PHOTOS and VIDEO! The Complicated Way the Liberty Belle Riverboat Is Moved in Magic Kingdom

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Well, consider our minds BLOWN today.

Mark Twain Riverboat

Magic Kingdom has had a pretty largescale refurbishment going on at the Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island, and on the Liberty Belle Riverboat. Today, these attractions are open for guests once more but it took a LOT of complicated work to get things back in order!

Since the second day of Magic Kingdom being open, guests have been able to take a ride through the Rivers of America on the beautiful Liberty Square Riverboat. Recently though, this tradition was paused as the waterway was completely drained for maintenance.

Drained Rivers of America

Did you know that the Rivers of America haven’t been completely drained since 1996? Wow! So in 24 years, that riverbed has never looked like it did for the past few months!

Rivers of America

The work was primarily to replace the steel rail that guides the Liberty Belle Riverboat, but workers also repaired rock work and performed general maintenance for the river and island. But the really complicated part of the work was moving the riverboat OUT of the park.

Rivers of America

The original journey out of the park was a 2.5-mile journey that took around three hours and sailed the Liberty Belle through Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon. Though the paddle motor on the boat works, she doesn’t have any steering. So, to guide the boat, Cast Members had to tow the boat by hand from the river banks.

©Disney

And this process was SERIOUSLY complicated. It was all done in the middle of the night so as not to interrupt ferry routes and involved discharging part of the monorail track so that the boat could safely sail under.

©Disney

Returning the Liberty Belle to Magic Kingdom was even more complicated, taking three nights. A team of underwater divers was used to reconnect the riverboat to her Rivers of America track by hand. Holy moly! Who knew moving this historic vessel would be such a process?

©Disney

You can watch footage from the process in this video!

We’re totally blown away by this super involved work. Remember, the Liberty Belle is accepting guests in Magic Kingdom again today! As always, stay tuned to DFB for the latest updates!

Click here to learn more about the refurbishment and reopening!

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What do you think of this process? Tell us in the comments! 

The post PHOTOS and VIDEO! The Complicated Way the Liberty Belle Riverboat Is Moved in Magic Kingdom first appeared on the disney food blog.

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