By: Kendall Foreman
Throughout history, rivers have served as connecting lines between the past, present, and future. Established cities served as jumping off points for settlers journeying along the waterways to untested lands where new communities would be founded. The river was often the best and most efficient way of traveling. It was vital to the expansion of the United States of America, and this fact was pivotal in the creation of Liberty Square and Frontierland in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom.
Just as the great rivers of this country ushered in advancement over the course of time, so too would the Rivers of America. This amalgamation of our nation’s waterways has carried guests from the Eastern Seaboard and the Hudson River Valley to the Mississippi River and onward, while it traveled through history from the days of the Revolution to the era of Manifest Destiny. Imagineers used the gentle river, its modes of transportation, and the buildings along its banks to tell the story of America’s first 100 years.
But, just as this country changed over time, so did the waters surrounding Tom Sawyer Island. The presence of new “settlements” across Frontierland afforded guests fresh sights to see while riding on the Rivers of America. Even though some things passed away, Imagineers left remnants and artifacts for guests to discover, and they, too, are best seen from out on the water.
The Edge of the Frontier
When Magic Kingdom Park opened in 1971, Frontierland ended at the train station for the Walt Disney World Railroad. There was no Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (debuted in 1979) and no Splash Mountain / Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (1992/2024). The quaint one-story station sat in front of the berm of trees and opposite a number of totem poles. Unlike traditional totem poles, these did not tell any particular story, but they featured carvings of a number of different birds. The particular Imagineer or artist who did this work is unknown. (They do bear a great resemblance to totems appearing in a photo featured in a 1963 issue of National Geographic in which a number of carved poles can be seen sitting backstage at Imagineering destined for the Indian Village at Disneyland.) Five of the original Magic Kingdom totem poles can be seen in this photo from the Florida Department of Commerce Collection taken in 1975.
Just like history, it did not take too long for Frontierland to look less like an open frontier and more like a settled landscape. As this transition happened, the horizon gained a mountain, a new train station, another mountain, and more. With these new developments, the totem poles were lost to time. Or were they?
One of the great things about the Liberty Square Riverboat is that it is a slow-moving attraction. The gradual pace of the paddle wheel gives guests 17 minutes to look all around, not just at the boat itself, but also the surrounding territory. By design, the vantage points from the decks of the Liberty Belle offer views unseen from any other location in the park. After leaving the dock and rounding the bend toward Big Thunder Mountain, there is a small collection of trees on the mountain-side bank. Observant riders have the chance to pick out a number of totem poles amidst those trees featuring all manner of birds painted in blue, brown, yellow, white, and black. With so much to see, they are easy to miss, but they stand as a reminder of the wide open spaces that once sat waiting in Frontierland.
Faded Fink
Surrounding the Rivers of America are a number of docks harkening back to a time when the currents were traversed by more than just a riverboat and some rafts. From 1971 to 1994, guests could climb inside a Davy Crockett Explorer Canoe and earn their ride by helping to paddle around the river. The starting point for the journey was a second dock just north of the current dock for the rafts to Tom Sawyer Island. Today, this structure still stands as a quiet respite area from the heavy traffic between Big Thunder Mountain and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. It looks as if its wood has seen the wear of time, but on the river’s side, only visible from the Liberty Belle, is a bit of paint that has not completely worn away. This distressed fragments of text read, “Reliable Shipping of Freight – Roundtrip Sightseeing – Inquire Within – Mike Fink”.
Mike Fink, like Davy Crockett, was a real person. He was also featured as an American folk hero in Disney’s Davy Crockett series, particularly Davy Crockett and the River Pirates. However, it was not canoes that Mike Fink was known for piloting. He was a legendary keelboat captain. In fact, he was so legendary that he was given his own attraction, the Mike Fink Keel Boats, that in later years took off from that pier.
The original dock for the keelboat attraction can also still be seen today, both from the land and the river. The building just outside the Haunted Mansion’s gates resembling a carriage house (across from Memento Mori) was the topside structure that led guests down to the river where they could board one of the dual-level keelboats for a speedy trip around Tom Sawyer Island. This opening day B-ticket attraction drifted on until April of 2001.
Pieces of History
While rivers are constantly changing and flowing, their very presence stands as a constant in the passage of time, or at least they do in the real world. Sadly, the Rivers of America and all the sights to be seen along its banks will soon be a constant only in the memories of those who experienced them. It is rather ironic that as the necessity of travel on America’s rivers waned with the advent of faster land transportation so too will Magic Kingdom’s river be replaced by land vehicles. While the upcoming attractions will undoubtedly be impressive feats of Imagineering, there will always be a respect for the leisurely pace and the trip through history that was available to guests who traversed the river and walked along its banks.
(Photos from the author’s personal collection except the 1975 Totem Pole photo: Florida. – Division of Tourism. View showing totem poles at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. 1975. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. Accessed 14 Dec. 2024. https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/94057 Public domain.)
