AK Boats??

[HM999thGhost]

I see the boat docks at AK, but I can't even find a way to get down to them, but when Regis and Kathy Lee (before Kelly) they went on that boat around the Tree of Life, what ever happened to the boats?? Are they going to be opened again at a later date, was the park just opened too soon and didn't have some of the attractions finished?? Or are they just closed indefinatly...??

 

[TomDisney]

They have been closed for quite some time now. It seems when they instituted the boat rides at AK, people thought it would be a jungle cruise type of attraction when in fact, it's just a boat ride to get you to the other side of the park...similar to the boats at EPCOT. Problem was, people were waiting on line for 90+ minutes and when they found out that there was no attraction, just a boat ride, many people became upset at having wasted so much time on line for basically nothing. Because of this Disney decided to shut down the boats to avoid anymore such confusion or problems.

 

[1disneydood]

Another attraction closed because people complained, even though it was their own fault. OMG please find out what something entails before getting in line. Please, before they close another attraction.

 

[Yen_Sid1]

Actually, they still use the boats sometimes for conventions.

 

[bucklmd]

Oh, I went on the boat and the attraction was that our tour guide had a taranchula (sp?) spider in a case that he talked about. I think that was the year AK opened and it seems like we got off where we got on, so it wasn't used to get from one area to the other. We were all a little confused, but not mad or anything. Why don't they just put a sign out that says they are for transporation around the park? Nobody gets mad about the train in the MK do they?

 

[lebernadin]

Well these days at least i don't think they have too many complaints that the train doesn't do anything because its been around for so long that most are aware of its capabilities. Maybe it was a problem when the MK first opened but i've never heard of a similar complaint for it.

We did the boat ride back when it existed and like the previous poster, i recall us getting off at the same dock. We didn't wait as long either, maybe 10 minutes.
I think part of what helped people assume that it was more than a boat ride is the fact that you don't see the route as you do with the Friendships in a wide open spanse of water. Its modelled after riverways so some people were probably dreaming up what the ride entails as they waited, instead of reading signs or asking a cast member, and then let their ignorance get the best of them and went whining to guest relations. It did have a spiel and i think i remember a few animatronic things in the water, although i apparently didn't take any pics of them after looking in our albums.

I just didn't like the mgt decision to stop them entirely instead of figuring out a way to make the experience idiot-proof so the same type of guests wouldn't put themselves in the same situations to keep complaining.

 

[Matt56]

Wouldn't it be easy and relatively cheap to add some features or exhibits along the path and reopen the ride?

Why not add dragons or something and make it a mythological animals ride - something similar to the jungle cruise?

They already have the boats, docks, and water they just need to add scenery.

 

[Pixie Duster]

Thread number 6 on this topic :lol:.....

The boats had three incarnations, the tried three different ways of producing this particular attraction. Apparently none of them lived up to their potential. We still have all four boats, they are used for special events, maybe when time and money allows they will repoen. We have tossed many ideas around here on the boards and I hope the imagineers are paying attention .

 

[Matt56]

What were the 3 incarnations?

 

[Pixie Duster]

I don't remember the specifics, but the first was a cruise around the island and you encountered a fire breathing dragon in his cave. Another incarnations was hte one mentioned above where some of our animal programs CMs would be aboard the ship showcasing an animal...

 

[Yen_Sid1]

Originally posted by Matt56
What were the 3 incarnations?

On Discovery River Boats, there were 3 different incarnations.

First, The original boat ride wasn't bad. There was a white unicorn that was for Beastly Kingdom and the fire breathing Dragon's Cave near Camp Minnie-Mickey. Then the River Geysers near Harambe. Then the floating fountains near Flame Tree. After you passed under the DinoLand bridge, there was a River Iguanadon on the left and he used to rear up on his hind legs.

Second, there were many complaints about seeing no real animals on the boat ride. So they had animal keepers walk around with small lizards or spiders in a box and talk about them. All the effects like the Dragon's Cave frightened the animals(or so they say!) So they turned off all the show effects.

Third, they repainted the boats and had a Radio Disney River Cruise with canned music and fake radio broadcast (Boring!!)

Finally after so many complaints they just shut them down

 

[raven]

Originally posted by 1disneydood
Another attraction closed because people complained, even though it was their own fault. OMG please find out what something entails before getting in line. Please, before they close another attraction.

I never road the boats but in my Sneak Preview map from spring of1998, the boats were listed as an "attraction":

"Discovery River Boats at Safari Village: Climb aboard and prepare yourself for the unexpected on your one-way trip to Asia."

"Discovery River Boats at Upcountry Landing: Climb aboard for a one-way trip to Safari Village, with some surprises along the way!"

