Paddle around the Rivers of America on a grand sightseeing adventure aboard Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes. Named after the legendary frontiersman, Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes transport you back to a time before highways, when water was the fastest mode of transportation and an exciting new discovery was around every river bend.
The canoe voyage will take you in a full circle around Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island. Along the banks of the Rivers of America, you'll see sights and sounds from 3 different lands - including the backwoods of Frontierland, the wrought-iron railings of New Orleans Square and the peak of Chick-A-Pin Hill towering over Critter Country. While you'll get a very unique perspective of the Rivers of America from the Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes, the attraction follows the same path as two larger ships: the Mark Twain Riverboat and the Sailing Ship Columbia.
Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes is a free-floating canoe experience at the Disneyland park in Anaheim, California. Boarding from the park's Critter Country section, up to twenty visitors paddle a canoe around the Rivers of America, accompanied by two guides. This is the only Disneyland attraction that is powered by park visitors.
Along the Rivers of America the guides will point out some of the sights along the way, like the burning cabin and the Indian chief on horseback. It's kind of like the Frontierland version of the Jungle Cruise... except the guides have bigger muscles.
Ride Experience
At the original Disneyland version of the attraction, riders embark and disembark from a small boat dock next to the Hungry Bear restaurant in the Critter Country section of the park. Each 35-foot-long (11 m) fiberglass canoe holds twenty guests, two per row. Each canoe has two guides dressed as frontiersmen (or frontierswomen) at the bow and stern. These guides are referred to as the helmsman, bowman, and sternman.
Riders/rowers are given a short lesson on how to paddle the canoe to power the boat properly after leaving the dock. Small children are required to wear life jackets. Life jackets are also available for adults who cannot swim in the event the boat ever capsizes. As the canoe travels 2,400 feet (730 m) around Tom Sawyer Island, located in the center of the man-made river, the guides point out the sights along the way, such as a settler's cabin and the Indian chief on horseback. The ride's length depends upon how fast the paddlers are and how much other traffic is on the river.
Lacking tracks or a predetermined path to follow, they typically travel much faster than the large boats, like the Mark Twain Riverboat, which ride along submerged tracks and have the right-of-way. The canoes return by the last bend of Splash Mountain, where guides occasionally deliver an extra splash to passing riders with their oars. This attraction operates seasonally. It is usually open on the park's busier days in the warmer times of the year, but not on rainy days. The attraction closes at dusk.
Touring Tips
- Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes operate seasonally, may close due to inclement weather and are only open during certain times of day. If paddling around the Rivers of America is a priority, try to make it over to Critter Country earlier in the day.
- Tucked along the edge of the Rivers of America next to the Hungry Bear restaurant is a small boat dock from which the Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes embark and disembark.
- This is the only ride in Disneyland that is guest-powered, if no one paddles, then it turns into a pretty long ride! Otherwise the length of the ride varies depending on how fast or slow the paddlers are, and how much other traffic is on the Rivers of America - those pesky sailing ships and riverboats have right-of-way. Expect it to take 5-10 minutes.
- Since there is so much variability in the amount of time it takes to load/unload and paddle around the river, it can be very hard to judge just how long the wait will be - a queue that looks fairly short could take 45-60 minutes.
- That's real water out there, which means it's wet, and everyone will probably get splashed to some extent.
- Kids are permitted to ride, but some may be too small or uncoordinated to paddle. Unless you're a small child, "just going along for the ride" without doing any paddling is frowned upon, and will earn the offender some well-deserved ribbing from the guides and fellow guests.
- These are fairly stable watercraft, and not "tippy canoes" at all, but guests may NOT stand except when getting on and off.
Facts
- Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes opened in May 1971, a redesign of the Indian War Canoes attraction that opened in 1956.
- The canoes closed suddenly in October 1998, with the rumor that they were closed permanently, but they reopened the following June.
- The 20-passager vessels are real, old-fashioned canoes - there is no motor and no track. Modeled after the boats that early Native American and European explorers used to traverse the real rivers of America, these 35-foot-long canoes are powered entirely by the strong arms and paddles of the people inside. Don't worry about the workload! The boats are lightweight and most of the paddling is more for fun than propulsion. While your help is appreciated, the river guides who sit in the fore and aft of the canoe are capable enough of navigating the waters by themselves.
History
The attraction originally opened as Indian War Canoes on July 4, 1956 as part of Frontierland's Indian Village expansion. It also operates under the name of Beaver Brother's Explorer Canoes at Tokyo Disneyland and formerly operated at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World and at Disneyland Park in Disneyland Paris.
It is one of only two attractions in Disneyland to be in three different lands without ever being moved. Originally called Indian War Canoes, the attraction opened on July 4, 1956, as part of Frontierland's Indian Village expansion, with real American Indian guides aboard every canoe. Guests used a "D ticket" to ride the attraction. The Indian War Canoes closed with Indian Village in 1971 but reopened on May 19 as Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes, inspired by the Davy Crockett miniseries, with the guides now wearing coonskin caps.
It became a part of Bear Country, home of Country Bear Jamboree, when that section of the park opened in 1972. The area was later renamed Critter Country in 1989, which now takes in Splash Mountain and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh attractions. The canoes closed suddenly on October 3, 1998, igniting rumors that they were closed permanently. However, the attraction reopened the following June. Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes operates on busier days only, primarily in the summer and on weekends.
In addition to the Explorer Canoes, Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom's Liberty Square operated the Mike Fink Keel Boats until 1997. This attraction was based on the miniseries episode "Davy Crockett's Keelboat Race".
Other Parks
Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes debuted in Frontierland on opening day at Walt Disney World. A C ticket was required for guests to board the 35-foot (11 m) long canoes from a dock located to the north of the Tom Sawyer Island raft launch and travel along the same path as other watercraft on the Rivers of America. Walt Disney World permanently closed the attraction in 1994.
A canoe attraction opened in Tokyo Disneyland under the name of Davey Crockett Explorer Canoes along the Rivers of America in the theme park's Westernland. It was renamed Beaver Brothers Explorer Canoes in 1992 with the opening of Critter Country.
An Indian Canoes canoe ride opened with Euro Disneyland on April 12, 1992. However, the Frontierland attraction closed in 1994 due to overcrowding on the Rivers of the Far West.