disneyland motorboats

Photo by Hal Schultz, 1983, courtesy of Jason Schultz

Is there a child in your life who wants to be the captain of a boat? Then Yesterland has a ride for you. It’s the Motor Boat Cruise , a voyage past attractive landscaping, including flowering trees, bushes, and beautifully arranged rocks.

Perhaps you were expecting show scenes along the waterways, possibly featuring characters from animated Disney movies or television shows. Sorry. There’s none of that—unless you wait until 1991.

Photo by Kathy McConnell, 1975, courtesy of Dave McConnell.

Pier for loading, with unloading on the other side.

It’s now your turn to board a genuine motorboat. The single bench seat is perfect for two adults and one or two small children. The large steering wheel is in the middle, so everyone has access to it.

Young child at the steering wheel

Captain of the Queen of Hearts

There are floating channel markers to provide guidance, but are you sure you want to trust a young child to steer? The waterway includes treacherous looking rapids, with boats missing dangerous rocks by just a couple of feet. There are also Monorail pylons and steep embankments.

Photo by Frank T. Taylor, circa 1959, courtesy of Chris Taylor

In a boat with a partially open hood

Don’t worry. The boats are on a track. The steering wheel is just as useful as on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride . In other words, it doesn’t do anything.

So just sit back and enjoy the ride. Wave to the kids driving Autopia cars. And try to figure out whether the gas pedal on the floor is any more functional than the steering wheel. (It does seem to make the boat’s engine somewhat louder.)

Two boats out of commission

Okay, so it’s not the best ride in the park—but what else were you going to do with that “B” Ticket ?

At Disneyland, the Motor Boat Cruise opened in June 1957 on the border of Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, sharing space with other attractions. As Viewliner trains went speeding by, young motorists crossed the waterways on Junior Autopia bridges.

Disneyland Alweg Monorail beams, added in 1959

In 1959, almost everything changed in the corner of Disneyland where the Motor Boat Cruise , Junior Autopia , and the Viewliner had been. The Viewliner and its little railroad track were eliminated. Instead, the elevated beam of the new Disneyland Alweg Monorail curved gracefully overhead. The new Fantasyland Autopia and an expanded Tomorrowland Autopia replaced the Junior Autopia . The original Tomorrowland Lagoon, which had been home to the Phantom Boats from 1955 to 1956, was rebuilt as the crystal clear lagoon of the Submarine Voyage .

Instead of joining the Viewliner and the Junior Autopia as mere memories, the Motor Boat Cruise survived.

Photo by Chris Bales, 1991

Motor Boat Cruise to Gummi Glen (March 15 to November 10, 1991)

In 1991, as part of The Disney Afternoon LIVE! , the Motor Boat Cruise temporarily became the Motor Boat Cruise to Gummi Glen . Plywood characters from Disney’s animated Gummi Bears television series made Gummi Berry juice along the waterway.

Photo by Chris Bales, 1993

Mickey’s Toontown, “Opening January 1993”

Although the Motor Boat Cruise survived the 1959 reconfiguration of Tomorrowland, it didn’t survive the 1993 opening of Mickey’s Toontown a few hundred yards away. The word on the internet was that to control overall park operating expenses, the operating budget for the Motor Boat Cruise had been reallocated to Mickey’s Toontown. So, on January 11, 1993, the Motor Boat Cruise closed permanently.

Photo by Allen Huffman, 2007

Former loading pier, surrounded by a railing

Remnants of old canals

After the Motor Boat Cruise closed, Disneyland gave the loading pier and landscaped grounds a new name: Fantasia Gardens. The canopy that once provided shade to guests waiting for the ride now provided shade to guests enjoying food from Fantasyland counter-service and outdoor vending locations—or just taking a break from the crowds of Disneyland.

Photo by Werner Weiss, 2009

Smoking area

In 2008, the loading pier became one of Disneyland Park’s three designated smoking areas. It made a particularly good one—providing a pleasant, shaded outdoor space for smokers, while being easy for nonsmokers to avoid.

Photo by Werner Weiss, 2015

Seating for Edelweiss Snacks

Long before Disneyland eliminated all smoking within the park in 2019, the pier had reverted to nonsmoking. That made sense due to the 2009 opening of Edelweiss Snacks nearby.

Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013

Canal to nowhere

For years, the waterways sat unused, seemingly ready for a new ride with new boats and new show scenes.

Anyone still hoping that a new ride could reuse the old Motor Boat Cruise infrastructure will be disappointed to learn that’s no longer possible. There have been too many changes, eliminating much of the canal route, especially when the Fantasyland Autopia and Tomorrowland Autopia were combined and reconfigured to become the Autopia Presented by Chevron .

It’s amazing that the Motor Boat Cruise , a low-key little ride from 1957, survived almost 36 years.

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Updated November 19, 2021

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Motor Boat Cruise

BACKSTORY (1955—1993): On July 20, 1955, Disneyland debuted the Tomorrowland Boats in the lagoon that would eventually be home to the Submarines. This attraction was a snoozer; only 542 guests rode them at opening. Compared to the other unique and fun attractions, the slow-moving and unexceptional Boats just couldn’t compete. On August 16, 1955, they were rechristened The Phantom Boats and redesigned with tailfins that were apparently a mechanical nightmare. They quickly got a bad reputation for stranding guests in the lagoon.

There were a total of 14 gas-powered fiberglass marvels painted in bright colors, designed by Bruce Bushman. Poor mechanical design caused the  motors to constantly overheat; every night the boats had to be rescued and repaired. “Pilots” for the boats were added to help the situation, but despite all their efforts, the Phantom Boats received the dubious distinction of being the first permanent Disneyland attraction to be closed. By the end of 1955, they were taken out of commission. There was a brief attempt to change the attraction to a Florida Everglades type “Airboat” (guests could even see signage proclaiming their June 2, 1956 opening). The new boat was built and even tested, but ultimately vetoed, so as a last resort, the Phantom Boats came back for one more chug around the lagoon in the summer of 1956.

1957 marked the debut of “The Motor Boat Cruise” in a nearby lagoon. This very sedate “B” Ticket attraction took away any control that guests had over the boats by putting them on a track. No steering or acceleration. Guests leisurely road around the Fantasyland/Tomorrowland lagoon while the Viewliner, Autopia, Monorail, and PeopleMover “sped” by (depending upon what year you were riding the boats of course!). Cast members operating the attraction wore cute sailor outfits. The next transformation occurred in 1991 when it was rethemed “The Motor Boat Cruise to Gummi Glen.” Plywood characters from Disney’s animated “Gummi Bears” TV show made Gummi Berry juice along the waterway. Mercifully, this snoozer of an attraction was finally removed for good in January 1993 when Mickey’s Toontown was constructed. The pencil sharpeners  had to choose between one or the other, and the Motor Boat Cruise lost. Today, this area is now known as the Fantasia Gardens.

• JOHN WAITE REMEMBERS
• 1970's—1990's

MOTOR BOAT CRUISE REMNANTS

• COX PILOT REMEMBERS
• Fantasyland

1950’s

JOHN WAITE REMEMBERS…

John Waite, Disneyland Resort Alumni, recently contacted me and was kind enough to share his memories of The Motor Boat Cruise attraction. John came to California in October 1955 and worked at the Disney Studio from January 1956 until Van France got him a job working for Milt Albright at the opening of Holidayland. Here is his story:

