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Welcome to The Mickey Wiki: Your Walt Disney World Encyclopedia! To start exploring, select a park below! Mike Fink Keel Boats Mike Fink Keel Boats The Bertha Mae (one of the two Mike Fink Keel Boats) on the Rivers of America Magic Kingdom Land Liberty Square Attraction type Boat Ride Opening date October 1, 1971 Closing date April 29, 2001 Based On Disney's Davy Crockett The Mike Fink Keel Boats were an attraction in Liberty Square at the Magic Kingdom. Attraction History Like many of the Magic Kingdom's opening day attractions, the Mike Fink Keel Boats actually got their start in Disneyland, where the attraction opened in late 1955 . The free-floating boats were based on the popular Davy Crockett, specifically the episodes "Davy Crockett's Keel Boat Race" and "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates" . As previously mentioned, the Mike Fink Keel Boats opened with the rest of the Magic Kingdom on October 1, 1971 . The two Keel Boats (named the Gullywhumper and Bertha May) boarded from a dock near the Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square. The Mike Keel Boats remained relatively unchanged until 2000, when the attraction's loading was moved to the former Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes dock in Frontierland . The move was short lived however, as on April 29, 2001 the Keel Boats were permanently closed . Description After boarding the Keel Boats in Liberty Square, guests would be taken on a free-floating motorized tour around the Rivers of America, taking in the various landmarks and vignettes located on the shore. Along the way the boat would be treated to a humorous narration, by their coonskin cap wearing captain. Fun Facts and Trivia During Walt Disney World's pre-opening previews, on of the Keel Boats (the Bertha Mae) was used to transport guests from the Ticket and Transportation Center to the Magic Kingdom . In the Jungle Skipper Canteen, guests can find a book titled "Keel Boats of the Mississippi River" by Mike Fink . To read a version of the Mike Fink Keel Boat narration Click Here References