Discovery River Boats
Discovery River Boats was a boat ride attraction at Walt Disney World's Disney's Animal Kingdom near Orlando, Florida. It was designed as a means of transporting visitors, offering views of the Tree of Life, a moving dinosaur in the water, geysers, and a dragon's lair. It opened on April 22, 1998 and closed on August 21, 1999.
History
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 aisles and point out other items on the trek. The ride was similar to the Jungle Cruise in Adventureland at the Magic Kingdom, however there was little to see exclusive to the ride. A handful of scenes included a fire-breathing dragon's cave outside Camp Minnie Mickey, geysers in Africa, and a bathing Iguanodon outside of Dinoland U.S.A.The attraction was renamed to "Discovery River Taxi" in November 1998. The ride was again renamed to "Radio Disney River Cruise" in March 1999, playing audio commentary from Radio Disney DJs Just Plain Mark and Zippy, who were broadcasting from the top of the Tree of Life, as part of the storyline. The boats were all re-painted in new colors, and animals were no longer brought on board. The routes were also modified, with boats returning to the departing dock instead of stopping at the other dock for guests to disembark.