Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat

Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat
The Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat in 1972
Magic Kingdom
Area Liberty Square
Status Closed
Opening date October 2, 1971
Closing date Fall 1980
General statistics
Ticket D

The Admiral Joe Fowler was a riverboat named after Park Construction Administrator Joe Fowler, a former US Navy rear admiral who was in charge of the construction of both Disneyland and Walt Disney World.[1][2]

History

The riverboat was built by Tampa Ship Repair & Dry Dock Company in Tampa, Florida, the same place where the Walt Disney World Railroad's (WDWRR) four steam locomotives were refurbished.[3]

Strangely, the Admiral Joe Fowler riverboat hadn't entered service yet until a day later, after the Magic Kingdom park opened on October 1, 1971.[2] On May 20, 1973, a second riverboat named the Richard F. Irvine entered service, which had been renamed as Liberty Belle in 1996.[2] In comparison, the Admiral Joe Fowler has two smokestacks, while the Richard F. Irvine has one.[3]

But in late 1980, the riverboat was accidentally being dropped from a crane, attempting to lift it into the dry dock area for a routine overhaul, and its hull was completely destroyed beyond repair.[2][4] The damaged riverboat was taken to a boneyard for awhile before being broken up for scrap, after determining that the Magic Kingdom no longer needed two riverboats on the Rivers of America, and the Admiral Joe Fowler suffered some mechanical problems.[4][5]

The remains of the ill-fated riverboat was the whistle that now became the WDWRR's No. 4 Roy O. Disney locomotive's.[6] Also, the Admiral Joe Fowler riverboat's steam engine machinery was shipped to Tokyo Disneyland to become the workings of the park's Mark Twain riverboat.[3]

In 1997, the Magic Kingdom II ferry, which crosses the Seven Seas Lagoon, taking guests between the Transportation and Ticket Center and the Magic Kingdom park, was renamed to Admiral Joe Fowler along with the Magic Kingdom I ferry renamed as Richard F. Irvine.[2][4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat". D23: The Official Disney Fan Club. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Mongello, Lou (September 17, 2007). "Liberty Square Riverboat". WDW Radio. Archived from the original on June 14, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 Spence, Jack (March 4, 2010). "Liberty Belle Riverboat - Part 1". AllEars.Net. Archived from the original on September 9, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 "Admiral Joe Fowler and Richard F. Irvine Riverboats". Walt Dated World. Archived from the original on March 5, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Liberty Square Riverboat". WDWThemeParks.com. Archived from the original on May 25, 2016. Retrieved June 4, 2017.
  6. ↑ Yee (2014), p. 45.

Bibliography

  • Yee, Kevin (2014). Walt Disney World Hidden History: Second Edition (2nd ed.). Ultimate Orlando Press. ISBN 978-1500887926.
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