The Motor Boat Cruise – what memories!  Back in 1957 I was a ride operator on the original Motor Boat Cruise.  If you refer to old photos of Tomorrowland you will see the Motor Boat Cruise with the Viewliner train running along one side with the Midget Autopia across the way.  At that time the ride had a curved covered (for the guests) loading area.  The ride operators wore white sailor pants, white and blue stripped tee shirt and white captain’s cap.  It was summer and very hot.  There were two courses for the boats as in the later version that narrowed down to one channel through the loading area.  The track system was different in that it consisted of two pipe rails for each channel except, as noted before, in the loading area.  Under the boats there were three rollers – one at the bow and the other two at the back corners.  These rollers when making contact with the pipe rails, kept the boats on track – sort of, as you will read later.  The boats could actually be steered as there was enough space between the rails to allow a driver to turn the boat slightly.  There was a large open water area at the back of the ride where the boats made a large circular turnaround,  then they came back through the rock and rapids area as the later version did.  Ride operators did not enjoy the luxury of the air controlled gates at each load position as the later version used.  Instead, the ride operators had long aluminum poles with a wire cable loop at the end of it.  The boat engines were always going and the operator would hook the loop over the cleat at the bow of the boat as it came into the station, follow it to the first open space, and through shear strength, stop the boat until the guests disembarked and the next riders were safely seated before unhooking the loop and letting the boat go on its way.  As I recall there were underwater gates at the start and finish that would direct the boats alternately to Channel 1 or Channel 2.  The loaders lined up on the dock to catch their boats and bring them to a stop.  It took some strength to hold the boats during the load/unload process and new operators ended up with blistered hands until their hands toughened up.  We felt in good shape with all the physical labor it took to run the ride.  Now the plot thickens—what we found early on was that the guests had no idea how the boats were controlled under the murky water.  Since there was a little steering between the rails, one guest would try to bump their buddy in the next lane.  Of course he couldn’t do it, but steering against the rail slowed the boat down and if it was slowed long enough the next boat caught up to it and jammed the two boats together.  If it was the outside channel we could usually reach it with the poles and pull the boats apart.  However, if it was the inside channel or at the turnaround area, one of us would hand our wallet to another operator and jump into the water and wade out to the boats to separate them.  This was fine on a hot summer day, and of course we would then have to go to Wardrobe to get a dry costume.  This problem became quite common and we got permission to wear our wet costume until it dried out.  If this problem happened back in the turnaround area, it presented another problem.  This area was the deepest part of the ride.  On me the water came up to my armpits.  Now imagine a child in a boat that has suddenly stopped back there and then see a man jump into the water and approach them with only his head and shoulders visible.  Usually our first job was to reassure the children that everything was all right and then go about separating the boats..  This problem seemed to get worse as the summer progressed.  One of the operators was also a life guard.  He asked if he could wear his swim trunks and stay in the water in that back area.  He did that for several days until one day a water maintenance worker poured a water treatment chemical into the water and the life guard broke out with a rash.  That ended us having an operator in the water all the time.  Needless to say, the W.E.D. designers went to work to redesign the ride with a guide system similar to the one used in “It’s A Small World” attraction.  At that point the guests could no longer steer their boats.  Also the loading area was changed to two separate channels with air operated gates that held the boats during load/unload.  This was much better for the ride operators, although the guests had enjoyed the ability to steer the boats in a limited way.  The loading area and part of the channel layout is still visible across from the Matterhorn Bobsleds.

1960’s

1970’s–1990’s

Cox Pilot and the Motor Boat Cruise

The boats worked just like the Autopia. They were confined to a course by an underwater system that allowed the helms person to drive the boat in a limited way. The water could not be allowed to rise too high because then the boats would float over the confinement system. The main problem with the boats is that the engines were unreliable. They tended to over-rev because of the prop drive system, and over-heat because of lack of cooling.

• BACK TO TOP

“We Might Need Racing Boats” – Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise

From the publisher of The Unofficial Guide books comes The Disneyland Story: The Unofficial Guide to the Evolution of Walt Disney’s Dream  by Sam Gennawey, the story of how Walt Disney’s greatest creation was conceived, nurtured, and how it grew into a source of joy and inspiration for generations of visitors. Here is a brief excerpt:

According to Disney historian David Mumford, one of Walt’s early ride concepts was the River of Romance , “a tribute to Americana and the original had guests gliding through the Everglades and down the Suwannee. By 1953, the boat ride design had become a jungle excursion.” The initial site plan had a big lake with an island in the middle filled with tropical trees and foliage. Motorboats would leave a dock and circumnavigate the island. Harper Goff decided that the concept would not work. He told Walt, “What you’ve got is everybody on that boat, if you go counterclockwise around the island, having to look to the left. The boat isn’t going to go sideways, so half the people will have to look over the shoulders of people beside them.”

Goff’s next suggestion was to have the boats enter a river on the island , with sights for people to look at from both sides. Walt agreed. As the plan continued to evolve, Goff also learned that Walt wanted the attraction to last a certain length of time. So Goff drafted a plan with a lake with an island at the center. The boats would cross the lake and then could enter the river on the island. Walt looked at the plan and asked how long it would take to get across the lake and how fast would the boats get back to pick up another load. Goff had no idea. He did not know how fast the boats could go. Walt was becoming increasingly frustrated and kept asking about the time estimates. Goff then suggested that they could build a smaller ride but Walt would have none of that. This was going to be a marquee attraction.

