The Sailing Ship ''Columbia'', located at the

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisio ...

park in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

, is a full-scale replica of ''

Columbia Rediviva ''Columbia Rediviva'' (commonly known as ''Columbia'') was a privately owned American ship under the command, first, of John Kendrick, and later Captain Robert Gray, best known for going to the Pacific Northwest for the maritime fur trade. ...

'', the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe. The ''Columbia'' has operated in the park for more than fifty years. Passengers of the ship take a 12-minute trip around the Rivers of America. At night, the ''Columbia'' plays the role of a pirate ship in riverfront performances of the park's nighttime show, ''

Fantasmic! ''Fantasmic!'' is a nighttime show at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios. The show formerly operated at Tokyo DisneySea. It features fireworks, characters, live actors, water effects, pyrotechnics, lasers, music, audio-animatronics, searc ...

History

When

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

decided that the Rivers of America needed more river traffic and wanted another large ship to join the ''Mark Twain'', he asked Joe Fowler, who was Disneyland's construction supervisor and a former naval admiral, to suggest a historic sailing ship for inspiration. After examining every maritime museum in the country, Fowler recommended the first American sailing ship to go around the world: the ''

''. However, there is only one known picture in existence of the original vessel. WED researchers used it, along with research materials from the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

, to design the ''Columbia''. Architect and artist Ray Wallace was commissioned in 1957 to work with Fowler in creating the construction plans, the original designs were sketched out on a napkin by Ray Wallace at a meeting to discuss the final design of the ship. The ship's masts, rigging, spars and sails were constructed at Todd Shipyards, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where the ''Mark Twain''s hull had been built a few years earlier. After Fowler told Disney that it was customary to put a silver dollar under each mast before it was set, Disney personally put one under each of the ''Columbia''s three masts. For the ship's christening on June 4, 1958, Fowler was dressed as a sailing captain of the 18th century, while the Mouseketeers appeared as his crew. Since then, the sailing ship ''Columbia'' has had many extensive refurbishments, but the only major change has been the addition of the crew quarters exhibit in 1964. The ''Columbia'' was christened by Gretchen Campbell Richmond, wife of Alfred C. Richmond, Commandant of the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, m ...

(1954-1962). A copy of the ''Columbia'' was planned for Disney World, but it was canceled and replaced with plans to build a second steamboat. On January 11, 2016, the Sailing Ship ''Columbia'', along with the other attractions and shows along the Rivers of America, closed temporarily for the construction of ''Star Wars'': Galaxy's Edge. The ship reopened on July 29, 2017.

Attraction description

Passengers wait for the ship, which departs every 25 minutes, inside a sheltered area called Frontier Landing, located in

Frontierland Frontierland is one of the "themed lands" at the many Disneyland-style parks run by Disney around the world. Themed to the American Frontier of the 19th century, Frontierlands are home to cowboys and pioneers, saloons, red rock buttes and gol ...

. The waiting area for the ''Columbia'' is shared with the ''Mark Twain'' Riverboat. Historic

United States flags This is a list of flags in the United States describing the evolution of the flag of the United States, as well as other flags used within the United States, such as the flags of governmental agencies. There are also separate flags for embassie ...

are displayed at the attraction's entrance. Passengers board the full-scale replica of the original sailing ship ''Columbia'' by climbing steps, also known as the "brow", up onto the main deck. Once on board, they can visit a nautical museum below deck, which shows what life was like for the 1787 crew. In addition to the

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be u ...

pantry A pantry is a room or cupboard where beverages, food, and sometimes dishes, household cleaning products, linens or provisions are stored within a home or office. Food and beverage pantries serve in an ancillary capacity to the kitchen. Etymol ...

, dry stores, and sick bay, there are quarters for the crew,

bosun A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervise ...

and bosun's mate,

first mate A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the shi ...

, captain, and surgeon. Once the ship casts off, it begins its voyage around the Rivers of America. The ship, which has three masts and rigging but rarely unfurls its sails, is powered by a compressed natural gas engine (formerly a Marine Detroit Diesel 2-stroke). It runs along the same track as the ''Mark Twain'', hidden by green dye in the water. The captain provides a tongue-in-cheek running commentary as he calls orders to his crew, while recorded background music plays a selection of nautical songs, such as "

Blow the Man Down "Blow the Man Down" is an English sea shanty, listed as 2624 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The lyric "Blow the man down" can be interpreted in a number of ways. Some see it as a reference to a sailor being struck with a fist. Given the shanty's t ...

". As the ship passes Fort Wilderness on Tom Sawyer Island, a ''Columbia'' cast member fires two 12-gauge blanks from one of the ship's ten cannons. The Fort also had a cannon that used to fire back. The Sailing Ship ''Columbia'' operates only on the park's busiest days, or when the ''Mark Twain'' is not operating. The attraction usually opens at 11am and closes at dusk. On evenings when ''

'' is being performed, the ship, which plays the role of the ''

Black Pearl The ''Black Pearl'' (formerly known as the ''Wicked Wench'') is a fictional ship in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. In the screenplay, the ''Black Pearl'' is easily recognized by her distinctive black hull and sails. Captained by ...

'' in the show, will also close at dusk. In previous incarnations of ''Fantasmic!'', the ship served as

Captain Hook Captain James Hook is a fictional character and the main antagonist of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play ''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' and its various adaptations, in which he is Peter Pan's archenemy. The character is a pirate capta ...

's pirate ship. When the ship is not operating, it is docked at Fowler's Harbor, near the

Haunted Mansion The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride attraction located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland. The haunted house attraction features a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called "Doom Buggies", and a walk-through show is displa ...

attraction.

Accidents

On December 24, 1998, a cleat used to secure the ship to the dock tore loose, striking park visitors Luan Phi Dawson, 33, of

Duvall, Washington Duvall is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located on SR 203 halfway between Monroe and Carnation. The population was 8,034 at the 2020 census. History The area that became known as Duvall was historically the home of the ...

, and his 43-year-old wife Lieu Thuy Vuong in the head, as their son and grandchild and other park visitors looked on. 30-year-old park employee Christine Carpenter of

was also injured. Dawson was declared brain-dead two days later at UCI Medical Center in

Orange, California Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before 1920. While many oth ...

, when his life support system was disconnected.

Soundtrack

* "Show Narration", 3:25 * "Haul Boys Haul", 2:05 * "Oh Johnny Come to Hilo", 2:30 * "Song of the Fishes", 1:41 * " Drunken Sailor", 1:51 * " A Whale of a Tale", 1:44 * "An American Frigate", 2:08 * "

", 2:12 Current songs (all vocals): "

", "Clear the Track (Let the Bulgine Run)", "One More Day", " Rolling Home" and "Song of the Fishes".

References

Footnotes

External links

Sailing Ship ''Columbia''
at Disneyland.Disney.Go.com
Sailing Ship ''Columbia'' at AllEarsNet.comSailing Ship ''Columbia'' at MousePlanet.com

at MiceAge {{coord, 33.81234, N, 117.92062, W, region:US-CA_type:landmark_scale:2000, display=title Amusement rides introduced in 1958 Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions Disneyland Walt Disney Parks and Resorts gentle boat rides Frontierland Audio-Animatronic attractions Western (genre) amusement rides 1958 establishments in California