Super Enthused

The Liberty Belle Riverboat has permanently closed, along with the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island, at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. With yesterday being the first day of Magic Kingdom without the iconic riverboat, I thought I’d share some photo memories here of the Liberty Belle over the years.

The Liberty Belle (previously named the Richard F. Irvine, a name now used for one of the ferry boats that takes guests from the TTC to Magic Kingdom) has been running at Magic Kingdom since 1973. There was a second boat called the Admiral Joe Fowler, but that went out of commission in 1980. While the Liberty Belle propels itself with a paddle wheel and a steam engine, it runs through the Rivers of America on a track. Or should I say, ran…

Below I will share some photos and some of the things I will remember and miss most with Liberty Belle and Rivers of America now being closed. I have literally thousands of photos of all of this from over the years, so these are just a few to illustrate a few memories.

PHOTOS & MEMORIES

Here’s one from 2016, of me in one of my favorite fireworks spots, overlooking the Liberty Belle at night and the Rivers of America:

And here is how the fireworks look above the now closed Liberty Belle, a site I will always remember and cherish:

Check out my photo and video clip from 2018 when they drained the Rivers of America and were working on the track:

The Sweet Sounds of the Liberty Belle

One of my favorite sounds was always the sound of the Liberty Belle’s horn and the bell dinging. Sometimes the Walt Disney World Railroad train and the riverboat would have horn battles, and it was the most fun sounds! It will be sad to be missing that from Magic Kingdom’s soundscape.

Here is one taken from Tom Sawyer Island, I loved this view!

This year, I got some great shots of the Liberty Belle on Dapper Day, these are priceless:

Check out the full vlog, it’s got lots of great footage of these unforgettable moments: https://youtu.be/wkkkV6VPTJI

And finally, here are some photos of riding the Liberty Belle on the FINAL weekend, the day before it closed forever! It was an emotional day, I didn’t even vlog, just took some pics and took it all in.

Day or night, the Liberty Belle was a piece of the atmosphere, adding sights, sounds, movement, and a ride that guests could enjoy. I’ll miss it and wanted to share just a few of the gazillions of photos I have of it!

Of course, I also have plenty of vlogs of.. well, LOTS of theme park history, attractions that no longer exist, and brand new things that open. Here’s my last vlog featuring Rivers of America with the Liberty Belle circling around, it also includes a really cool rainstorm: https://youtu.be/KPio2ee1HUU

I love to document these things in the moment and have this amazing archive on my YouTube channel! You can find it all, and follow along in real time, as I’ll be documenting all the new attractions coming to Disney World over the next few years in detail: www.YouTube.com/superenthused

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