Mark Twain Riverboat Frontierland attraction at Disneyland; opened on July 17, 1955. The Disneyland Publicity Department originally trumpeted the fact that this was the first paddle wheeler built in the United States in 50 years. Its 105-foot-long hull was built at the Todd Shipyards in San Pedro, California, but the superstructure was constructed in a soundstage at the Disney Studio in Burbank, and then trucked down the Santa Ana Freeway to Disneyland. The Mark Twain travels around Tom Sawyer Island, seeing views of a Native American village and assorted wildlife, brought to life by the Disney Imagineers. The riverboat weighs 150 tons and is designed to carry 300 passengers. Also a riverboat in Frontierland at Disneyland Paris, opened April 12, 1992, where it shares the Rivers of the Far West with the Molly Brown. Also in Westernland at Tokyo Disneyland, opened on April 15, 1983. The Walt Disney World riverboats were the Admiral Joe Fowler (retired in 1980) and the Richard F. Irvine (later named the Liberty Belle).
