An Opening Day attraction, Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes launched on October 1, 1971, offering guests a hands-on adventure through the Rivers of America in Frontierland. The 35-foot-long canoes accommodated up to 20 guests, with seating two per row and a Cast Member guiding from each end.
Unlike most Disney rides, the canoes were free-floating and guest-powered—meaning guests had to paddle to move. The experience was part workout, part comedy show, with Cast Members delivering pun-filled spiels reminiscent of the Jungle Cruise. From sandstone jokes to “tea pee” punchlines, the ride was as much about laughs as it was about scenery.
Frontierland Funnies included gems like:
- “If you don’t row, we don’t go!”
- “You row like a drunken centipede!”
- “See Big Thunder Mountain? It’s made of 100% sandstone—so don’t take it for granite.”
- “I’m your captain, alligator wrestler, and possibly your swimming instructor!”
- “My girlfriend left me. That’s her cabin. We had a heated argument, sparks flew, and she burned me up—so I’m burning her down. She’s an old flame.
Sharing the river with the Liberty Belle Riverboat and Mike Fink Keel Boats, the canoes offered a unique, low-tech thrill. But by 1994, the attraction quietly closed due to low attendance and logistical challenges. Though its Disneyland cousin still operates seasonally, the Magic Kingdom version remains a fond memory of Disney’s early frontier spirit.
