General Information

Location: Boards and unloads at the River Boat landing on the Liberty Square waterfront.

Date Opened: October 2, 1971 (with different riverboat). Current riverboat debuted May 20, 1973 as the Richard F. Irvine.

# of Ride Units: 1 riverboat

Ride Capacity: Several hundred

Restraint Method: None

Ticket Rating: C Ticket

Ride Photo: No

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Time Commitment

Open/Close: Opens and closes with the park.

Wait Times: Rarely must you wait longer than the next time the boat comes into dock, but on the most crowded days you may have to wait for the second trip, around 20 minutes.

Length of Ride: 15 minutes

FastPass: No

Single Rider: No

Queue Description: There is no real queue for this ride. The dock has a holding area for people waiting to board at the next opportunity.

Access Information

Health Restriction: None, though it is a haunted mansion, nothing is truly frightening.

Ride Access: The waiting area is wheelchair and ECV accessible.

Wheelchair Transfer: You can board the riverboat without leaving your wheelchair or ECV. All areas of the boat, however, are not accessible and you will be confined to the lower deck. Access to the upper decks requires climbing stairs.

Service Animals: Yes

Audio: Narrative audio is played during the trip describing some of the sights you are passing.

Weight and Size Issues: None

Parenting Information

Height Restriction: None

Child Swap: Yes

Other Issues: You should use the same caution in watching your children as you would on any other boat in the water. While the Rivers of America is shallower than it looks it would still require swimming if someone fell in.

History and Trivia

  • At this location: Riverboats have been making the tour of the Rivers of America around Tom Sawyer Island since the day after the park opened in 1971.
  • The Attraction's History: Depending on how you want to count them, either two or three authentic steam-driven riverboats have been used at this attraction over the years. When the park opened in 1971, the Admiral Joe Fowler was the only boat operating. It was named after the retired Navy admiral who oversaw construction of both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom before retiring in 1972. The boat itself was retired in 1980 but can still be seen backstage at times when riding the Walt Disney World Railroad. Coming online in 1973 was a second paddlewheel named the Richard F. Irvine after Dick Irvine, who was then just retiring as chief of WED Enterprises (now known as Walt Disney Imagineering). In 1996 the Richard F. Irvine underwent an extensive refurbishment and when it came out of drydock it was renamed Liberty Belle, the name it currently bears.