Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat
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The Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat was named after the retired navy admiral who was in charge of the construction of both Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
[edit] Facts
[edit] History
The steam boat traveled the Rivers of America at Walt Disney World and began operation the day after opening day. The boat was retired due to an accident during its rehab in 1980. The boat was being lifted by a crane when it slipped and destroyed the hull. The boat was later buried on the property after sitting in the bone yard for a number of years. It was named for a retired Naval Admiral who had an important part in the building of Walt Disney World Admiral Fowler had ran the San Francisco naval shipyard during WW II, when Walt was looking for a naval expert to help with the building of the Mark Twain Steamship in 1954 for the then under-construction Disneyland, he found the retired General supervising the construction of tract homes in the San Francisco region, he hired him, not just to help with the Mark Twain but as construction boss for the whole Disneyland project, after the building of Disneyland Fowler stayed on as General Manager of the park for it's first 10 years a period in which a lot MORE construction occurred, eventually as the Florida project began he transferred onto it, bringing his vital experience and knowledge to the construction of Walt Disney World. He retired from Disney in 1978 though he too continued on as a consultant (I've seen pictures of him visiting the Epcot construction site) originally the first steam ship in the Magic Kingdom was named for the Admiral, and when a second steam ship was added to the Rivers of America in 1973 it was named for imagineer Richard F Irvine, but that original Fowler was damaged during a refurbishment in 1980 (it slipped in its cradle and the hull cracked) as so many attractions had been added to the Magic Kingdom since it first opened it was decided that having TWO steamships in the Magic Kingdom was not necessary so that ship was scrapped though some bits and pieces were salvaged and either re-used at places like Typhoon Lagoon or sold at property Control sales. [1]
In 1999 one of the ferries that croses the Seven Seas Lagoon taking guests from the Ticket and Transortation Center to the Magic Kingdom was renamed in his honor, the ferry was originally known as the Magic Kingdom I, and is the one with the Green side panels.