Goff suggested they purchase racing boats so the boats could speed back to the dock Walt said no. He wanted them out there a certain length of time and he did not want them to go fast. Goff brought in architects to help but they could not get it to work either. They made cutouts of the boats and then began to argue with one another. Finally, Goff decided the lake and island concept did not work. Stymied, Goff took out a fresh piece of paper and started over. Goff proposed a compromise. He began with a river ride where the boats would return to the same place they started. The ride would evolve into the Tropical Rivers of the World ; by the time Disneyland opened in 1955, it had become the Jungle Cruise .

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Sam Gennawey

Sam Gennaway is an Urban Planner who runs the fantastic SamLand’s Disney Adventures blog . Sam visits Disneyland on a frequent basis and toured with the Unofficial Guide team on our recent Disneyland Trip .

One thought on “ “We Might Need Racing Boats” – Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise ”

No matter how many Disney history books I read do I ever get bored hearing these stories of how things were created. Thanks for sharing this one. I look forward to getting the book. 🙂

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Disneyland is almost an entirely different park than it was on Opening Day. Everything in Disneyland has been replaced, refurbished, or removed since its opening. You can see Walt’s original vision for the park, but only in small, scattered pockets. Main Street U.S.A. looks nearly the same, and maybe the castle, but they have changed. And if we’re being honest, that may be for the better.

The Disneyland of 1955 was astonishingly bare-bones. Any photo from that time will prove it. It was flat and muddy. None of the foliage looks, well, natural. Most of the park’s monuments– the Matterhorn, Space Mountain, what have you– aren’t even there yet. That said, the Disneyland of 1955 had numerous attractions that didn’t last long before being replaced, refurbished, or removed (rest in peace, The Aluminum Hall of Fame). One of these attractions slightly outlived the others, a ride that few remember, and for good reason.

The Motor Boat Cruise to Gummi Glen

The Motor Boat Cruise, originally the Phantom Boats, was an unthemed leisure ride between Autopia and Fantasyland. It traveled around a river traversing the forgotten “Fantasyland Hills,” a series of unfinished mud mounds that eventually filled in with bushes and trees. It closed without fanfare in 1993, but not without an awful 1980s retheme. The rethemed Motor Boat Cruise to Gummi Glen opened in 1991 alongside the Disney Afternoon Avenue. The ride took inspiration from the Gummi Bears television program that kept their cartoons relevant before the Disney Renaissance. While the “avenue” occupied the walkway between Fantasyland and it’s a small world, the Motor Boat Cruise served an appropriate purpose despite its off-to-the-side placement.

Between 1991 and 1993, the Motor Boat Cruise to Gummi Glen lured unsuspecting guests into a ride, somehow even worse than the original Phantom Boats. It was the absolute essence of Disneyland at its worst. Worse than Rocket Rods. Worse than the Superstar Limo. What changed in the retheme? They added plywood cutouts of the Gummi Bears characters. Plywood. Not outdoor animatronics, not even plaster statues. Plywood. Maybe an effort like that could pass inside a Fantasyland dark ride, but Gummi Glen looked unmistakably cheap under the open sun. Thank heavens the Motor Boat Cruise closed in 1993. It was wise to take that poor ride off life support and repurpose its funds for building Toon Town. The closure was surprising to none, but the fact that the Motor Boat Cruise lasted thirty-eight years is astonishing. Its longevity prompts the question– why does Disneyland hold onto outdated, uninteresting attractions like the Motor Boat Cruise for so long?

Nostalgia Over Innovation in Disney Parks

The farther the current Disneyland iteration reaches from its time under Walt Disney’s eye, the more executives may concern themselves with living up to his wishes. Disney’s “brand status” has stifled innovations in the name of nostalgia. For example, the Adventureland Treehouse might be a generic backpedal after shuttering the Tarzan theme. Disney has concerned itself with keeping Walt’s legacy that certain attractions that opened under his eye remain in operation where cutting-edge attractions could go...

