It's been quite some time since the Mike Fink Keelboats navigated the Rivers of America at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. This Vintage Snapshot! returns us to 1977 where we see the Gullywhumper plying those waters. The entrance to the Haunted Mansion can be seen in the background. Despite their obvious Frontierland roots, the keelboats launched from Liberty Square at a dock just adjacent to the Haunted Mansion. They ceased operation at Walt Disney World sometime in 1997, shortly after the Disneyland version of the Gullywhumper tipped over and dunked a boatload of guests at that park.
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Snapshot Disneyland! - The Gullywhumper
Being a frontierland/liberty square male cast member from 1977-1980, i worked at keelboats often. There wasn't much the "Rivers of America" so we tried to make it the "jungle cruise" of frontieland. Keelboats was the funny, country tour of the Rivers of America as it went the same place as the the Riverboat, with it's slow and majestic tour. While the dunking as Disneyland may have been the "last straw", like 20K, it was lots of maintenance for a very little hourly capacity in guests. Waits were often 30 minutes or more in the summer.
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