme parks, and that makes it not just great but unique.
A friend of mine recently put it perfectly: a significant portion of theme park real estate is being devoted to "just vibes." Another friend added, "the vibes are immaculate." Astute, from both of them.
Nowhere is this more true than on the back side of the river. Once you pass Big Thunder Mountain, the journey of the Riverboat becomes one of the most serene and peaceful locations in any theme park. Since that boat is the only way you can reach it, the crowd stays down, but it also feels like something of a discovery. Highlighted by the strumming of Beacon Joe’s banjo in the alligator bayou, this stretch of the river is mostly just you, a few strangers, the boat, the water, and the trees. It makes for one of the most relaxing moments you can get in the park, and is an absolutely gorgeous example of engineered serenity. You come out of it and around the bend towards Haunted Mansion, and it feels like returning to civilization from an eye-opening excursion, even though you’re just on a 20 minute theme park ride.
The Liberty Belle is also partaking in our favorite pass time of adding more to the park around it, making it bigger than just the experience on the ride vehicle itself. The whistle can be hears across the park, adding important auditory details to Frontierland and distance enticement to Adventureland alike. The clang of the bells as the massive ship comes into port in Liberty Square add the air of progress to the area. The splash of the water and the hiss of the steam adds kinetics and life to the Rivers of America as it passes by, making the river walk truly exciting. Hitting the bottom of Splash Mountain or the back bend of Thunder Mountain just as the boat passes by are particularly joyous experiences, an incredible sense of movement and place making that is hard to match. Further, it adds a little bit of civilization to spy on from the forts and trees of Tom Sawyer Island, or a little bit of bobbing to the waiting rafts headed to the island. The west side of Magic Kingdom is far richer for having its glistening white river queen moving down the water, and at night its lights are one of the prettiest sights on property.
I suspect a good chunk of readers have never really bothered with the Riverboat, walking right past for something with a long line that you can put on a poster. Smaller experiences that you don't have to wait around for, though, help fill out your park day, and I cannot encourage you enough to take a trip down the Rivers of America with Sam and Horace. While you're on it, take in the immaculate vibes. Sit in the parlor, look over the top deck, and go to the bottom and watch the boiler and engines do their thing. You will have a fulfilling experience that you cannot find almost anywhere else, and that experience is a connection to what Walt's theme park idea was all about.
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