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Disneyland's Motor Boat Cruise

The Motor Boat Cruise was located in the man-made pond in between It’s A Small World and the Matterhorn Bobsleds attraction. Wait, are you confused? Maybe you have never heard of or seen this spot.

Alexa Erekson

Alexa Erekson was born on February 28, 1996, in Las Vegas. Disneyland has always been her favorite place. She discovered her love for Disneyland facts as a teenager.

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The Motor Boat Cruise was located in the man-made pond in between It’s A Small World and the Matterhorn Bobsleds attraction. Wait, are you confused? Maybe you have never heard of or seen this spot. We don’t blame you. Disney does a pretty good job of keeping this area a little hidden. If you aren’t looking for it, you will probably miss it. But it wasn’t always that way. This body of water once housed a fun boat ride for all ages. The best way to find the abandoned area is to head over to Edelweiss Snacks in Fantasyland. Walk behind the tiny food stand where you’ll find a seating area. This was once the loading dock for the former attraction.

Once upon a time, there were three different Autopia attractions in the park: Fantasyland Autopia, Tomorrowland Autopia, and the (now problematic, we know) “Midget” Autopia. That last one was for children only, no adults were allowed. Even though there were three official Autopia attractions, there was an unofficial fourth version. This version did not allow guests to drive cars around though. Instead, they got to drive motorboats around the small waterway. It was called the Motor Boat Cruise.

Once on board your own small boat, you could push the pedals at your feet, place your hands on the wheel and drive all around. You could venture through secret canals and enjoy the view of Fantasyland and Tomorrowland around you–and Disneyland ducks. Parents need not worry about their kids behind the wheel though, it didn’t actually work. The boats were guided by a metal track. Each boat could fit about 2-3 people. The boats were all different colours, just like the Autopia cars.

Gummi Bears Re-Theme

As part of the Disney Afternoon Avenue event in 1991, the Motor Boat Cruise received an interesting overlay. One of the popular shows on Disney Afternoon was Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears . So 2D plywood set pieces of the Gummi Bear characters were added around the land of the attraction. The attraction became The Motor Boat Cruise to Gummi Glen.

Needless to say, this was not a popular decision. It felt cheap and rushed. Not to mention the fact that the idea of it was just kind of odd.

The Motor Boat Cruise to Gummi Glen only lasted about two years. In 1993, the whole attraction was shut down permanently. This decision was made in part because of the negative reactions to the Gummi Bear overlay. However, the main reason for its final closure was that Disney needed more room in the budget to create Mickey’s Toontown.

The boats and plywood characters were removed. However, the former loading dock is still there. For several years following the closure, it was a guest smoking area. When Disney banned all smoking in their theme parks, the area became a quiet, little-known seating area. Occasionally, you can find Alice and the Mad Hatter meeting and greeting guests in this area as well.

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Motorboat cruise to gummi glen.

March 1991 – June 1993

Tomorrowland – The Motorboat Cruise to Gummi Glen technically sat in Tomorrowland, though its location is now considered part of Fantasyland . To find the loading dock, visitors followed the Fantasyland walkway toward It’s A Small World . They’d see the dock on the right, just after Autopia ’s track and before the Small World plaza.

Disneyland already had an existing Motorboat Cruise attraction in operation, so the Gummi Glen addition was a re-theming, not a completely new ride. The re-theme occurred as part of the “Disney Afternoon Avenue” event, which featured new overlays and character appearances across Fantasyland. The event proved to be a massive failure, closing by the end of 1991. But the Gummi Glen theming lasted until 1993, until the attraction closed for good.

Travelers aboard the Cruise to Gummi Glen ventured along a hidden track within the lagoon. The tour looped around the base of the Monorail , the edges of Autopia, and the shores of the Small World Plaza. Along the way, the boats passed plywood characters from the Gummi Bears television series.

The Motorboat Cruise to Gummi Glen never became a popular attraction in the park, but it stayed open a solid two years after the rest of the Afternoon Avenue attractions closed. Finally, Disney closed the waterway in 1993, giving full attention to the brand new Mickey’s Toontown . The original Motorboat Cruise never returned, and the dock transformed into a popular seating area in the rear of Fantasyland.

