The two classic river keel boats, the Raccoon and Coyote, are still plying the waters, giving guided tours of the rivers at their own, darting pace.

They might have been overtaken in style and comfort by the mighty stern-wheel riverboats, but these keel boats can take you right up close to the fascinating landscape and roaming wildlife of the islands - they've become the transport of choice for the roguish river pirates!

Attraction Experience

Beyond Big Thunder Mountain Mining Co., through thick pine forests and along winding, confusing paths from the town of Thunder Mesa, the shoreline at Smugglers' Cove comes into view. Here are some of the final remaining rogues in this tamed Far West landscape - the "river pirates" who scurry about the rivers scavaging for prizes and plunder, storing them all in the ochre caves along the rivers' edge.

From the loading dock hidden between two giant rocks and shielded from passing riverboats, you board the Coyote or Raccoon for a tour of the Rivers of the Far West by the river rogues themselves, including a little unrehearsed narration - taking you closer to the wildlife, natural beauties and bounty of the West.

First you pass Old Joe with his barking dog, before turning around the headland and dodging closer to Wilderness Island for a close-up, water-level view of its waterfalls and wildlife. The erupting geysers - including 'Old Faithful' herself blast into the air ahead, as you pass the majestic Rainbow Arch and pick up speed for the darting ply through Thunder Mesa town.

Hurrying past the eerie tombstones of Phantom Manor, the bullet-ready outposts of Fort Comstock and the runaway trains of Big Thunder, you arrive safety back at Smugglers' Cove, another bootlegger's run complete.

Fun Facts & Footnotes

The two River Rogue Keelboats are based directly on the keel boats seen in Walt Disney's 1955 television specials "Davy Crockett's Keel Boat Race" and "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates."

History

Origins of the River Pirates

In 1955, Walt Disney not only had a hugely successful new theme park, but a popular television show with the same name, gathering entire families to discover the latest tales from Mr. Disney. By far the most successful of these was Davy Crockett, a series which concluded in Autumn 2007 with two episodes charting the Western legend's encounter with Mike Fink and their keel boat race along the Mississippi to New Orleans - Mike Fink piloting the Gullywhumper and Davy Crockett using Bertha Mae. Both episodes were later packaged together under the title "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates."

When production of the two episodes concluded, Walt decided that the little boats used in the films would make a good attraction on his "Rivers of America" at Disneyland. And so, on 25th December 1955, Mike Fink Keelboats opened in Frontierland with the Gullywhumper keel boat - in actual fact the boat named "Bertha Mae" in the film. Then, in May 1956, the Bertha Mae ("Gullywhumper" in the film) arrived. After 10 years of service reproductions of the two boats, with new sound and electrical systems, were crafted backstage at Disneyland to replace the aging film props.

Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World opened on 1st October 1971 with two indentical keel boats, under the same attraction title but instead located in the park's Liberty Square land. Mike Fink Keel Boats at Disneyland operated only sporadically from the early 1990s onwards, eventually closing for good in May 1997 following an accident. The Bertha Mae was later sold on eBay for $15,000 whilst the Gullywhump remains as a prop on the Rivers of America. Walt Disney World's attraction closed in late 1997 after a similar period of frequent closures.

Thunder Mesa's River Rogues

River Rogue Keelboats began service on opening day of Disneyland Park, but, like the Indian Canoes just along the river, they gradually faded from the park's range of attractions towards the end of the 1990s due to their low capacity and the large number of Cast Members needed for safe operation. The keel boats occasionally opened on busy days, but were fully withdrawn from service in the early 2000s.

When Molly Brown suffered an overheated engine in 2005 and stopped movement in the middle of the river, one of the keel boats was used to ferry guests to land from the riverboat. It is believed this "heroic" event caused management to look again at the viability of the boats returning to full service.

The keel boats and their loading station were then fully refurbished for the 2006 Summer season (including the repainting of the attraction logo on the entrance, previously replaced by a generic notice stating "Smuggler's Cove - Danger! No trespassing!" when the attraction closed). Originally due to reopen that Summer, their launch was eventually postponed for an entire year when it was decided by authorities that the boat pilots would require a full French boating licence. Training completed, their long-awaited return to service was finally confirmed by internal sources in June 2007, with their first daily public operation in over seven years commencing on 21st July 2007.

The River Rogue Keelboats are now the only operating keel boats at any Disney park in the world.