AK river ride?

[candleshoe]

I vaguely remember when AK 1st opened that they had a boat ride around the river in AK. I think the dock is still there. I even remember there being a "dragon" - a cave with smoke coming out of it- on the ride.
1) Am I completely imagining this?
2) If not, why did they close it?
3) Are there any plans to ever reopen it?

[KAJUNKING]

i have nver been on this but i have read about it and it is no longer there, i dont remember the name of the attraction, but im sure someone will be along shotly that does

[joonyer]

It was called the Discovery River Boats, not really an attraction, but more of a water transportation service.
This is from wikipedia:

Attraction facts

* Renamed:
o Discovery River Taxi (November, 1998)
o Radio Disney River Cruise (March 1999)

The boats docked at the Safari Village and in Asia. The ride was a non-stop trip that brought the passengers near to the Tree of Life and past all the lands of the theme park. During the journey, the guests would be shown small animals that had been brought on board. The captain would walk the isles and point out other items on the trek. The ride was similar to the Jungle Cruise at the Magic Kingdom, however there was little to see exclusive to the ride.

In 1999 the attraction was renamed Radio Disney River Cruise and played commentary from Radio Disney DJs Just Plain Mark and Zippy. The guests were told that the songs were broadcast from the top of the Tree of Life. The boats were all re-painted in new colors.

The ride closed in late 1999, due to large numbers of disappointed guests who had not realized that the ride's primary purpose was transportation. The docks, however, can still be seen in the park. The Safari Village dock is used for character greetings while Asia's dock is now "Upcountry Landing," a shaded are where guests can sit down and relax.

[joelkfla]

The boats were originally intended as transportation from Safari Village (now Discovery Island) to Asia. Trouble was, back then Asia hadn't opened yet, so there was nothing at the other end! Park guests hungry for rides queued up expecting entertainment, only to find themselves dumped in Asia with nothing to do. And with the limited number of attractions when DAK opened, the queues at the boat docks got ridiculously long.

So Disney tried making the boats into an attraction, changing them from one-way to round-trip, adding small animals in shoeboxes (tarantulas, lizards, etc.) brought around by interpreters, and finally resorting to the Radio Disney nonsense. Nothing worked, and they were eventually discontinued.

There was a dragon cave just beyond the bridge into Camp Minnie-Mickey. It was the only evidence of the planned Beastly Kingdom. As the boats passed by, a roar would be heard, followed by a plume of flame (not just smoke) shooting from the cave. The dragon cave continued to operate years after the boats had been discontinued. Every ten minutes or so, guests crossing the bridge into Camp Minnie-Mickey would be startled by the roar and the sudden flame. There was also a rock formation near the mouth of the cave roughly in the shape of a dragon.

There was one other attraction on the River Boat route. Near Dinoland, there were a number of metallic folk-art type sculptures of dinos, and I heard there was also an audio-animatronic dino that rose out the water. I never saw the AA; reports are that it was so trouble-prone that it was abandoned before the park even officially opened. (There were a couple of months of cast previews, passholder previews, and limited soft openings before DAK officially opened.)

The boats remained at DAK for a while after they were discontinued, and were used for things like private parties and cruising around with characters on board waving to guests on the shore. Recently, some number of them (I think two) were redecorated and moved to Seven Seas Lagoon where they were used for the Grand Gathering pirate cruises.

[Melanie]

Great info, joelk!

[candleshoe]

Thanks for all the info- glad to hear I'm not crazy Re: the dragon cave!

[Imagineer1981]

nope you are not crazy, as everyone else has explained, it was more of a transportation system. When it was changed to Radio Disney they also had a CM on board who talked about lizards and spiders and such and had some in little cages for the brave to hold and touch. The dragon was a cool element and sad its fallen apart.

[DizneyRox]

The boats were originally intended as transportation from Safari Village (now Discovery Island) to Asia. Trouble was, back then Asia hadn't opened yet, so there was nothing at the other end!
I think it had more to do with you could walk there faster (much faster because of the length of the queue). The dock is right outside Flights of Wonder (africa/asia), so there is/was something to do on that side of the park.

It was originally billed as transportation, I think people expected too much and then complained. But it really doesn't mater, its gone and I can't think of anything that could b done to save it. MAYBE if they end up doing Beastly Kingdom they can incorporate some sort of river cruise throughout the park, but they need to keep capacity high, thrill level high, and make it worth the time it would take. It does have some posibilities, but it needs to be something other than transportation. And having people stuck on a boat with a bunch of tarantulas and scorpions was a bad idea as well!

Also, yes, there was an animatronic Aladar over in Dinoland, and it did make it to public viewings. I wasn't able to get to AK until a couple months after it's official opening and I do remember seeing it. It might have been during the second or third incarnation of the ride, that I'm fuzzy on, but I did see it.