An interesting development is underway regarding the Liberty Belle Riverboat in a backstage canal at Magic Kingdom. New aerial photos from Bioreconstruct show that the boat has recently been moved, perhaps even earlier this morning. Sources indicated that the boat was in its previously spotted position until very recently, and movement of the boat is interesting with possible implications about its future. Let’s dive in.
Liberty Belle Riverboat Moved, Could It Be Saved?
First, here’s a look at where the Liberty Belle Riverboat was being stored until very recently. The boat was at a small, backstage dock behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The riverboat was joined by a few Tom Sawyer Island rafts, stored here for a couple of weeks following the closure of Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America.
Note that the Liberty Square Riverboat is pictured below on the “theme park” side of the bridge and lock system. While it was here, there was no way that Disney could drain the Rivers of America without draining the water out from under the riverboat.
New aerial photos from Bioreconstruct show that the Liberty Belle Riverboat and Tom Sawyer Island rafts have been moved, clearing the way for draining the Rivers of America.
We’ll start with a wide view of a service canal that runs to the west of Magic Kingdom, connecting the Rivers of America and Seven Seas Lagoon. It’s this service canal that the riverboat would traverse to reach a backstage service marina on the northwest shore of Bay Lake during refurbishment.
This first photo also shows some of the recent progress taking place for land clearing west of Magic Kingdom in support of the Piston Peak National Park expansion of Frontierland, and (eventually) a Villains Land.
Cropping in, we can see that the Liberty Square Riverboat has been moved to the south side of the backstage bridge and lock system. This should technically put the riverboat in a separate body of water from the Rivers of America, allowing Disney to drain it should they choose to. The riverboat is actually in its own exclusive body of water right now, and could, theoretically, stay here for some time.
As you can see in the photo below, there are construction barriers in the waterway “ahead” of the riverboat, perhaps preventing it from continuing down the service canal and on to the backstage marina.
Another photo appears to show some sort of pumping activity. I’m no expert, but it also looks like the water dam created by the blue tarp is a little suspect in the middle of the canal. Perhaps that’s on purpose. We can see that there appears to be a difference in water level between the body of water that the Riverboat is in and the green body of water ahead of it.
A couple of weeks ago, we published a rumor that the Liberty Belle was going to be dismantled. It was our understanding that the vessel would not traverse the canal to the backstage marina on Bay Lake. The recent movement of the boat now calls that rumor into question.
In theory, the Liberty Square Riverboat could stay in this body of water until the construction activity “ahead” of it is completed. Once Disney removes the construction barriers, the boat could make it to the backstage marina, where Disney could either dismantle it there, store it, or try to relocate it.
Walt Disney World has not returned requests for comment about the future of the Liberty Belle Riverboat. We will continue to follow the Riverboat’s movement to the best of our ability and try to figure out what’s next for the historic vessel.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
