A Trip Along the River

Like many other Disney parks around the world, Disneyland Park in Paris has it's very own Riverboat Landing - the Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing. Named after the fictional setting of most of Frontierland in Paris, Thunder Mesa has two Riverboats - Mark Twain and Molly Brown. You can see Mark Twain in the photos.

These two boats travel along the Rivers of the Far West and were made specifically for Disneyland Paris. As you can probably imagine, the stern-wheeler Mark Twain is based on the Anaheim Disneyland boat of the same name, whilst the Molly Brown is an original and the only side-wheeler boat in any of the Disney theme parks.

The Molly Brown, for those of you who didn't know, is named after an American pioneer who heroically saved many fellow passengers on the Titanic in 1912. Unfortunately, the Molly Brown has spent many years out of service, after an incident in May 2005 in which the engines overheated and guests even had to be moved from the boat using Keelboats. In September 2005, the Molly Brown was moved to dry dock for refurbishment, while the Mark Twain came back to the Riverboat Landing in March 2006.

During this voyage, you get excellent views of Big Thunder Mountain, which is uniquely an island by itself in Parc Disneyland. You pass Smuggler's Cove, Joe's Landing, Settler's Landing and Geyser Plateau too. You also get a fantastic view of Phantom Manor and Boot Hill Cemetery. I'll discuss these areas in more detail in future posts. Both Riverboats are operational at night, with spotlights illuminating the shoreline. Like many Disney attractions, experiences at night can greatly differ from during the day!