Former Ride // updated 2025.07.06
Piston Peak · Magic Kingdom · Walt Disney World
Former Ride · the memorial record
This ride is gone, but its history stays documented — the full lifetime log is below.
◆ Most recent chapter
Rivers of America permanently closed after nearly 54 years, along with Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Square Riverboat; the Liberty Belle's final voyage departed around 8:42 p.m. on July 6, 2025 (Disney listed the official closing date as July 7).
Disney announced the Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island, and Liberty Square Riverboat would be removed to make way for a Frontierland expansion themed to Pixar's Cars (later named Piston Peak).
The Mike Fink Keel Boats permanently closed, leaving the Liberty Belle Riverboat and Tom Sawyer Island rafts as the river's only remaining vessels.
The Richard F. Irvine Riverboat was rebuilt with an all-new aluminum-and-vinyl superstructure and renamed the Liberty Belle.
Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes, one of the river's opening-day attractions, permanently closed.
The Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat was retired after its hull was destroyed when dropped from a crane during a dry-dock overhaul, leaving one riverboat on the river.
Tom Sawyer Island opened in the center of the Rivers of America, an explorable island reachable only by raft.
A second sternwheeler, the Richard F. Irvine Riverboat, entered service on the river.
The Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat, a paddle-wheel sternwheeler, entered service on the river one day after the park opened.
Rivers of America opened with Magic Kingdom on the park's first day, a man-made river encircling the island along Frontierland and Liberty Square; Mike Fink Keel Boats and Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes launched on it as opening-day attractions.
Per the documented record, Rivers of America at Magic Kingdom opened on Oct 1, 1971.
The most recent closure/refurbishment documented for Rivers of America is dated Jul 6, 2025: Rivers of America permanently closed after nearly 54 years, along with Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Square Riverboat; the Liberty Belle's final voyage departed around 8:42 p.m. on July 6, 2025 (Disney listed the official closing date as July 7).
The latest documented change (documented Jul 6, 2025): Rivers of America permanently closed after nearly 54 years, along with Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Square Riverboat; the Liberty Belle's final voyage departed around 8:42 p.m. on July 6, 2025 (Disney listed the official closing date as July 7).
10 documented changes, dating back to 1971 — the fan-kept ride changelog nobody else keeps.
Citing the record on a wiki or forum? Copy the reference below.