Greetings family, friends, neighbors and Disney buddies! I hope that you enjoy today's vignette about one of Disneyland's original attractions that is still entertaining park guests. The vintage postcard dates from 1955.......Bill
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POSTCARDS OF THE PAST
“She’s comin’ round the bend!” The Mark Twain is about to steam into it’s birth at the New Orleans section of Frontierland to the sounds of Dixieland jazz and the exciting shouts of DISNEYLAND guests.
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What E-Ticket attraction has been carrying passengers since 1955, operates on steam, runs on a rail, and has a fulltime engineer? Nope, not the Disneyland Railroad which may have been your first guess, but the Mark Twain Riverboat. Beginning on Disneyland’s opening day, the 5/8 scale sternwheeler has been plying the waters around Tom Sawyer’s Island every 25 minutes with up to 300 happy passengers on it’s 12 minute journey. A Mississippi steamboat attraction had been included in the earliest Disney amusement park concepts ever since “Steamboat Willie” faced off with Pete in the groundbreaking 1928 cartoon. Ultimately a large scale version of the attraction was chosen over a proposal from Arrow Development for a miniature steamboat ride. The hull of the 115 foot long 150 ton vessel was built at the Todd Shipyards in San Pedro while the decks were constructed in Disney’s Burbank Studios. Based on a design by Naval Architect D.M. Callis, the Mark Twain was the first functional steam powered paddle wheeler built in the United states in more than a half century. The Mark Twain’s maided voyage in the River’s of America took place at a private party celebrating Walt and Lillian Disney’s 30th wedding anniversary 4 days before the parks opening. In the early years passengers could purchase a mint julep on board and on special occasions be entertained by the likes of Lois Armstrong and Aretha Franklin. In addition to being a popular ride, the legacy of Disney steamboat attractions providing an entertainment venue continues with the Mark Twain taking a leading role in nightly Fantasmic shows. Disney riverboats, inspired by Steamboat Willie, are also popular attractions at Florida’s Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris.
From the postcard collection of Bill Ralph
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