Even though the words "one-way" were in bold type, the words "unexpected" and "surprises" gave the impression of the boats being an exciting attraction. You can even see an area on the map in the river where there are rocks with a flame coming out of it and a dinosaur in another area. You can't blame the guests for that. That's the way at least the Sneak Preview map was printed.

Maybe once that E:E is open they will look into the boats being an attraction again. I wouldn't think it would be too difficult to add a few things to make the boat ride worth the wait.

 

[Little Mermaid]

My family waited half an hour to ride during the Radio Disney incarnation. It was quite possibly the most boring attraction I've ever been on. I wish they would do something with the boats, but nothing like the Radio Disney junk.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Originally posted by raven
I never road the boats but in my Sneak Preview map from spring of1998, the boats were listed as an "attraction":

"Discovery River Boats at Safari Village: Climb aboard and prepare yourself for the unexpected on your one-way trip to Asia."

"Discovery River Boats at Upcountry Landing: Climb aboard for a one-way trip to Safari Village, with some surprises along the way!"

Even though the words "one-way" were in bold type, the words "unexpected" and "surprises" gave the impression of the boats being an exciting attraction. You can even see an area on the map in the river where there are rocks with a flame coming out of it and a dinosaur in another area. You can't blame the guests for that. That's the way at least the Sneak Preview map was printed.

Maybe once that E:E is open they will look into the boats being an attraction again. I wouldn't think it would be too difficult to add a few things to make the boat ride worth the wait.

The attraction probably would have had better use if the park had been more developed. The dinosaur was used to promote dinoland and the dragon was used to promote the mythical land that was never built. I think the dragon part was a big factor in the ride shutting down. People were expecting something with monsters and dragons and they were given nothing. Probably brought up questions that had no answers. Those boats could have been a great attraction with the right budget. Unfortunately they were just terrible transporters.

You can still see the boats in the Seven Seas Lagoon/Bay Lake area from time to time. They are used as part of the Magical Gatherings promotion. One of the things you can purchase a cruise in the water in that area with fireworks viewing. Nothing new to the area, just new bnoats for "groups spending time together" (anyone else think this promotion is dumb).

 

[SewIn2Disney]

http://allearsnet.com/tp/ak/akdrb.htm

That's another website with a little bit of info and some pictures, for any of you who wanted to see what the river and boats looked like.

 

[ArchiDanDisney]

Originally posted by DisneyInsider


You can still see the boats in the Seven Seas Lagoon/Bay Lake area from time to time. They are used as part of the Magical Gatherings promotion. One of the things you can purchase a cruise in the water in that area with fireworks viewing. Nothing new to the area, just new bnoats for "groups spending time together" (anyone else think this promotion is dumb).

Uhhh actually thats not just what the boats are for. They incorporate the fireworks yes, but you also get a special viewing of the Electrical Water Pagent, a special "character" with a show involved. They also have peter pan to lead you back to where you begin. Food is served and you get to experience the finest pilots watercraft has to offer. So its not just a dumb promotion, just another Magical Gatherings offer. As a cast member I have heard nothing but good things about this.

 

[raven]

Originally posted by ArchiDanDisney
Uhhh actually thats not just what the boats are for. They incorporate the fireworks yes, but you also get a special viewing of the Electrical Water Pagent, a special "character" with a show involved. They also have peter pan to lead you back to where you begin. Food is served and you get to experience the finest pilots watercraft has to offer. So its not just a dumb promotion, just another Magical Gatherings offer. As a cast member I have heard nothing but good things about this.

Hey ArchDanDisney, Where in MI are you? I'm in metro Detroit area.

 

[ArchiDanDisney]

Originally posted by raven
Hey ArchDanDisney, Where in MI are you? I'm in metro Detroit area.

Dearborn

 

[raven]

Originally posted by ArchiDanDisney
Dearborn

You rock! Royal Oak here! IM me sometime!

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Originally posted by ArchiDanDisney
Uhhh actually thats not just what the boats are for. They incorporate the fireworks yes, but you also get a special viewing of the Electrical Water Pagent, a special "character" with a show involved. They also have peter pan to lead you back to where you begin. Food is served and you get to experience the finest pilots watercraft has to offer. So its not just a dumb promotion, just another Magical Gatherings offer. As a cast member I have heard nothing but good things about this.

I don't think the offers they are instituting are bad. And I never bad mouthed the actual cruise. I don't like the whole surrounding Magical Gatherings. It only allows large groups to participate, which I don't think is neccesarilly fair. I also don't like the whole marketing around the idea. Disney is just blantantly pushing people to come in larger groups. It isn't even a hidden message in marketing programs, they continue to say for groups of 8 and more. Even as a Travel Agent they are pushing us to book trips for large groups. I think the single family might be getting left out of the picture, and that isn't fair. So it isn't the ideas they have, just their excecution. They should allow everyone to take advantage of these special programs...because even my family trip (4 people) is a magical gathering.