The Motorboat loading dock is still in the park; today it’s a covered seating area.

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7 Comments on Motorboat Cruise To Gummi Glen

It took me so many years to confirm that this attraction existed. I had such foggy childhood memories about this, that at one point I wasn’t sure if this was even real or just a dream. I believe a few years back I commented on your Rescue Rangers Raceway article that I was looking for evidence of both of these ride and it how I ended up finding your website.

Haha I’m so glad you found it!!! I hate when you vaguely remember something and aren’t totally sure if you’re imagining it or not 🙂

I feel like you are me, because I too thought this ride was a dream after years of explaining it to people and NO ONE knowing what I was talking about.

I just caught Gummi Glen being shown for about 2 seconds in a YouTube about the history of Toontown and was like what!??.. rewound, paused the video and freaked out!!

So happy this actually existed, life feels more real now. 🙂 Thanks for providing the details about it!

Yeah, it was a real itch in my brain for the longest time. Like you, once I found this I felt like something had finally been put to rest. You don’t often get that kind of resolution in your life.

My earliest memories are going to Disneyland during the Disney Afternoon stint, and seeing Plane Crazy, and while I know I rode this, I don’t remember it at all!

When I was a Cast Member I dined inside the Eat Ticket, one of the backstage commissaries, which has many attraction vehicles and signs, one of the Motor Boats, complete with Gummi Bear name, hangs from the ceiling!

That’s super cool to hear one of the Motor Boats survived! Thanks for sharing 🙂

Yikes. This is like worse quality overlay than six flags. Shocked it even lasted a few months.

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Search this blog, subscribe to this blog, abandoned disneyland motor boat cruise station.

Disneyland is full of classic attractions and is the only Disney Park where you can ride attractions that Walt Disney himself actually had a hand in designing and was able to see, walkthrough, and actually ride.

If a ride has survived since opening day at the park it is practically untouchable at this point, having become an iconic part of the park that contributes to the unique charm that Disneyland exudes through every step in the park.

Some longstanding rides in the park however have closed over the years, and some have left remnants in the park that are still visible years later.

The Motor Boat Cruise was a classic boat ride in the Disney Parks that dated back to the days of Walt, opening just two years after the park initially opened. It would remain in the park until the 1990s and served as a kind of water version of Autopia, which it bordered.

It would close in 1993 following an attempted Disney Afternoon retheme based on Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears.

It was an expensive ride to run, and operations chose to close it to make room in the budget for the upcoming Mickey's Toontown.

The ride would be removed, but the station remains in the park to this day, holding a collection of tables and benches underneath the covering that was formerly used for portions of the queue line, load, and unload.

This became a nice secluded area in the park, with views of the Disneyland Monorail and It's a Small World across a repurposed pond.

This was a small area that really couldn't have been utilized for anything else. It was stuck between the parade route, Autopia, and the Submarine Voyage, which also had the Disneyland Railroad traveling above creating a height limit. It couldn't really be used for any attraction, so at least they found a creative new use for the space.

It is nice to see a piece of Disney history, and be sure and see if you can spot any other remnants of the classic Motor Boat Cruise on your next visit to Disneyland.

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Motor Boat Cruise

• View history

1991's Motor Boat Cruise to Gummi Glen .

Motor Boat Cruise was an attraction at Disneyland in Anaheim, California which opened in 1957 on the border of Fantasyland and Tomorrowland . The waterways of the Motor Boat Cruise shared space with other attractions such as the Viewliner train and bridges for Junior Autopia .

History [ ]

The design of the boats appears very similar to those illustrated in a "Boat Ride Apparatus" patent filed by Edgar A. Morgan and Karl W. Bacon, of Arrow Development . Arrow Development was involved in the design of many attractions at Disneyland between 1953 and 1973 .

Major changes took place in 1959 to the three attractions in the area. The Viewliner and its railroad track were gone. Instead, the elevated beam of the new Disneyland Alweg Monorail curved overhead. The new Fantasyland Autopia and an expanded Tomorrowland Autopia replaced the Junior Autopia. The lagoon which had once been home to the Phantom Boats was used for the Submarine Voyage but the Motor Boat Cruise remained.

