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Liberty Square Riverboat

553 bytes added, 00:01, 15 February 2014
==Attraction History==
The beginning of the Liberty Square Riverboat, is one of the few attractions that can be traced all the way trace its history back to before there was Walt Disney even created Disneyland. In fact, Walt Disney initially came up with an idea for a "Mississippi Steamboat" attraction to be housed at his the Disney Studio in Burbank Studios, California. Although it was soon apparent that the Burbank Studios Studio did not have the land necessarily to build the attraction, the idea was carried over to Disneyland. Walt himself helped fund In order to create the riverboat attraction, (which required was soon called the construction of Mark Twain Riverboat) Disney had to construct the first American made , working steamboat in 50 years. With funds coming directly from Walt himself, Admiral Joe Fowler, oversaw the construction of both the attraction, including a 's riverboat and dry dock (located in the Rivers of America). The Mark Twain, as the boat was called in Disneyland itself was built in two separate pieces. The , with the hull was built being constructed in San Pedro, California while the and deck was being built at the Disney Studios in Burbank. Finally, the ship was put together in Disneyland, and (with the pieces fit to perfection. fitting together perfectly) and The Mark Twin Riverboat was up and running on July 17, 1955 (the opening day of Disneyland).
Like many other Disneyland attractions, the Mark Twain Riverboat was selected to be duplicated for the unopened Walt Disney World. The riverboat East Coast version of the attraction was renamed the Admiral Joe Fowler, in tribute to the man who had helped to create both Disneyland and Walt Disney World(as well as the Riverboat attractions). The Although not quite ready for opening day, the Joe Fowler Riverboat opened one day after the park , on October 2, 1971. Due After the Joe Fowler Riverboat opened, live entertainment could often be found on the ship’s deck (due to the fact that their there were not much that many sights for guests to see on the Rivers of America in Walt Disney World, live entertainment could often be found on the ships deck).
Since Walt Disney World did not yet have enough attractions to meet demand, in 1973 a second steamboat was built, known . Known as the Richard F. Irvine. The , the new steamboat was named after Richard Irvine who oversaw the planning and construction of Walt Disney World. The Besides their names, the only difference between the two steamboats was that Admiral Joe Fowler had two smokestacks, while the Richard F. Irvine only had one. The two steamboats When they ran together, Liberty Square’s riverboats were staggered in there their departure times, so that when one boat was circling Tom Sawyer's Island the other boat would be unloading and loading new guests.
Disaster struck The first major change to the Liberty Square riverboat’s came in 1980, . Disaster struck the attraction when the hull of the Admiral Joe Fowler was badly damaged while entering a back lot backlot, dry dock. The exact Although the circumstances of the accident are unclear. One , one source says that the hull was damaged while being lifted by a crane, while another . Another source says states however, that it was split while water was being drained from the dry dock. Either way, it was Disney decided that ship they would not be restored. Although repair the broken shop, and although the exact location of the ships ship’s hull and decks are unknown, we do know that the boats machinery was sent to Tokyo and used in their steamship. The Furthermore, the bell from the Admiral Joe Fowler was added to the #4 engine (the Roy O. Disney) on the [[Walt Disney World Railroad]].
===Name Change===
In 1996, after (following a refurbishment) the Richard F. Irvine was refurbishedrenamed the Liberty Belle, and the attraction itself was renamed the Liberty Square Riverboat however the ship itself was renamed the Liberty Belle. The name change was done to both make the attraction's name easier to remember, and to tie the boat in with Liberty Square. In order to keep the names of Joe Fowler and Richard Irvine alive in Walt Disney World, in 1999 two ferries that run from the Ticket and Transportation Center to the Magic Kingdom were renamed in their honor..
==Ship Structure==
The narration aboard the Liberty Belle, has grown and changed with the expansion of Frontierland. Tom Sawyer Island, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad have all been added to the Liberty Belle Riverboat.
In 1992, the Powhatan Indians were added to the attraction in order to tie the ride in with both the new Disney movie Pocahontas, as well as with the Walt Disney World RadioRailroad.
Before 2005, a burning cabin was seen beyond Fort Langhorn. Here guests would see the cabin on fire, and a settler laying on the ground with an arrow through him. The narration would comment on how the settler was a victim of an Indian attack. Later, the scene was changed so that the arrow was removed, and the narration commented that the settler drank too much moonshine. Finally, in 2005 the effect was removed, due to corrosion in the pipes. Now the cabin is deserted and no mention of it is made.