The ''Admiral Joe Fowler'' was a

riverboat A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury un ...

ride vehicle named after Park Construction Administrator

Joe Fowler Joe Fowler (July 9, 1894 – December 6, 1993) was a rear admiral of the United States Navy, who after his retirement had an important role in overseeing the construction of Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Joe Fowler attended the United States ...

, a former

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

rear admiral who was in charge of the

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form Physical object, objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Pr ...

of both

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 envision ...

and

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

History

The riverboat was built at the Tampa Ship Repair & Dry Dock Company in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, the same place where the

Walt Disney World Railroad The Walt Disney World Railroad (WDWRR) is a 3-foot () narrow-gauge heritage railroad and attraction located within the Magic Kingdom theme park of Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, in the United States. Its route is in length and encir ...

's (WDWRR) four steam locomotives were refurbished. The ''Admiral Joe Fowler'' riverboat entered service a day after the Magic Kingdom park opened on October 1, 1971. On May 20, 1973, a second riverboat named the '' Richard F. Irvine'', which would later be renamed as the ''Liberty Belle'' in 1996, entered service. But in late 1980, the ''Fowler'' riverboat was accidentally dropped from a crane while being lifted into the dry dock area for a routine overhaul, and its hull was completely destroyed beyond repair. The damaged riverboat was taken to a boneyard for a while before being broken up for scrap, after determining that the Magic Kingdom no longer needed two riverboats on the Rivers of America. The riverboat's steam engine machinery was being shipped to

Tokyo Disneyland (local nickname ''TDL'') is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to ...

to be used as part of the ''Mark Twain'' riverboat. In 1997, the ''Magic Kingdom I'' ferry, which crosses the

Seven Seas Lagoon The Seven Seas Lagoon is a man-made lake at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Located south of the Magic Kingdom theme park, the Seven Seas Lagoon serves as a natural buffer between the Magic Kingdom and its parking ...

taking guests between the

Transportation and Ticket Center The Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC) is an intermodal monorail, ferry, and bus transportation hub on the Walt Disney World Resort. The station serves both the Magic Kingdom and Epcot spurs of the Walt Disney World Monorail System, as well ...

and the Magic Kingdom park, was renamed to ''Admiral Joe Fowler.'' The ''Magic Kingdom II'' ferry was renamed to ''Richard F. Irvine''.

References

External links

Rivers of America Riverboats
{{Disney rides Former Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions Walt Disney Parks and Resorts gentle boat rides Liberty Square (Magic Kingdom) Amusement rides introduced in 1971 Amusement rides that closed in 1980 Western (genre) amusement rides 1971 establishments in Florida 1980 disestablishments in Florida Paddle steamers of the United States

History

See also

References

External links