The Rivers of America located in the Magic Kingdom surrounds Tom Sawyer Island and is home to the Liberty Square Riverboat.
Perhaps one of the most iconic waterways in Walt Disney World, this man-made river has been around since the opening in 1971. As we visited Frontierland today, we noticed something pretty odd about the river.
The water in the Rivers of America was drained! When we passed by, there was barely any water.
The attractions on the Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Square Riverboat, are currently under refurbishment. We have spotted this draining slowly for a while now, as it is scheduled to go under refurbishment as well.
We’ll be sure to keep an eye on the river so stay tuned for the latest on the Rivers of America.
Why do you think Disney drained the Rivers of America? Let us know in the comments!
Resetting the guide track
I hate to think about what will happen to all the beautiful fish. We have fished at Disney many years a d have had such great bass fishing. We even took all of our children a d grandchildren this year. Our youngest who is 5 caught the most. We caught 6 ilbs down to a half a pound. I hope they had a way of saving them.
With covid-19 disney needs quarters, next you will see the small world drained
I think cleaning debris, resealing the ‘riverbed’k and checking the boat track would be on the list, plus, getting supplies/debris to & from the island via truck ( after hours ) makes sense, too.
Last time I was at Disney World which unfortunately was about 5 years ago we saw a small alligator in that river. He was about 4 foot. He came up close to the bank by a wooden bridge but couldn’t get out. The one thing was he only had 3 legs one had been lost in a fight which kinda says there is s bigger one in there. I have seen gators at several spots within the Disney property on my trips but that was first one in the Rivers of America.
Where do they put the river boat when it’s drained?
I actually remember visiting WDW years ago when it was drained. Takes away so much of the magic to see it this way.
Perhaps disney had the river drained to clean any trash that may have settled at the bottom over the years. Another possibility is to maybe “upgrade” or change the way the man made river fills/drains.
I’m hoping they’ll do a Princess/Frog retheme of Tom Sawyer. It’s a perfect fit for it, and would be sooooo cute! Think about it – Mama Odie would fit right in, they could have a Tiana meet/greet, Aunt Pollys could become Tiana’s place serving po’boys, gumbo and beignets. The Riverboat could also get in on the act as a New Orleans party, and the scenes could be things like Louis and so on. It would be amazing and would fit sooo perfectly there as well as revamping a somewhat seat area.
I have pictures my mom took in Feb of ’72 with the rivers drained. Tom Sawyer Island wasn’t finished on opening day, so in Feb of ’72 they drained the river one day to make it easier to transfer the construction supplies over.
I never realized that the Riverboat was on a track!!
Lemme out there with my metal detector!