In 1991 , as part of the Disney Afternoon Avenue event, the Motor Boat Cruise became the Motor Boat Cruise to Gummi Glen . Plywood characters from Disney’s animated television series Adventures of the Gummi Bears made Gummiberry Juice along the waterway.

On January 11 , 1993 , the Motor Boat Cruise closed permanently, in part due to the negative reactions to the Gummi Bears overlay, as well as the necessity of its operating budget for the nearby Mickey's Toontown . On September 4 , 2001 , an attraction considered by Walt Disney Imagineering to be the true successor to the Motor Boat Cruise, Aquatopia , opened at Tokyo DisneySea in Japan.

External links [ ]

• [1] Motor Boat Cruise at Yesterland
• 2 Inside Out 2

Disney News » Disney Attraction » Disneyland Park » Phantom Boats 

Phantom Boats | Disneyland

Last Updated on: January 21st, 2024

Posted By: Craig Smith

Here is everything you need to know about the extinct Phantom Boats attraction at Disneyland including history, reviews, fun facts, photos and more. I hope you find this listing informative and helpful!

Contents of this article:

About Phantom Boats

Important phantom boats details.

• Phantom Boats News

The Phantom Boats was a former attraction at Disneyland that opened in 1955 and closed in 1993. The attraction was located in Fantasyland and consisted of small motor boats that guests could drive around a waterway filled with rock formations, waterfalls, and other themed elements.

Each boat was equipped with a small outboard motor and a steering wheel, and guests were responsible for navigating their boats around the waterway. The ride was considered to be a leisurely and relaxing attraction, and was popular with families and younger guests.

Over the years, the ride underwent a number of changes and updates, including the addition of new theming elements and a re-naming to “The Motor Boat Cruise.” However, by the 1990s, the ride was considered to be outdated and was not as popular as it once was. It closed in 1993 to make way for the new Mickey’s Toontown area, which remains a popular attraction at the park to this day.

• Disney Resort: Disneyland Resort
• Disney Park: Disneyland Park Info News and Attractions
• Park Area: Disneyland Tomorrowland
• Attraction Type: Extinct Attraction , Ride
• Year Opened: 1955
• Year Closed: 1956
• Replaced: Original Attraction
• Replaced By: Submarine Voyage

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Phantom Boats!

by Todd James Pierce | Sep 6, 2011 | 5 comments

As long as we’re on the subject of boats, I recently was going through a box of 1955 / 1956 Disneyland slides and found a nice never-before-published image of the shortest-lived attraction at Disneyland–the boats in Tomorrowland.  (By the way, as with all DHI images, you can click on the photo to view a substantially larger version of it, with sharper detail.)

Wow, that’s some great photo! As neat as the Phantom Boats looked, imagine how lame it would be to sit there while some guy in a white skipper hat drove you around. Even the Motor Boat Cruise let you pretend that you were in some sort of control!

The ‘BatBoats’. What an amazing and rare shot. Instant smiles. Thank you.

It sounds like Tokyo Disney Sea has gotten this attraction right – Aquatopia. Guests enter a little boat-type vehicle which runs on a track under the water, tracing a course through a pond. Thanks for this article, which brought back happy memories for me!

Where do you think did the boats go? Do they still display them? Thanks. long island used boats

Check out a great shot of the phantom boats on Flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/electrospark/5484023549/in/photostream/

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Tomorrowland Boats

Tomorrowland Boats Attraction at Disneyland, from July 30, 1955, to January 15, 1956, located between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. Later became Phantom Boats. The Motor Boat Cruise, Boat Cruise to Gummi Glen, and Fantasia Gardens, located in the same space, were usually considered as Fantasyland attractions.

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• Sun Tracker® Pontoon boats – seats up to 10 Guests; $49 per half-hour Smooth and spacious, the perfect choice for larger parties. Drivers must be at least 18 years of age. Maximum weight: 1,900 pounds.

Important Details

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• Only Resort hotel Guests or Guests with dining or recreation reservations may be allowed to enter the Resort hotel area to park.
• Rentals are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Guests must be 18 years of age or over and will need to present a valid driver's license, state-issued ID or Military ID to rent a boat.
• Onboard smoking is not permitted.
• Complimentary life jackets must be worn for all Guests under 12.

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